jessdury

HELLO!!! (PICTURES AT THE END OF MY POST) For anyone who may be considering a destination wedding, look no further!! A year ago my finance and I decided to finalize our idea of traveling down south to get married, and we have to admit it was the BEST decision ever!! At first I was a little skeptical only because I didn’t have much information or reviews to go by when initially picking a resort, but after narrowing it down with our travel agent (Kristina MacPherson - [email protected]) we were finally able to send out the “Save the Date†wedding invitations. The wedding was set for April 12, 2013 and it was only about 90 days prior to the wedding that I started to stress about the actual day….reason being because Kristina (travel agent) and the wedding planner at the resort (Chandlyn Edwards) basically took care of everything!! Brides to be – I did VERY minimal leading up to the big day!! No joke, it was the most amazing and easy process ever!! We arrived at the Grand Bahia in Runaway Bay on April 6th 2013 and most guests arrived a couple days later which was helpful in getting our stuff organized for the wedding. I had a very specific idea of what I wanted and how I wanted the wedding to look so we brought down all of our centerpieces (we decorated mason jars) as well as the table runners for the reception (I wanted burlap). We met with Ms. Edwards on the Tuesday after arriving to the resort to go over the details that I had previously sent her via email. It was a “no hassleâ€, easy process. Ms. Edwards then went over the ceremony location that we had chose (on the beach) as well as the menu, music, bridal bouquet and anything else I had not yet send her in the past. At this point, there was nothing else to do but wait until the big day! The wedding ceremony was held on the beach beside the gazebo. A touch windy down there, but no one seemed to mind at all. It was a beautiful day and the wind actually helped for the guests who had been sitting out in the heat waiting for me to walk down the aisle J We had 40 guests for the wedding and chose the “Unforgettable†package that included a live trio band to either play during the ceremony or reception – we chose the ceremony and had the steel drum band play for the guests and then for my walk down! The entire ceremony lasted 15 mins and had some amazing spots to take pictures after. On to the reception…We were originally planning on holding the wedding reception ON the beach, but later learned this is something the resort no longer does which at first I was very upset about until I realized that the location where it would end up being held was at the PISCES bar. This place looked BEYOND GOOD when all was said and done! I was very impressed with the location and how the entire evening panned out for our wedding. When you see the location during the day you ask yourself how such a large place can look so good with only 40 people, but you don’t even notice…the wedding team really knows what they are doing!! Our wedding photographer CHRIS LEE took some awesome shots. Our head waiter at the wedding reception DAVID BLACK was incredible. The DJs were great, the entire wedding team was wonderful and more then we could have asked for! Donnalee White was also a huge part of making our day even that more special. The hotel accommodations were amazing. Pretty much every room has an ocean front view. The beds were comfortable, the food is AMAZING!! Not one complaint and I am a vegetarian! I didn’t have any trouble finding food to eat…in fact, during our candlelight dinner, the chef made something extra special for me!! Aside from the wedding planning, we were very thankful to have Marshalyn Dean help with the coordination for pretty much all of the meals (separate from the buffet) as we were interested in holding a few group dinners. She is AMAZING and I strongly recommend finding her in the guest services area when you are looking to plan dinners!! The service at the hotel was wonderful!! All around!! We did the catamaran boat tour that took us to Dunns River – a must. A lot of tourists, but worth checking out. I also did the Bob Marley tour which I strongly recommend! Separate from him being a legend and visiting his home, it was really neat to venture away from the resort for the day and catch a glimpse of the island! Its truly magnificent! If anyone has any questions about planning a wedding at this resort, PLEASE do not hesitate to contact me as I would be glad to help!! I found it troubling not to have any reviews or pictures to go off of, so I feel its now my responsibility to help any brides to be!!! You can email me at [email protected]