Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?

[CdnBrideJoanne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tram13 
 

I would definitely do the same - and if that seamstress ruined your dress - I would be demanding my $100 back at the very least!  I'm not ready to look at small claims just yet.  I think I am going to wait until after the wedding day and our house possession date before I take that on!

 

The seamstress that I took my dress to in BC has done alterations on two of my good friend's dresses - and she knew what she was talking about.  She picked out imperfections in my dress and said she would fix them.  She is altering the back, hemming (2 layers), taking in the dress, and altering the under layer (as it is "bigger" than the lace overlay)...for about $50-$70.  So, not only I'm I confident that she does good work, it's a steal of a deal!  I'm really hoping that it all works out in the end and that if fits properly.  Because - I'm not shopping for a back up!

 

Fingers crossed that your neighbourhood seamstress does good work and can make your dress fit you properly!  Do you think the hem will be noticeable, or does it stand out to you because you know it's there?

 

Your seamstress sounds amazing.  Too bad she didn't live closer to you!!

 

I think that if people even notice that my dress is shorter on one side they wouldn't dare to say anything.  I think that seeing as it is such a light chiffon that the dress will always be in motion and most people won't pick up on it.  I will be very conscious of it though.  I got a call tonight that my dress is ready for my fitting tomorrow so keep your fingers crossed.

[Samantha262]

they confirmed my date and time, i sent out invites with all the info then found out they gave my day and time away, only available time offered during my stay was at 11am. Im just happy I am at least getting married but found this to be crazy....they blamed me for the mess up saying I didn't confirm but had a confirmation email. But at least I'm getting married  

[janicemarie29]

Yes I also found out they gave my spot away. We are now getting married at 5:30 instead of noon. Even though I had 2 confirmation emails from June, they still gave it away. Just because you have confirmation emails, don't think it's confirmed! Call the resort and confirm and reconfirm!

[soontobeawalsh]

I haven't called them to confirm my date and time, but every time I send them an email I always make sure I ask again for confirmation on my date/time.  I'm sure they are sick of answering the same question all the time but I like the reassurance of having it every time I contact them!

[tram13]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CdnBrideJoanne 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by tram13 
 

I would definitely do the same - and if that seamstress ruined your dress - I would be demanding my $100 back at the very least!  I'm not ready to look at small claims just yet.  I think I am going to wait until after the wedding day and our house possession date before I take that on!

 

The seamstress that I took my dress to in BC has done alterations on two of my good friend's dresses - and she knew what she was talking about.  She picked out imperfections in my dress and said she would fix them.  She is altering the back, hemming (2 layers), taking in the dress, and altering the under layer (as it is "bigger" than the lace overlay)...for about $50-$70.  So, not only I'm I confident that she does good work, it's a steal of a deal!  I'm really hoping that it all works out in the end and that if fits properly.  Because - I'm not shopping for a back up!

 

Fingers crossed that your neighbourhood seamstress does good work and can make your dress fit you properly!  Do you think the hem will be noticeable, or does it stand out to you because you know it's there?

 

Your seamstress sounds amazing.  Too bad she didn't live closer to you!!

 

I think that if people even notice that my dress is shorter on one side they wouldn't dare to say anything.  I think that seeing as it is such a light chiffon that the dress will always be in motion and most people won't pick up on it.  I will be very conscious of it though.  I got a call tonight that my dress is ready for my fitting tomorrow so keep your fingers crossed.

How'd it turn out?  I've been thinking about you and hoping that everything turned out okay!!!

This is my last weekend not working before heading down to Jamaica.  We leave on December 3rd...so I'm spending it packing.  Gah!  I really hope I don't forget anything!

[CdnBrideJoanne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tram13 
 

How'd it turn out?  I've been thinking about you and hoping that everything turned out okay!!!

This is my last weekend not working before heading down to Jamaica.  We leave on December 3rd...so I'm spending it packing.  Gah!  I really hope I don't forget anything!

 

My dress looks soooooooooo much better!  There is nothing that can be done with the hem so I just have to hope that the dress will always be flowing and moving and nobody will notice.  The new and improved seamstress took 6 inches of material away from the hip area of my dress!!  So now I don't look like I am drowning in my dress anymore.  It still fits loosely but it is much more flattering now.

 

I pullled out my suitcases and have been putting odds and ends in it like my swimsuits and shorts.  I have bought so much stuff to bring with me I hope I don't forget anything either!

 

You'll have to spy on my wedding on the 10th lol.

[tram13]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CdnBrideJoanne 

 

My dress looks soooooooooo much better!  There is nothing that can be done with the hem so I just have to hope that the dress will always be flowing and moving and nobody will notice.  The new and improved seamstress took 6 inches of material away from the hip area of my dress!!  So now I don't look like I am drowning in my dress anymore.  It still fits loosely but it is much more flattering now.

 

I pullled out my suitcases and have been putting odds and ends in it like my swimsuits and shorts.  I have bought so much stuff to bring with me I hope I don't forget anything either!

 

You'll have to spy on my wedding on the 10th lol.

Oh!!  I am sooo happy to hear this!!!  You must feel so relieved!  Fingers crossed that I feel the same way about my dress when I'm reunited with it in Jamaica!

 

I've made lists as I bought things along the way so that I don't forget them.  I still have some things that need to be done, like printing programs, etc.  But, I will make sure to have it all done before we leave on the 3rd.  I would definitely love to spy on your wedding. :-) what time is it at?  My guests are leaving that day, but the FI and I are staying a few days later until the 13th.

 

You can definitely spy on my wedding, too if you like and are there.  My wedding is on Friday, December 06, 2013 at 2:30 pm. :-)

[jmarshall]

Soooo ladies, I just got back from Jamaica and let me just start of by saying that you will not be disappointed having your wedding at the Gran Bahia Principe in Runaway Bay.

 

Ok so get comfortable because here comes a very long review… just wanted to warn you all.

 

 

Traveling to Jamaica

 

My husband and I are from Salt Lake City, UT in the U.S.  We traveled to and from Jamaica on JetBlue.  The airline itself is great; however, they do not accommodate brides, at least they didn’t for me.  Apparently JetBlue does not have a coat closet so there is no where to hang your dress on the airplane if you carry it on, and they were actually saying that we needed to stuff the dress in a suitcase.  From Salt Lake City to JFK the flight attendants at least let me use a little more overhead space and just fold my dress once in half.  When we got to New York, a JetBlue flight attendant was going to make my husband (fiancé then) and I check ALL the rest of our carry-ons, including the ones that would go under the seat in front of us because she said my dress would take up too much room.  I said that doesn’t even make sense considering the items going beneath the seats won’t even affect the overhead space.  I wasn’t going to let here check the rest of our items because it had all our glass centerpieces in them and all of our money, passports, etc.  I think eventually she realized her reasoning was wrong, and she ended up letting us keep all our things. 

 

We arrived in Jamaica, checked in at the Gran Bahia, and besides a couple hiccups in our reservations, everything went pretty smoothly.  We supposedly received an upgraded room (our wedding packaged included it if it was available), but I think they told us we did, but really didn’t.  Don’t get me wrong, we had a beautiful room with a good view of the pool and ocean; however, my little sister’s room/view/patio was nicer than ours.  She checked in that same night, in the lowest category room, and her balcony was seriously three times the size of ours with a pool and ocean view.  Oh well.

 

 

Day After Arrival

 

Let’s see, so the next day after we arrived, we met our wedding coordinator, Vinnette, at 9AM and spent maybe two hours with her.  We went over everything, we got all of our questions answered, and we paid for our package and extras.  We went with the Unforgettable package gazebo wedding at 2PM, the semi-private reception at Dolce Vita at 6PM, and the Gazebo with DJ for dancing from 8PM-10PM.  We only ended up having twelve family members coming, so having an open bar during the dancing was not an option (need at least 20 people).  After asking nicely, we were able to get Vinnette to agree to set up a table, ice, and mixers at the Gazebo for no charge, and my hubby and I were going to go get a couple of alcohol bottles off resort.  She then took us over to the photography office were we confirmed our photography package and our photographer, Christopher Lee.

 

 

Day Before the Wedding

 

The day before the wedding, my man was SUPER sick.  He didn’t get out of bed all day.  So I was kind of stressing, A LOT.  Vinnette said, if we had to, we could reschedule it when he got better.  She said it probably wouldn’t be at the same time, be it would be no problem if it came down to that.  Thank goodness he was feeling better the next day, not completely, but enough to get married and have some fun.

 

So the day before the wedding, I picked the brain of one of the security guys in the lobby about how to go about going off resort and buying alcohol and where.  He told me everything I needed to know and gave me all sorts of advice on how to not get ripped off; I wish I remembered his name so you guys could go talk to him if you needed something.  Anyways, so my sister, her boyfriend, and I walked up to the front gate, hailed a RED license plate cab (only take these because the others are just random people), went to the market not even five minutes down the road, and made it back to the resort safe and sound.  FYI, don’t use the resort taxi; they were trying to charge us $30 for the round trip and Vinnette told us that that is B.S. and told us to not use them. 

 

Later on that day, I met with Vinnette and gave her all the wedding stuff we brought/made, including the chair ties, music, center pieces, cake topper/cake ribbon, sand ceremony, sign in book, and money for Tai Flora (we upgraded our bouquet and boutonnière).

 

Later on that evening I did the free bridal hair trial at the spa, and I’m glad I did just to get an idea of what it would look like.  Oh and they do just a quick version, so don’t be alarmed when it isn’t exactly like you wanted.  I forgot to mention, if you are getting your hair done at the spa be sure to go to the spa as soon as you can to confirm your appointments.  A few months before I arrived I booked my hair appointment and trial.  When I got there they had me down for completely different times.  I told them I wanted the times I originally booked and they said, sorry, we are all booked up.  I went to my room and got all the confirmation emails I had from them from the months prior and they at least changed the times to a little bit closer to the original times.  Still frustrating though.

 

 

Wedding Day

 

The day of the wedding, I got my hair done at the spa at 11AM, which turned out exactly how I wanted and had my sister do my makeup.  Vinnette said she would be at our room five to ten minutes before 2PM to give me my flowers and pick me up in the cart.  (My hubby was given his boutonnière at the gazebo when he got there.)  Anyways, Vinnette was on time and my flowers were STUNNING (we went with blue orchids).  We didn’t manage to get out of the room until maybe 2:10.  I was freaking out a little because I hate being late, but Vinnette told me to stop stressing because the wedding won’t go on without the bride.

 

Upon arrival at the gazebo, our photographer immediately started taking pictures.  The party catamaran was blaring music when we got to the gazebo, and my sister-in-law screamed at them across the water to “CUT THE MUSIC,†pretty funny. J They actually listened to her and quit, and then the steel band drum immediately started playing.  Everything at the ceremony went smoothly and couldn’t have been more perfect.  I personally think the minister could have done a little better… he stumbled through his words pretty bad, but no worries!

 

As for the weather, that day was on and off rain and we got lucky, the rain stopped right before our ceremony and the sun came out.  It was beautiful.  Apparently, the first wedding and last wedding that day got poured on. L  At least it is supposed to be good luck if it rains on our wedding.

 

Dinner at the Dolce Vita was at 6:00PM, but somehow everyone in our party thought it was 6:30 so we started dinner late.  Luckily, we were able to just push everything back a half hour with out any troubles and were still able to have two hours at dinner and two hours of dancing.  All of our centerpiece decorations were set up exactly how I told Vinnette we wanted it and all our chair ties made it over to the restaurant.  It was perfect and beautiful.  As for the menu, we had a caesar salad with chicken, cream of roasted squash and thyme soup, chicken breast with ricotta walnuts and bacon with basil risotto crunch, and profiteroles with cream and chocolate coulis.  All of it was delicious.  Our waiter was a bit grumpy, but he did a good job.  Our cake, WAS AWESOME!!!!  When we sat down for our meeting with Vinnette I told her we didn’t want any of the flowery, fluffy, decorative frosting junk on our cake.  I said we just wanted it plain, flat frosting with the ribbon that we brought and our cake topper.  It was sooo much better!  The cake was actually square too, and I didn’t even request that/didn’t know it was an option!! Beautiful and delicious!!! The cake was chocolate raspberry.

 

At the gazebo, the DJ and drinks table were set up as asked and Vinnette surprised us with some rum punch and champagne too.  If you go this route, I highly suggest asking her to provide water on the table too because we forgot and were dying.  The manager guy was luckily there though so he was able to make a phone call and at least bring us a couple pitchers.

 

 

Advice

 

For your photographer, book Christopher Lee! HE IS AMAZING!  He is funny, always smiling, and a very talented photographer.  I am obsessed with our pictures, no joke.  I cannot recommend him enough.  Be forewarned, he is booked out pretty far in advance so book him ASAP!!  The only other photographer is a guy named Nick; I honestly don’t know a thing about him or his work, but I do know that every time we saw him he didn’t seem very chipper.  :/  We only did the ceremony and beach package.  I am glad we didn’t choose to do more because with the reception only being semi-private we would have had a lot of random people in our photos and at the gazebo for the dancing outside, we were all sweaty beasts within minutes and not looking our best anymore! haha

 

If you can, extend your vacation to spend some alone time with your new hubby.  For us, the wedding week was stressful and just go, go, go.  We felt like most of the time we were trying to coordinate with family where to meet and when and we spent a lot of time in the lobby waiting for people to arrive and seeing them off.  AND WE ONLY HAD A TOTAL OF 12 PEOPLE COME, SO I COULDN’T IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE IF MORE PEOPLE CAME.  YIKES! HAHA.  We stayed at the Gran Bahia for a week and then went to Couples Swept Away in Negril for five nights.  Hands down, the best resort I have EVER been to.  If finances allow it, DEFINITELY take a few days extra for your honeymoon; I’m SOOOO glad we did.

 

For those of you that are control freaks, like me, if you have Vinnette as your wedding coordinator, be prepared to give her all control because she will demand it and DON’T be afraid to give it to her.  She got everything done correctly, and perfectly.  She was AWESOME and went above and beyond on every detail.  Highly recommend her.

 

Lastly, if you plan to bring back some cake to freeze and eat on your first anniversary, bring a freaking cake box.  We went to EVERY single restaurant at the resort, and not one could even manage to come up with a Styrofoam to-go box; it was sad and disappointing.

 

Most importantly, HAVE FUN! Just make sure you have your wedding time and reception location confirmed; the rest of it can be worked out when you get there.

 

Overall, the Gran Bahia as a resort, was not my favorite, but as for getting married there, it was simply perfect.  So those of you that have booked your wedding there, FANTASTIC choice! And for those of you that are considering it, DO IT.  YA MON!!

 

Sorry for the book…  Anyways, feel free to ask me any and all questions; would love to help.

 

All the best,

Jenna

 

Our Cake

 

My bouquet by Tai Flora

 

Random one from my camera

 

Another random one from my camera (playing the steel drums)

 

 

Some photos by Christopher Lee (AKA the ones I am obsessed with )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AlLo]

Hi Jenna, Thanks for coming back onto the forum to update us! Your pics are amazing! Couple questions for you: How did you go about requesting Christopher Lee? Also I love your flowers. Did you choose them from a catalog before you went or when you met with the wedding coordinator before the wedding? We are also looking at booking the Italian restaurant.. Was there just the one meal to choose from? I have seen the menus posted but wasn't sure what you would do in the case that someone is a vegetarian? Did you book your hair appointment etc with the spa through the coordinator? Thanks in advance! Lauren

[jmarshall]

Hi Lauren,

 

Thank you! So to request Christopher Lee I contacted the photography company at the Gran Bahia via email: [email protected] or [email protected]

They emailed me using both those emails so I am not sure which one is the right one, try both.  Just say your a bride and would like to request Christopher Lee.  Even if he has another bride that day if you really, really bug them they might still let you have him too... that's what I had to do. He's totally worth the trouble though...

 

For the flowers, I didn't use a catalog.  A few months before the wedding I just found a picture of the exact bouquet I wanted and emailed Tai Flora directly, telling here I was getting married at the Gran Bahia on November 13 and asking if they had that flower, could make that bouquet, and what the cost would be.  They gave me like a $25 credit since I did not get the included bouquet and boutonniere in the wedding package.  Once we agreed on the pricing and final invoice, she forwarded it on to my wedding coordinator.

 

For the Italian restaurant, we had three menu options, however Vinnette let us mix and match the three menus a bit.  I am pretty positive they would accommodate someone that is vegetarian.  If you have Vinnette as your wedding coordinator she would definitely accommodate the vegetarian, as she was amazing at making things happen.

 

An for the hair appointment through the spa, I booked it through them directly as well.  Email: [email protected]

 

Hope this helps... let me know if you have any other questions!

 

Jenna