Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?

[JennS]

Hi Gals,

 

Those of you who have already been married...can you tell me anymore about the semi-private reception dinner if that was the route you chose to go??  I am curious how long they allow us to be in the restaurant? Does it feel like your eating amoungst a room full of strangers or was is private enough?  Also, do they give you any special type of menu choices with the semi-private? and lastly, did they allow you to use your own table deco, table favours etc??

 

Thanks Jenn

[JayKay]

We had the semi private reception dinner at the Grill.  We were in the restaurant for almost 3 hours.  They don't rush your dinner so you have lots of time for visiting and chatting.  We left after our dinner was done and we cut our cake and ate our cake.  I'm not sure if there is a time limit they allow you to stay in the restaurant for or not.  It didn't feel at all like we were eating with a room full of strangers.  At the Grill we were off to one side of the restaurant against the windows and there was no one even close to us.  Yes, you don't have your own private room, but we always felt like it was fairly private.  Also, because we were there in early January the resort wasn't to full capacity so the Grill wasn't very full.  I think if you go during peak time to restaurants might have more people in them.  You do get to choose your menu.  You can choose one option for each category: Soup, salad, main course, and dessert.  We didn't use any of our own table decor except for our own chair ties which they transferred from the ceremony to the dinner.  I'm sure you can use your own decor if you want though.  We didn't have table favors as we included them in our OOT bags.

Originally Posted by JennS 

Hi Gals,

 

Those of you who have already been married...can you tell me anymore about the semi-private reception dinner if that was the route you chose to go??  I am curious how long they allow us to be in the restaurant? Does it feel like your eating amoungst a room full of strangers or was is private enough?  Also, do they give you any special type of menu choices with the semi-private? and lastly, did they allow you to use your own table deco, table favours etc??

 

Thanks Jenn

[SarahJ]

Hey Geral, how did your wedding go ?  Was your special day everything you hoped it would be? What's it like being a "Mrs" now?

[Kristo]

 We had our semi private dinner at the Dolce and it was very private.  We got a whole room to ourselves so we even did speeches in there (no mic needed).  They didn't rush us at all... we had plenty of time between each course to squeeze in visiting with our guests, a speech here or there and took loads of pictures too.  The menu was different than what you'd normally get if you just went there for the a la carte.  You get to pick that once you get down there.  I had even forgotten to get kids meals and vegetarian meals so last minute they whipped something up with no advance notice. 

 

You can use all your own decorations if you want.  We had the flower centerpieces they made us (we didn't use the free bouquets in our package) and we brought down our own centrepieces for each table.  We also had our wedding favours on each place setting.  They added extra candles, the personalized menus and our chair sashes as well. 

Originally Posted by JennS 

Hi Gals,

 

Those of you who have already been married...can you tell me anymore about the semi-private reception dinner if that was the route you chose to go??  I am curious how long they allow us to be in the restaurant? Does it feel like your eating amoungst a room full of strangers or was is private enough?  Also, do they give you any special type of menu choices with the semi-private? and lastly, did they allow you to use your own table deco, table favours etc??

 

Thanks Jenn

[SarahJ]

Kristo - I've been looking at your photos, you looked beautiful and so happy. I hope you had a fantastic day. I just wanted to ask, the cake in your pictures, is that the one the hotel supplied? And the picture of the tables laid out, is that the Dolce Vita restaurant at the hotel? Thanks for sharing your experience on the forum, I'd be lost without this forum, so thanks to all the brides :-)

[Kristo]

 Thanks Sarah!   Yes the cake in my pictures is what the resort supplied.  I just told Donnalee what flavour I wanted, gave her my topper and the flowers I wanted it decorated with and they did the rest!  It was amazing and soooo tasty!  We never saw any of it afterwards though so I don't even know if it was all gone or not!  And yes, that's the Dolce Vita.. a perfect place for a semi-private (which is really private - in your own room, away from all the regular guests).  It's right beside the ocean as well!!

 

Originally Posted by SarahJ 

Kristo - I've been looking at your photos, you looked beautiful and so happy. I hope you had a fantastic day. I just wanted to ask, the cake in your pictures, is that the one the hotel supplied? And the picture of the tables laid out, is that the Dolce Vita restaurant at the hotel? Thanks for sharing your experience on the forum, I'd be lost without this forum, so thanks to all the brides :-)

[pask454]

Hey ladies! Sorry to change the subject, but Im trying to figure out wedding music. I am NOT doing the steel drums , just wondering is it an ipod or CD that you can give someone to play instead? And if so...is there speakers? Who plays it for you?

 

Thanks

[JayKay]

We gave them a cd.  They had tons of speakers so you could hear the music everywhere.  There were even days we could hear the wedding music on the balcony of the room.  They have someone play the music for you.

Originally Posted by pask454 

Hey ladies! Sorry to change the subject, but Im trying to figure out wedding music. I am NOT doing the steel drums , just wondering is it an ipod or CD that you can give someone to play instead? And if so...is there speakers? Who plays it for you?

 

Thanks

[SarahJ]

Hi Kristo - brilliant...thanks for replying. I was amazed that was a pic of the cake supplied by the resort it was beautiful...I thought we would just be given a simple one tier sponge/fruit cake! I hope I receive the same kind of treatment that you obviously received. I will make sure I tell my guests to eat it all otherwise we lose it or smuggle it back to our room! haha....I have booked the Dolce Vita for our reception so i'm really pleased I did now seeing your pics and reading your reviews etc. Although I havent booked it as a private reception its just whats included in my wedding package and I had a choice of restaurants. I'm getting so excited now - I cant wait. Thank you ) I hope your enjoying married life...x

[leannesmith]

Hi Brides and Brides to be!!

 

We are getting married at the Bahia on Sept 30th, 2013 and i am super excited and nervous. 

 

Has anyone had luck confirming what colors the resort offers for chair covers and decor?  i am looking for a deep red coral color (guava) but i am not sure if they will have this.

 

I am also using a wedding travel planner who will coordinate the bookings, etc.  But what happens if some guest book on their own and not through the wedding planner....has anyone had the same experience?  is it difficult to confirm the total number of guests?  what is the latest time you have to confirm this with the resort?

 

Has anyone used the piscus snack bar as the reception?  I am thinking of using this location as it is outside and can fit up to 150 guests.

 

Did anyone pay extra for the on site photographer to shoot for the entire day?  I am looking to see what the cost difference is to see if it is wort paying the vendor fee of $800!!!

 

Anyone with some useful information would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Leanne