JamaicaSukie

How come no past Iberostar brides post reviews anymore?

I still haven't gotten an estimate or confirmation from Nicole.  The only thing they said was no to the lanterns.  Still waiting...

I plan on having a welcome cocktail party on Thursday at the Lobby Terrace (guests will just get their drinks from the bar and walk them over to the terrace) and I will be renting the sound system for 2 hours to play my iPod (I downloaded 2 hours worth of American songs as reggae covers...yay!), followed by dinner at the buffet or beach bbq if there is one.  On Friday we are having our rehearsal dinner at Aunt Ruby's Steakhouse unless it's already booked.

I really hope Nicole gets back to me with something concrete soon.  It's so frustrating feeling like we're not quite important enough to deal with yet.

Originally Posted by IslandBride201x 

haha... yeah, my FI insisted on A/C.  We are having a private dinner in Calabash.  At least that is what I filled out on my details form.  Hopefully there are no hiccups with that plan. 

 

Are you doing a rehearsal / welcome dinner another night?  We are going to use the Mexican restaurant for a welcome dinner the night before the wedding.  Hopefully the bride that night has chosen another restaurant or we'll be finding somewhere else to eat.. LOL

 

I'm anxious to hear back from Nicole or Tiffany to get the big details confirmed... restaurants, bonfire, beach party, etc.  How long did it take to get answers and your proposed bill once you submitted the details form to them?   

Originally Posted by JamaicaSukie 

 

I bought them from Just Artifacts.  I bought them in 3 different sizes (12', 16' and 24') in turquoise, lime green and brown.  The brown ones are the smallest and the green (I believe) are the biggest.  I also bought 50 of battery operated LED lights for them.  I would be more than happy to sell them to you if you are interested. [email protected]

Just wanted to add that they are typical round paper lanterns.  Very pretty.

Originally Posted by noreenp79 

 

What are your lanterns like?  I'm looking to buy some for my AHR!

I bought them from Just Artifacts.  I bought them in 3 different sizes (12', 16' and 24') in turquoise, lime green and brown.  The brown ones are the smallest and the green (I believe) are the biggest.  I also bought 50 of battery operated LED lights for them.  I would be more than happy to sell them to you if you are interested. [email protected]

Yeah I'm pretty bummed.  And FI is insisting on having the reception indoors.   Looks like I'm losing $143.  Where are you having your reception?

Originally Posted by IslandBride201x 

That is definitely disappointing!!!!  I have heard Aunt Ruby's is not unbearable at night with the ocean breeze.  I contemplated having our reception at the steakhouse, but decided I didn't want to take decorations with me.  My FI is already not happy about the piles of stuff that need to go...

 

Nicole and Tiffany must be catching up on emails today because I finally heard back from them as well.  Still no response to all the questions in my details form, but at least a response saying they are working on it.  We'll see how long until they respond with any bad news about what I want to do...

So I just got a small bit of bad news from Nicole at the Suites.  We can't put up the paper lanterns we bought in Calabash.  The lanterns are the most noticeble decorations we have and are really, really important to me.  So now we are back to square one....where to have the reception?  We originally wanted to do Aunt Ruby's but were really concerned about the heat in July.  Can any past brides comment on the reality of the heat in Aunt Ruby's at night?  Is it unbearable?  Can anyone recommend another restaurant on the property?  Please help.  Thanks!

How come there haven't been any new reviews?  It seems like it's been at 17 reviews forever.  Do brides not have good things to say?

I'm getting married at the Suites in 2 months and this is the first I'm hearing of this as well.  We are "confirmed" for Calabash and have 52 guests as of now.  It seems like they just don't like having to shut down any of their restaurants for private affairs. :/

Originally Posted by CourtandMatt 

 Question for upcoming 2012 brides:

 

I requested the updated wedding details from the WC.  She gave me the updated document that is still titled "2012 Wedding Details" but has changed the minimum number of people needed for certain restaurants.  See below:

 

Private Events:

Aunt Ruby 7-10:30 pm.  Groups of 100 or more only according to the new info. 

Calabash:  6:30-10pm.  Seats between 70-100 people depending on the seating arrangment.

Mediterranean:  "If you would like to have a private dinner, but have less than 70 guests, we offer the Mediterranean Restaurant for rental from 6:30pm until 10pm.  (The minimum number of people to have this restaurant in private is 40 adults and depending on the seating arrangement it fits up to 50 persons)." 

 

I don't really understand what you are supposed to do if you want a private reception with dancing and you only have 60 adults since the Med. restaurant says that it fits up to 50. 

 

Is this new document true?  In other words, is this document affecting any of the upcoming weddings?   I really hope there is some way around this... I don't want to have a reception at the Mediterranean restaurant. 

Also, I have a question re: the paperwork.  if they didn't find it until you got there, how were they able to get your license?  Nicole made it seem like they needed 30 days in order to get your license but it seems that they were able to get it for you in a lot less time.  ???

Originally Posted by Ceecie 

 

Hi Ladies!

 

I can't believe I am back and a married woman!!!  It all seems so long ago now.

IRHS was amazing - food, rooms, beach, atmosphere and our wedding was perfect 

 

We had some initial trouble with lost paperwork (yes it does happen!), communication and the florist just before we left - it did all work out though.

 

One in-site I would share is that the coordinators are truly organized and do have all your emails in a special file (they read them even if they don't respond in a timely manner); they do seem understaffed and the communication is what seems to be the area that suffers and their priorities and future brides don't line up- on the flip side they are completely focused on you on your day. A really great example of this is our paperwork.  It was delivered to the hotel next door according to Fed-Ex.  We made several phone calls on the subject, to no avail. The day of our initial meeting my husband brought it to her attention again and by that afternoon our original "lost' paperwork was found.  Frustrating but true.  Our thought was since we didn't let it go and were right there she actually called over or walked over to the other hotel to check for it - It just wasn't a priority prior to then.  Unfortunately there don't seem to be a system to evaluate the priority or urgency of a matter - everything is no problem and deal in the moment.

 

Our wedding day was amazing.............

 

Nicole our wedding coordinator was professional and available as needed.

 

Misha Earle was our photographer - AMAZING!! she gives her all to her brides, is so respectful of your budget and the time you have paid for adjusting to give you the best.  Beyond that she is just a GREAT person.  We had a ton of fun with her and she was amazingly sweet to our boys.  My oldest was full of questions and became her little assistant on the TD shoot.  At the end she slipped him $20 for his help!

 

Rashel Edwards -OMG ladies!!  Drop everything and book her now!  The airbrushed makeup is so the way to go.  I have never looked so beautiful and it lasted all night (my eye make-up was still perfect the next morning! no word of a lie!)  Rashel is not only talented but the sweetest person ever and very professional.

 

Godfrey Guy was our florist - THIS WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER.  Sadly in my opinion he is a major chauvinist with no respect for women and a shyster who manipulates brides financially.  I would not recommend any bride work with him.  (I will post the details later)  Thanks to my wedding party things worked out in the end,but not without a lot of stress on my wedding day.

 

Reggae Band - again AMAZING.  This was a surprise from my husband and dancing in the sand at sunset after the wedding was surreal.  The band was great and were arranged through Nicole.

 

Aunt Ruby's is where we had dinner.  Food was good - however if I hadn't wanted the outdoor beach reception more than I cared about the food I would have chosen the calabash.  AR is very country western in the menu and that wasn't the 'theme' I had in mind.

 

Our wish lanterns were a huge hit and we had no trouble doing them.

 

hope this little review helps 

 

Ciecee

 

 

I mentioned to Nicole that there were some brides who had issues with their paperwork being lost and she claimed that they have never, ever lost paperwork.  What a crock!  But I'm glad your wedding went off without too many hitches.

Originally Posted by Ceecie 

 

Hi Ladies!

 

I can't believe I am back and a married woman!!!  It all seems so long ago now.

IRHS was amazing - food, rooms, beach, atmosphere and our wedding was perfect 

 

We had some initial trouble with lost paperwork (yes it does happen!), communication and the florist just before we left - it did all work out though.

 

One in-site I would share is that the coordinators are truly organized and do have all your emails in a special file (they read them even if they don't respond in a timely manner); they do seem understaffed and the communication is what seems to be the area that suffers and their priorities and future brides don't line up- on the flip side they are completely focused on you on your day. A really great example of this is our paperwork.  It was delivered to the hotel next door according to Fed-Ex.  We made several phone calls on the subject, to no avail. The day of our initial meeting my husband brought it to her attention again and by that afternoon our original "lost' paperwork was found.  Frustrating but true.  Our thought was since we didn't let it go and were right there she actually called over or walked over to the other hotel to check for it - It just wasn't a priority prior to then.  Unfortunately there don't seem to be a system to evaluate the priority or urgency of a matter - everything is no problem and deal in the moment.

 

Our wedding day was amazing.............

 

Nicole our wedding coordinator was professional and available as needed.

 

Misha Earle was our photographer - AMAZING!! she gives her all to her brides, is so respectful of your budget and the time you have paid for adjusting to give you the best.  Beyond that she is just a GREAT person.  We had a ton of fun with her and she was amazingly sweet to our boys.  My oldest was full of questions and became her little assistant on the TD shoot.  At the end she slipped him $20 for his help!

 

Rashel Edwards -OMG ladies!!  Drop everything and book her now!  The airbrushed makeup is so the way to go.  I have never looked so beautiful and it lasted all night (my eye make-up was still perfect the next morning! no word of a lie!)  Rashel is not only talented but the sweetest person ever and very professional.

 

Godfrey Guy was our florist - THIS WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER.  Sadly in my opinion he is a major chauvinist with no respect for women and a shyster who manipulates brides financially.  I would not recommend any bride work with him.  (I will post the details later)  Thanks to my wedding party things worked out in the end,but not without a lot of stress on my wedding day.

 

Reggae Band - again AMAZING.  This was a surprise from my husband and dancing in the sand at sunset after the wedding was surreal.  The band was great and were arranged through Nicole.

 

Aunt Ruby's is where we had dinner.  Food was good - however if I hadn't wanted the outdoor beach reception more than I cared about the food I would have chosen the calabash.  AR is very country western in the menu and that wasn't the 'theme' I had in mind.

 

Our wish lanterns were a huge hit and we had no trouble doing them.

 

hope this little review helps 

 

Ciecee

 

 

I am really happy to hear that your wedding and experience at the Beach was amazing.  It's been said a lot on here that while leading up to the wedding communication is bad, the WCs are really on their p's and q's once you are actually there.  I sincerely hope this is the case for me as well.  Looking forward to your review!

Originally Posted by beachbum21 

Hey ladies! 
Just got back from IRHB and the week was absolutely amazing!! The resort was beautiful, food was delicious and the wedding was perfect. The staff worked their asses off all week and always with a smile. While communication may be weak prior to the wedding, rest assured they really do try their hardest to accommodate your wedding wishes and are more than willing to meet with you and work with you when you arrive to ensure everything goes according to plan. The day of the wedding, Kymoya (the WC) was on site the entire day and didn't leave until very late in the evening (past 11pm) ensuring everything went smoothly. 

The wedding coordinators are booked up dealing with brides getting married that week, there was a wedding every day we were there the whole week.  I too had been frustrated with the lack of communication, it seemed when i got responses only half my questions were answered, etc.. but once I got there, I realized they really do work hard. If there's anyone to blame it's the Iberostar itself and not the staff onsite, I think they could probably use some help!!! 

 

As for the dinner, we had originally anticipated having a semi-private wedding (where we had the place to ourselves for half the night) for free as well but didn't have the numbers so we were also told it would cost us $400. We opted not to reserve the whole place and they really did a great job of keeping our section private, we had speeches and it was decorated how I wanted and we didn't even notice the other guests. We had a beach bonfire where we danced, had more drinks and released sky lanterns. It was incredible!!! My guests were totally amazed and can't stop saying what an amazing week and wedding overall. 

I'll be posting my review soon with some pics. I can't comment on the Suites or Grand, we didn't really spend any time there but the property looked amazing.  For those of you still considering on going forward with your beach wedding, do it!! It was so fun and I have absolutely no regrets  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes.  You are more important than my wedding 77 days away.  Good luck!  Hope all goes well!

Originally Posted by Alexisht 

I couldn't agree more Allie!  They host a wedding daily and then have to field questions from all of us brides that don't have their wedding until a month or even a year out.  At first I was so frustrated too but then think about your own job and put yourself in Nicole's shoes.  She has A LOT on her plate.

 

I am getting married there April 29, 2012 and has of recently Nicole picks up the phone and calls me and responds to my emails quickly.  They aren't worried about May or even 2013, they are worried about their brides right now that are about to walk in the door. I would much prefer answers NOW then getting them 8 months ago. 

 

Use this blog to get answers to your questions that you have - you will get a much quicker response!!

 

Best of luck!  If you read Trip Advisor or any other rating source they give great reviews for this hotel and I am so looking forward to leaving in 5 days to marry my best friend there!

WORD!!!!!  My BIGGEST regret is dealing with Iberostar AT ALL!  I sincerely hope that once I get there (and they can't avoid me) the service/response is better.  But yeah, honestly, this experience has been anything but cute.  Waiting weeks, sometimes months, to respond to your client is unacceptable.  And this "island time" excuse is just that...AN EXCUSE!  I wish I could've cancelled my wedding there but unfortunately most of my guests are booked and excited to be coming.  But I would not recommend this resort to a bride.  It has been stressful not getting timely responses and then getting 'tude when I send multiple emails following up on the emails that have gone unanswered for weeks.  Oh, AND they NEVER admit when they are wrong or a mistake has been made.  I expressed my concerns about 2 couples' paperwork being lost recently and they responded that they have NEVER lost anyone's paperwork.  Huh???  So are they calling the brides on this forum liars?  SMDH!
 

Originally Posted by Cateyedcutie 

After catching up on this thread, canceling my wedding at the grand appears to be the best wedding planning decision I've made thus far. I don't care how gorgeous the resort, I refuse to pay for incompetence. I'm West Indian and understand the concept of laid back island time. Waiting weeks on end for a simple email reply that never comes and leaving several unreturned messages isn't island time, it's lax and unprofessional. Don't get me started on the policy and price changes that vary depending on who replies. I'm not thrilled about planning an at home wedding, but I'm over the moon about vendors who return emails in 24 hours or less and know how to answer a goddamn phone. *vent over* lol

Thanks for the tip.  I will definitely do that going forward.  In the meantime, the day I posted on here I also emailed the WC a follow-up email to every single email that has gone unanswered for weeks (4 in total) and guess what...she finally responded!  Persistance is key. 

 

Originally Posted by sunshine2413 

I purchased a calling card for $5.... it has been very helpful in the planning process. You can get them at gas stations
 

 

Not yet.  The last time I did an 11 minute phone call cost me $48 bucks so I'm trying to avoid that.  Plus, I prefer to have everything in writing so they can't deny later.

 

Originally Posted by beachbum21 

Have you tried calling them?

 

 

I am so sorry you are going through all of this at the zero hour, Ceecie.  Your story about your paperwork being lost is EXACTLY why FI and I changed our minds and have decided to (secretly) wed stateside before we go to Jamaica for the "real ceremony".  We are scared to DEATH of identity theft.  How do you even begin to follow-up/resolve this?  And why is it suddenly so easy to just bring another copy of your paperwork and still get married?  Don't they specifically say they need a month to submit your paperwork?  If I were you, I would go to the courthouse in your hometown and get married there before you go because the next thing you know, Iberostar will say they lost your paperwork again and are not officially married.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by Ceecie 

OMG ladies........I am totally freaking out 

 

I leave for my wedding on Monday the 26th.  I have done everything by the book and now everything is exploding...........

 

So first I loose communication with Nicole at the Suites.  It seems she was getting my emails but I was getting nothing back.  Finally I did get in touch through my travel agent who emails, and I get through on the phone.   All this to find out a second problem............  I FedEx my paper work to Jamaica 6 weeks ago and Nicole doesn't have them!!  FedEx delivered them to the Beach instead of the Suites and they signed for them and now they are LOST!  No one knows where they are............  We have been told just to bring a new set and we can still get married......BUT all we can think about is IDENTITY THEFT!!!!

 

In the middle of this on Friday Godfrey Guy the florist I hired, has sent an email asking for more money?!  Some story about the flower shop changing their policy and now they want the money early - strangely they want $250 US dollars only??!!  After some debate and a discussion with Nicole and FH I say no, we will pay as per the contract agreement.  this results in a text message that asks why I am being so difficult and that all the "Iberostar Brides are so hard to deal with when there is a slight change".  Now he refuses to meet with me to discuss the flowers and will just drop off what he thinks I want and pick up his money from Nicole later!!!  REALLY?!

 

To add fuel to this debacle is Air Canada's strike/work to rule (or call in sick) campaign..................

 

Who said destination wedding were easier and stress free?

 

Thanks for listening.

 

 

Is anyone else having trouble reaching the WCs at the Suites?  I must have sent them like 3 emails in the last 3 weeks and none have been responded to.  I get "island time" and all that but my wedding is almost 3 months away and I need assistance with band bookings and stuff.  What can I do to get their attention?  And when do they start giving you TOP priority?  When you're 1-2 months away?

So frustrating....I really hope this is worth it.

I hope you are right about the vendor fee.  It would suck to have to pay for each band member when they will only be there for 2 hours or so.

 

Originally Posted by Leah22 

Be careful that you're not confusing the "vendor fee" and the "day pass".  There's no vendor fee for photographers at Iberostar.  They only require a day pass, therefore you have to purchase a day pass for EACH photographer.  But for a band or musical group, they "should" be considered as 1 vendor...therefore, only 1 vendor fee (and no day passes).  You should check with your WC to confirm.
 

 

Hi everyone.  I have a question about the vendor fee.  I am booking the band Irie Connection for our beach bonfire the night before the wedding and want to know if the vendor fee is just one fee for the whole band or if that's the fee PER band member? 

I emailed the WC but they take forever so I thought I'd ask here.  Thanks!

Take Two!  Here are my wedding shoes!  I just love them!!!

I also purchased some of my wedding jewelry....

I also found the perfect add on piece for my dress (I hate the flower the came on my dress).

I also started working on my welcome package in terms of welcome letter, itineraries, things to know, etc.  Please note that I totally borrowed from other brides on this site.  I am not very creative and didn't even know that I should HAVE a welcome letter.  I am trying to go back through all the posts to find the sources of my inspiration so as not to "plagarize".  If any of these look familiar, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due.  I created "Do Not Disturb" signs; brochures listing the hotel's main amenities, the itinerary for the whole weekend, and a thank you to our bridal party and guests; a "things to know" sheet with little tips about the weekend (i.e. - please use the cups provided in the OOT bag to identify yourself as part of our group, details they need to know about the rehearsal dinner and party, etc.); a "wedding day" itinerary; and a welcome letter.

I also found a great tote bag from discountmugs.com for the OOT bags.  I anticipate needing about 30 (I per room, not one per person) so I will probably be paying $4.99 per bag but that's still the cheapest I could find for the quality.  I am still strying to find a similar bag in brown (for the men) but if I can't find it this is what I will be going with.

That's all I've got so far.  Hope to update again soon.  Any questions, let me know.  :-)

Hey everybody!  I just wanted to post an update.  I've gotten a lot done the last few weeks.  First, I completely rearranged all of my wedding weekend events.  I decided that it would not be fair to my guests to have them get all dressed up only to sweat to death in Aunt Ruby's in July.  So instead my weekend will go as follows:  welcome cocktail party on Thursday from 6 - 8 p.m. in the Lobby Bar if possible; rehearsal dinner at Aunt Ruby's from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. followed by a beach bonfire with reggae band from 8:00 - 10:30 on Friday; ceremony on the beach from 4:30 - 5:00 followed by cocktail hour in the Music Bar from 5:30 - 6:30 and the private reception in Calabash from 6:30 - 10:30 (hopefully a little longer lol) with a DJ and open bar.  We decided to have the reggae band the night before the wedding so that people would (hopefully) really get into the spirit of things and get down on the beach in much more comfortable clothes than they'll be wearing the wedding day.  We are still getting married on the beach though so and giving everyone fair warning so that they can make shoe arrangements (lol).  However, now the ladies can showcase their best heels if they choose without worrying about taking them off the entire time.

Now....speaking of shoes...yesterday I found (and purchased) my wedding shoes....I will have to post a pic in the next post because for some reason it's not letting me now.  As a matter of fact, I will continue this post in a new one.

To be continued.....

Beautiful!!!  I've been following your posts and "borrowing" some ideas.  My wedding colors are turquoise, lime green and brown and I am totally ordered samples from efavormart and they were perfect!  I am also borrowing your money holder idea (I hope you don't mind).  Can't wait to read your review!
 

Originally Posted by Kimberli1211 

Hi ladies!! Sorry to have been MIA- I decided it was time to come back and finish up my wedding ends.... life has been so darn busy!!! My wedding was on 12-6-11, and was amazing!!!! I'll work on finishing my planning thread and getting my review done in the next couple of days. In the meantime, here is my slideshow with photographer Clayton from Sungold!

 

http://www.wpajamaica.com/show/assoc_cf/Kimberli-Coleman/

 

Hope  planning is going well for everyone!!!

I must agree that communication with the WC at the Suites is horrible.  Sometimes it doesn't even seem like she's answering the questions I ask.
 

Originally Posted by Collleeen12 

We have a couple kids coming too....flowergirl, ring bearer and some other neices and nephews, so I guess it wouldn't matter if we had the wedding at the Grand.  I know most of our guests won't want to pay to stay at the Grand.  They've all said they'll be staying at the Suites, some have already booked.  I called the Grand and my original date of November 30 isn't available, but December 1 is.  I'm just waiting for the wedding coordinator to email me back to discuss everything.

 

Ughhh!  It's the same way with the Beach resort.  I write paragraph after paragraph only to get one word answers.  It's very frustrating!

 

Also, we're from Philadelphia too

Oh wow! What a beautiful video.  You made a gorgeous bride.  My fiance is Jewish as well, and it was important to [ME] that he break the glass.  Glad to see it's possible on the beach! Love the fire dancer so I'm now convinced that we have to get one.
 

Originally Posted by daizyduke 

Hi everyone,

I am still waiting on some of my professional pictures before I do my review, but I did just receive my wedding trailer from Lovestruck films.  http://vimeo.com/35780298

I hope to have a full review soon. 

Thank you!  I actually received my chair tie and table runner samples from efavormart.com and they are not bad at all!  The colors are perfect (sage and turquoise) and the price is right!!  The green runner is a slightly more narrow than the turquoise but I'm not sure if it's supposed to be.  I plan on alternating the tables with turquoise and sage runners and alternating chair tie colors around the table.  I will try to post a pic soon.

Originally Posted by BrideMichyBoo 

Your planning thread is looking good girl! And I love your STD's and invites I'm going to check out that site for the sashes .89cents is a wicked deal, you'll have to let us know how they look when you receive them.