Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?

[Stay cee1]

Congratulations on your 1st year JayKay!  Wow..a year already.  I've been here from time to time in the past year and I recall you posting your wedding photos...it seems like just yesterday huh? 

Your posts are so helpful...keep them coming while us still in the planning phase still need them!!

[Stay cee1]

Hey Future and past GBP brides.  So...my 6 month count down phase has come and gone...and how it's time to kick this thing into gear. Time off booked at work, invitations ready for pick up this weekend, welcome bags done!  I have become a DIY bride because having a destination wedding makes it so easy...you don't really have to focus so much on pleasing anyone else...just keep things light, casual, and enjoy!  This week I will have mys welcome letter done & printed, along with the tags done and printed.  Upcoming are the iron-on transfers for tshirts and this is the hard part..!  Without knowing how many guests we are having we don't wish to go out and purchase a bunch of stock. 

 

Did any past brides buy bulk T's?  If so any ideas on where I can order for cheap?  Cost savings are always a plus!! I'm in the Greater Toronto, Canada area!

 

Keep the advice and ideas coming ladies.  This is a fantastic forum.

[LinzWarr]

Wow I have been reading everything you guys have been posting and its really helped me decide to get married at this resort  
I will be following along and Im sure i will have lots of questions too

[SarahJ]

Originally Posted by MrsViolo 

 

I have found 2 photographers who will cover up to 500 of the vendor's fee. A few will also pay for their own accommodations to stay at the resort which I think also means the vendor fee does not apply.

 

Sorry for posting twice!

Thanks MrsViolo...i'll do some investigating...

[MrsViolo]

Originally Posted by SarahJ 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrsViolo 

 

I have found 2 photographers who will cover up to 500 of the vendor's fee. A few will also pay for their own accommodations to stay at the resort which I think also means the vendor fee does not apply.

 

Sorry for posting twice!

Thanks MrsViolo...i'll do some investigating...

Here's my updated photographer info:  Now i just have to pick one!

 

 

Vendor	Price 1	Price 2	Price 3	TTD	Vendor Fee
Stacy Clarke Photography	$1395us UP TO 3 HOURS ON LOCATION PHOTOGRAPHY, ALL USABLE IMAGES HIGH RESOLUTION EDITED ON A COPY RIGHT FREE CD, PHOTO SLIDE SHOW, ONLINE PROOFING & DELIVERY VIA DHL WITH TRACKING	$1595us UP TO 5 HOURS ON LOCATION PHOTOGRAPHY, ALL USABLE IMAGES HIGH RESOLUTION EDITED ON A COPY RIGHT FREE CD, PHOTO SLIDE SHOW, ONLINE PROOFING & DELIVERY VIA DHL WITH TRACKING	$2095us 8 HOURS ON LOCATION (CAN BE SPLIT OVER 2 DAYS) PHOTOGRAPHY, ALL USABLE IMAGES HIGH RESOLUTION EDITED ON A COPY RIGHT FREE CD, PHOTO SLIDE SHOW, ONLINE VIEWING & DELIVERY VIA DHL WITH TRACKING	No separate TTD shoot due to travel time. Will stay over night if we pick a package and do the TTD the following day	VENDOR FEE’S UP TO THE AMOUNT OF $500US.
Saab Wedding	Associate Photographers Price - US 2400 5 continuous hours coverage Two photographers 1 high resolution disc with about 350 images for printing Photos online for viewing and sharing with family and friends	Associate Photographer Price - US $1500 3 continuous hours coverage One photographer 1 high resolution disc with about 200 images for printing Photos online for viewing and sharing with family and friends		Michael or Olive are US $500 per hour (US $350 for our associates This includes a high resolution disc of images for printing.	None – bride covers whole cost
ZULUSPRO	$A1600 Full coverage Editing 2 month online gallery DVD	2900 Full Coverage 2 Photographers Editing 5 month online one hour engagement session Slide show		No charge – but requires stay at resort overnight	Will be staying at resort over night??
Merrick Cousley	$2300 Coverage – preparation to reception DVD with all images – 300 images Photo retouch – color balance, black & white, sepia toning, artistic, etc. Family online gallery – one month of sharing with friends and family. Travel fees – travel and accommodation included (Jamaica only)			$450 Trash the dress session (1 hour): 100-150 high-resolution images on CD. Exciting trend capturing romantic images wearing your wedding gown and suit at a location you wouldn’t dare to venture on your wedding day.	Travel fees included?   Not vendor fees
Alain Hottat	- For 1000 US$ - bride and groom getting ready, ceremony and after ceremony portraits at your wedding destination. including a minimum of 250 high resolution photographs fully edited ready for printery. Delivery on cd or dvd + an online gallery for friends and family.	For 1400 US$, your entire wedding : preparation, ceremony, after ceremony portraits of couple, family & friends, reception. This includes a minimum of 400 photos fully edited  on cd and ready for printery, a musical slide show and an online gallery.	For 2000 US$, your entire wedding : preparation, ceremony, after ceremony portraits of couple, family & friends, reception. This includes a minimum of 400 photos fully edited  on cd and ready for printery, a musical slide show and an online gallery, and a pro HD video of the best moments of your wedding, with your choice of music, edited to a minimum of 15-20 minutes on dvd.	Usually done the day after your wedding. 2-3 hours shooting at one or two locations. At least 120 printable images provided on cd.  $800 trash the dress alone / $500 with wedding	Takes half the vendor fee off the price of package
Sandy May	3 hours of time 1100   private website on Pictage.com for viewing, sharing, and print ordering and a copyright free disk of all your final images, which usually contains between 600 and 900 images.	5 hours of time 1400   Overtime – 200 per hour private website on Pictage.com for viewing, sharing, and print ordering and a copyright free disk of all your final images, which usually contains between 600 and 900 images.			Bride and groom pays vendor fee plus $200 travel fee
Misha Earle	3 hours of location time DVD photo show set to music of your choice Copyright free CD containing high-resolution files of all usable images Total 1500.00 USD	5 hours of location time DVD photo show set to music of your choice Copyright free CD containing high-resolution files of all usable images Total 2000.00 USD	10 hours of location time (can be split to your specifications for a day before or next day shoot if desired) DVD photo show set to the music of your choice Photo Station for one hr (see below for details) Copyright free CD containing high-resolution files of all usable images Total 3000.00 USD	Included in package	500 towards vendors fee   includes travel fees!
Brian Nejedly	3 hours Photos $1500 Video $900	5 hours Photos 2000 Video $1500	8 hours Photos $22800 Video $2000	Free 2 hour trash the dress with 8 hour package	Will pay $400 of the vendor fee
dianna cambell	All the images on a cd A DVD slide with some of the images and music in the background 2-3hrs shooting time Pay for a room for two $350us Total $1500us	All the images on cd A DVD slide with some of the images and music in the background A DVD (video) A next day shoot or trash the dress shoot Pay for a room for two $350us Total $2000us No time limit to this package		Included in package	Stays in resort – avoid vendor fee?

[leannesmith]

Here's my updated photographer info:  Now i just have to pick one! [TABLE] Vendor Price 1 Price 2 Price 3 TTD Vendor Fee Stacy Clarke Photography $1395us UP TO 3 HOURS ON LOCATION PHOTOGRAPHY, ALL USABLE IMAGES HIGH RESOLUTION EDITED ON A COPY RIGHT FREE CD, PHOTO SLIDE SHOW, ONLINE PROOFING & DELIVERY VIA DHL WITH TRACKING $1595us UP TO 5 HOURS ON LOCATION PHOTOGRAPHY, ALL USABLE IMAGES HIGH RESOLUTION EDITED ON A COPY RIGHT FREE CD, PHOTO SLIDE SHOW, ONLINE PROOFING & DELIVERY VIA DHL WITH TRACKING $2095us 8 HOURS ON LOCATION (CAN BE SPLIT OVER 2 DAYS) PHOTOGRAPHY, ALL USABLE IMAGES HIGH RESOLUTION EDITED ON A COPY RIGHT FREE CD, PHOTO SLIDE SHOW, ONLINE VIEWING & DELIVERY VIA DHL WITH TRACKING No separate TTD shoot due to travel time. Will stay over night if we pick a package and do the TTD the following day VENDOR FEE’S UP TO THE AMOUNT OF $500US. Saab Wedding Associate Photographers Price - US 2400 5 continuous hours coverage Two photographers 1 high resolution disc with about 350 images for printing Photos online for viewing and sharing with family and friends Associate Photographer Price - US $1500 3 continuous hours coverage One photographer 1 high resolution disc with about 200 images for printing Photos online for viewing and sharing with family and friends Michael or Olive are US $500 per hour (US $350 for our associates This includes a high resolution disc of images for printing. None – bride covers whole cost ZULUSPRO $A1600 Full coverage Editing 2 month online gallery DVD 2900 Full Coverage 2 Photographers Editing 5 month online one hour engagement session Slide show No charge – but requires stay at resort overnight Will be staying at resort over night?? Merrick Cousley $2300 Coverage – preparation to reception DVD with all images – 300 images Photo retouch – color balance, black & white, sepia toning, artistic, etc. Family online gallery – one month of sharing with friends and family. Travel fees – travel and accommodation included (Jamaica only) $450 Trash the dress session (1 hour): 100-150 high-resolution images on CD. Exciting trend capturing romantic images wearing your wedding gown and suit at a location you wouldn’t dare to venture on your wedding day. Travel fees included? Not vendor fees Alain Hottat - For 1000 US$ - bride and groom getting ready, ceremony and after ceremony portraits at your wedding destination. including a minimum of 250 high resolution photographs fully edited ready for printery. Delivery on cd or dvd + an online gallery for friends and family. For 1400 US$, your entire wedding : preparation, ceremony, after ceremony portraits of couple, family & friends, reception. This includes a minimum of 400 photos fully edited  on cd and ready for printery, a musical slide show and an online gallery. For 2000 US$, your entire wedding : preparation, ceremony, after ceremony portraits of couple, family & friends, reception. This includes a minimum of 400 photos fully edited  on cd and ready for printery, a musical slide show and an online gallery, and a pro HD video of the best moments of your wedding, with your choice of music, edited to a minimum of 15-20 minutes on dvd. Usually done the day after your wedding. 2-3 hours shooting at one or two locations. At least 120 printable images provided on cd.  $800 trash the dress alone / $500 with wedding Takes half the vendor fee off the price of package Sandy May 3 hours of time 1100 private website on Pictage.com for viewing, sharing, and print ordering and a copyright free disk of all your final images, which usually contains between 600 and 900 images.   5 hours of time 1400 Overtime – 200 per hour private website on Pictage.com for viewing, sharing, and print ordering and a copyright free disk of all your final images, which usually contains between 600 and 900 images. Bride and groom pays vendor fee plus $200 travel fee Misha Earle 3 hours of location time DVD photo show set to music of your choice Copyright free CD containing high-resolution files of all usable images Total 1500.00 USD 5 hours of location time DVD photo show set to music of your choice Copyright free CD containing high-resolution files of all usable images Total 2000.00 USD 10 hours of location time (can be split to your specifications for a day before or next day shoot if desired) DVD photo show set to the music of your choice Photo Station for one hr (see below for details) Copyright free CD containing high-resolution files of all usable images Total 3000.00 USD Included in package 500 towards vendors fee includes travel fees! Brian Nejedly 3 hours Photos $1500 Video $900 5 hours Photos 2000 Video $1500 8 hours Photos $22800 Video $2000 Free 2 hour trash the dress with 8 hour package Will pay $400 of the vendor fee dianna cambell All the images on a cd A DVD slide with some of the images and music in the background 2-3hrs shooting time Pay for a room for two $350us Total $1500us All the images on cd A DVD slide with some of the images and music in the background A DVD (video) A next day shoot or trash the dress shoot Pay for a room for two $350us Total $2000us No time limit to this package Included in package Stays in resort – avoid vendor fee? [/TABLE]

I think I am going to go with merrick. His pictures are fantastic.

[Candice37]

Ok so I have some questions...

- So you will need to bring your Long Form Birth Certificates with you to the resort right?....

- We went with the free package which only includes 5 pictures can you buy more pictures when your down there?

- I have seen in a few post back that some people rented the Gazebo and a DJ, was it worth it? what are other options, $350/hr seems like a lot of money for a DJ. I really want somewhere to have the first dance but what are more options for that?

- if I understood right the ceremony music is free? like the bridal entrance and the exit music?

[Stay cee1]

So I received a copy of the menu for The Grill and The Dolce to have an idea of what we would like to choose for our reception.  Does anyone know if they only limit receptions to certain restaurants during certain times/months?  I read previous posts and recall hearing about a few more.

 

Also, did anyone have Vegans in their group and can they advise of how/if they were able to workout a menu?  My group has: 4 vegetarians and 1 vegan.

[JayKay]

Ill answer some of these questions for you:

 

-We took our long form birth certificates with us to the resort.  We scanned and emailed them to the planners a few months before our wedding.  They didn't even ask to see them at the resort.

-We used the free package and got the included 5 pictures.  When we went to select our 5 photos we asked how much it would be to purchase the remainder of the pictures (90 of them) and were told it is $10 per picture so a total of $900 for 90 pictures.

-We brought our own ceremony music on a CD.  I'm not sure if they provide music or if you  need to bring your own.

Originally Posted by Candice37 

Ok so I have some questions...

- So you will need to bring your Long Form Birth Certificates with you to the resort right?....

- We went with the free package which only includes 5 pictures can you buy more pictures when your down there?

- I have seen in a few post back that some people rented the Gazebo and a DJ, was it worth it? what are other options, $350/hr seems like a lot of money for a DJ. I really want somewhere to have the first dance but what are more options for that?

- if I understood right the ceremony music is free? like the bridal entrance and the exit music?

[pask454]

I think you can have your reception at the Grill or Dolce Vita...or rent out the snack bar. The Dolce Vita is alot more private.

 

We scanned our passports aand birth certificates before, and sent them off. We brought them with us, and again, they didnt even ask to see them.

The gazebo rental was worth it to me, and you could have your first dance there. The only other place that is remotely nice is the Disco....which is tiny, and the music is LOUD!!!!! and very dark.

I know some people rent out the snack bar for the night, to have dinner...then dancing at the same place, not sure about cost though, and not sure if you need a DJ or you can bring your own there...

They play your CD for free during the wedding, but you should bring your own.

 

 

Yes, the aiport let me pack my sky laterns in my suitcase (checked). I ordered them from justartifacts.com  turned out great...bigger than expected. Order a few extra, some of ours didnt have the fuel light....