mekanabr

Very, very pretty, congrats!

these are amazing!! Great job, your guests will love them!!!

great job!!

Quote: Originally Posted by emi hey ladies! how many weddings does GBP do at most a day? And do they offer free wedding packages to start? At first my eyes were set on Iberostar Rose Hall but the costs are more than I anticipated....so now I'm back at square one trying to find another resort.... My TA recommended GBP, said she has a friend who just vacay-ed there and only had good things to say about it. The prices she quoted is much more reasonable than IRHS too. But then I read the reviews on TripAdvisor and got really iffy on GBP. Reading your reviews here eased my mind a lot, seems like the resort is much better than what ppl have to say on TripAdvisor! I just sent an email to ask for more info, hopefully they will reply soon Hey Emi! I definitely recommend GBP!!! I was totally settled on IRHS too but they were way to expensive and after looking into it more and reading reviews I didn't get a super fun resort feel from them, it sort of felt more like a conference center lol..thats when I started looking into GBP and loved it! This picture is what totally hooked me: I haven't seen any ceremony locations as beautiful as this I do not believe they offer a free wedding package, however I'm not positive about that. Here are the two packages most brides go with... Sunshine $1100. This is the cheapest option that most people go with if you have 24ppl or less (its $35 p/p after that) •Civil Wedding ( Minister Fees) •Accompanied to the Wedding Location- Gazebo •Bride & Groom’s Boutonniere- Tropical Flowers •Complementary room upgrade ( subject to availability upon arrival) •10 % Discount on Spa Treatments •Gourmet wedding cake or variety of Chef’s customs pastry desert choice •Late check out until 6 pm ( upon request & subject to availability) •Luxury turned down service •Music for the marriage ceremony with recorded CD ( couple may bring their own) •Minimum 7 nights stay •Picturesque Wedding Location may be celebrated on the beach or Wedding Gazebo ( consult beach area restrictions) •10 professional pictures of the wedding full colour photography ( included) •Professional Services of an Onsite Wedding Consultor •Romantic Ornamental decoration of the wedding site ( location assigned after arrival) •Sparkling bottle of wine ( domestic brand) in the room on arrival ( just for the couple) •Sparkling wine Celebration toast ( Domestic Brand) after ceremony •Sit down wedding reception Dinner in one of our restaurants with set menu (wedding more than 30 pax is subject to availability. Group may be in different tables, please coordinate with you wedding planner. Included in the all inclusive package. No more extra menus. •Up graded amenities •Witness (if required) Blissful Love-$1350. This package is best if you have more ppl bc it includes up to 30 and then is an additional $40p/p over that. (just for the difference in price for those 6 extra ppl its worth getting this package, in my opinion) •Civil Wedding ( Minister Fees) •Accompanied to the Wedding Location- Gazebo •Bride & Groom’s Boutonniere- Tropical Flowers •Complementary room upgrade ( subject to availability upon arrival) •15 % Discount on Spa Treatments •Fresh, elegant floral décor on the Bridal Table. •Gourmet wedding cake or variety of Chef’s customs pastry desert choice •Late check out until 6 pm ( upon request & subject to availability) •Luxury turned down service •Music for the marriage ceremony with recorded CD ( couple may bring their own) •Minimum 7 nights stay •Newly Wed Romantic Breakfast in bed the morning after the wedding ( Once per stay) •Picturesque Wedding Location may be celebrated on the beach or Wedding Gazebo ( consult beach area restrictions) •10 professional pictures of the wedding full colour photography ( included) •Professional Services of an Onsite Wedding Consultor •Complimentary Trial Hair style with the purchase of Bridal Hairstyle. •Romantic Ornamental decoration of the wedding site ( location assigned after arrival) •Sparkling bottle of wine ( domestic brand) in the room on arrival ( just for the couple) •Sparkling wine Celebration toast ( Domestic Brand) after ceremony •Sit down wedding reception Dinner in one of our restaurants with set menu (wedding more than 30 pax is subject to availability. Group may be in different tables, please coordinate with you wedding planner. Included in the all inclusive package. No more extra menus. •Up graded amenities •Special wedding cake- Deluxe cake†and “Love cakeâ€. •Witness ( if required) A few extra details about weddings at the resort: They do 1 to 2 weddings per day, but most brides have said they don't even see that many when they are there. You can rent out the wedding gazebo for (I think) $500 from 8:30 to 10:30pm, including a DJ. However, you have to pay $15p/p/hour for a bar to be setup down there. According to other brides the closest bar is well..not close. So its worth the money for the bar setup. If you want a private dinner it is $2500. I'm not sure of the hours but if you want to have your reception at one of the restaurants instead of the gazebo, that is an option. The dinner included in the package is pretty private though, they set you up in one portion of the restaurant and kind've section it off (or so I've read) so its not just in the middle of the resaurant with the other guests watching you. Also, GBP does not charge a fee for bringing outside vendors in, so you can bring your own photographer, florist...whatever at no charge (Sandals and other resorts charge big time for bringing outside vendors). I've been having some trouble getting in touch with the wedding coordinator, Beverly, lately but I'm just going to assume that she has been really busy. Going to call this week though. So don't be worried if you don't hear from her immediately! And definitely ignore the trip advisor reviews! If you read any of the reviews from other brides that got married there you'll realize that the trip advisor reviews are a little ridiculous. Kerrij wrote a great review, you should def read it! I originally looked into the resort bc of the wedding gazebo but fortunately it is super affordable, compared to similar resorts in Jamiaca. So I totally recommend it! It'll be great to have another GBP bride on the forum Good luck choosing!

Thanks for all the info about the AHRs ladies! It's so useful to hear about everyones different situations. Just another reason why I love this forum! Those shell favors are super cute, I might have to look into something like that!! I love the idea of your sea glass Katelynn, unfortunately I am not good with that sort of thing so I am of no help! Good luck though! You'll have to let us know what you use as your finished product!! I'm interested to hear everyones photography prices bc we are trying to figure out the price we want to spend as well. We found someone who pretty much said she'll 'make it work' for us..but I'm not sure if her 'make it work' is going to be the same as our 'make it work' lol. Hopefully we'll find out soon bc I love her work and reeaallyy want her to photograph our wedding!! Also- I haven't heard from Beverly since MAY! Has anyone else had any problems getting in contact with her I guess I might have to call down there but I wanted to check if anyone else was dealing with this too...Thanks!

@jennypenny23- 49 guests!! thats awesome!! I can't wait to send out our STDs and see what kind of initial response we get. Did you send out your formal invites yet, or just STDs? @AshleyL- love the favor ideas, might have to steal that I love hearing everyones ideas!! When is everyone doing their AHR? Right after the wedding or a little later on? We're still trying to figure out how to do it. Are you ladies sending out info about it with your invitations, or sending out seperate invites or it? We have the dillema of having super conservative family members on my FI's side of the fam, meanwhile my family likes a good beer and a fun time... So we are thinking that we might have to do a brunch with one side and then a fun BBQ for the other side of the family and friends...unless anyone has any ideas? Trying to figure out the AHR reception has been more stressful than planning the real wedding! lol.

Quote: Originally Posted by tris I'm glad we're all so positive It must be bc most of our weddings are still a few months off (for me its still a year!) so we haven't turned into crazy, frantic bridezillas yet hehe or wait, isn't that why we're doing DWs anyway? We get to avoid all of that stress and RELAX!! I'll take bad reviews over having to do an at home wedding any day. Ahhh I can't wait, we are def the smartest brides! lol Anywho- Is anyone doing anything really unique for your reception, ceremony, OT bags, anything like that? I love little details that make a wedding really standout (not that a DW isn't memorable as it is...but ya know what I mean). The only thing I have planned so far is that we're going to take all of our guests on a catamaran trip, either a sunset cruise or a snorkeling trip as kind of a welcome get together & thank you for everyone that traveled so far. Also, this isn't that super original but I love the idea of it- We're going to put self addressed, stamped post cards in all of the OT bags and ask ppl to please write their favorite memory on the card and send it to us, that way we'll have mail when we get back from our honeymoon and we can put them all in our wedding album.

Love the color you are using Katelynn! So pretty. I love Martha Stewarts website, she has the best templates, I am totally using that one too I asked Beverly about the boat trip but I haven't gotten a reply yet. Actually its been about 3 weeks since I've heard from which is a little longer than usual..oh well! She's prob mad at me bc I keep askng her alllll these questions but haven't reserved my date or put my depoit down yet..oops! I want to know what songs ppl are using too!! I don't know what we are doing yet, but I was attempting to create our STD's today and my fiance told me he thinks saying "One Love" on anything is dumb lol. Jeesh..I thought it was quite perfect since it JAMAICA. But oh well... What types of STD's and invitatins are you girls doing? I'm making boarding pass STDs and so far they've been pretty simple to do. I'll post a pic once I have a finished product! Have a great night everyone!!

Congrats and thanks for posting all of this!! It's super helpful! Everything is beautiful and I'm sure you and your Fiance are going to have a fabulous time!!!!

Agreed, the reviews are scary but they complain about the most ridiculous things. And if they have a vacation in Jamaica and the only thing they can write about are negative nit-picking things, then they aren't going to be happy anywhere! It's Jamaica Mon...Relax!!! Besides, it's our wedding and we'll all be surrounded by friends and family. When we're not in Jamaica, we keep each other happy and entertained- so I can't imagine that anyone can have a bad time when we're surrounded by friends, fam, beaches and booze!!

I obviously don't know where it will end up (hopefully it can be contained to the golf!) but if it follows the ocean's currents, then it would likely head up the east coast... So sad

Hi Ladies! Its so fun reading everyone's ideas and comments, it makes me soo excited for our wedding!!!! I'm almost positive chair covers are included in the price, but if you want colored sashes, I'm not sure if they are. Something makes me think that I read they were included but I'm not totally positive on that, besides you can get them really cheap (or make your own) and have them in the color you prefer...I wouldn't stress too much about it! (noone will remember them anyways lol) @katelynn: Beverly told me they aren't allowed to do bonfires on the beach unfortunately. We want to do something else for our guests too so instead of the typical 'rehearsal dinner' we are going to do sort of a welcome get together a day or two (depending when ppl are arriving) before the wedding. It's either going to be a snorkeling trip or a sunset catamaran cruise. It's something that we are budgeting for and I think we owe our guests something off the resort for speding the money to come to our wedding. Holy moly- $1000 for OT bags? What all did you include? WOW, your guests are very lucky!!! Are you using Vistaprint? You can get lots of free stuff custom printed on there that might save you some money! I would love to see pics of everyone's wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses!!!! I love seeing them!! Plus I can't look at the wedding dress thread on here anymore bc I waste entirely toooo much time looking at them, so a few won't be too bad!! lol! ok off to get some stuff done. Have a great night everyone!!!

Thanks for all the info Kerrij, I'm going to friend you on FB to check out your pics!!!

Yeah Beverly defnitely isn't very fast about getting back once you email her but I figured she's got a ton to do down there and I've read really good things about her once you are at the resort, so I wouldn't worry too much! However it is odd that she hasn't charged your card yet...guess the aren't too concerned about it lol. Photographers are def expensive but to me its really important and I'd rather have a great photographer than tons of flowers etc... I'm bringing someone with me that way she'll be able to cover more than just the wedding. I always have a camera with me so thats something I didn't want to have to worry about, I wanted someone else to do that for me Thanks for the reminder about birth certificates! So many little details I'm sure that I'm forgetting! Hope everyone is having a great week!! Has anyone else bought their dress yet?

Thanks ladies! Definitely something I'll have to consider!

Quote: Originally Posted by katelynn Hey, You said that your having the recpetion in the gazebo...like dancing etc? Are you paying for a dj. I never knew we could do this and it sounds amazing. Do you have any more details? Yep, you can have your reception at the gazebo, dancing, dj, bar..the whole deal. You rent it from 8:30 to 10:30 after your dinner in one of the restaurants. It is $500 to rent it for two hours, including DJ. If you want a bar its $15 per person/ per hour. Other brides have said its quite a haul from the other bars to the gazebo so the bar is kind've a necessity. I'm planning on having my reception there, its going to be amazing!!!

Hmm a 4pm wedding is sounding more tempting! Thanks for the info ladies. Does anyone know how long the dinner lasts? I'm worried that its going to take forever and since we aren't doing the private dinner, I want to eat and then get out to the gazebo and have our reception!!! I asked Beverly about renting it for more than the 2 hrs she quoted us and said we can't go any later, but I'm waiting to hear back if we can start earlier out there...so we'll see. I can't wait to start our OOT bags...I think save the dates need to go out first though! Have a great weekend girls!!

hi ladies! I thought I had my date chosen but I've noticed that a bunch of you are getting married during the week...any particular reason why or why not to get married on a wknd vs a week day? Thanks!!!

Hi Ladies!!!! Congrats on picking Gran Bahia Principe! I am a future GBP bride too I've been MIA lately (big move, no internet for 3 weeks!) but I'm trying to get my paperwork in to reserve my date. We are aiming for July 23, 2011. I'm so impressed with how much stuff you girls have completed already!! Way to go! I saw someone ask about photographers being let onto the resort- GBP doesn't charge any fees for outside vendors which is AWESOME. We are thinking of bringing our own photographer down too. I'm hoping that for the same price to bring one-even two photographers down and pay for their trips, it would be the same price as paying for someone to do 8 hrs of photography, and then I would have them for several days! All I want from them is a disk of edited photos from the time they are there so hopefully I can find someone willing to work with me in exchange for a trip to Jamaica We'll see... I htink the only decision I've made so far is that I have my dress (I got engaged Oct 28 and had my dress by thanksgiving haha) And I've picked my colors...bright pink, a dark eggplant-ish purple, and a light color, prob a cream, or off-white as well. Have either of you checked out vistaprint.com? They have amazingly cheap and usually free stuff that you can get custom printed. Just sign up for their emails and they will instantly start sending you free offers. The hint is to click on an offer, create it and then go back to the email an click on it again...that way you can make x amount of whatever you are custom printing, and pay for shipping once. They try to get you to buy more quantities at a 'discounted' price, but if you are willing to spend the time to do each item individually, you can get it all free! What time did you put down for your wedding? That is the only thing that we are hung up on right now... I'm worried about later in the afternoon bc of rain, but I dont want it to be super hot either. I guess either way its going to be hot but I as wondering what you ladies thought? Ok enough for now...off to check the other GBP thread!!!

congrats and good luck with your planning!!!! You'll love it here!

Congrats and welcome! Sorry I can't add any info about Mexico, but I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out with help from the forum! Good luck with your planning!

Congrats! Good luck with the rest of your planning!

Hi ladies! I've been MIA on here for a while, sorry! I'm moving to Michigan this wknd so it's been a little hectic! Anyway, What made you ladies choose the sunshine package? I have to submit my info to Beverly to reserve my date and I'm trying to figure out what to get. Also, did you all book your stay directly through the resort or did you use a travel agent? I think Beverly said that we should book our stay first then make arrangements for the wedding, but I want to go with a travel agent since it's cheaper...any thoughts? Thanks!!!!!!

I've been missing out on the posts lately, glad to see there are some more brides!! Kerrij- LOVE the pics!!!!! You look beautiful! Could you post your photobucket album? I'd love to see more!!!! Thanks!

Welcome and congrats! I'm a Jamaica bride too, just haven't finalized on a resort yet. Good luck with your planning!