saucysimone

Mama Mia - just reading all of this is making me stressed out. I can completely sympathize with the ladies that every little move is going cost something extra. I guess I should be almost glad that I haven't been dealing with the WC since it sounds like they are pushy. I've recently been told that I need to pre-book things 30 days prior to the wedding, but then I've also read on-line that you can pretty much book most things when you get there. Such as deciding about getting my hair and make up completed....I wonder if they have a book of prior work they have completed to decide if I want to go that route. I also don't think I would want to pre-book my photography since I've also read on line here about how once you pre-pay for it, you can't change it. I've also wondered about how in the free wedding package, you get your free cake but that the cocktail reception is only for you, your spouse and 2 guests. So does this mean that if I have more than 2 guests that I pretty much have to pay $15 per person so that everyone can have cake? Despite this part of the process being stressful since things are not so clearcut, I think the CSRs are right in that, in the end, I think we are all going to be happy with our Sandals weddings since they really are experienced in destination weddings at Sandals. I'm just going to go in with the least amount of expectations as possible so that I won't be disappointed with anything. I wanted a low key wedding (no fuss) anyway hence going for a destination wedding. Just watch - after having said all this, I will have a Bridezilla moment in the near future.

Just to provide others with an update who may run into the same difficulties. If you are looking for a translator with a stamp/seal for a Quebec birth certificate, try to find one on the Quebec side. I live in Ottawa and I found one in Gatineau. The cost was $25 for the stamp/seal and $25 for the translation of the document ( 27 cents per word). Not all certified translators have the stamp/seal. I did not need to get this document notarized afterwards (thank goodness) since I had previously sent a copy of the birth certificate (which was in French) notarized by a lawyer. Hopefully I won't need to submit anything else with regards to my documents!

Right now I am having difficulty finding someone that has that stamp/seal who is a certified translator! Not sure if I absolutely need the stamp/seal though. Maybe I will have to contact translators on the "Quebec" side since you seem to have found one quite easily. Who knew this would be so difficult?!

I contacted the The Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO) and emailed a person off their directory. The woman told me that certified translators in Canada "generally" do not have an official stamp. Perhaps this is only in Quebec? She seems to charge the same though - $50 for the birth certificate. I guess I will hear what some of the other translators I emailed have to say...also check with my travel agent to verify that I actually need the stamp/seal.

I learned from my travel agent that the reason why my friend was able to use his Quebec birth certificate is that previously Jamaica used to accept the plastic bilingual Quebec birth certificates. But they don't any longer. I will try looking up the translator association to see if I can get some decent rates! Does anyone know if there MUST be a stamp/seal when documents are notarized? In Ontario, lawyers are able to notarize documents but not all of them have the stamp/seal. Can anyone else notarize documents? In the States it seems like the bank can notarize documents....probably no such luck in Canada.

Hey Lisa, Thanks for the information. I guess I will try to get my coffee elsewhere. I'm just wondering though, in terms of the OOT bags, as much as I would want to do something nice for my guests I'm thinking everyone has their own preference in terms of personal beauty items and wouldn't people just bring their own anyway? As well, I only have about 10 people going therefore if one of us runs out of sunblock or Advil, we can borrow from one another. I guess to me, it doesn't seem to make sense to me to bring a lot of extra stuff that people may or may not use. But obviously many people are doing this so there must be some benefit to it! P.S. Aren't beers included in the fridge in the rooms? It's been awhile since I've done research in terms of what they include in the "all inclusive" price...

Thanks, MissyR! My travel agent is going to dig further into it. It makes sense what you say about the different resorts requiring different documentation which leads to the inconsistencies! However, I would think ultimately, it's the country officials and not the resort that will process the documents and issue the marriage certificate so you would think they have the final say! My travel agent was saying how previously they used to accept the plastic birth certificates which were bilingual. This is probably the reason my friend had no issue 10 years ago since his birth certificate is from Quebec as well. I also appreciate the information about the translation services. It gives me an estimate on price...and that there is such a thing as "certified" translators and that they have a stamp/seal.

Does anyone know if the notary has to have a seal or stamp or is the signature sufficient. In Ontario, Canada, all lawyers are considered to be notaries. But not all lawyers have the seal/stamp.

I was recently advised by my travel agent that my fiance's birth certificate (from Quebec) needs to be translated into English and this document notarized. Does anyone know anything about this? A friend who got married in Jamaica about 10 years ago told me that he had a Quebec birth certificate and he never had to get it translated... As well, I'm wondering what type of translation is necessary? Are there certified translators and I have to get it done through them and do they have a special seal/stamp or something like the notary publics? I'm just wondering why the english letter from the notary public is not sufficient in terms of indicating it is a legitimate document. It's not as though this letter is in French! I also read on this forum (as recently as 200 how someone mentioned that a driver's license AND a passport would be sufficient documentation in the absence of a birth certificate. Is this another avenue we can take since we would not have to get these items translated?! This documentation business is driving me a bit batty!

Thank you for looking into it for me. I really appreciate it.

Hey Jennifer, I recently checked with my travel agent about the government administrative fees being waived if the wedding group have 5 rooms booked or more and she checked with the Sandals wedding coordinator at Dunn's River (Amber) and she was told that it had to be 10 rooms booked OR 6 nights or longer at the concierge level or higher. Are you certain about this information? Is there a contact name at Sandals that I can refer my agent to check with in order to verify this information? Or has anyone else who have recently had their wedding in Sandals Jamaica had their fees waived with just 5 rooms booked for a wedding?

I am trying to get ideas for wedding favours and I was thinking of getting Blue Mountain coffee since I will only be having about 12 guests at the most for my wedding at Sandals Dunn's River. My travel agent mentioned that they sell Blue Mountain coffee at the resort with the Sandals name on it. Does anyone have any idea how much they are and what size they are? I'm trying to get a sense of if this would be something affordable that I can do. Any other ideas for wedding favours would be appreciated as well.

I agree with Maureen in that the Negril price package sounds about right. Although I am getting married at Sandals Dunn's River, for our 2nd week, we plan on staying at the Whitehouse and Negril is actually more expensive so about $2500 per person including insurance is actually pretty decent. Maureen, I have a question for you. If I had put a deposit down ($200 per person) to secure my dates for Dunn's and Whitehouse, would I lose the deposit money if I decided to go with a packaged trip? I initially decided to book the hotel and flight separately since at the time the package deals were not so great and I wanted to secure a wedding date. I'm still not changing the wedding date, but I am seeing right now that there is a good package deal for us to depart 1 day earlier (Friday vs. Saturday). Right now the flight prices are high and I'm worried that they are not going to drop prior to our wedding date in April. I'm hoping that I won't have to pay any additional service fees since it's not like I am switching hotels or anything. Although my dates will change by 1 day.

I was actually thinking of getting the Blue Mountain Coffee for guests since my guest group is small. Only about 20 people and most of them couples. My travel agent mentioned that the resort (Sandals) sells them on site with the Sandals logo on them, but not sure how much they are so I'm uncertain as to what to do. Does anyone have any ideas of how much they are and where may be the best place to get them? I'm thinking if I get them at the resort it will be more expensive.

This is very helpful information. I wish my own travel agent/destination wedding consultant here in Canada was as on top of things as you are!