First phone call with Beaches/Sandals Miami wedding coordinator on Thursday

sweetiecat · August 31, 2010

My wedding is scheduled for March 2011 at Beaches Negril, and I have my first phone call with Renee scheduled for this Thursday. Does anyone have any tips for questions I should ask or tasks I should get accomplished on this phone call? Will she try to upsell me? Are there things I should avoid mentioning?

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So far, I know I want to verify with her that our guest is doing our photography and that we won't need the Beaches photographer. I also want to go over some options (we're thinking the 1-hour cocktail reception) but don't want to get carried away with signing up for a lot of extras until we have a pretty firm idea of how many people will actually come.

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Any suggestions from other brides who have been dealing with Renee or any of the other Miami coordinators? Thanks!

mrs*j*2011 · August 31, 2010

I expected more out of my initial call and was a bit upset afterwards because I felt like my wedding would suck if I didn't upgrade to all the bells and whistles. Reading more on here and the Fans of Sandals Weddingmoons page on Facebook helped calm my nerves that everything will be perfect regardless what I choose.

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I am dealing with Amy in Miami and initally she tried to sell me the $6000 package after I told her my group of 10 wanted to forgo the formal reception and have dinner at one of the restaurants instead. I haven't found the Miami WC's very helpful, unfortunately. I get very vague answers that are usually not very informative.

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Thankfully I have a new TA taking over my trip and she was surprised that I have been handling any of the cocktail hour/reception/spa appointments/flowers/pictures stuff. She's totally going to bat for me and will be taking care of as much as she can. As she puts it, she's got way more pull than little old me!

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Are you working with a TA? After your initial call on Thursday, you might have better luck letting them be the go-between with the WC.

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If you are the main contact to Sandals, don't let them pressure you into anything. I believe they make commission on whatever they upsell you to. The only thing I've pre-paid for is photography because I was able to get in on a really good promo they were having a few months ago. I've read other people saying they didn't have any trouble as long as the guest is really a guest and stays at the resort for at least 3 days. I think the resort photog will still be present for a little while but they should be ok to work with the guest working as your official photographer.

sweetiecat · September 1, 2010

Thanks for the suggestions! Yes, I have a TA, so I will be using her as an intermediary as needed in the future.

futuremrswalls · January 24, 2011

These people are very pushy and really only care about upselling you! Stick to your guns when you talk to them. Talk to past brides about what they had, liked and disliked. We stuck with the 30 minute cocktail reception and then had dinner at one of the restaurants. We were told with our large group of 20 people that this couldn't be done. This all depends on how full the resort is and the number of butler rooms you have in my opinion, so don't listen to what they try to tell you in Miami. The beautiful Beginnings wedding was perfect. On a note about the photographer, they will still try to push you to buy something from them over the phone and again when you get to the resort. I signed a waiver and told them I didn't even want them at the wedding so they would not interfere with my paid photographer. They did it, but had quite an attitude about it. Make sure your photographer is staying a minimum of 3 nights or they will not let them photograph.

Lea was talking about the TA and I also highly suggest you look into getting one that is a sandals specialist. They do not cost anything extra and will help organize you. I also found mine on Facebook Sandals Weddingmoon page and she was fabulous. I couldn't have made it through without Jody. Check out the Facebook page. Lots of pics and past brides/ta's there to help you!

nmw134 · May 12, 2011

We were given Tina as our coordinator. Any feedback on her? We still have yet to pick an actual date on the first call, but I am also looking for any suggestions on what I should have prepared for this, as it seems like we can really pick everything and do everything when we get there. Although, to be honest, the reason I picked a destination wedding was because I am not really a big "wedding" girl and didn't want a big deal, so I'm not sure what to even bring up or discuss in the call, so any help would be appreciated. As of now, we are probably going to do the free Beautiful Beginnings, and probably have the 3 hour reception so we can have a little party afters. Not sure how many guests yet, as we just began making our list of who to invite, but it could be anywhere from 15 to 50 probably.