2013 Grand Palladium Jamaica Brides

[Chelsea Wolfe]

haha i'm the same way, but i'm a emotional person! I cry over everything to do with wedding stuff lol It's totally hard not too worry, we've never done this before we need direction! lol that's how I feel anyways. They should give the bride a monthly check list for piece of mind. But I understand at the same time most planning is done right before. For favours we went a bit over board too, i think! It just seems like a lot to take down but i've heard some brides take way more. but we are doing: welcome letters attached to a drink tumbler, silk fans with personalized ribbon for the ceremony, we are having a welcome party/ icebreaker and giving away prizes (frizbees, waterguns, pool noodles, floaties etc) and at the reception we are giving away blue glowsticks, candy favours that will have their place card attached and then a starfish keychain at the end of the night as a thank you. How many guests do you have coming? I guess we will see you there

haha i'm the same way, but i'm a emotional person! I cry over everything to do with wedding stuff lol It's totally hard not too worry, we've never done this before we need direction! lol that's how I feel anyways. They should give the bride a monthly check list for piece of mind. But I understand at the same time most planning is done right before. For favours we went a bit over board too, i think! It just seems like a lot to take down but i've heard some brides take way more. but we are doing: welcome letters attached to a drink tumbler, silk fans with personalized ribbon for the ceremony, we are having a welcome party/ icebreaker and giving away prizes (frizbees, waterguns, pool noodles, floaties etc) and at the reception we are giving away blue glowsticks, candy favours that will have their place card attached and then a starfish keychain at the end of the night as a thank you. How many guests do you have coming? I guess we will see you there

Oh wow what an amazing idea !! I love how your giving away prizes and glow sticks at the end!! We are having a small wedding we have a total count of 18 people! I agree there should be a monthly checklist to put us brides at ease!! I find it very unorganized but also I be read anyone complain about there actually wedding disorganized so i just keep telling myself they have everything they need!!! How many people are coming down for your wedding ?

[EricaM]

For my favors I am giving away sky lanterns at the end of the night and matches so everyone can let them go on the beach.  (hopefully they let me do that)  I am waiting on sping stuff to come out since I wanted to get so last minute things for the bridal party gifts.  I have emailed the outside floral place and I am still waiting to hear back from them.

 

Let me know how the steel drum band goes.  They say that there is an ipod dock at the ceremony and I was thinking to just have that set up for the walking down the isle part.
 

[Chelsea Wolfe]

we are lighting up larterns too , they are going to ake amazing pictures!  I hired the steel drums and will be wed next friday!!! I will make sure i have a detailed message about everything i experience and post some pictures!

[kellybello]

Congratulations! How exciting! How was the gazebo? How was the sound at the ceremony with the IPod dock? What food do you recommend?

Hi ladies!! We just got married at the GPLH  on Jan 7/13 (2pm ceremony at the gazebo, 6pm reception at Blue Lagoon).  All I can say is, it was amazing!!!  There were a few details that we hadn't ironed out yet, which prior to the wedding stressed me out a bit, but once you're there, it will all come together!  It's true what they say in Jamaica, NO WORRIES, MON. My WC was Nekeisha and she was really nice.  We met with her the day after we arrived and she went over all of the details with us in person.  A few things didn't go according to plan (bouquet color was wrong, ribbon color on cake was wrong, the resort lost our group room request form, wedding started 45 min late, officiant did standard vows although we'd advised we had our own written - had to stop him during the ceremony to remind him!).  I am a very particular person but let me tell you, it's not worth stressing about on your wedding day.  I didn't stress and I'm so glad that I didn't!  It was so great, I wouldn't have had it any other way.   You will all have the most fabulous time.  I will post a more detailed review a bit later.  Please feel free to send me any messages if you have Qs!!  Good luck to you upcoming brides, have a great time!

[snorfle1]

Congratulations!  Can't wait to read your review!!

Originally Posted by jasminesc 

Hi ladies!!

 

We just got married at the GPLH  on Jan 7/13 (2pm ceremony at the gazebo, 6pm reception at Blue Lagoon).  All I can say is, it was amazing!!!  There were a few details that we hadn't ironed out yet, which prior to the wedding stressed me out a bit, but once you're there, it will all come together!  It's true what they say in Jamaica, NO WORRIES, MON.

 

My WC was Nekeisha and she was really nice.  We met with her the day after we arrived and she went over all of the details with us in person. 

 

A few things didn't go according to plan (bouquet color was wrong, ribbon color on cake was wrong, the resort lost our group room request form, wedding started 45 min late, officiant did standard vows although we'd advised we had our own written - had to stop him during the ceremony to remind him!).  I am a very particular person but let me tell you, it's not worth stressing about on your wedding day.  I didn't stress and I'm so glad that I didn't!  It was so great, I wouldn't have had it any other way.  

 

You will all have the most fabulous time.  I will post a more detailed review a bit later.  Please feel free to send me any messages if you have Qs!!  Good luck to you upcoming brides, have a great time!

[jasminesc]

Originally Posted by kellybello 

 

Congratulations! How exciting! How was the gazebo? How was the sound at the ceremony with the IPod dock? What food do you recommend?

 

I just sent you a private message   Gazebo was amazing - awesome, picturesque view and very private.  We hired a steel drum band for the ceremony, which was great!  We brought our own portable Bose iPod dock down for the reception, which worked out well for background music and 1st dance at the Blue Lagoon.  We had 29 guests (many of whom do not particularly like dancing), so we thought a DJ wouldn't be worth it.

[mjcf]

Hello everyone, I am getting married here in 2014. I haven't been in contact with the WC yet and I'm just curious about pricing on certain things, like dinner reception and the cocktail party. If anyone knows yet and could give me a few details that would be so awesome! Thanks ladies!

[photogirl0403]

Originally Posted by jasminesc 

 

Hi ladies!!

 

We just got married at the GPLH  on Jan 7/13 (2pm ceremony at the gazebo, 6pm reception at Blue Lagoon).  All I can say is, it was amazing!!!  There were a few details that we hadn't ironed out yet, which prior to the wedding stressed me out a bit, but once you're there, it will all come together!  It's true what they say in Jamaica, NO WORRIES, MON.

 

My WC was Nekeisha and she was really nice.  We met with her the day after we arrived and she went over all of the details with us in person. 

 

A few things didn't go according to plan (bouquet color was wrong, ribbon color on cake was wrong, the resort lost our group room request form, wedding started 45 min late, officiant did standard vows although we'd advised we had our own written - had to stop him during the ceremony to remind him!).  I am a very particular person but let me tell you, it's not worth stressing about on your wedding day.  I didn't stress and I'm so glad that I didn't!  It was so great, I wouldn't have had it any other way.  

 

You will all have the most fabulous time.  I will post a more detailed review a bit later.  Please feel free to send me any messages if you have Qs!!  Good luck to you upcoming brides, have a great time!

 

Congrats on your wedding!  I am curious about the menus that were offered for your reception at the Blue Lagoon.  I have received a few different menus, and have tried to get in touch with the resort to clarify what will be available, but haven't received a response yet.  What did you choose for dinner?  Also, how was the noise factor at the Blue Lagoon?  Other brides have said that the band upstairs is pretty loud.  Did you notice that it was had to hear your guests/music/etc?

[jasminesc]

Hi ladies,

 

I've gotten a few private messages with questions, so thought I should just do a review on here!

 

OVERALL EXPERIENCE:

 

Overall, we had a great time.  I thought the resort was perfect for a destination wedding - lots of a la carte restaurants, big enough that you don't always have to run into th same people, and enough different places to hang out so you can do something different every day (several beaches, spa pool/ adult pool area, main pool).

 

We loved that there was live music every night beginning at 9pm at the Infinity Bar by the pool.  It was nice to be able to meet up with people after dinner for drinks.  Then around 11pm, we would head down to the disco, with whichever of our guests weren't ready to call it a night yet!  I think disco is open until at least 2am?

 

The resort is a bit big, so sometimes it is hard to find people and takes a while to get around.  However, the resort has these motorized carts that can pick people up and take them around.

 

Overall, I did not find the service and staff to be as friendly as at some of the other all-inclusives I've been to in Mexico.  That said, none of us had horrible service, and there are a few staff that stand out as being super friendly and memorable!

 

We did have a little mix-up with our rooms - we had sent a group room request form months ago, so that all of our guests could be in the same villa or at least the same area.  When we arrived to check in, the front desk claimed that we never sent it.  As such, they said they weren't able to accommodate us all in the same villa or area, so all of our guests ended up in different villas, and we were disappointed at first.  However, we managed to work with this and it turned out fine!  My advice is not to complain too much - from what I've read on various forums and posts, the more you complain (even if trying to do so nicely), the less accommodating the resort is. 

 

The food is pretty good.  Nothing to complain about, but nothing really to write home about either.

 

 

WEDDING:

We picked the Bliss in Bloom Package in mango, but modified a few options (color of bouquet and boutonniere flowers, color of parasols). 

 

We met with our WC the day after we arrived and she was really helpful in answering our last minute questions and confirming details.  We felt much more at ease after meeting with her.  They will take your final balance between then and the day of your wedding.  Our WC also gave us a tour of our ceremony location (garden gazebo) and backup location (spa atrium).  No rehearsal took place, but then again, it wasn't necessary.

 

I brought in Rashel Edwards from Chasity Artistry to do my makeup, and she brought a hairstylist, Sophia.  Both were great.  A lot of Jamaica destination brides bring in Rashel.  I had to pay for daypasses for each of them (I think $75 each?).

 

The day before the wedding, I had my gown steamed by resort laundry staff, and it turned out great.  Think it cost me about $20.

 

We had the steel drum band at the ceremony  - $500, was totally worth it, in our opinion.  We gave our WC a list of songs we wanted the band to play and she forwarded this info to the band.  Very unique experience for our guests. 

 

Our ceremony took place at 2pm at the garden gazebo.  Beautiful, secluded location.  Loved it.

 

For reception music, we just brought a battery-operated Bose iPod dock, which cost us about $300 to buy.  The resort offers to rent you their iPod dock and mic for $500, but we felt this was an unnecessary cost. 

Our reception was at the Blue Lagoon.  At around 9pm each night, there is live band music directly upstairs, so my suggestion is that you finish speeches before then!  I've also heard that if you are really nice to the band and you tip them, they will start later or play quieter music.

 

We also got the Zurielmalaka fire/acrobatic show at the reception (between main course and dessert), which I think was $750.  Our guests loved it and said it was the coolest thing they'd seen.

 

We also brought our own lanterns, which we lit and released with our guests at the end of the night.  That was really fun!

 

I did not bring any extra decorations or pay for any extra decorations.  They will bring all the flowers from your ceremony location to your reception location. 

 

We also did not hire a DJ as we determined that there wasn't really enough time at the reception to make the cost worth it.  I have heard that they shut down the reception at 10pm sharp.  Not sure if that's true, as we finished before 10pm anyway.  Plus, we decided we would just go to the disco after to dance, which we did with our guests, and had a lot of fun!

 

I did not do a cocktail hour, as we thought most of our guests would like some time to freshen up, take a nap, or do whatever they wanted.

 

Our photographer was Katya Nova Photography, whom we flew in from the Dominican.  She specializes in Caribbean/ destination/ beach weddings, so her photos are amazing.  Our pics aren't all up yet, so I will do a full review later.  But Katya and her husband, Rob, are amazing, fun people!  They will make you feel so comfortable in front of the camera.  Also, the resort has a lot of cool, scenic places for photos!!

 

I think I might have missed a few points for sure, but hope this helps!! 

[yoteach]

I'm getting married on March 11. I just got an email from the spa tonight. When do I hear about things like the photographer? Do I need to email and specifically ask? I saw a package a few months ago but the website got updated and now I can't find it.

 

Help!