Beaches ~ Turks & Caicos Roll Call!

[AmberDragon]

I emailed my TA and it looks like Roxi called him instead of me.  It's all figured out and they now have my information.  My new appointment is for July 7th.  

[tyrebride2b2013]

Hi Ladies,

 

We have finally decided to book or reservations and wedding at BTC for June 2013.  For all you brides who have decided to also get married here or have already been married here are there any regrets? I have been reading some other posts on the boards and am now having doubts.  Initially I went with them because we have children as well as some of our guests so it just seemed like the right choice.  However, now I see that there are quite a few other resorts on the island that just aren't AI.  Did any of you consider not using an AI resort? What are the pros and cons of using beaches verses another resort on the island?  As beaches is very costly would it be more cost efficient to use another resort on the island?  I'm just wondering for the guests if I considered every option.  Any advice opinions comments welcome.

 

Thanks
 

[Jsquared 2012]

Originally Posted by tyrebride2b2013 

 

Hi Ladies,

 

 

We have finally decided to book or reservations and wedding at BTC for June 2013.  For all you brides who have decided to also get married here or have already been married here are there any regrets? I have been reading some other posts on the boards and am now having doubts.  Initially I went with them because we have children as well as some of our guests so it just seemed like the right choice.  However, now I see that there are quite a few other resorts on the island that just aren't AI.  Did any of you consider not using an AI resort? What are the pros and cons of using beaches verses another resort on the island?  As beaches is very costly would it be more cost efficient to use another resort on the island?  I'm just wondering for the guests if I considered every option.  Any advice opinions comments welcome.

 

Thanks

 

Hi!! Congratulations!! I was just married at BTC May 5, 2012. I have absolutely NO REGRETS whatsoever!!  It was our first time at an AI. We had 6 rooms altogether and not one person had been to an AI resort. The beauty in AI is that while it may seem more pricey, you actually save a lot of money, because once you are paid in full you literally do not have to worry about money or budgets at all for the rest of your trip. (unless you decide to purchase something from the gift shops).   I have really 'particular' parents who arrived before us and I was so scared that I would hear that it did not meet their expectations before I could even get there. They actually called to say "we have been trying to find something wrong with this place for 2 days and there is nothing that we can pick apart or complain about." It was truly the most amazing experience for everyone. People who had originally griped about the price of all inclusive were the same people calling our travel agent to extend their stay a few days. The resort is absolutely amazing, our party consisted of people ranging in age from 2-64 yrs old and everyone had a wonderful time. We were able to connect with our family and friends easily for lunch, snorkeling or beach time but the resort was also big enough where we could feel like we were there alone at times as well.  Are you booking w/ a travel agent? I would highly suggest doing so, we started out on our own and then consulted with an agent who had so much knowledge about the resort, the island, and the wedding which reduced the stress immensely! They blocked out rooms for our group, locking in the lowest rates while giving our guests some time to place a deposit, we recieved a free room upgrade and based upon the amount of rooms you have going there are all types of perks that the BTC website does not just offer up.  I hope this was helpful. I am a little late at doing so but I will be posting a review today of our experience. Feel free to inbox me ANY other questions you may have!!

[Jsquared 2012]

Hi Ladies!! 

I am so sorry that it has taken me almost 2 months to post a review since our wedding, but here it is... I hope that it is helpful!!  Please feel free to ask any questions you might have. I was not very active on the site aside from stalking out others and reviews but I know that it through these personal experiences that we all maintain some peace-of-mind and sanity through the wedding planning process:)

 

We were so incredibly happy with our selection of the Beaches Resort in Turks and Caicos that our entire family is planning a return trip next year to celebrate…again! The resort grounds were absolutely gorgeous. There were maintenance crews that were almost invisible working around the clock maintaining the grounds daily. There were so many restaurants to choose from! Napoli's Pizza was a great afternoon snack, while Arizona's and Schooner's were delicious morning and evening spots. The kids enojoyed Bobby D's restaurant during the day and it was the perfect late night place to grab something after having a few cocktails  There is literally something for everyone of all ages on this resort from food to entertainment!!  Our party ranged between ages 2-64(some even handicapped) and not one person could find a flaw on this resort. Snorkeling here was absolutely amazing!! Many wish to return just to snorkel again and dive into the refreshing and beautiful waters, it truly was one of the highlights...and included!! My husband and myself also took a kitty katt party boat cruise booked through island routes, for 3 hours it was $180 total for the 2 of us and it was sooooo worth it, it!!

 

The Wedding: Beautiful Beginnings Package

 

Hair/Make-up: My hair and make-up were done by The Red Lane Spa on the resort. I was really apprehensive to have them do it because of all the mixed reviews I had read. BUT Shenique was unavailable so I had no choice! I am really happy that i didn't spend the extra $250 + have to travel to her!! While I was there, they had an independant contractor who has a pretty extensive resume( from doing hair and make-up for many presidents of the United States as well as Calvin Klein and models for fashion shows etc.) She explained that they had just under gone extensive trainings; teaching the Red Lane stylists and make-up artists different techniques. My hair and make-up came out just the way I wanted it to. I took 1 picture of the hair style I liked and just asked them to do their own thing with my make-up. I told them I wanted it to look natural but not so much so that it appeared I had no make-up on. They really did a great job. I did do the trial the night before the wedding. I booked my hair and make-up through my TA ahead of time, and I am really happy I did there were some people dropping in that couldn't be accomodated because there were too many people that wanted services.  

 

Location: Schooner's Gazebo

 

Reception: Arizona's covered boardwalk- We did the 1 hour private cocktail reception. The food was amazing! They were really accommodating, rather than set up formal sit-down tables, I asked them to keep the chaises and couches. They did  Looking back I only wish we had set the reception out an extra half hour from the estimated end time of the wedding. I was afraid to wait until after the reception for pictures because I was scared my 2 yr old would get stuff on her dress so for the first half hour we were taking pictures. We were allowed to stay as long as we wished, the waiters and bartender just left after the hour. 

 

 

Photos: We did not purchase a photo package, my step father is a photographer and the pictures turned out really good however in retrospect I think I would have either bought a small package through Beaches or splurged for Tropical Imaging! I will be happy to email anyone the pictures that I do have or feel free to add me on Facebook. search: Jessica Emanuel or my email associated with fb is [email protected]

[tyrebride2b2013]

thanks so much for the review jsquared if you don' t mind can you email me the pics I would love to see.  I look forward the reviews from you ladies they have helped tremendously in my own planning for next year. Did you just use the BB package or did you have add-ons?  I am thinking of doing the same with the 1hour cocktail hour do you feel that to be enough time?  I haven' t decided on my location yet but hoping for the beach I think

Originally Posted by Jsquared 2012 

Hi Ladies!! 

I am so sorry that it has taken me almost 2 months to post a review since our wedding, but here it is... I hope that it is helpful!!  Please feel free to ask any questions you might have. I was not very active on the site aside from stalking out others and reviews but I know that it through these personal experiences that we all maintain some peace-of-mind and sanity through the wedding planning process:)

 

We were so incredibly happy with our selection of the Beaches Resort in Turks and Caicos that our entire family is planning a return trip next year to celebrate…again! The resort grounds were absolutely gorgeous. There were maintenance crews that were almost invisible working around the clock maintaining the grounds daily. There were so many restaurants to choose from! Napoli's Pizza was a great afternoon snack, while Arizona's and Schooner's were delicious morning and evening spots. The kids enojoyed Bobby D's restaurant during the day and it was the perfect late night place to grab something after having a few cocktails  There is literally something for everyone of all ages on this resort from food to entertainment!!  Our party ranged between ages 2-64(some even handicapped) and not one person could find a flaw on this resort. Snorkeling here was absolutely amazing!! Many wish to return just to snorkel again and dive into the refreshing and beautiful waters, it truly was one of the highlights...and included!! My husband and myself also took a kitty katt party boat cruise booked through island routes, for 3 hours it was $180 total for the 2 of us and it was sooooo worth it, it!!

 

The Wedding: Beautiful Beginnings Package

 

Hair/Make-up: My hair and make-up were done by The Red Lane Spa on the resort. I was really apprehensive to have them do it because of all the mixed reviews I had read. BUT Shenique was unavailable so I had no choice! I am really happy that i didn't spend the extra $250 + have to travel to her!! While I was there, they had an independant contractor who has a pretty extensive resume( from doing hair and make-up for many presidents of the United States as well as Calvin Klein and models for fashion shows etc.) She explained that they had just under gone extensive trainings; teaching the Red Lane stylists and make-up artists different techniques. My hair and make-up came out just the way I wanted it to. I took 1 picture of the hair style I liked and just asked them to do their own thing with my make-up. I told them I wanted it to look natural but not so much so that it appeared I had no make-up on. They really did a great job. I did do the trial the night before the wedding. I booked my hair and make-up through my TA ahead of time, and I am really happy I did there were some people dropping in that couldn't be accomodated because there were too many people that wanted services.  

 

Location: Schooner's Gazebo

 

Reception: Arizona's covered boardwalk- We did the 1 hour private cocktail reception. The food was amazing! They were really accommodating, rather than set up formal sit-down tables, I asked them to keep the chaises and couches. They did  Looking back I only wish we had set the reception out an extra half hour from the estimated end time of the wedding. I was afraid to wait until after the reception for pictures because I was scared my 2 yr old would get stuff on her dress so for the first half hour we were taking pictures. We were allowed to stay as long as we wished, the waiters and bartender just left after the hour. 

 

 

Photos: We did not purchase a photo package, my step father is a photographer and the pictures turned out really good however in retrospect I think I would have either bought a small package through Beaches or splurged for Tropical Imaging! I will be happy to email anyone the pictures that I do have or feel free to add me on Facebook. search: Jessica Emanuel or my email associated with fb is [email protected]

 

[tyrebride2b2013]

Originally Posted by Jsquared 2012 

 

Hi!! Congratulations!! I was just married at BTC May 5, 2012. I have absolutely NO REGRETS whatsoever!!  It was our first time at an AI. We had 6 rooms altogether and not one person had been to an AI resort. The beauty in AI is that while it may seem more pricey, you actually save a lot of money, because once you are paid in full you literally do not have to worry about money or budgets at all for the rest of your trip. (unless you decide to purchase something from the gift shops).   I have really 'particular' parents who arrived before us and I was so scared that I would hear that it did not meet their expectations before I could even get there. They actually called to say "we have been trying to find something wrong with this place for 2 days and there is nothing that we can pick apart or complain about." It was truly the most amazing experience for everyone. People who had originally griped about the price of all inclusive were the same people calling our travel agent to extend their stay a few days. The resort is absolutely amazing, our party consisted of people ranging in age from 2-64 yrs old and everyone had a wonderful time. We were able to connect with our family and friends easily for lunch, snorkeling or beach time but the resort was also big enough where we could feel like we were there alone at times as well.  Are you booking w/ a travel agent? I would highly suggest doing so, we started out on our own and then consulted with an agent who had so much knowledge about the resort, the island, and the wedding which reduced the stress immensely! They blocked out rooms for our group, locking in the lowest rates while giving our guests some time to place a deposit, we recieved a free room upgrade and based upon the amount of rooms you have going there are all types of perks that the BTC website does not just offer up.  I hope this was helpful. I am a little late at doing so but I will be posting a review today of our experience. Feel free to inbox me ANY other questions you may have!!

 

Thanks so much for the response.  I appreciate all the information I can get.  Nice to know that the resort is big enough for everyone to be together and apart at the same time.  Did any of your guests that did not have children have any complaints abut the amount of children.  I am a little worried abut guests who do not have children being overrun with children since it's a family resort.  I myself have children so not a worry of mine.  Yes we are planning on using a TA.. Who did you use?  I will take you up on your inbox offer thanks.

[AmberDragon]

I've read this entire thread and not one person said they had regrets using Beaches.  They all loved it and want to go back. I've also heard that the Italian village is packed with kids and the Caribbean has the least amount of kids.  Not sure if that helps. I honestly wouldn't worry about your guests, let them worry about themselves.  You focus on your wedding!

 

We are going to use the bb package and upgrade items that we want instead of getting a more expensive package.  

 

I also get my phone session this Saturday.  Of course I can't find my list with questions.  

[blakdeevah]

Originally Posted by AmberDragon 

 

I've read this entire thread and not one person said they had regrets using Beaches.  They all loved it and want to go back. I've also heard that the Italian village is packed with kids and the Caribbean has the least amount of kids.  Not sure if that helps. I honestly wouldn't worry about your guests, let them worry about themselves.  You focus on your wedding!

 

We are going to use the bb package and upgrade items that we want instead of getting a more expensive package.  

 

I also get my phone session this Saturday.  Of course I can't find my list with questions.  

 I was at beaches back in 2009 for a wedding and we are going back next year for our wedding. It was incredibly beautiful and the staff was excellent. Kerri-Ann at the desk is an Angel!!  Beaches resort is an excellent choice.

[kisha311]

Alright Amber,

 

You know I will be waiting to read the results of your phone call this weekend, so please don't keep me in suspense! I am anxious for mine and can't wait. When you find your list of questions, do you mind sharing? I only have like 3 or 4 things to ask, so I think I need to re-read this entire thread to be sure I have covered all of my bases. I know I'm missing lots of stuff. 

I'm so excited for you! I know, I'm a little silly, but this stuff can make you have emotional highs and lows and right now I'm on a high! 

[tyrebride2b2013]

Amber you must be so anxious to get through your phone session.  Keep us posted .  Thanks for the club med and TA info.  I think we are going to go with the BB package and add-on too.