Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?

[lauracitawita]

Does anyone know about chair options at the gazebo for the guests?

 

A friend of mine said she was at the resort and most weddings had the white chair covers, but one wedding had gold chairs with white seats. She thought it was beautiful. I found one image on the internet, but it isn't at the gazebo and I'm not even sure if it is at our resort.

 

I also saw a picture with white chairs/seats which looked beautiful.

 

Anyone here choosing NOT to do chair covers?

 

Thanks!

[soontobeawalsh]

@@lauracitawita  I believe the chairs they use are a typical brass chair with a blue seat! Which is why they have the white chair covers.    The White/gold chairs  your friend saw would most likely be an upgrade at an extra cost.  

[Camalli]

Hi Everyone

 

I'm brand spanking new to the site - and in such a short time I've found it super helpful. My wedding is Saturday November 1, 2014 at 2pm. I have booked to have the reception at the snack bar at 6:30pm - because I saw this wedding there (http://www.knotsvilla.com/real-destination-wedding-grand-bahia-principe-jamaica-all-inclusive-beach-resort/) and thought it was done beautifully. I'm a project manager - so planning a destination wedding with not the most responsive folks is teaching me about patience. 

Has anyone on here done their reception at the snack bar? I have Kalfani as my wedding planner/coordinator and he just sent me an email saying that I have to pay an additional $2,500 for the fully private reception. If the snack bar is already private - why do I have to pay to make it private? 

 

Anyone can give me some help ammunition other than the obvious?

 

Thanks so much Ladies!

Cam

[lauracitawita]

@@lauracitawita  I believe the chairs they use are a typical brass chair with a blue seat! Which is why they have the white chair covers.    The White/gold chairs  your friend saw would most likely be an upgrade at an extra cost.  

You're right.  I just received an email about the chairs.  The white and gold chairs are an extra $10 each.

 

Thanks!

For any Canadian brides...did you get your paperwork notarized before you sent them? 

 

I also read that a few brides just emailed scanned images of their documents instead of mailing them.

 

Anyone have any comments or experience with this?

 

Thanks guys!!!

[soontobeawalsh]

You're right.  I just received an email about the chairs.  The white and gold chairs are an extra $10 each.

 

Thanks!

For any Canadian brides...did you get your paperwork notarized before you sent them? 

 

I also read that a few brides just emailed scanned images of their documents instead of mailing them.

 

Anyone have any comments or experience with this?

 

Thanks guys!!!

Hey @@lauracitawita  I had both our birth certificates notarized (thats it)    I was originally told that I could scan them and email it, then bring the notarized copies with me.  But I was later told that we are no longer able to do this!  So they have to be sent to them by courier.  and needs to be done 3 months before your wedding date!! 

 

Its going to cost approx $80 to courier them (expensive I know) but at least you will know that they actually get there with no problems and on time

[acw271011]

Dutchess...That's great!  let me know if you want to see them I can email them to you!!  (unless I can upload them in a way that everyone can see them) 

Have you heard back from the WC about having multiple wedding groups in the same restaurant?  I asked Vinnette about it and she just told me the same old line about that their will be other guest from the resort in the restaurant, if you are having a semi-private reception.  I'm sure it will all work out tho.    

 

if you have an electronic file, you can post them. hit "more reply options" which is beside your "post" button, and you'll see manage attachments. you can upload the file from your computer there and others will be able to see it.

Hi Everyone

 

I'm brand spanking new to the site - and in such a short time I've found it super helpful. My wedding is Saturday November 1, 2014 at 2pm. I have booked to have the reception at the snack bar at 6:30pm - because I saw this wedding there (http://www.knotsvilla.com/real-destination-wedding-grand-bahia-principe-jamaica-all-inclusive-beach-resort/) and thought it was done beautifully. I'm a project manager - so planning a destination wedding with not the most responsive folks is teaching me about patience. 

Has anyone on here done their reception at the snack bar? I have Kalfani as my wedding planner/coordinator and he just sent me an email saying that I have to pay an additional $2,500 for the fully private reception. If the snack bar is already private - why do I have to pay to make it private? 

 

Anyone can give me some help ammunition other than the obvious?

 

Thanks so much Ladies!

Cam

 

I think that's the Pisces you're referring to, and they charge to have it completely closed to only your group. you can still sit down there at night, and I believe still get drinks so in order to make it private for you, they close it to other guests. it has been a popular option for a lot of past brides to be able to have a fully private reception. the thing is, people walking through the resort will still see your party going on. it isn't fully private and away from other guests, but they wouldn't be allowed access. It's a very pretty spot on the resort though. Right by the water. During the day, according to my husband, the jerk chicken is to die for!! It is well know all through Runaway Bay!

[acw271011]

I got married at GBPJ in 2011, and my understanding is that, since 2011, they have changed quite a few of the rules. One of them is the documentation. I don't know if it was because they were finding that too many people didn't have the proper paperwork once they arrived in Jamaica or not. We were allowed to just scan and email, then bring the originals with us. We both had divorce papers and we had a notarized copy made that we had to leave in Jamaica for the Registrar there, but for our passports and birth certificates, the email pdf version was fine.

 

The other thing, couriers will not deliver to po boxes. Everyone in the area knows the GBPJ so they would just deliver directly to the resort.

[medwards]

Hi ladies!

 

I'm back and want to post a review before I forget, these last few weeks have been crazy!! We got married on March 3rd, 2014 and it was absolutely amazing! My fiance and I arrived at the resort on February 25th so we had lots of time to meet with coordinators/photographer etc. and it was the best decision we made. We had 45 guests who all arrived on March 1st and we had all of our meetings and planning done by the time they arrived! I highly recommend going a few days earlier than your guests if you can do it.. Especially if you have a big group.

 

We met with Tamika and Ashani the day after we arrived and went over EVERYTHING and finalized payment. I ordered flowers for myself, bridesmaids and mothers from Tai flora. It was a bit pricey, but I had a specific look I wanted and I have to say they exceeded my expectations! The bouquets were more beautiful than I ever could have imagined! I brought a lot of my own decorations (table runners, chair sashes, etc) -enough for two suitcases full - and they took everything all packed up and said they would handle it! I gave them a picture of everything set up the way I wanted at the reception and they nailed it! They even packed all my decorations up for me afterwards.

 

The ceremony was at 2pm and we were about 20 minutes late! I booked Rashel Edwards for hair and makeup for myself and 6 bridesmaids and she did an amazing job, all the girls loved it! We started at around 9am and were on time until we tried to squeeze my mom and mother in law in and that's what ended up making us late! Still 20 minutes was not bad at all, no one had any complaints. Also the coordinators waived the vendor fee for Rashel, we just had to pay for her and her assistant's day pass which wasn't a big deal.

 

The ceremony was short and sweet, I have no complaints other than that it was super windy!! They aren't lying when they say 2 pm is the windiest time of the day! Still I wouldn't change a thing, the wind calmed down afterwards for our pictures and the overcast skies looked so beautiful:)

 

We went with the Romance Extravaganza package so we had cocktails and appetizers served after the ceremony. It wasn't quite an hour long because we were running late but I don't think any of the guests noticed. The steel drum band played the whole time and everyone loved it!

 

We requested Christopher Lee as our photographer and he did an amazing job! He had nicknames for everyone in our wedding party and it was so much fun! We didn't want the pictures to end! Unfortunately he did tell us he's leaving the resort it April to start with another company but he will be available to book as an outside vendor. We were told by Tamika that the vendors fee is only $200 now instead of $800 which is much more reasonable.

 

We also brought in a cinematographer from off resort, his name is Roxroy Gough from Your Day Cinematography. We haven't seen the completed work yet but him and Chris worked really well together! We have seen sample videos of Roxroy's and they look really good! The resort also waived the vendor fee for Roxroy since we were going with the platinum package for our photography.

 

We also booked the Piscis for our reception and it was gorgeous! It started at 630 and was just in time to catch a beautiful sunset from our seats. Our meal was from the Dolce vita and was delicious, I had guests coming up to me all night commenting on it! By the time we got through all the speeches and everything we only had about half an hour for dancing but it was a blast! Chris Lee was supposed to be done at 830 but stuck around til the very end because he was having so much fun!

 

I should mention when we met with the coordinators they told us the Piscis was $2500. I told them I was quoted $1700 earlier and they honoured it. I would have paid the 2500 if I had to do it again though! I also had brought thank you cards with tips for our bartender, dj and serving staff and gave them out at the end of the night. They were all wonderful and didn't seem to be expecting a tip at all.

 

I honestly could go on forever, the resort is amazing and our wedding day was absolutely perfect! I will do my best to keep checking this forum and answer any questions, there's probably lots that I missed still!

 

Here's a link for some of our pictures by Chris Lee. I can add more

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qhbqshff0o84a04/fLbGOMxHkH

Edited March 10, 2014 by medwards

[acw271011]

Great review and your pics are gorgeous! Your dress is stunning! Which designer did you use? Glad to hear it all worked out well! It always does! lol Another happy Gran Bahia Principe Jamaica bride!!

 

Congrats!!

[medwards]

Thank you! My dress is by Mori Lee style 1862. Every time I look at it I love it even more! Didn't know that was possible! Lol