kareyusc

We used Greg Been for our wedding DJ this summer. He was amazing. He is a local radio DJ and is not a typical wedding DJ. Go with Greg if you want a big party/dance scene. If you are going more traditional wedding DJ, he might not be the best choice. Have fun!

Hey everyone - I used Geraldine and Anne from Maxime Salon. They were both amazing and much less expensive than Shenique. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for quality work and a more reasonable price. In addition, we used Justified for our ceremony and cocktail music. They have a guitar and congo drums and play a wide variety of music. Very cool. We also used Greg "Techno" Been for our wedding DJ. He was ridiculous. He is actually the Friday afternoon radio DJ and is really good at playing party music. If you are looking for a rocking party - he is the way to go. Hope this helps.

Hi ladies, My name is Karey Williams and my Turks and Caicos wedding is now officially 20 days away. I am getting so excited. We planned our wedding over a 15 month period and interviewed a ton of vendors. We originally started at Gansevoort where we got engaged, but had issued and moved to Grace Bay Club. Our rehearsal is at Bay Bistro and they have been amazing. If anyone has any questions, I am more than happy to help. Enjoy all the planning...it is crazy, but well worth it Karey

Hey Danie, Have you figured out your cocktail hour and ceremony music yet? I would like live music and am having a hard time finding someone. I am three months from my wedding and getting a bit nervous. Any help is appreciated. Karey

I am getting married at Grace Bay Club in June 2012. I am getting so excited, I can hardly stand it. My fiance and I got engaged at the Gansevoort and tried to plan our wedding there, but it did not work out. They are disorganized and under new management...again. We got screwed my their old management, so at least they are gone. But I would be weary since the management now is so new. Seven Stars seemed pretty solid when we researched it, but Grace Bay Club was a better fit for us. We are using Geraldine for hair and Anne for makeup. They both work out of Maxime's salon if you want to try and get a quote from them. They were less expensive than Shenique and when I had my trial, they were fantastic. We are doing our rehearsal at Bay Bistro. We originally looked at their beach BBQ, but it was about $1,000 more and is the same food as the restaurant. Thus, we picked the restaurant. We had our tasting in December and the food was so good. You cannot go wrong here. We have are using Greg Bean for our DJ. We got a tip that he was a more current DJ than most that the hotels recommend. He is the Friday night DJ for the local radio station and has a good reputation. We met him in December and he seemed great. The only thing I am stuck on is my cocktail and ceremony music. I want a steel drummer with a guitar or something, but can't find one. If anyone has a recommendation, please let me know. I am more than happy to answer any questions if you have any. We went and tried many restaurants and scouted multiple hotels, so if you need anything, I am happy to help! Good Luck, Karey

Hey Turks Bride - I am getting married at Grace Bay Club next summer. I go on my site visit next week and cannot wait. The hotel looks amazing, but I will warn you that the onsite planner is a bit slow to respond. I typically get about a 1 week turn around time on my emails. It drives me a bit crazy, but my fiance constantly reminds about "island time" and I am trying to be patient. Every person I have spoken with says the weddings there are fantastic. I am going to see one live while there and can let you know how it goes. I was going to hire an outside wedding planner, but so far we have been fine on our own. I worked briefly with Diane (Island Harmony) and she was amazing. If I was going to hire a planner, she would have been the one. If you have any specific questions, please let me know and I would be happy to provide any insight that I can. Karey

How did you guys all get your welcome bags down to Turks? I am not sure how to pack them all. Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks Krys. I would appreciate it!

Does anyone have Ann's email address? I am trying to avoid the long distance call if possible. She left it on my voice mail and it isn't working. Any help would be appreciated.

I am so glad to find this thread. I am getting married at the Grace Bay Club next June and am trying to figure out my music too. I am looking for steel drums/calypso for the cocktail hour, but I need a really good DJ for the reception. I don't want a typical wedding DJ...we are going for real dance music. My hotel wedding coordinator recommended DJ Cliff and said he was the best. Has anyone hear of him? Thanks!!

Hey Amber, Congrats on your engagement. My fiance and I got engaged in Turks in April and are going back for our wedding next June. I almost have my hotel contracted, but have a ton of information on Turks that I would be happy to share. If you plan on having a wedding planner, I would suggest starting there as they can help guide you through the location selection process. I have been communicating with Diane at Island Harmony and she is amazing. Having been a wedding planner in my past, I can tell you she is fantastic. If you do not plan on hiring a planner, please let me know what you are looking for and I would be happy to provide any insight from my research! Good luck, Karey

Thanks so much Krys. I really appreciate the information. I was starting to get a little nervous, but that now makes a lot of sense!!! Everything that I need to know at this point can only come from the hotel (room rates, F&B minimums, event space requirements, etc.). I really appreciate your help here. It is so nice to actually be able to get feedback

Thanks Krys...that definitely helps! Am having trouble hearing back from Shameka...but you did warn me about that. I will try to be patient

@JetSettingBride - where to begin??? We had been trying to book our wedding there for over two months. We were originally put in touch with their wedding planner who was brand new and who you could just tell did not have enough experience with high-end event planning. We were very concerned with her ability to pull off our wedding, so we asked to be put in touch with someone more experienced. They obliged and put the Director of F&B and the head of concierge in charge of our wedding. We worked with the two of them for over a month trying to get a cost estimate in order to begin the contracting process. Eventually we did our own estimate after their failure to produce one and sent it to them for confirmation. They scheduled a final call to review it, but on the call they admitted they had not even read our estimate. Now, all of that is just poor customer service. The actual wedding feel apart when they sent their contract to us. It had a ton of errors in it regarding our event...items that had clearly been discussed; more importantly that that, they just became unethical. They change multiple policies regarding payment and fees at the last minute, such as: They changed our Food and Beverage minimum on the contract. Because of the hassles we had from the beginning they lowered our minimum as a courtesy. It was a nice gesture that didn't really mean anything, as we were spending well over the minimum already. When they sent our contract, they had actually raised the minimum to higher than the original amount discussed. They changed the deposit policy. Their paperwork clearly states that their deposit is $500 to reserve the date, 50% thirty days out and 100% 15 days before the wedding. On the contract they insisted on a non-refundable 50% deposit. They wanted me to send them $12,500 right now to reserve the date, when they couldn't even produce and accurate cost estimate for us. I pointed out the change and they held firm that they wanted the $12k to hold our date. They changed their published service fees. Their menus say 20% service and 11% tax. On the contract it changed to 36% total. I pointed out to them that my concern with the deposit was not in paying it, it was that turning over $12,500 to a hotel that doesn't even know what a cost estimate is (I had to send them samples from other hotels so they could see one) was a huge concern. I was not comfortable with it and they wouldn't budge, nor would they tell me why they changed. My only thought it that they thought we had the money and that we wouldn't walk away after so much time invested. Little did they know...we would!

Thanks so much Krys. Yes, it was really disappointing to put so much work into the planning process, just to be screwed in the end...but what can you do? We received information from GBC over the weekend and actually like thier pricing structure better than Gansevoorts as well. I think this will be the way to go for us. I just want to talk to Shameka first in order to make sure we are comfortable working with her. Based on your feedback, she sounds like she could be more than capable. With the wedding your attached from GBC, where was the dancing held? I think this is the adult pool, but it is hard to tell where the party actually takes place. Please let me know. Thanks!

Hey Stephanie, Did you ever get any information on Grace Bay Club? I have to start my planning over since my wedding at Gansevoort fell apart and I am now considering Grace Bay Club. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks, Karey

Hey Everyone, So, my wedding at Gansevoort has just fallen apart. You would not believe the unethical things that hotel just did to us. If anyone is thinking of getting married there....DON'T. They are not equipped to handle weddings or to treat their brides with respect. If you have specific questions about this hotel, I would be happy to talk to you about it or answer any questions. So...we are starting over. I am really sad about the whole thing, but it is time to move on. We are now looking at Grace Bay Club and Seven Stars. I spoke to Ileana at Tropical Imaging and got some good feedback and saw their photos, but I would love pricing information, especially on Grace Bay. Does anyone know about their prices or minimums? I know they are pricey, but so was Gansevoort...I just need to know how pricey. I also saw some posts about music restrictions or something at Grace Bay. Does anyone know about this? I am a bit overwhelmed with starting over after 2 months, so any information would be appreciated. Thanks, Karey

Sounds great Jen. Any information is appreciated. Are you getting married in Turks this July?

Hey Amber, Thank you for the message. I have found tons of information and would be happy to share. Dylan and were there in April and got engaged, so I can speak from first hand visiting experience. I have been in contact with a number of vendors and properties since that time as well. What kind of information are you looking for...locations? Please let me know any questions you have and I would be happy to answer...to the best of my ability. Also, I used to be a destination wedding planner, so I know it can be daunting. The important thing to remember is to ask all your questions up front. You need to know all about tax and service fees before you sign a contract anywhere. These fees can drastically change your final costs. In addition, one thing I have found is that some places can take a bit of time to get back to you. If this is an issue, make sure you address that upfront with your hotel. I find this to be less of an issue in Turks than other islands, but it is something to keep in mind. My fiance calls it island response time. Karey

Hey Kendal, I have been emailing back and forth with Diane from Island Harmony the last few weeks and am about to book her. I used to be a wedding planner and have been incredibly impressed with her. She is fantastic, professional and very well versed on everything with the Island. She also has wedding packages that can replace the ones that come with the hotels, so you are not double paying. You can't go wrong by talking to Diane! Good luck! Karey

Thanks everyone for the information. I really appreciate it and will take a look at all you have provided. I am soo excited

Thanks Michelle! I will go check that out now! Congratulations to you too

Hey Everyone, My new fiance and I just got back from a trip to Turks and Caicos and are thinking of going back for our wedding. We stayed at the Gansevoort and loved it. We are looking there and are open to other hotels as well, possibly Somerset??? We will probably have around 60 people or so. I am looking at hotels and have a good handle on that. Before I decide on the island though, I wanted to find out more about local vendors to see if this would work. I am wondering if anyone knows anything about local florists, rental company's, photographers, etc. Any information or thoughts would be appreciated!!! Thanks, Karey

Thank you for all of your information. It is truly helpful!

Can someone please give me the number of a fireworks company to use? I have heard show happens in cabo is the way to go, but I can't find any phone numbes. Thank you for you help!