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The Picasso is an indoor restaurant. It's a new part of the resort that was given to me as an option by Chandlyn. We saw receptions at the Picese venue and they looked really nice as well. The resort has lights wrapped around the poles and it looks really pretty at night.

We had our wedding on June 24th at 1pm and it was beautiful! All 40 of our guests described it as magical. We used Luxe Destination Weddings to book from Toronto and had some problems such as having our agent quit without notice 2 weeks before the final balance was due. We were never informed that the agent left and only found out after my sister in law lost her patience with the unanswered messages and contacted the manager. We were assigned a new agent. The biggest disappointment was that when we arrived at the Montego Bay airport we realized that our travel agent did not send us our transport vouchers. Only one person in a group of 8 received the travel voucher. Thank goodness for that! We could at least prove that we were supposed to be transferred to the hotel. I would advise anyone booking with Luxe Destination Weddings to expect some glitches. The name implies that they are more helpful than other agents when booking a destination wedding. Unless you pay extra for their wedding planning services they are just going to book your flights and that's all. Don't even bother paying Luxe for their wedding planning services if you are getting married at the Gran Bahia Jamaica, the wedding team at the resort is exceptional. We arrived on June 21st and met with one of the wedding coordinators, Vinette. She was a pleasure to work with. She was very patient and spent over an hour with us going over every detail of our wedding. Before the meeting, I had prepared programs and a seating list. I also brought photos of how I wanted the table decor to be set up. I had a reception schedule planned with playlists for the DJ. Vinette advised me of things in my plans that would not work and offered alternatives. At that meeting, we settled the costs- 2500 USD to have the reception at the Picasso and 900 USD for the Unforgettable package. We had 10 more guests than the package allowed so that was 35 USD x10 and we had to pay cash for the chair sashes 40x 2.50 USD. Vinette walked us through what to expect on the wedding day and took us to see the reception venue. I had to request that my future mother-in-law and groom get a ride to the gazebo. It's a long walk in heels and they only give the bridal party a ride. After all that was planned, we enjoyed relaxing on the beach for the next couple of days. It was amazing to relax on the beach with family and friends the day before the wedding. I got Rashel Edwards to do makeup and she has a hair stylist who works with her. She charges 70 USD for makeup per person, 70 USD for hair per person and 100 USD travel fee. They did a great job with hair and makeup. They came to the room and that way we didn't have to rush back from the spa and risk bumping into the groom. There was supposed to be a 75 USD fee to get each of them a day pass but Vinette waived that for us. I was told that is not always the case so please beware if you are booking outside vendors. On the morning of the wedding, she and the hair stylist arrived at 10am. They did hair and make up for 4 people and I was ready at 1 pm. The golf cart drove us to the gazebo and the steel band was playing. The procession was beautiful with the steel band music and it was a long walk to the gazebo so I really got to soak it all in. The gazebo is windy but everyone was able to hear the ceremony. The weather was perfect. No rain for the entire week we were there. I brought palm leaf fans for all the guests in case it was too hot but the sun went behind the clouds and it was a very comfortable for the ceremony. It was really beautiful to get married in that gazebo overlooking the ocean. It felt very private although there were some onlookers in bathing suits nearby. I didn't even notice them until I spotted them in a friend's photo. It all part of the fun and we had a good laugh about it. After the ceremony, we had drinks and mingled with our guests. We took a group photo at the gazebo and then photos with our guests. We did not feel rushed to leave the gazebo at all. The wedding team took down the decorations and the band left but we lingered to take photos. The band packed up and left before I knew they were gone. I regret not getting to tip them because they really added a special feel to the setting. We used Merrick Cousley for photography. The package we chose cost 2300 USD but the resort charged us 800 USD as a penalty for not using their services. The shocker came after we paid that and was told that we needed to pay 75 USD for his day pass. Again, Vinette waived that for us. Merrick is amazing! He pays attention to every little detail and has a sharp eye for setting up the perfect shot. His equipment is impressive and the slideshow he presented during the reception really confirmed our belief that he is among the best. He arrived around 11:30am and stayed until the last sky lantern was released. We had 15 free photos from the resort included in our wedding package. The photographer was Christopher Lee. He was able to get great candid photos during the ceremony and if we weren't so picky about photography, I would have no problem using the resort's photo services. I love photography and I love how editing makes photos 'pop'. That's what Merrick offers that is different from the resort. If I didn't have the budget, then the resort's photography would be great for capturing the memories. I didn't order flowers or any extras because photos were more important to us My mother-in-law surprised us with flowers for the ceremony and a bouquet of roses for me. She also paid for the bartender and videographer so I can't comment on those costs. The chair with sashes as well as the flowers were moved to our reception venue. The reception was at 6:30pm at the Picasso. Again, the staff did a wonderful job with setting up the tables and decor. When we walked in, it was so beautiful. For dinner, we had salmon and rice as the entree. It was honestly the best wedding food I've ever had. The wedding cake that came with the package was three tiers and it was delicious. After dinner, we had 2 hrs of dancing. The bartenders helped to keep the party going but I wouldn't have the budget for them if my mother-in-law didn't pay for it. I'm sure that another solution could be found...Vinette was present throughout making sure that everything was going according to our plans. The DJ informed me when it was the last dance. When that was done, the tables were cleared and I asked friends to collect the decor, guest book and flowers I wanted to keep. Make sure that all your guests have their belongings because everything gets thrown out after the reception. We walked to the Gazebo and lit the sky lanterns. It was a perfect way to end the evening. We had such a great day and we were very impressed with the staff who helped at our wedding, from the coordinators to the servers, it was a pleasure to work with everyone. [/img][/img]

[email protected] That's what I just used to send an email and it worked. I scanned and emailed our documents so I don't know about the fax number.

I got this email from the resort photographer. You can email them your questions. [email protected] This is an agreement of exclusivity between Arrecife Studio and Gran Bahia Principe Resort it’s applied to all of its different services. Sorry for the inconvenience we may cause; but please inform us if you have a local or international Videographer or Photographer. Photo Service: If a guest brings a professional photographer local or international, the photographer (not the guest) must pay US$ 800 fee because of the Photo service exclusivity breakage between the both above mentioned companies. Video Service: If a guest brings a professional Videographer local or international, the Videographer (not the guest) must pay US$ 200.00 fee because of the Video service exclusivity breakage between the both above mentioned companies. We want to make clear that this fee is not for the client it’s for the photographer or Videographer, who is making business in a resort that has an exclusivity agreement with our company. If you need any further assistance do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you and let us know in advance. Kindest Regards,

I got this contact from Chandlyn as I wanted to reserve for a rehearsal dinner in June. I got the response from Marshalyn to make the request again in June as they don't make reservations this early in advance. Marshalyn Dean at [email protected]

I have looked at the previous posts and got a lot of helpful info. Thanks to everyone for posting photos. It helps to see the venues. For those of you who did and indoor, private dinner reception, where did you have your first dance? With 30 guests do you think it would be possible to have the first dance in the reception room? I have a question about the ceremony. I read that the gazebo can get very windy and can interfere with the microphone. Can anyone comment on this? Did you have guests who couldn't hear what was being said during the ceremony? Does the ceremony have to take place under the gazebo or can it take place in front. I was thinking of using the gazebo only for signing the papers and stuff and having the ceremony under the hot, tropical sun. Let me know your experiences.

Thanks so much for posting !! We'll be getting married there in June. The ceremony is at 1 pm. We are expecting about 30 guests. I have read some horrible wedding stories on Tripadvisor. I have many questions. Please help. 1- I received the wedding package from Chandlyn but no info about cakes and bouquets. Can anyone enlighten me as to the kind of cake and bouquets that come with the packages? 1b- When is the pre-wedding consult? Is that something we book before leaving for Jamaica or do we just show up at the office when we arrive at the resort? 1c- What happens at that consult? I've read about people feeling very rushed and not getting much information. 2- Our reception is planned for 6pm-ish. I have no clue how to go about this. We want a private area for dinner and speeches. We may just hit the disco after dinner for dancing. I was thinking of bringing and ipod and docking station for some back ground music during dinner. Does anyone have info about an indoor room for a reception? 3- What is the reception menu like? I'll leave it at that for now. I booked this wedding so it would be stress-free (well compared to having in at home) but now I'm starting to get nervous. Any help will be much appreciated Thanks Tricia