Jellyfish Restaurant

[BRIDETOBE2013]

Hello JF brides and brides-to-be!!!

 

Can anyone help me regarding blocking rooms at Majestic Elegance?? My fiance and I have decided on Majestic Elegance as the hotel we will be staying at, and would love our family and friends to say at as well. The problem is: I called Majestic and spoke with the woman in charge of group reservations, and she said the ONLY way of blocking rooms is for everyone to reserve their room on their own and give one individual the money FOR ALL THE RESERVATION, so it could paid at as one payment upon arrival. Um. That sounds like a problem. I don't think anyone wants to be responsible for someone else's money. What did you girls do about travel arrangements (hotel and flights)? 

 

Thanks for your help 

[Lala32]

HI Bridetobe2013!   If you want to do a group contract directly with the hotel and without a travel agent, it's true, you would be the responsible party for payment as well as your guests reservations.  So for example, if I was going to attend your wedding, I would be contacting you to add me to the hotel list and pay you for the hotel.  You would be submitting the total group list/dates to the hotel along with a deposit (usually one upfront) and full payment on the date in the contract prior to arriving.  You would also be responsible for hitting the guaranteed # of used rooms in the contract and if you don't hit that number, you would have to pay the difference.  Should your guests decide that they want to book themselves and find a room online for cheaper, this could work against you.  The only advantage of a group contract is that you could get a few free nights or other ammenities that could help offset some costs.  I believe you could do a group contract with a travel agent as well where they would be the person your guests would have to go through rather than yourself but in the end, you are most likely still responsible for hitting that guaranteed number of rooms.  I would suggest however talking to a travel agent first.

 

With that being said, I've asked my guests to book on their own and gave them a preferred travel agent in case they prefer that route.  At this point, I think it's 50/50 - some are booking with the agent, some are booking online but it's less stressful for me and I'm not responsible for anyone missing any cut offs or not paying.  It's all on them.
 

Hope that helps a little!

[april4884]

BRIDETOBE2013:

 

I am SO excited to finally possibly have an answer for someone instead of a question!  We are staying at Dreams Palm Beach and I had the same problem as you at first.  Just when I was about to give up, I tried a link on this page for the Best Destination Wedding Travel Agents.  Not only was she able to get me a group rate but the price ended up being substantially better than the current rate on the resorts website.  The rate also includes transportation to/from resort and airport.  AND we are getting some of our nights for free.  All in all, we are very happy with this find.  You will likely have to put a downpayment (ours was $100/room) but you get it back when your guest book and you have time to release extra rooms without penalty if done by a certain date.  The travel agent can go over all the details with you.  I recommend you try them and if nothing else, you will have gotten some answers. 

[april4884]

BRIDETOBE2013:

 

I am SO excited to finally possibly have an answer for someone instead of a question! We are staying at Dreams Palm Beach and I had the same problem as you at first. Just when I was about to give up, I tried a link on this page for the Best Destination Wedding Travel Agents. Not only was she able to get me a group rate but the price ended up being substantially better than the current rate on the resorts website. The rate also includes transportation to/from resort and airport. AND we are getting some of our nights for free. All in all, we are very happy with this find. You will likely have to put a downpayment (ours was $100/room) but you get it back when your guest book and you have time to release extra rooms without penalty if done by a certain date. The travel agent can go over all the details with you. I recommend you try them and if nothing else, you will have gotten some answers.

[BRIDETOBE2013]

Originally Posted by Lala32 

 

HI Bridetobe2013!   If you want to do a group contract directly with the hotel and without a travel agent, it's true, you would be the responsible party for payment as well as your guests reservations.  So for example, if I was going to attend your wedding, I would be contacting you to add me to the hotel list and pay you for the hotel.  You would be submitting the total group list/dates to the hotel along with a deposit (usually one upfront) and full payment on the date in the contract prior to arriving.  You would also be responsible for hitting the guaranteed # of used rooms in the contract and if you don't hit that number, you would have to pay the difference.  Should your guests decide that they want to book themselves and find a room online for cheaper, this could work against you.  The only advantage of a group contract is that you could get a few free nights or other ammenities that could help offset some costs.  I believe you could do a group contract with a travel agent as well where they would be the person your guests would have to go through rather than yourself but in the end, you are most likely still responsible for hitting that guaranteed number of rooms.  I would suggest however talking to a travel agent first.

 

With that being said, I've asked my guests to book on their own and gave them a preferred travel agent in case they prefer that route.  At this point, I think it's 50/50 - some are booking with the agent, some are booking online but it's less stressful for me and I'm not responsible for anyone missing any cut offs or not paying.  It's all on them.

 

Hope that helps a little!

Hi Lala32. Thank you for your response and information. I, like you have decided to allow my guests to search their own travel arrangements, which takes the stress off of me. Everyday I price out flights and hotels, and surprisingly I have found priceline.com to be the cheapest out of every travel site, including travel agencies. Check out the vacation packages, great deals! Good luck. 

[BRIDETOBE2013]

Originally Posted by april4884 

 

BRIDETOBE2013:

 

I am SO excited to finally possibly have an answer for someone instead of a question! We are staying at Dreams Palm Beach and I had the same problem as you at first. Just when I was about to give up, I tried a link on this page for the Best Destination Wedding Travel Agents. Not only was she able to get me a group rate but the price ended up being substantially better than the current rate on the resorts website. The rate also includes transportation to/from resort and airport. AND we are getting some of our nights for free. All in all, we are very happy with this find. You will likely have to put a downpayment (ours was $100/room) but you get it back when your guest book and you have time to release extra rooms without penalty if done by a certain date. The travel agent can go over all the details with you. I recommend you try them and if nothing else, you will have gotten some answers.

Hi april4884,

 

haha. Glad you were able to provide an answer for me. I know planning a destination wedding you find yourself asking more questions than answering them- life of the bride I guess. Thank you for the great information, I will be looking into it and seeing if it benefits me. After finding out how DR hotels block rooms, it made me want to give up as well. It's so frustrating! So far, my guests have been doing their own research on flights and hotels, which has been easy on me. I was so stressed at first about getting some time of a package deal and blocking rooms, but after a while.. I said forget it! hahaha. Glad everything is working out for you and good luck with all the planning. Hopefully I will be able to answer one of your questions some time. ha. 

[venus909]

Originally Posted by AshTooner 

 

Hello Brides,

 

Is anyone here using Cores Films?  I like his work and I have tentatively booked him to film our wedding but he says no deposit is required and to pay in cash only.  I'm just wondering if anyone who has used him before was told the same thing?  I suppose I just feel more comfortable having an actual written and signed contract with a deposit.  He said that his acceptance email was the confirmation of my date.

 

Thanks!

 

Ashley

I used Cores Films... I did not send a deposit.... but I have mixed feelings... 

 

I'll start by saying that I don't regret my choice of using him, but I'm not 100% satisfied either... but I was between him and Florian from Cinema + Motion....

 

The positives:

 

Diego and his 2nd shooter were a blast to work with the day of the wedding.  We felt comfortable in front of the camera with him and he had some great ideas.  At the end of the day I was thrilled.  He was also very responsive through out the whole planning process.  We are happy with the video we received...however, there are some negatives....

 

His prices are A LOT higher than most other videographers....  and I don't think the quality of what I received justifies those prices (I got his highest package... so if you have seen his price sheet you know what I paid)....  I was really looking forward to getting my trailer right away to share with family and friends on facebook... Most brides have gotten and shared it within a few days...  I didn't get mine till I got the DVD!  He still hasn't uploaded my trailer!  I just received my DVD and it took almost a month!  A month isn't long for the full DVD but it was a long time to wait for the trailer! 

 

My DVD had my husband's name printed wrong on it!  His name is Louie... not very hard to spell... So now I'm waiting for re-printed copies... I'm still waiting for my trailer to be uploaded so I can share it... hopefully it will be soon... maybe tomorrow on 1 month anniversary it will be available lol!

 

OH!  also, there is no footage of the fire dancers that I had.  I'm a little upset about that.  When I asked him he said that they didn't allow spot light so the footage would have been too dark.  1) my photographer got some great pictures so not really sure if he is correct and 2) I have seen PLENTY of videos where the firedancers were captured just fine so I'm not sure why he couldn't or didn't do it.

 

Overall I'm happy with my video BUT I think for a more reasonable price other videographers could provide you the same quality video if not better.  I don't think Diego is a bad choice at all...  but I thought I should share my experience.

 

I'll post my trailer when I get it so you can see...  Good luck with your choice!

[venus909]

And to directly answer your question about the deposit...

 

No worries about not providing a deposit... I felt the same way, but he really does reserve your date, and shows up on time and is very responsive

[trixxy say]

Hi Ladies,

 

 

   we will be getting married at the Jellyfish on April 10, 2013. Any suggestions on what time the ceremony should start and guests should arrive? 

[BRIDETOBE2013]

JF Brides.

I need feedback on Caribbean Emotions Photography. Good or not so good??

 

I've googled Punta Cana wedding photographers, but have only come up with a hand full, and of course the one I LOVED is booked. 

 

Thank you!!!!! Happy planning girls