April 2013, Sandals Grande Riviera Ocho Rios, Jamaica

[justchrissy]

HI EMILYJ!! THX 4 ur response! I would ♥ for you to email me the document bec some of these things will help determine the location I choose. $75/per person YIKES!! That can get costly! When is your wedding EmilyJ? I think the Sandals locations are beautiful and they have really nice wedding packages. I only wish the website offered more information on their photo packages and had more sample pics to view

[justchrissy]

Hi ladies....yes you can bring a photographer with you as a guest.They must stay 3 days as well.My TA is a Sandals certified professional and the photographer I'm using is a former sandals bride herself.If you have more questions go to fans who love sandalsweddingmoons.My TA Leslie and another lady Jody will answer any questions posted...This is on facebook....

THX SO MUCH MARYMACK!! I will certainly go and check them out on fb bec I have quite a few questions to ask. How did you go about finding a TA certified with Sandals?

[Marymack]

I am sending you a pm!!

[Marymack]

Let me know if I can help you out further!!

[emilyj]

HI EMILYJ!! THX 4 ur response! I would ♥ for you to email me the document bec some of these things will help determine the location I choose. $75/per person YIKES!! That can get costly! When is your wedding EmilyJ? I think the Sandals locations are beautiful and they have really nice wedding packages. I only wish the website offered more information on their photo packages and had more sample pics to view

No problem! I have not booked anything yet but I am hoping for late July early August this year (6 or 7 months away!). Since I have found out that it is possible to have an outside photographer I will try to reserve my date in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully we will find a photographer to fly out there at an affordable rate.

[justchrissy]

I am sending you a pm!!

THX SO MUCH MARY MACK! I appreciate your help.

[justchrissy]

No problem! I have not booked anything yet but I am hoping for late July early August this year (6 or 7 months away!). Since I have found out that it is possible to have an outside photographer I will try to reserve my date in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully we will find a photographer to fly out there at an affordable rate.

6/7 months will FLY BY! I hope U find a photographer as well..Im sure you will! Does Sandals charge to have a outside photographer or is the 3 days they have to be a guest considered their "payment"?

[justchrissy]

Hi Sandals GR ladies! Oh my gosh, now that my wedding date (March 2, 2013) is getting closer, we are getting a lot more of the details in place. We are taking the $500 credit and customizing our own package. We are paying $50/person for a "reception dinner" which includes plated dinner, open bar, cake (I think??), champagne toast, and venue for 2 hours. Then we are spending the $500 credit on flowers for my guy and me, rose petals for the aisle (a splurge at $250 but I think it will be beautiful), and table linens. Going with the Seaside Serenade linens, cake, and red roses for bouquet. Since we have a group of 22 people (including us) staying at Sandals, we get a free rehearsal dinner, free hot/cold apps cocktail hour, free room upgrade, a mani/pedi for me and 35-min massage for him, and some other random goodies (this is all for groups of 10 couples or more). Also I think all brides/grooms get the free white-glove celebration dinner in one of the restaurants with champagne, honeymoon breakfast, decorated room, etc. We just had our phone call with Deidra. She is very nice, but yes, definitely a sales person! We had already decided we were going to say "no" to a lot of the extras - we are not doing any table centerpieces, reception music, or photography. We don't have bridesmaids or groomsmen, we're not doing a twilight ceremony, we don't need any "reception touches" or "ceremony touches" or anything like that! I'm sure it was a disappointing phone call for Deidra, but hey, we are blowing our budget on staying there for as long as we can afford! Once I told her that, she pretty much backed off. However, there are TONS of "add-ons" that you can choose to really balloon the overall budget if you so please! For our wedding DIY, we're bringing some shell candles to put on the reception tables (we'll set that up ourselves and skip the $250 "setup" fee), some welcome bags (they are just nice bags from LL Bean with nothing in them so that people can use them for dirty laundry, whatever), and we're going to organize either golf outing for guys and spa for girls or else some other Island Routes adventure for the guests. We are bringing a photo mat/frame guest book with a great personalized map of Jamaica from Etsy, and our TY cards will be from Etsy as well, with personalized starfish word art. Our STD postcards were from Etsy as well - apparently I am addicted, lots of good stuff to find on there! Hope this info-sharing helps - any other 3/2/13 brides out there? I'll be at the resort from 2/27/13 - 3/8/13. Any tips or anything I'm missing? Anything you're doing or bringing with you that Sandals doesn't offer?

Thanks so much for sharing..this was a big help! How did u handle the rooms for your guests? Did you reserve a certain amount of rooms or allow your guests to make the arrangements on their own?

[Marymack]

@ emilyj try Rachel Nolan, her business is called hellogorgeousphotography. She does great work and was a Sandals bride herself.She is on the web and facebook. @ justchrissy if you bring your own photographer you work out payment with them. You then sign a waiver stating you opt out of Sandals photography services.

[justchrissy]

@ emilyj try Rachel Nolan, her business is called hellogorgeousphotography. She does great work and was a Sandals bride herself.She is on the web and facebook. @ justchrissy if you bring your own photographer you work out payment with them. You then sign a waiver stating you opt out of Sandals photography services.

oh ok. Do they have to stay on the resort a certain number of days? I did go go sandals weddingmoons on fb yesterday and looked through the photos but didnt see any from grande riviera