ltwillia

We caught the party boat. That was $75pp. We got to go snorkling on way back and that included the cost of Dunn's River. When we got there we have a tour guide and they made a video of our group. The video cost 40.00 (we did not get it). After we got back we would have had a better time by walking outside the resort, and catching a cab. We could have gone shopping at some of the places and also some other things. Just be careful. I heard it can be dangerous. Don't put all you cash in one place, don't flash it when you take it out, and take lots of small bills because everyone wants a tip. This includes the bus driver, the people that take your bags to the bus, the people that give you your wrist band at Dunn's River...EVERYBODY!!! be aware and prepared!!!

Ok so here is my experience with the wedding certificate. We were married July 15, 2009 at SGO. I received our certificate about 1 week ago. So going back, I called the 888-Sandals number and asked them what is the status. They would ask me the wedding date and location and when I told they looked at the calendar and said they said, It takes 8-10 weeks. On week 10 I called and they said "Oh it is going to take 10-12 weeks." I called back 2 days later and they said that it was received and shipped to me. I also got an e-mail and a call from UPS making sure that I knew the shipment was coming and that someone had to be there to sign for the package. So I would continue to call them and speak with someone in the weddings department to see what is going on. Another problem I am having, here in Texas, is that it is not an official U.S. document. So when I took it to the Social Security office they changed my name with no problem. When I took it to the driver's license office she sent me to the justice of the peace. They told me they do not translate these documents to U.S. documents so I would have to apply for a marriage license, wait 72 hours, come back and be married by the judge, then wait 1 week and get a copy of the new license and take that to the DL office to have my name changed then. I was rather furious after that!!! I called over to Sandals to see if they can send me an official U.S. document and they told me no because I was not married in the U.S. She kept trying to reassure me that the marriage is legal here in the States and I needed to go to the Social Security office to register my marriage. Eventually, after a day of frustration, found out that when she said register my marriage she means change my last name with the SS office 1st then when I get the new SS card, take that to the DL office and they will then change my name. I have not found out yet how that is going to work with the passport people. For my CHL the lady I spoke with was not sure but after holding for 15 minutes I finally got the ok that they will accept this document. Hopefully I will not have anymore problems. Sorry for being so long winded but I guess I needed to vent. Please tell me how other people have resolved these issues. The last thing is (God forbid) but what if we wanted a divorce...where would you start? (I don't want this question answered but it is just crazy!!!) They reassured me that this would not be a problem but LOOK...HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM!!!

Ok so here is my experience with the wedding certificate. We were married July 15, 2009 at SGO. I received our certificate about 1 week ago. So going back, I called the 888-Sandals number and asked them what is the status. They would ask me the wedding date and location and when I told they looked at the calendar and said they said, It takes 8-10 weeks. On week 10 I called and they said "Oh it is going to take 10-12 weeks." I called back 2 days later and they said that it was received and shipped to me. I also got an e-mail and a call from UPS making sure that I knew the shipment was coming and that someone had to be there to sign for the package. So I would continue to call them and speak with someone in the weddings department to see what is going on. Another problem I am having, here in Texas, is that it is not an official U.S. document. So when I took it to the Social Security office they changed my name with no problem. When I took it to the driver's license office she sent me to the justice of the peace. They told me they do not translate these documents to U.S. documents so I would have to apply for a marriage license, wait 72 hours, come back and be married by the judge, then wait 1 week and get a copy of the new license and take that to the DL office to have my name changed then. I was rather furious after that!!! I called over to Sandals to see if they can send me an official U.S. document and they told me no because I was not married in the U.S. She kept trying to reassure me that the marriage is legal here in the States and I needed to go to the Social Security office to register my marriage. Eventually, after a day of frustration, found out that when she said register my marriage she means change my last name with the SS office 1st then when I get the new SS card, take that to the DL office and they will then change my name. I have not found out yet how that is going to work with the passport people. For my CHL the lady I spoke with was not sure but after holding for 15 minutes I finally got the ok that they will accept this document. Hopefully I will not have anymore problems. Sorry for being so long winded but I guess I needed to vent.

I am sure that you have already paid for the room and flight. The deposit is for the extra excursions that you book through the hotel like the party boat, calling back to the states from your room, items from the gift shop, the extra things that you select for your wedding package, and so on. For all these things they simply ask for your room number, charge it to the room, and before you leave you can pay however you choose. I am not sure how they handle the cash deposit at the end of your trip. I did not add any extras to my wedding package because it was just he and I going. We had no need for the all out extras because 1. they were expensive and 2. who was going to be there to enjoy them other than he and I. They did offer some tulle and flower peices to kind of decorate the reef terrace at a cost of 100.00 per peice. Of course we did not want that because the tulle may have cost about 5.00 and the flowers about 20.00 in the states. We felt for just me and him that was way to expensive for no reason. I will complete my review along with pics hopefully today. If you have anymore questions you can email me at [email protected] and I will send whatever you would like.

1. Everything is NO PROBLEM MON!!! We had a great time from the time we landed until we landed back in Houston, TX. Don't worry about anything. If you need anything just ask. They almost wait on you hand and foot and don't want you to handle anything...not even your luggage. 2. The bus ride from the airport to the hotel is 2 hours longs. They usually make one 10 minute rest stop. They do blow the horn a lot but we could not seem to understand what they were blowing at so much. Our driver was Chris on the way there and I can't remember the drivers name coming back. Both drivers let us know about places that we were passing and interesting information. 3. When you arrive at the airport and make it through customs you will be directed to the Sandals lounge which is very nice to get soft drinks and Red Stripe beer to take with you on the ride there. They will have you to give your luggage to the porters who will take you to the bus and put your luggage under the bus. BE CAREFUL...EVERYBODY WANTS A TIP!!! They advertise for tips and will let you know that the tipping fee for the porters is $1.00 per bag. You give what you want and walk away after that. Even the bus driver will ask you for a tip. They will also inform you that they are not Sandals employees so they would like tips. So just make sure you take plenty of one dollar bills and seperate it from the rest of the money that you plan on taking so they will not see what you have and try to harass you for more. 4. Your baggage will be taken off the bus by Sandals employees and you will be sent to the main waiting area on the Manor side. There you will be greeted by great people, offered a drink and cold towel, and told to sit back, enjoy yourself and let them do the rest. Here you will receive your room keys, instructions, and given there wedding book which will have your names on it with the date and time of the meeting with your wedding coordinator. There is a page that they ask you to fill out prior to your meeting but if you don't get to it...NO PROBLEM MON!!! The coordinator will go over the information with you. You will be taken to your rooms and your luggage will be delivered about 5 minutes after you get there. One thing...they will ask for your credit card imprint for the room. Debit cards will be charged and not just authorized, credit cards will just be authorized for $400.00, and cash deposit, if you choose, is $400.00. Once you get to this point put your money away and enjoy your self in all the ways you can. 5. We did not have a Butler but overheard some people saying that they could not think of ways to keep there Butler busy. We did not see a need for one because we were not in our rooms enough to ask them to do something for us. There are bars everywhere you look. I don't dring but my husband does. His only problem with the drinks was they will only put a little alcohol and lots of mix or juice. He even specified just a splash of cranberry but was still overloaded with cranberry juice in his vodka. Try to be as specific as possible and that will make your drinks better. 6. We did not get a chance to get off the resort but did enjoy doing all we could there. The orientation was not worth going to for us because after a day of just wondering around we found our way around all 3 sides of the resort with no problem. We did the party boat to Dunn's River Falls. That was a lot of fun but the down falls are: a. the boat leaves at 8:30am. We were out kind of late so partying at 8:30 in the morning was not what we had in mind. b. the cost is 80.00 per person which includes Dunn's River access, snorkling, and partying with an open bar on the way there and back. c. the people on the boat will ask for tips and they try really hard to get you to party after you have done all the water activites. At this point just relaxing and drinking was all we needed to be happy. they kind of force you to pary because they want other people to see what fun the trip was. After the fact...we found out we should have caught a cab over to the falls with 15.00 access and just snorkel with the resort (which is one of there included activities). Don't have the resort to call you a cab because that is 28.00 for the ride. Just go outside the gate and get your own cab. Someone told us that they paid 1.00 for the ride there and back. Another person said they paid 15.00 per person (they had 10 people) for the cab for the ride there and back. All this to say there are cheaper ways and you can also go to the open market for shopping which may have more and be cheaper than the prices at the gift shop. Use the gift shop as your last resort. They sometimes will have specials for certain days on certain things so don't buy all at one time and you will get a 10% off coupon for the gift shop. 7. Take a water proof camara to the falls with you. They will have people there who will make a video of you as you go throughout the falls for 40.00 plus tips. We just took pictures and did not go for the video. Do not pay them there if you want the video, just give them your hotel and room number and when you get the video pay them then. 8. The food there was great. Our favorites were Valentino's with Craig as our waiter and the Manor place restaurant overlooking the pool. The nights we went we made sure Wayne was our waiter because he was great. He will bring your dessert on his head for you to remove. He is always smiling and laughing which makes dinner a great pleasure. We also had a lady singing that night and she was absolutley fabolous!!! She set the mood for a nice romantic dinner. You do not have to dress up for this restaurant just the men have to wear a shirt with sleeves. The only dress up restaurants are Valentino's and the Orchid. 9. I am african-american and I went to have my hair done at the beauty shop.My hair is not long. Donetta ( my stylist) did a great job but she did my hair exactly the way I do it everyday... but she did place my tierra for me which is something that I did not even think about. More to come as soon as I have a chance to complete my long review.

Past brides... Please give me some tips on things that we should take with us to the resort. So far I have read things like pillows and sand ceremony peices. Please let me know of anything else that we may need. I would really appreciate it. We are starting to pack and make preparations. I am thinking of taking my own hair peices, sand ceremony peices, and runner.

I have some questions for you 1. The picture frame with your names and wedding ceremony...where did that come from? If from there what was the cost? If somewhere else, where would I get one? 2. Which flowers did you select? They were beautiful. 3. Did you go to the beauty salon or did you do your hair yourself? 4. Did you use the onsite photographer of someone from your family? 5. What was the cost of the horse? Thanks for answering my question.

Thanks for that information.

I know that we are going to have to send them things like birth certificates and divorce decrees...do they have to be the originals? I would like to just send a copy and show the originals when we arrive. I am not to keen on sending my original birth certificate. I even had a problem with sending it to get my passport. I was really nervous.

Addicting is very true. I think I have been on here all day reading everything that I come across.

Congratulations!!! I am so happy for you and can't wait to see pics when you get back.

Hello all JA Brides User Name: ltwillia Name: Donnell & Lillian Location: SGOR Wedding: July 15, 2009 (my birthday) In JA 7/11/09- 7/16/09 I am looking for someone else who will be there around the same time. Hopefully we can share photography. Please PM me if you are interested.

We finally booked our trip and we will be arriving 7/11 with the wedding set for 7/15 @ 3pm at SGOR. We will be leaving the next day (I have to work).

Hello All!! I saw that there was a post for July brides but for some reason I can't find it. I am so excited...We booked our trip!!!! We are going to Sandals Grande Ocho Rios and staying on the the Riviera side of the resort in the Grande Luxe Oceanview room.. Our wedding is set for 7/15/09 @ 3pm. I wish it could have been a little later but I can live with that. Please let me know if anyone else will be there during that time. I would love to see a BDW wedding while we are there.

Hello All!! I am so excited...We booked our trip!!!! We are going to Sandals Grande Ocho Rios and staying on the the Riviera side of the resort in the Grande Luxe Oceanview room.. Our wedding is set for 7/15/09 @ 3pm. I wish it could have been a little later but I can live with that. Please let me know if anyone else will be there during that time. I would love to see a BDW wedding while we are there.