melodygayle

Hi Alex! I was not planning on having the parasol, but when I saw it in the wedding office, I had to have it. My on-site coordinator added it to my room charges. It was $20. I had my MOH carry it for the wedding and I also used it for a few of my pictures. It's so adorable. I think they had orange and yellow that you could purchase. So many fun things to think about!

It might be easier to have the resort hand out your OOT bags when the guests arrive. My TA did not give me a list of times when my guests would be arriving so we spent most of the afternoon in the lobby waiting for everyone (if you don't have this already, you should make this list). We greeted them and handed out our OOT bags. They charge $5 per bag to hand them out when your guests check-in. They have some cute stuff in the boutique if you want to add some Antiguan items. We added small bottles of Cavalier rum and a stamped Antigua postcard that we bought once we got there.

Some of our guests bought the $20 international phone plan through Verizon and it worked fine at the resort. The internet worked perfect in the lobby. The wireless package is $40 for the week. Some of our guests had service in their rooms, but others took their laptop to the lobby to get service. They didn't seem to mind. Also, about the photos - Good luck getting all of your photos on a CD and then printing at home. They force you into a package that includes a CD with a bunch of other printed items. They also do not do editing to the photos unless you ask them to. You get the photos exactly how they turned out. There isn't enough time on your honeymoon to spend a day in the photo studio to review every detail on the photos and ask for editing. Can you tell I was a little annoyed with the photo process? Also, you might want to make a list of the specific photos (where and with who) you want taken and meet with your photographer before the event to review your expectations. This is not typical to meet with the photographer, but the wedding coordinator set it up for me when she could tell I was getting anxious about the photos.

Hello! I'm reading your posts and feeling sad because my wedding is over and I want to do it again! Have a great time! Your wedding will be beautiful and everything will turn out great. I watched my video for the first time yesterday and it really was amazing. Your friends will be jealous that they didn't have a destination wedding. Antigua creates the perfect backdrop and the people there are so friendly. They will make your day very special! I'm wishing I was still there soaking up the sunshine! Heather, your OOT bag is awesome!

Hi Ladies! We just returned from Antigua last night. Our wedding was last Tuesday. We had a group of 22 people with the Chic and Natural theme and a few upgrades. I have been a crazy bride with the details and planning and I don't think they were prepared for me when I had my first interview with the the on-site department. In the end, it was beautiful! Our guests loved the resort and we all had a fabulous time! Please PM me if you have any questions regarding the wedding process. I'll post a full review with pics over the next few days. I highly recommend doing a phone call with the on-site department reviewing your details prior to arrival. I also recommend using the spa for your services. I did my own make-up, but Ayanna was amazing with hair. She also did my trial the day before. My on-site planner was Nasasha, who was so much fun and easy to work with. She made sure everything was the way I expected it or at least tried her best! She was amazing! My photographer was Sokoto, who was also great. The major disappointment with the packages was that I had the package with 110 digital images on the CD. I had my photographer all day so we had about 350 pictures. So basically, I had to toss out 240 great pictures because the next upgrade only allowed me to get 90 more pics for $700! They would not give me the rest of my photos even though it does not cost them anymore to put on the CD. So let me know if you have any questions while you're still planning. I would love to help!

My WC (Dania) gave me a sample ceremony program. Let me know if didn't get this from your WC and I'll send it to you.

We are also concerned about the music. We are having a guitarist for the ceremony and DJ for the 3 hour reception. I asked my WC for sample list and she told me I have to provide a list and he/she will play all of it. She said the guitarist will learn any song he doesn't know - which makes me nervous. As for the DJ, we are planning to make a huge list for the DJ. Since the WC will not provide me with a sample song list, I feel like I have to do the research so that it all goes well. Any feedback from other brides would be extremely helpful.

Hi! Your wedding is almost here! I can't wait to hear your review about Sandals Antigua! Congratulations!

The wedding pages were updated. They have added some videos, photography samples, and real wedding pictures.

Hey girls! Did you notice sandals updated their website?

Kim, thank you so much for the feedback! We are also concerned about the photography so hopefully, we'll have another option as well.

We sent out actual postcards from our destination as our save the date cards. I was surprised MS does not have invitations or STDs to match the themes. I am doing the chic and natural theme and found a great invitation to match from weddingpaperdivas.com. We picked the artistic orchids invitation in the margarita color. We are really happy with the quality and how it fits the theme.

I visited Grand Pineapple Beach Resort back in 2005, prior to it being owned by Sandals. We saw a wedding going on while we vacationed and that's when we knew we wanted a destination wedding. We are getting married at Sandals Antigua this year. I'm sure your wedding will be amazing. The gazebo overlooking the water is a beautiful place to get married. You'll love it! Best wishes!

Back in November, I sent an email to Sandals telling them about the video and blog and I got a generic response saying, "thank you for your inquiry - please contact your wedding coordinator if you have any questions." It was like they didn't even read my email. However, I also told them the link was not working for months when you try to view the pictures within the themes. They fixed that immediately, but did nothing about the blog and old video! It's hard enough planning a wedding from a distance, I would expect their website to be our greatest source of information. But I am learning more details on this website than the sandals site. I'm sure all will go well with our weddings....

Our wedding is in Antigua, May 3, 2011. We're having about 30 people come with us. Since we're having a 3 hour reception, I think we'll need the dance floor. It's just another extra and I'm not sure what most people usually do. I don't want to have to worry about my little heels sinking in the grass for my special dance. I'm convincing myself pretty easily that we'll need the dance floor. What about your DJ? Are you preparing a list for them? Are you concerned about the music selection? I asked my WC for their list and she said I need to provide my list to them. That seems like a lot of extra work for me. What are you girls doing for music?

Thanks Janice! I have also been searching youtube for videos so I can get ideas of what to expect. It really annoys me that the Sandals website has a video and it's not even a Martha Stewart wedding. They need to update this! And what about their blog?! I was so excited to see the Real Weddings posted each week and then they just stopped posting them! That drives me crazy! Those videos you posted definitely make me feel better about having my ceremony in the gardens. I don't like all that wind. Thanks again for sharing. Happy wedding planning.

I am having an ivory rose bouquet and giving my flowers from the package to my MOH. I have a flower on my dress and the rose bouquet looks best with my dress. No decision on the MOH dress yet (I'm only having one person on each side). I know, I need to make a decision this week!! I am leaning towards a long gold or tan dress for her. What have you decided on? Also, are you getting a dance floor put down for the reception area outside?

That's a great attitude to have! The WC hasn't tried to sell the cake knives as an extra so I'm sure that will be included. I sent a note off to my WC anyway, just to check. When you return, you have to get back on here and give us your feedback. Congratulations!!! Also, earlier on the thread, everyone was talking about OOT bags. Does anyone have ideas for something Antiguan for the bag?

Yes, I'm still on here. I am so excited for the wedding...a little over 4 months away! Our friends and family have started to book so it's all coming together now. We are so excited to have a wedding week, not just a one day event! I love the Chic and Natural theme. I can't wait to see it in person with the fresh orchids. So beautiful!!!!!

Hey Ladies! I just got a call this weekend from Dania. She left me a message letting me know she was my new wedding planner for Sandals Antigua. I am not happy about these changes. She's my 3rd planner since May! It makes me a little nervous. Ebony was very responsive, but I noticed I have to ask questions to find out more details about my wedding options. For instance, no one told me I had different flower options other than what's showing in the theme pictures. I saw the new flowers on the sandals wedding blog and immediately emailed Ebony. She responded with a flower pdf file of options. I thought yes, this is great, but why wouldn't that have just come to me in the first place when I booked. I'm just afraid there are other details that I am missing or don't know to ask for. Have you experienced the same? I also don't like that they do not update the website with more details. The wedding video is not even a Martha Stewart themed wedding and the picture links in the themes were not working for months. Thanks for letting me vent!!!!

I haven't been on the board in a while so I just saw your note about the planner. My original wedding planner, Alicia, is no longer there. Maybe that's who they were referring to. I had my 1st planning meeting set up with her but Ebony called me instead for our appointment. I was surprised and annoyed at first, but it worked out well and I like Ebony. So far I am still very happy with the process. It's going to be here quick!

Hi, I'm so glad you joined. What week will you be there? So far the planning process has been easy with Sandals. There's not that many decisions that need to be made at this point. We are thinking of having our Chic and Natural ceremony in a private grass area near the Garden Rondovols and our reception will be in the lawn by the hotel tower. We are planning on having a dinner reception with our guests. What are your plans? Have you picked a theme?

Hi, We are also staying in the Monte Carlo Honeymoon Suite. Our wedding is at 4pm as well. The Martha Stewart themes sold me on the wedding at Sandals. We are doing the Chic and Natural theme. We have a travel agent who is coordinating all of our guest arrangements so it hasn't been much work so far. Overall, I am happy with how things are going, but I am a little nervous about planning a destination wedding. We did visit the resort this past spring and saw two beautiful beginning weddings going on. Our favorite wedding gazebo is not on the map, but it is tucked away on the Caribbean side next to the Garden Rondovals (#9 on the map). It is very private and we loved it. Do not be concerned about the ceremony and decor not looking like the pictures. It was exactly like the pictures and the wedding department on site was very professional and knowledgeable. Â Melody

Hi, I agree with TA Jennifer. I am also getting married there in May 2011. We visited the resort this past spring and saw many room categories since we will be bringing guests along. My fiance and I will be staying on the Med side, while most of our guests will be on the Carib side. The rooms we saw on the Carib side were clean and upgraded, but I chose to book our room on the Med side so I was sure to have an updated room. They are still renovating the Carib rooms.

Hi! We are getting married in May 2011 at Sandals Antigua. We are having about 25 people come with us. We did get to visit the resort this past spring and it was amazing. It exceeded our expectations!! I have been searching the internet for some feedback on the resort so I am glad to have found this forum. We can chat on the planning progress and compare notes.