PrincessKO

Honestly I was worried about the photos, but the quality of photos you get from the resort photographer is based on the expertise of the individual photographer you get. My husband is a photography and journalism major, and he was more than pleased with the resort photographer, Christopher Lee. I am trying to upload pictures, however this site and my crappy work computer isn't cooperating. You can try to fight the $800 fee, but they won't budge with it. It will be a waste of time, because you will either be paying the $800 fee or paying a cancellation fee for the photographer you booked because of the 'rules' the Gran Bahia has. The fee is because they want you to use their studios. Good Luck - I will keep trying to post my photos.

Thanks. I will try to upload my pics tonight and will share my review of Chris. I was going to suggest following him on facebook as well. He posts a lot of his photos there. He is listed under Christopher Lee Stay tuned.

www.arrecifestudio.com

You can see their work beforehand. Ask the wedding coordinator and she will provide you with a webpage www.arrecife studio.com

Honestly I was worried about the photos, but the quality of photos you get from the resort photographer is based on the expertise of the individual photographer you get. My husband is a photography and journalism major, and he was more than pleased with the resort photographer, Christopher Lee. I am trying to upload pictures, however this site and my crappy work computer isn't cooperating. You can try to fight the $800 fee, but they won't budge with it. It will be a waste of time, because you will either be paying the $800 fee or paying a cancellation fee for the photographer you booked because of the 'rules' the Gran Bahia has. The fee is because they want you to use their studios. Good Luck - I will keep trying to post my photos.

Hi! My husband and got married at the Gran Bahia in JA this past November 15, 2012. I have to say that our experience was amazing. The resort has 3 weddings that day alone, and our wedding happened to be last. Our families are Guyanese, so we are very aware of the Caribbean culture, as we are West Indians as well. We were lucky, and had 45 guests come with us. Because of costs, we opted to not close down the restaurant, and we had a semi-private dinner. It wasn't bad, and there was actually another wedding party at the restaurant that night. We chose the steakhouse (forget the actual name), but the food was delicious. We got to choose the menu. Our cake was beautiful and nicer than I expected for the Caribbean. For our reception, we rented the Gazebo after dinner for two hours for $500 US. This allowed us to have a little dancing. The DJ;s were polite, and stayed a little later than they were supposed to. We didn't pay for a bartender for the gazebo, because it was a ridiculous cost of $20-30/ person. Instead, I bought bottles of alcohol in town, and soda, and we mixed our own drinks. It cost me about $50 US, and my guests were happy pouring their own drinks. The DJ's didn't say anything, and security didn't come around. We had Aricliffe (resort photography) do our pictures. Chris Lee was our photographer and he was amazing. He is such a nice person, not to mention very talented and good at what he does. I was really scared about our photographs going into this, because the resort charges you a surcharge for using an off resort photographer. We are very happy with our photographs. I can post a more detailed description at a later date, as I am currently at work. But the only advice that I can give you is this: Remember, Jamaica is not the US or Canada, so don't go in with the expectations that your wedding and reception will be like one planned here in a huge banquet hall. Those cost $30,000 +, and that won't happen at this resort or any other, unless you have the coin to make it happen. If you want decor and you are very particular about your decor, then take it down with you and the Wedding coordinator and her team will put them up for you. Let me know if you would like a detailed description.

Hi I had the same problem. I was booking Merrick Cousley, and he brought that to my attention. My wedding is on November 15, 2012. Unfortunately because of our budget, we couldn't justify the $800 USD just to have him come on the resort. My fiancé and I just bought a house. Anyways, we found that the Gran Bahia has a prefered photographer, Arrecife. They probably started to charge the $800 fee to ensure that people would use their preferred photographer. The website for them is http://www.arrecifestudio.com/ing/weg/galeria.php?ps=3&ht=6&sub=5 An outside photographer will give you more value for your money (before the additional surcharge), however once you factor that $800 in, its just not worth it. We looked at the Arrecife's photos and just decided to go with them. Really and truly we don't need 800+ photos of us. That was our choice. Best of luck with yours, PrincessKO

I haven't booked as of yet, but I will be booking with Michelle at Sunwing. A friend of the family suggested her, and she offered us a lot of insight about the resorts and destination weddings. With our date being in November 2012 she even advised us on when to look into pricing in order to get the best price. Good Luck

Thanks for the insight JayKay. It's very reassuring to hear someone else's experiences. How is your planning experience to this point? Right now, I am torn between the Gran Bahia and the RIU Ocho Rios. My fiance and I both agree that pricing for our guests is what matters the most, and both resorts offer comparable prices. I've been to the Gran Bahia back in 2007 when they first opened. The only thing that I didn't like at that point was that because the hotel chain is Spanish, they had a lot of Spanish influence. It was wierd to be in Jamaica and not have tradition Jerk Chicken while on the resort. Can anyone tell me if the resort has adopted more Jamaican influences since it has opened? I heard from friends that the RIU does have more Jamaican culture at their resort. Just so you know, I've been for 4 other Gran Bahia hotels before, so I do really like the chain of resorts.

Hello everyone, I am trying to secure a wedding date for the Gran Bahia Jamaica. I already emailed Chandlyn at [email protected] requesting November 16th, 2012 as my wedding date. I recieved a response from the assistant coordinator, Donnalee who said there are no dates available this year. I replied back stating that I asked for 2012, and I am still waiting for a response. (in actuality I mentioned it 2 times in the email and the date was even in the subject line). Has anyone else had any trouble with the wedding coordinators there? I don't know who I should deal with? I have no clue how to contact them besides email, and no one is responding to me. I wish people would just read things properly before responding. I really want my wedding at the Gran Bahia and I have already negotiated pricing for my guests. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you PrincessKO