Turks and Caicos October 2012

[JenRoseRDH]

One of my cousins took some wedding day video clips with her camera and edited them together for us, I thought it turned out great. Here is the link...

 

http://vimeo.com/55130239?action=share

 

We are meeting with our photographer Monday for our first viewing of the wedding pics, so exciting!

[JenRoseRDH]

Some pictures, finally! So pleased with our photographer, a dear friend of mine. I hope I am allowed to post the link to the slideshow he put together for us.

 

http://youtu.be/fVfZbF76HI8

 

Details:

Wedding planner- Luise with Nila Destinations

Officiant- Pastor Colby

Hair and Make up- Shenique (NO regrets, worth every penny!)

Photographer- Shane Irwin Photography, a long time friend

Resort and reception- Grace Bay Club, coordinated by Shameka, dinner by Ajay

Steel drums- Kelci Talbot

DJ- William John

Cake- Diane

Flowers- EA

 

Rehearsal dinner- carryout from Smokey's and served in our Grace Bay Club suite

[JenRoseRDH]

Want to add that Anna's Art Gallery did our wedding favors- they custom made them for me based off a picture I showed them. We did Christmas ornaments, either a starfish or sand dollar for each family. They were beautiful, I will try to post a picture of them eventually. We were very pleased, Anna's did a fabulous job and they worked quickly for us! I put in the order and they had them ready for pick up in just a few days. Their web site- http://www.anna.tc/

[kisha311]

Jen your photos and wedding was beautiful!!!!

[Danie]

Jen How long did you book the dj for and the steel drum player. I am curious because I was having a dj for five hours and am figuring out how many hours I would really need him to play at the reception and how many hours I could book the musician for

[JenRoseRDH]

Originally Posted by Danie 

 

Jen

How long did you book the dj for and the steel drum player. I am curious because I was having a dj for five hours and am figuring out how many hours I would really need him to play at the reception and how many hours I could book the musician for

Hey, Danie! Hope all your planning is going well and that stress is low.

 

We had the steel drummer for 2 hours- the ceremony and cocktail hour. Then we plugged in our own playlist through dinner and had the DJ for just 2 hours after. It worked out great for us, the transitions were smooth. We talked about not using a DJ but were very glad that we had him. It helped move things along from speeches to cake to dancing, etc.

[JenRoseRDH]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Initially we chose Grace Bay Club for our wedding and honeymoon due to their central location. It is very near both budget and mid range hotels/resorts and would allow our family and friends to custom plan a trip to fit any budget. It is also an easy walk to MANY restaurants, shops and a grocery store so a rental car would be unecessary. During our site visit we were impressed with the view and design of the rooms- EVERY room at GBC has a spectacular ocean view. Of course, the higher up you are located, the less obstructions there will be. An open, oceanfront balcony was a non negotiable point for me, no screens (like the Sands and Ocean Clubs), I feel the screens interfere with the view and I did not want anything between me and that beautiful ocean view. The balconies at Grace Bay Club are huge and so photogenic. At the time we booked, the resort was offering a "3rd night free" promotion so we were able to book 9 nights for the price of 6. We were also given a room upgrade for hosting our wedding and reception there.

We used Luise at Nila Destinations to coordinate the wedding ceremony and worked directly with Shameka (events) and Ajay (food) at Grace Bay Club for the reception. Luise and Shameka arranged a pristine location for both the wedding itself and for the reception. We originally planned the reception under one of the Anacaona palapas but moved it instead to the lovely grill deck under the strings of lights and near the beach. It was perfect! Ajay helped us develop a limited, custom menu for guests to order from and we offered a consumption bar for our small group of light to moderate drinkers. I requested just lanterns as table decorations rather than purchasing centerpieces through the florist and Shameka saw to it that the tables had lovely greenery and bouganvilla as well, it was beautiful! The tables were arranged to leave an area open for the dance floor. As the reception was winding down, we transitioned to a bonfire on the beach with a comfortable lounge area where we could all relax and unwind. I was absolutely thrilled with my picture perfect wedding and reception. I do not believe you can go wrong with a Grace Bay Club wedding.

There are many wonderful guest amenities as well. Every guest room is assigned a conceirge team who you are always connected to by a cel phone that is given to you on arrival (this phone can ONLY be used to contact your conceirge, can not be used for local or international calls but with free international and local calling from the room phone, that is really a non-issue). We did take advantage of it throughout our stay and Berg and Godfrey were always just a phone call away and were quick to answer questions and provide whatever we requested- extra bottled water (No charge), refill pods for the espresso (amazingly delicious and one of my favorite amenities), extra dishes and silverware on rehearsal dinner night and MANY random requests the day of the wedding. We even used it once when walking to dinner to verify that we were headed in the right direction- we weren't so were very glad to have had a friendly voice on the other end of the phone to get us oriented.

Grace Bay Club seems to be the only non- all inclusive in Provo to offer a daily hot breakfast included with your stay. When we travel we like to sleep late, eat a big breakfast and one afternoon meal so the delicious hot breakfast was wonderful for us. Every morning I was greated with a friendly "Good Morning Mrs. Halfpenny" which was super fun for me as a newlywed. The omeletts are wonderful- I loaded them up with veggies, shrimp and sausage. The orange and grapefruit juice are squeezed fresh every morning and are such a wonderful way to start the day. I always had to have a couple of crepes with fresh berries, nuts and some chocolate drizzle. Also the chocolate chip scones are a wonderful way to indulge- it is vacation after all. Service at breakfast was always very friendly and we never had much of a wait with our cooked to order eggs. I know many reviewers have made complaints about it but it well exceeded our expectations. We also enjoyed the daily "afternoon tea" which we took to calling "snack time" and consists of hot coffee and tea, finger sandwiches and an assortment of cookies- be sure and try the coconut cookies! We ordered room service for breakfast the morning after our wedding and we enjoyed it out on our massive balcony. It was lovely and perfect for our first breakfast as a married couple but for any other occasion, I would recommend the included breakfast.

We stayed in a one bedroom suite which I checked into the night before the wedding. We had a small group of friends and family with us and chose to pick up local food from Smokey's to serve in our suite for the rehearsal dinner. It was wonderful for entertaining, spacious enough to spead out comfortably and enjoy the panoramic view of Grace Bay. The rooms are immaculate and comfortably arranged. We instantly felt at home. I used the espresso machine daily and we did do a bit of laundry- detergent and fabric softener are provided. We used the fridge for water, creamer, alcohol and leftovers. We did not cook any meals but did have a few snacks. Between the breakfast and snack time (tea) provided, you barely need it. There are such fantastic restaurants to enjoy it would almost be a shame to stay in your room for dinner.

We were at Grace Bay Club when Hurricane Sandy passed by. Provo was not affected much but the resort did provide us with flashlights just in case. They also offered a complimentary lunch buffet with open bar as consolation to guests that weather was not ideal. It got windy and the water did get rough enough that there was no sailing once or twice. It did not interfere with our enjoyment though. We were still able to go out diving (you don't miss the sun when you are 90 feet below the surface of the ocean!) We also still used the beach and pool beds for lounging both with and without the sun. The water is a different but still lovely and calming shade of blue when weather is overcast.

We enjoyed going out on the Hobie Cats a couple of times, it is a wonderful way to break up an afternoon on the beach. We took some long walks down the beach in both directions and were often the only people as far as we could see. We took the bikes out a couple of times to explore shops and ride to dinners that would have been a long walk. We enjoyed the adults only pool and hot tub but never got around to trying the pool bar. Beach service was excellent, you put up a flag and a server comes right over to get your order. We enjoyed a couples massage together at the Spa followed by a sit in our separate steam rooms. I got a mani/pedis the day before the wedding with our moms and my bridesmaids. We ordered in some cocktails and light snacks to enjoy and they were brought to us in the Spa. The spa team is very friendly and does a great job. I returned a few times later in the week for touch ups on both my fingers and toes, they are very understanding of how hard the salt water and sand can be on your nails and go above and beyond to take care of their guests. In fact, EVERY staff member we interacted with at Grace Bay Club went our of their way to see to our every need and desire. They really take customer service and satisfaction seriously in every area. I am already looking forward to an opportunity to return to Grace Bay Club and revisit the site that brought me such joy and so many precious memories.

[DB052514]

Hi CeCe -- I just saw that you had your welcome reception at Amanyara! That resort is absolutely gorgeous. Can you tell me more about how it went? And was it super expensive? I would love to do something for our wedding there (not until May 2014) but I'm not sure we can afford it......do you have any pictures!?

[Torifire]

Hey JenRose, your pics loos really great. Was that firework part of your wedding or not?

[CeCeJD]

Hi CeCe -- I just saw that you had your welcome reception at Amanyara! That resort is absolutely gorgeous. Can you tell me more about how it went? And was it super expensive? I would love to do something for our wedding there (not until May 2014) but I'm not sure we can afford it......do you have any pictures!?

Hello, Amanyara was very pricey, but made for a spectacular Welcome Party site. The hotel required us to stay there for two nights. This was fine because after the wedding festivities, we needed to escape from everything.