Getting Married In Jamaica, Std Help?

[Tiffany1221]

Hi all, i'm a newbie to this site and have only lurked around a bit for the past day. My wedding is about a year in a half so finalizing a hotel in Jamaica or a date is out of the question since our TA mentioned booking season hasn't started.

 

My question is: I am having a photo shoot soon of me and my fiance holding a sign that says "welcome to Jamaica". I want to start making save the dates so i can be SUPER prepared. The photos will be turned into postcards, but since i dont have the date or exact hotel i'm thinking it wont be beneficial to start the STD yet. (I did however start our wedding website).

 

I want to give my guests the maximum amout of time so they can save, any ideas?

[Moments That Matter]

Welcome to the forum, Tiffany1221, and Congrats on your destination Jamaican wedding !!! You're sure to find lots of great info, ideas and advice from all the resources on these boards, so you're already off to a great start   

 

To add some inspiration, here's visual of a gorgeous beach wedding from our Mayan Riviera.....enjoy

 

If you wish to see more, here's the wedding album link: Grand Palladium Wedding album

 

Wishing you all the best with your plans - cheers!!!     team MTM

[acw271011]

Hi @Tiffany1221  Welcome to the site! You won't find any shortage fo information here and everyone is very willing to help out with suggestions and ideas. You don't indicate if you're in the US or canada so I'm not sure why your TA is saying they can't help with rates yet. There are a couple of ladies here with 2016 dates and they've been able to obtain some rate information. And if you're looking at doing a room block, I know it's highly advisable to get it done as soon as possible, especially if you're picking a popular time of the year for travel!

 

Do you know which resort you want and what time of the year? Do you have a budget yet or an idea of approximately how many people might be able to make the trip? Keep in mind that the number you think will likely decrease by at least 10% if not more. Different circumstances come up for people for various reasons and as much as we want everyone to be as happy for us as we are, life has a way of stepping in.

 

Good luck and happy planning!!

[Tiffany1221]

Thanks @@Moments That Matter

 

 

Hi @Tiffany1221  Welcome to the site! You won't find any shortage fo information here and everyone is very willing to help out with suggestions and ideas. You don't indicate if you're in the US or canada so I'm not sure why your TA is saying they can't help with rates yet. There are a couple of ladies here with 2016 dates and they've been able to obtain some rate information. And if you're looking at doing a room block, I know it's highly advisable to get it done as soon as possible, especially if you're picking a popular time of the year for travel!

 

Do you know which resort you want and what time of the year? Do you have a budget yet or an idea of approximately how many people might be able to make the trip? Keep in mind that the number you think will likely decrease by at least 10% if not more. Different circumstances come up for people for various reasons and as much as we want everyone to be as happy for us as we are, life has a way of stepping in.

 

Good luck and happy planning!!

Thank you acw271011, 

 

My fiance and I have been independently looking at prices for hotel and air fare (from the United States). The TA I was recommended too mentioned that we would not be able to book yet and so has one of the resorts I contacted (Jewel Dunn's River Resort). We would like to have our wedding late January early February so I'm not sure if that plays a role or i'm getting fooled. 

 

I am thinking 50 out of 250 people from our guest list will come, of course that could dwindle down also. That is why I am trying to prepare everything as soon as possible so financial restraints don't effect our guest.

 

I do have a question for you though, this is the first time hearing about the room block. Would you highly suggest it for late January and early February dates seeing that it is beginning of peak season? 

[acw271011]

@Tiffany1221  Oh my goodness - that's pretty much peak winter travel time. If you think maybe 50 people, using roughly 2 per room as a rough calculation, you could possibly be looking at 25 rooms? Wow. Have you considered possibly getting a second opinion on the travel info? I really have to recommend the owners of this site, Wright Travel. They are DW specialists and have access to information that we just don't have. There is no fee, so you wouldn't be losing anything by at least getting a second opinion, and if they can do some kick butt things for you, then it would be worth it. Here's the link if you want to try:

 

http://wrighttravelagency.com/inquiry/

 

They would be better equipped to recommend when to do your room block. Depending on the resort, if you have people booking different places and they aren't connected to your group at all, you lose out. Wright could help you with a room block and then help your guests with their flight arrangements as well. Saves you the stress of answering all your guests questions too. You get someone with tons of experience that you can refer your guests to.

 

They have reviews on this site that you could read just to reassure yourself. I got married in Jamaica almost 3 years ago at Gran Bahia Principe Jamaica in Runaway Bay and it was great! We loved Jamaica. Our circumstances were a bit unusual but the resort treated us like royalty. We had photos done off site from the resort and had a wonderful local Jamaican photographer that we loved working wtih. We're tentatively planning a vow renewal in Mexico next year, for our anniversary in October if things go well.

 

Good luck with your plans!!

[Tiffany1221]

@Tiffany1221  Oh my goodness - that's pretty much peak winter travel time. If you think maybe 50 people, using roughly 2 per room as a rough calculation, you could possibly be looking at 25 rooms? Wow. Have you considered possibly getting a second opinion on the travel info? I really have to recommend the owners of this site, Wright Travel. They are DW specialists and have access to information that we just don't have. There is no fee, so you wouldn't be losing anything by at least getting a second opinion, and if they can do some kick butt things for you, then it would be worth it. Here's the link if you want to try:

 

http://wrighttravelagency.com/inquiry/

 

They would be better equipped to recommend when to do your room block. Depending on the resort, if you have people booking different places and they aren't connected to your group at all, you lose out. Wright could help you with a room block and then help your guests with their flight arrangements as well. Saves you the stress of answering all your guests questions too. You get someone with tons of experience that you can refer your guests to.

 

They have reviews on this site that you could read just to reassure yourself. I got married in Jamaica almost 3 years ago at Gran Bahia Principe Jamaica in Runaway Bay and it was great! We loved Jamaica. Our circumstances were a bit unusual but the resort treated us like royalty. We had photos done off site from the resort and had a wonderful local Jamaican photographer that we loved working wtih. We're tentatively planning a vow renewal in Mexico next year, for our anniversary in October if things go well.

 

Good luck with your plans!!

 

Thank you! I will definitely be checking Wright travel. 

I have also looked at the Gran Bahia Principle! Looks beautiful !

 

Thank you so much! & good luck on your vow renewal! 

[kay2015]

Do you know where in Jamaica you are getting married? what resort you are leaning towards? enjoy every min of planning it goes by soo fast mine is in 9 months!!!

[Tiffany1221]

@@kay2015 We are so flexible that any where (Negril, Ocho Rios, & Montego Bay) in Jamaica would be fine! lol. I fell in love with Jewel Dunn's River but I need to confirm whether my two little brothers will be traveling with us, since it is adults only. I thought I was ahead of the ball game, but so far it looks like i'm not! 

 

Congratulations on your soon to be marriage! I looked into Riu Ocho Rios also, that is our number two pick. How are their wedding packages and prices per guest? 

[JamaicaNicole]

I am getting married July 4, 2016 in Jamaica at Secrets St. James. If you are still looking I highly recommend it we went there on vacation a few years back and loved the resort. 

 

In regards to getting a room block I have already obtained one for my guests. They gave us a discounted rate, for every 9 rooms the 10th gets a complimentary upgrade, for every 5 rooms is booked the 6th is free (up to 3 rooms and this credit goes to you so you can choose to distribute throughout or keep for your self), and a $100 resort credit for every guest.

 

I went through Liberty Travel and they have 250 complimentary save the dates that are actually pretty cute unfortunately you can not add a picture though but it helped us save money. As I said we are almost 2 years out so you should not have a problem setting up the group rate. The only thing your guests will have to wait on in airfare because most airlines do not establish there schedules until 11 months prior.

Edited August 14, 2014 by JamaicaNicole

[Tiffany1221]

@@JamaicaNicole That is most likely what I am struggling with, whether I should book hotel first and worry about airfare when the 11 months are up. Or wait till the 11 month mark and get a group rate through a travel agent. I don't know which would be cheaper because I have nothing to compare it too. 

 

I have looked at Secrets but it seemed expensive, how much is their rate per night?