Mrs. Reed 2 b

Not sure who Alamarie is but Dawn was my wedding planner. As for photographers, I used Paula and Damien from Sungold. They were wonderful to work with, great energy. My only disappointment is that it takes so long to get the pictures back. I was told about 8 weeks and it looks like it'll take all those 8 weeks, still don't have any professional pics yet. :-(

Terls I know I've responded to you via e-mail but I'm not sure I've responded to you Emapema. Busy week. Anyway, as you know I was very pleased with my experiece with Dawn and so were my guests. I'm happy you two are looking at the option of having an off site reception. I'll try to do a full review of my RHR ceremony and Dawn reception and send it. Happy to help.

Your pics. came out great. I understand you being more critical of them because you are the bride but they look great to me. Which photographers from Sun Gold did your pictures?

Ladies, my wedding was on May 29, 2010 at RHR and it was perfect. The resort is great for families with different age range. My guests ranged fom age 2 to above sixty and everyone LOVED the resort. There's something for everyone to do. The food is great, I was really impressed. If you do all inclusive you have to make reservations at the two resturants that require so do do so. I didn't get to try the Italian resturant (forgot the name) but we went to the Palms and loved it. The food and presentation of food was great. We were taking pics. of food all the time just cause they made the look so pretty. lol Anyway, I'm so glad I had my wedding there. I held my cocktail hour and reception at another site through Jamaica Elegant Weddings (which was great!) but you'll love RHR as a resort in general. We might even go back just for a vacation. I agree with Pandabride, just relax, everything will be perfect. P.S.: Pandabride, how did you like Day-O-Plantation? I loved it! Had my welcome dinner there. P.S.S: I got the oppurtunity to meet Tauristar, it was nice meeting you girl! I saw you at the airport when we were getting ready to leave on June 5th but didn't say anything, I didn't want to interrupt you and your husband. lol

My wedding was on May 29, 2010 and I used the services of Jamaica Elegant Weddings and it was one of the best decisions I made concerning my wedding. My ceremony took place at Rose Hall Resort (RHR) and initially I was planning my cocktail hour and reception at the same site but the cost was getting to be too much and I had to seek out another option. I learned about Jamaica Elegant Weddings from this forum and contacted them about three months before my wedding date via an online request for information. In no time I got a response from Dawn and my stress free wedding planning began. I look at Dawn as a God-sent. The first time we spoke I explained to her my situation, desires, and budget. In her calm voice she told me it would be "no problem" that she would make my dreams come true. Now I will be honest, for my wedding I wanted it ALL but at a discount price, not a small feat but Dawn not only met the challenge, she rose above it! My wedding reception was more than I could have ever dreamed of. The location, decoration, food, cake, entertainment, EVERYTHING was on point! And although I was not there, from what people told me and the pictures I saw, the cocktail hour set up was gorgeous! Way beyond what I imagined, I'm talking about fruit carvings and everything. Now let me tell you about Dawn...she is the kindness and most professional person I have ever worked with. She's so gentle and reassuring. Tell her exactly what you want and she'll give you that and more. We met the day before my wedding and I handed her a large suitcase with all my wedding stuff; decorations, menus, guest book, escort cards, etc. I even gave her my reception dress which she later helped me get into. She was just there in whatever manner I needed her to be. I HIGHLY recommend her service,you won't be disappointed. Now for Kevan our DJ. He truly is the best in the west. I didn't have any contact with Kevan before the wedding, I simply made a playlist and e-mailed it to Dawn, she passed it on to him and he delivered beautifully! My #1 wish for my wedding was that I and my guests had a blast, for us to party and dance the night away. And that's exactly what we got! My guest told me that they had nevered had so more fun a wedding reception. DJ Kevan stuck to my playlist request and delievered exactly what I wanted. I have no complaints. Let me know if you want any photos. I don't have my professional ones yet but I'll be happy to share some of the ones my guests have sent me.

Quote: Originally Posted by Mikababe Question- What type of cake did you ladies decide on? When I say yellow cake they say sponge cake(yikes!). I told them I would like Fondant icing(the smooth icing) and they told me if I want that type of icing a yellow cake could not hold that kind of icing. Therefore either chocolate or almond cake. HELP ME PLEASE!!!!!!! Mikababe, you still have time to save money (you haven't signed your contract for the reception have you?) Check out Jamaica Elegant Weddings or Day O Plantation Resturant. Pandabride introduced Day O and I initially wanted to have my reception there but the date was booked. I am however, having my rehearsal dinner there. The lady (Jennifer) is really easy to work wiht and it's definately a lot cheaper than RHR. If you stick with RHR, concerning the cake, maybe you can say "white" instead of "yellow." A lot of people think it's the same thing. Dunno, good luck!

Quote: Originally Posted by Pandabride6 Hey everyone... long time, no talk on here! I did want to shed some insight. @MrsReed 2 b- I'm glad you were able to find a place off site for you and your guests. I told Yolandi I was having my reception off site too and she asked me where. I don't really think that matters. What matters is making their prices more reasonable so people don't have to look elsewhere, lol. @tauristar- I also got a quote from Grande Garden. I think I might be going with them since they're less expensive than Tai Flora. @Everyone: I believe the best advice I could give brides thinking of planning a wedding at RHR would be to be EXTREMELY specific when asking questions. Make sure you know about site fees, set up fees (yes, they're two different things), bar fees, everything! Don't assume that just because a reception site is on the property, that it's free to hold the reception there. I believe Sugar Mill Fall (the waterpark) is like $2500 for a set up fee. That's not including the cost for a bar, service, etc. Make sure you ask prices for everything. I just asked about having speakers for the ceremony and was told it's like $193 plus a technician fee... Technician fee? You mean there's a cost to literally plug the speakers in?? Like I said, question everything! Pandabride: LOL. I had the same reaction to a "technician fee." I work 12 hours a day, three days a week as a RN in a hospital running my butt off and I don't get paid $45/hour. And they want me to pay someone $45/hour to plug a machine in and press play? Ridiculous. To Those who wanted to know more about Jamaica Elegant Weddings: The way things worked for me was I went on their website and requested a quote for what I wanted. Dawn contacted me the very next day and asked me to list all my desires (include pictures like of decorations or a cake if I had any) and give a budget. After a couple of e-mails back and forth with her asking about what drinks I want for an open bar, menu choices, etc. she produced a quote that was actually LESS than my budget. She does charge a percentage of your total budget for her fees which I think are totally worth it. She's so reassuring in letting me know that I can call her whenever with whatever and that she'll do her best to make my dreams come true. The venue we have right now is at Tropical Beach which is about 10 minutes away from RHR. She can basically find any type of venue, our other option was a place called KoKonutz, which was indoor and looked great from pictures but I thought it was too big for the number of people I'm having. My quote includes round trip transportation for us and our guests. We'll have a cocktail hour (with two stations: fruits and cheese and crackers) outside and then a reception in a wedding tent (she just suggested the wedding tent the other day at no extra cost). I'm very excited. If you have any specific questions, just ask.

Sorord1: Dawn told me that she had an event this weekend at the venue she has booked for me (Tropical Beach). She's suppose to send me some pics of the event so that I can see her work and the venue. When I get those, I'll try to share. I've never shared pics on this forum before so hopefully I will be able to figure it out. lol

I've booked Paula and Damian from Sungold for my May 19, 2010 wedding and am sooo excited! I've heard nothing but great things about them and they look like they have great energy and would be fun to work with. Can't wait!

I'm currently working with Dawn from Jamaica Elegant Weddings and my experience has been GREAT! I'm getting married at Rose Hall Resort in Montego Bay but have chosen to have an off site cocktail hour and reception due to the high cost at the resort. I gave Dawn a budget of $8000 for cocktail hour and reception for 70 people, and she gave me a quote UNDER that! The price includes venue, cake, plated dinner with dessert, cocktail hour with appetizers, open bar, DJ, videographer, and decorations. She does charge a percentage of the total cost of your quote for her fee, which took the cost a little over my $8000, but I feel like it's sooo worth it. I love working with her, she assures me every time we speak that she can make my dreams come true. She asks for pictures and examples of everything so that they can try to give me what I want. Can't wait to see the end result!

Terri1225: I've visited the resort and agree with Tauristar. If you want an outside location for your reception, the East Gazebo is the best choice, it's beautiful and provides the most privacy (that you can get outside at a popular resort). That's actually where I'm having my ceremony. To everyone: I was initially planning a reception for about 70 people in one of the ballrooms and was so frustrated at the cost of everything. I don't mind paying the money but I didn't feel like I was getting much for it, it seems like it was all going to fees and taxes. So I've decided to go another route. I'm now working with Jamaica Elegant Weddings (Dawn) to plan my cocktail hour and reception off site. So far my experience has been wonderful. I was able to do with Dawn in 2 weeks what I have not been able to accomplish with RHR in months. The personal attention is wonderful and the prices are so much better (ie: I went from $900 for 3 hours of DJ time to $550 for 5 hours of DJ time). I can go on and on and I'll tell you more if you're interested. My point is, if you're happy and things are working out at RHR stick with them, but if you're in need of another option, I highly recommend Jamaica Elegant Weddings.

Hey guys, I'm in the process of choosing my menu and cake. Those who have had their wedding at RHR or tasted their food/cake. Do you have any suggestions. P.S.: My fiance' does not eat pork. Thanks in advance for your help.

Rosehallbride--My WC is Charline and I swear we've been abck and forth wit like 7 e-mails just for the simple question "Will the bar that I'm getting include drinks?" She keeps saying I'll have a bar and won't have to pay for drinks but won't answer the question if the bar include free drinks. I've just e-mailed her today and finally asked, "Is it a cash bar or an open bar?" I'll let you know how she answers. I'm getting soo frustrating with the cost of everything. I work hard for my money and don't mind spending it but I want something in return. As of now, I'm paying $500 for the bar set during the cocktail hour and another $500 for the set-up fee during the reception. That's $1000 and I want to know will my guests at least be able to get free water or ice tea? We'll see... Pandabride: Not sure if I mentioned it but I've decided to have my rehersal dinner at Day O Plantation. They weren't available for my reception. Thanks so much for your help.

OMG! Your pics are AMAZING! Beautiful! Loved the TTD shoot. I'm still in the process of convincing my fiance' to to a TTD session. Thanks for sharing.

This is very helpful. Thank you!

@Pandabride--How cool, another Mrs. Reed, or Reid. lol Again, I thank you for all your efforts in getting suggestions for another reception venue. @Spellbound--We've decided to get married by our pastor shortly before going to Jamaica (like within the same week, maybe a day or two before we leave). I just wanted to keep things simple and not worry about sending off official documents and making sure they have everything to make our union legal. I'm working with a destination wedding specialist/travel agent from destination weddings and she said brides do it all the time and the guests don't know the difference unless the couple decide to tell them...which we probably won't do. lol

Pandabride--Thanks so much! I appreciate you trying to help a sista out. Yeah it seems like they can be sneaky with their cost. That's why now I'm asking about EVERYTHING. Like does the ceremony cost include chairs for ALL my guests. I would hate to find out only like 10 chairs are included in the package price and I have to pay extra for more chairs. I just want the regular white chairs...nothing special. It seems silly but I need to know. Still haven't recieved an answer to that question. ummm... Another question I asked was if I only need half of the ballroom, why can't I pay half the price? No answer to that yet either. I'm being charged $2000 venue rental and set up fee for the ballroom. I only need half of the ballroom, isn't it logical that I should only have to oay half the price? Girl, I can go on and on... Spellbound--I see you got lucky with the Day O for your reception too. I'm still disappointed my date was booked. I feel like I'll have so much less stress if the date was open and I could tell RHR to suck it as far as a reception goes. lol Tauristar--I'm working with Charmaine for my flowers and decorations. Nice lady but she has her moments where communication can be very poor. Sometimes when we talk she asks the same questions she had asked in previous conversations as if we never discussed the topic before. Prices for flowers and decorations are high too but she is willing to cut some cost. Basically, the more you spend, the more she'll throw in for free. Although you won't feel like they're free because you're spending so much. Anyway, I don't want to discourage you, I don't know who you'll work with. Good luck. I'm happy to let you know where she gave me some breaks, just let me know.

I know I'm late but I have to respond. Amazing! I can't believe you guys did them. Don't know your profession but you guys may want to consider starting a business in wedding stationeries. Seriously. Congrats on your wedding. How was it? Would love to see pics.

Pandabride--I'm so jealous of you! After you put the thought out there to have an outside reception, I quickly contacted the Day O (where you're going) to enquire about my wedding date. Unfortunately they were booked on that day. womp womp. For $5000 I could have pulled my whole reception off: decorations, food, service, transportation, entertainment (and not just a DJ, she told me about a live band and a limbo fire dancer!). So I'm back to negotiating with RHR...unless you know of somewhere else that might be good for a reception. Tauristar--Yes, I'm sure we'll run into each other. How exciting. I feel a little relieved knowing that I know someone else who's going through the same thing I'm going through at the same time. I've never been to a destination wedding and none of my family member or other guests have been either. So they don't understand how stressful planning can be. They think you just choose a package and the resort will handle the rest. They also have NO idea how pricey it can get. Anywho, thanks so much for sharing some of your ideas on how to reduce cost. I think I'll consider doing stations too and definately see about taking off the tax. As for a DJ, I'm thinking of hiring an outside vendor, Devon Reid. He seems to be really good and will ensure we have a party, which is one of my main priority. The food can be ok, the drinks can be weak, but God let us dance, sweat, and have FUN! Overall he'll be $300 less than the on site DJ and when you add in the $150 vendor fee it's only $150 less. But hey every little bit counts and like I said this guy seems like he can get the party started. He reports that he's big on communication and finding out what the bride and groom wants as far as playlist and the general mood of the party. Haven't booked him yet, still seeing if I can get someone cheaper...we'll see. Good luck to you 2 as you plan, please do keep in touch. I'll do the same.

SuzG--Oh wow! Congratulations on your BIG day. Hope everything goes just as planned. And if they don't, I hope it's for the better or you don't notice at all. :-)

I LOVE #1. Very tropical.

My colors are Turquoise, Mango, and Lime. My theme is tropical/destination. And my style is simple elegance with a touch of vintage. I'm into vintage things so I'm gonna try to infuse tropical and vintage together. LOL Can you tell I thought long and hard about all this? I hope it all comes together.

Name: Sokonie Wedding Date: May 29, 2010 Wedding Location: Rose Hall Resort and Spa Oh Tauristar we may just run into each other! My wedding is the day after yours and I'm also working with Charline. I also visited the resort and I did so in July. The resort is beautiful. I've chosen the One Love Package and will be getting married in the East Gazebo in their tropical garden. I'm happy to be getting married at RHR but I am SHOCKED at how expensive things are getting. I'm expecting about 70ppl and after choosing what I want I was quoted about $20,000 for ceremony and reception! This cost does not include rehearsal dinner, my dress, invites, programs, gift bags, travel...everything else that you have to pay for when having a wedding. By the time it's all said and done we could be looking at a $28,000+ bill. Which we do not have and was one of the reasons we decided to do a destination wedding. $900 for a DJ for 3 hours?! $2000 for venue (ballroom) rental and set-up when I'm staying at the resort? Come on! Anyway, much negotiation has to be made but ultimately, I may move my reception off site. BTW: I think the $45 includes drinks but there is a $500 bar set-up fee for up to 75 people. If you want the premium bar it's $650 for up to 75 people.

Name: Sokonie Wedding Date: May 29, 2010 Wedding Location: Rose Hall Resort and Spa Oh Tauristar we may just run into each other! My wedding is the day after yours and I'm also working with Charline. I also visited the resort and I did so in July. The resort is beautiful. I've chosen the One Love Package and will be getting married in the East Gazebo in their tropical garden. I'm happy to be getting married at RHR but I am SHOCKED at how expensive things are getting. I'm expecting about 70ppl and after choosing what I want I was quoted about $20,000 for ceremony and reception! This cost does not include rehearsal dinner, my dress, invites, programs, gift bags, travel...everything else that you have to pay for when having a wedding. By the time it's all said and done we could be looking at a $28,000+ bill. Which we do not have and was one of the reasons we decided to do a destination wedding. $900 for a DJ for 3 hours?! $2000 for venue (ballroom) rental and set-up when I'm staying at the resort? Come on! Anyway, much negotiation has to be made but ultimately, I may move my reception off site. BTW: I think the $45 includes drinks but there is a $500 bar set-up fee for up to 75 people. If you want the premium bar it's $650 for up to 75 people.

1. Name: Sokonie 2. Wedding Date: May 29, 2010 3. Wedding Location: Rose Hall Resort and Spa Hi Everyone! As my wedding gets closer I'm getting nervous about the whole destination wedding thing. I'm excited about the wedding but nervous about all the unknown. I'm getting married at the Rose Hall Resort and Spa in Montego Bay, Jamaica. If anyone has a review or can provide me with a link to a review about a wedding at this site I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance.