Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?

[katelynn]

Thank-you both for getting back to me...sees like I need to talk to him about the price before we book, I felt comfortable paying around $2500 so I almost had a heart attack when it was $1000 more than that.

 

Thought I would also give you girls a heads up that Mappins is having a no tax sale right now, Mike and I went in yesterday and got our rings - no tax event, then we signed up for a Mappins credit card and got an extra 10% off.

 

I am also looking for some help to finish a poem if any of you are good at that kind of thing. This is what we have so far for our sea glass. We are going to print the poem on a card with a piece of sea glass and everyone has it during the ceremony then gives it back and we are going to put it on display in our house with our sand ceremony frame.

 

Just dont know how to word saying hold it in your hand during the ceremony and put your best wishes and thoughts into it then deposit it back in the vase at the end of the ceremony

 

Any help would be AMAZING!!

 

Hold this magical sea glass in your hand and be reminded of the sandy beach, the salty air, the pounding waves, seashells and driftwood, and the blue sky and sea.

 

And be reminded of this special day of Kate & Mike’s wedding.

 

Just like the turbulent tides and the calm seas, their marriage will have its ups and downs, and just like this sea glass, it will become even more beautiful, and it will endure the test of time.

[katelynn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soontobemrsdow Those are the cutest favours ever!

LOVE THIS! I didnt even know this existed....too bad us Canadian girls dont have a Davids Bridal, although it might be worth a trip down to look around.

Thanks for sharing!

[mekanabr]

Thanks for all the info about the AHRs ladies! It's so useful to hear about everyones different situations. Just another reason why I love this forum!

 

Those shell favors are super cute, I might have to look into something like that!!

 

I love the idea of your sea glass Katelynn, unfortunately I am not good with that sort of thing so I am of no help! Good luck though! You'll have to let us know what you use as your finished product!!

 

I'm interested to hear everyones photography prices bc we are trying to figure out the price we want to spend as well. We found someone who pretty much said she'll 'make it work' for us..but I'm not sure if her 'make it work' is going to be the same as our 'make it work' lol. Hopefully we'll find out soon bc I love her work and reeaallyy want her to photograph our wedding!!

 

Also- I haven't heard from Beverly since MAY! Has anyone else had any problems getting in contact with her I guess I might have to call down there but I wanted to check if anyone else was dealing with this too...Thanks!

[AshleyL]

Our photographers are a husband and wife team. They have shot many weddings but they haven't done a destination wedding yet. Since we are their first and they are looking to build up their portfolio they have agreed to shoot our wedding for just the cost of travel. We will get a disc and online gallery included. Prints and albums will be extra depending on what we choose. I like the idea of the online gallery because our friends and family can look at the pics and choose which ones they would like printed.

 

I just put an ad on kijiji and craigslist to find them, but beware there are many people that responded that just want a free trip to Jamaica - their pics were awful! Good luck!

[emi]

hey ladies! how many weddings does GBP do at most a day? And do they offer free wedding packages to start? At first my eyes were set on Iberostar Rose Hall but the costs are more than I anticipated....so now I'm back at square one trying to find another resort.... My TA recommended GBP, said she has a friend who just vacay-ed there and only had good things to say about it. The prices she quoted is much more reasonable than IRHS too. But then I read the reviews on TripAdvisor and got really iffy on GBP. Reading your reviews here eased my mind a lot, seems like the resort is much better than what ppl have to say on TripAdvisor! I just sent an email to ask for more info, hopefully they will reply soon

[mekanabr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by emi hey ladies! how many weddings does GBP do at most a day? And do they offer free wedding packages to start? At first my eyes were set on Iberostar Rose Hall but the costs are more than I anticipated....so now I'm back at square one trying to find another resort.... My TA recommended GBP, said she has a friend who just vacay-ed there and only had good things to say about it. The prices she quoted is much more reasonable than IRHS too. But then I read the reviews on TripAdvisor and got really iffy on GBP. Reading your reviews here eased my mind a lot, seems like the resort is much better than what ppl have to say on TripAdvisor! I just sent an email to ask for more info, hopefully they will reply soon

Hey Emi! I definitely recommend GBP!!! I was totally settled on IRHS too but they were way to expensive and after looking into it more and reading reviews I didn't get a super fun resort feel from them, it sort of felt more like a conference center lol..thats when I started looking into GBP and loved it! This picture is what totally hooked me:


I haven't seen any ceremony locations as beautiful as this

I do not believe they offer a free wedding package, however I'm not positive about that. Here are the two packages most brides go with...

Sunshine $1100. This is the cheapest option that most people go with if you have 24ppl or less (its $35 p/p after that)

•Civil Wedding ( Minister Fees)
•Accompanied to the Wedding Location- Gazebo
•Bride & Groom’s Boutonniere- Tropical Flowers
•Complementary room upgrade ( subject to availability upon arrival)
•10 % Discount on Spa Treatments
•Gourmet wedding cake or variety of Chef’s customs pastry desert choice
•Late check out until 6 pm ( upon request & subject to availability)
•Luxury turned down service
•Music for the marriage ceremony with recorded CD ( couple may bring their own)
•Minimum 7 nights stay
•Picturesque Wedding Location may be celebrated on the beach or Wedding Gazebo ( consult beach area restrictions)
•10 professional pictures of the wedding full colour photography ( included)
•Professional Services of an Onsite Wedding Consultor
•Romantic Ornamental decoration of the wedding site ( location assigned after arrival)
•Sparkling bottle of wine ( domestic brand) in the room on arrival ( just for the couple)
•Sparkling wine Celebration toast ( Domestic Brand) after ceremony
•Sit down wedding reception Dinner in one of our restaurants with set menu (wedding more than 30 pax is subject to availability. Group may be in different tables, please coordinate with you wedding planner. Included in the all inclusive package. No more extra menus.
•Up graded amenities
•Witness (if required)



Blissful Love-$1350. This package is best if you have more ppl bc it includes up to 30 and then is an additional $40p/p over that. (just for the difference in price for those 6 extra ppl its worth getting this package, in my opinion)
•Civil Wedding ( Minister Fees)
•Accompanied to the Wedding Location- Gazebo
•Bride & Groom’s Boutonniere- Tropical Flowers
•Complementary room upgrade ( subject to availability upon arrival)
•15 % Discount on Spa Treatments
•Fresh, elegant floral décor on the Bridal Table.
•Gourmet wedding cake or variety of Chef’s customs pastry desert choice
•Late check out until 6 pm ( upon request & subject to availability)
•Luxury turned down service
•Music for the marriage ceremony with recorded CD ( couple may bring their own)
•Minimum 7 nights stay
•Newly Wed Romantic Breakfast in bed the morning after the wedding ( Once per stay)
•Picturesque Wedding Location may be celebrated on the beach or Wedding Gazebo ( consult beach area restrictions)
•10 professional pictures of the wedding full colour photography ( included)
•Professional Services of an Onsite Wedding Consultor
•Complimentary Trial Hair style with the purchase of Bridal Hairstyle.
•Romantic Ornamental decoration of the wedding site ( location assigned after arrival)
•Sparkling bottle of wine ( domestic brand) in the room on arrival ( just for the couple)
•Sparkling wine Celebration toast ( Domestic Brand) after ceremony
•Sit down wedding reception Dinner in one of our restaurants with set menu (wedding more than 30 pax is subject to availability. Group may be in different tables, please coordinate with you wedding planner. Included in the all inclusive package. No more extra menus.
•Up graded amenities
•Special wedding cake- Deluxe cake†and “Love cakeâ€.
•Witness ( if required)

A few extra details about weddings at the resort: They do 1 to 2 weddings per day, but most brides have said they don't even see that many when they are there. You can rent out the wedding gazebo for (I think) $500 from 8:30 to 10:30pm, including a DJ. However, you have to pay $15p/p/hour for a bar to be setup down there. According to other brides the closest bar is well..not close. So its worth the money for the bar setup. If you want a private dinner it is $2500. I'm not sure of the hours but if you want to have your reception at one of the restaurants instead of the gazebo, that is an option. The dinner included in the package is pretty private though, they set you up in one portion of the restaurant and kind've section it off (or so I've read) so its not just in the middle of the resaurant with the other guests watching you. Also, GBP does not charge a fee for bringing outside vendors in, so you can bring your own photographer, florist...whatever at no charge (Sandals and other resorts charge big time for bringing outside vendors).


I've been having some trouble getting in touch with the wedding coordinator, Beverly, lately but I'm just going to assume that she has been really busy. Going to call this week though. So don't be worried if you don't hear from her immediately!

And definitely ignore the trip advisor reviews! If you read any of the reviews from other brides that got married there you'll realize that the trip advisor reviews are a little ridiculous. Kerrij wrote a great review, you should def read it!

I originally looked into the resort bc of the wedding gazebo but fortunately it is super affordable, compared to similar resorts in Jamiaca. So I totally recommend it! It'll be great to have another GBP bride on the forum Good luck choosing!

[missy&eric2011]

Quote:

Originally Posted by katelynn LOVE THIS! I didnt even know this existed....too bad us Canadian girls dont have a Davids Bridal, although it might be worth a trip down to look around. Thanks for sharing!

Quote:

Originally Posted by mekanabr Thanks for all the info about the AHRs ladies! I'm interested to hear everyones photography prices bc we are trying to figure out the price we want to spend as well. We found someone who pretty much said she'll 'make it work' for us..but I'm not sure if her 'make it work' is going to be the same as our 'make it work' lol. Hopefully we'll find out soon bc I love her work and reeaallyy want her to photograph our wedding!! Also- I haven't heard from Beverly since MAY! Has anyone else had any problems getting in contact with her I guess I might have to call down there but I wanted to check if anyone else was dealing with this too...Thanks!

katelynn: The item is available online and not in-store; I have not physically seen the favors either, so maybe ordering them would be an option for you as well if that was the direction you wanted to go? I haven't a clue as to if they ship to Canada, or how much it would cost if they did. If I remember correctly (I spend far too much time on websites and forget half of what I see and where I see it) I think theknot.com had something similar, just not in the shell design?!

mekanabr: Our photographers are charging us $2000 for their top package which includes our engagement session, a 40 page coffee table book, a 8x10 picture for our signature mat/wedding album and both Jamaica, a TTD session, and our AHR a month later. We are giving them the money and they are dividing up the costs accordingly. They have never done a destination wedding but I love the home pictures that they have taken at weddings but they mentioned that they were willing to give us a good deal to boost their portfolio and that they are able to write off a lot of the costs as a business expense.

At GBP I read that someone had posted that you could go outside of the contracted vendor for flowers at no cost?? So we can go with someone other than TiaFloral?? They gave me a quote that was $3000 for flowers! I have since found silk bouquets on craigslist that we are going to use; but we are getting the "blissful love" package and that includes some decorations of the gazebo and mine and my FI flowers...anyone know how that works out changing it around??

I hadn't heard from Beverly in a few days...then I got a confusing email from her telling me to send her my date and desired time and she would inform me of the availability...my heart started pounding and I almost wet myself thinking that something had gone wrong....i sent her a clarification email immediately, waited a week, no response...resent the email and finally got a response that everything is still going as planned. She also informed me that once our accomodations are booked, we will need to put a 25% deposit down on the wedding package cost to keep the wedding date secured as planned; she attached the credit card info sheet...I attached it below in case any of you ladies have not received it.

[emi]

thanks mekanabr! that's some really good info!! Maybe it was just pure luck, I actually got a reply from Beverly the same day I emailed her! That was really impressive!

[katelynn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by missy&eric2011 katelynn: The item is available online and not in-store; I have not physically seen the favors either, so maybe ordering them would be an option for you as well if that was the direction you wanted to go? I haven't a clue as to if they ship to Canada, or how much it would cost if they did. If I remember correctly (I spend far too much time on websites and forget half of what I see and where I see it) I think theknot.com had something similar, just not in the shell design?! mekanabr: Our photographers are charging us $2000 for their top package which includes our engagement session, a 40 page coffee table book, a 8x10 picture for our signature mat/wedding album and both Jamaica, a TTD session, and our AHR a month later. We are giving them the money and they are dividing up the costs accordingly. They have never done a destination wedding but I love the home pictures that they have taken at weddings but they mentioned that they were willing to give us a good deal to boost their portfolio and that they are able to write off a lot of the costs as a business expense. At GBP I read that someone had posted that you could go outside of the contracted vendor for flowers at no cost?? So we can go with someone other than TiaFloral?? They gave me a quote that was $3000 for flowers! I have since found silk bouquets on craigslist that we are going to use; but we are getting the "blissful love" package and that includes some decorations of the gazebo and mine and my FI flowers...anyone know how that works out changing it around?? I hadn't heard from Beverly in a few days...then I got a confusing email from her telling me to send her my date and desired time and she would inform me of the availability...my heart started pounding and I almost wet myself thinking that something had gone wrong....i sent her a clarification email immediately, waited a week, no response...resent the email and finally got a response that everything is still going as planned. She also informed me that once our accomodations are booked, we will need to put a 25% deposit down on the wedding package cost to keep the wedding date secured as planned; she attached the credit card info sheet...I attached it below in case any of you ladies have not received it.

Wow! Thats an amazing deal for photography. Do you have their contact or website so I can check them out.

[mekanabr]

wow Missy&eric2011- That is an awesome price for photography! Do you have to pay their travel expenses in addition to that or is it included? I hope I can get a similar price

 

Also, thanks for attaching the info about Beverly, I actually do have the credit card form, I just want to make sure she knows my info is coming so my date reservation doesn't get lost in the shuffle...I know I'm prob being paranoid but I would freak out if months from now I found out they hadn't reserved my date! Emi- you are definitely lucky! I Guess Beverly is ignoring me I even called today and she didn't answer...sigh.

 

I just got some really great brochures for GBP from my travel agent today! Perfect for sending out with my save the dates. If I get around to it tonight I'll try to scan it in and attach it for your girls to see.

 

Also, my TA told me about a best price supplement that is being added to our packages for $30p/p...it is through applevacations.com so I'm not sure if everyone will be able to get this but essentially it garauntee's that you will get the lowest price once you book your trip. So if I book this weekend for next July, if over that year the price of my available package ever goes down (mid-season sales, last min prices) I will get that lower price...its a pretty awesome deal. She said that this other TA in her office had a group traveling to the caribbean and half of them bought the supplement and ended up saving $700 PER PERSON! holy crap! I know that is prob unusual but its worth the extra money to me!