Sandals Destination Wedding

[BBride]

Hey Brides - Totally new so got to figure all of this out:bbeek:

Did I do that right?? Just wanted to know ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL of the info I can get about Sandals Destination weddings

[WebLady]

Welcome to the board.

What is it you were trying to do?

[BBride]

Hi,

As a destination wedding company owner I have seen, actually I know all of us here have seen the requests for a Beaches or Sandals wedding. Many say it is because of the advertisement or that people feel they started it so they must be the best. Well, that is wrong because they are not the best for all types of destination weddings. Truly they only fit one wedding style, eloping or very small wedding.

The Beaches and Sandals resorts are not for people that truly want either a personalized wedding or whats the kind of wedding you see back home. That is because

1. They have too many weddings per day that bride have actually passed each other or reused the same spot within an hour or two. No one wants to be part of a number, this is your wedding.

2. The new Preston Bailey packages actually have allot of parts that are reused until the coordinator decides to replace them. One of the daisy screens are silk flowers. For the higher package price they should get more personalized service and real flowers in all arrangements.

3. It seems whenever you want to personalize your wedding like certain flowers or a wedding dinner, it throws them for a loop. Their dinners are more geared to having you share with the rest of the resort guests. We have even had couples who wanted to purchase the wedding time slots before them, so there would not be allot of bridal couples running around.

But what they are good at is people who just want the two of you to get married or a very small group under 10 people or for your honeymoon. They have the witnesses provided who can dress up in local traditional wedding clothing, if it is just the two of you. And yes the dining in one of the ala carte dining rooms.

I love to vacation at the resorts and I have been to all but two of them. Suggest them for honeymoons allot, however if you are looking for more personalization and/or private features then I would not look at a Beaches or a Sandals until they get a better grip the packages that they offer.

Don't automatically assume because of a high advertisement budget that they will be the best choice. Look into the details and don't compromise. There are other packages out there that might fit your needs better.

To answer the question regarding November weddings. That is the second most popular time to have a destination wedding. Many times we are booking those dates 9 months in advance and still having problems. The reason is that they are part of the lower prices, it is out of the more tropical storm season, not to hot or cooler temps. It is a perfect date for a destination wedding.

Wish you the best!

Lindsay

Linsday: I am having a terrible time on my decision to do Sandals Montego Bay. I think I have checked just about all of the Sandals wedding resorts but offering carnations for your bouquet???? Also 1 5X7 picture and 560 dollars for 24 more. Can you offer any suggestions of where we might have a DW. We would like to stay in the Caribbean but I am so disgusted after researching Sandals. Can you suggest any - Frustrated:irked: Thanks

[TripsDownTheAisle]

Yes, I would love to help you. And yes, to your other question the bridal couple flowers that are included within the FREE package is the dreaded carnations! Yes, I am not a lover of them either. Now you can upgrade the flowers but I also saw the issue about the photos too. So lets take them together into the suggestion.

First of all, the other adult only resorts Couples & Grand Lido offer the same type of items. All three of them have the same way of doing a destination wedding. Plus you can have anywhere from 5 - 7 weddings per day. Not my idea of romantic wedding. So if you are looking at keeping it at an adults only resort for the next 18 months, then I have to say, that is what you will get. However if you are open to maybe go another route all age, there is a resort that I would like to suggest.

Actually depending upon your wedding date, there will be three of their resorts right next to each other by the end of this year. The resort that I would like to suggest is the Iberostar Rose Hall. So lets go over the Pros & Cons

1. This suggestion is based on what you get for the wedding package.

2. The resort is good, but you don't get the wealth of ala carte dining like at a Sandals Resort.

3. As for their rooms, the Ocean front Junior Suite view is to die for! And it is much cheaper then the required room to pay for at a Sandals Resorts. You get a wide balcony that is right at there overlooking the beach.

4. The flowers you get at the resort comes from one of the best florist on the island. They specialize in orchids. Last year I had to change a bride within 60 days of the wedding to this resort. It had just opened 2 months before. They where great and found the mango colored calla lilies with just a little upgrade in price around $20, but they found them. And the wedding cake comes with orchids on there. Much more elegant then the side of a resort with a one layer cake and toast, with a few minutes.

5. They do allow for an outside photographer to come in or they have photo packages with much more for your money.

6. If you want a private wedding dinner they have a place that you can rent at the beach for under $600 and it includes the food.

7. They only have up to 3 weddings per day based on the amount of guests at the wedding.

8. You can always transfer to a Sandals resort the day after the wedding to "honeymoon" there.

Well, I hope this helps, at least it is a start to get your thoughts on. Then I can gauge any further suggestions on what you feel is important. Remember just be honest and speak up because this is your wedding not mine and together we need to work, to find that perfect spot for you.

Take care,
Lindsay

[BBride]

Thank you so much for your suggestions. Is Grand Lido in Jamaica - Negril?? I searched it and a couple of things came up. It looks nice. Do you know how far it is from Sandals Montego Bay.... I was told that Negril was very quiet. We do want SOME activity, not totally quiet... but thanks bunches and let me know when you get a minutes. BB:D

[TripsDownTheAisle]

The Grand Lido Negril is located at the very start of Negril. Actually it is located in a bay on the very edge so you have Bloody Bay on one side then the start of the famous 7 mile beach on the other. It is in a nice area, right next to Couples Negril then the two RIU resorts and the Sunset resort. And because they are in the bay area there water skiing included, along with the other motorized watersports.

As for the area you can hike to a waterfall, tour the Appleton Rum company, cliff dive, check out the local markets or watch a sunset at the end of Jamaica. If you are really looking for more to do like sports, then I would suggest down the road at Couples Swept Away. They like the Couples Negril resort located next to the Grand Lido offer several tours outside of the resort included in the vacation package. I love the sunset cruise they have. Very beautiful.

The travel time from Sandals Mo Bay to Negril is around 1 - 1 1/2 hours depending upon the resort. The area can be a bit quiet for some, there are no big clubs to go out at night but some of those resorts make up for it.

I hope this helps!

Lindsay

[TripsDownTheAisle]

You might want to come to one of our webinars on the resorts you are looking at in your post, Couples, Grand Lido and Sandals. Just send me an email via this forum and I can send you the link to this Saturday's conference. We have had a few cancellations, so it would be great to see you there. Here is the information.

Last month our company started having web conferences (webinars) who are looking at either a destination wedding or honeymoon. It is a two hour online session on a Saturday morning where we talk about the resorts, show you pictures that we took from our trips not brochure marketing one and end with a Q & A session that you can ask us questions or if we have someone from that resort you can ask them too.

We started this because so many people looking at either a Destination Wedding or just a Honeymoon are getting confused about what is out there. Many of you where coming with the same questions over and over again. So we thought what better way for you to get answers, then with a web conference where you can review, ask questions and learn from other couples live.

Looking at what is out there first you have the brochures which are nice glossy pictures but really don't tell you all, then you have the online trip report sites that can go so many different ways that your head spins. So we say just ask us! All of the consultants here have been in the travel business at least 10 years. We have traveled to the resorts and taken the time to follow that up with educational specialist training. What we will not do is sell you on glossy pictures and talk, instead you can hear what we have to say honestly. If there is a problem then we will advise you. If there is something great we will advise you.

Let's face it, this is the most important time of your life, taking that next step in your relationship either by a destination wedding or a honeymoon. That needs to be treated as special as it is. And a great trip is one that you are informed on what to expect, but yet have some mystery. So hopefully you will stop by one of these sessions. We would love to have you there. Please note that they are limited in size to 12 couples because we want everyone a chance to ask. Plus you must send us an email no later then 48 hours prior to receive the informational link and password needed. These webinars are an online conference where you must be on the internet and call into our conference call center at the same time. Also everyone that attends will receive a special gift certificate booklet.

Here is our current schedule. All of these times are Central Time Zone.

Each week we start at 9:30am - 11:30am

June 21 - Honeymoons at Adult Only All Inclusive Resorts
We will be looking at Couples, Grand Lido, Sandals and Secrets Resorts.

June 28 - Destination Weddings - The first steps in the Caribbean & Mexico.
What better way then to start looking then to compare what is out there and how it fits into your wishes.

Special Honeymoon Webinar on Sandals Resorts - June 28 at Noon - 2:00pm

July 12 - Honeymoons at Couples & Secrets Resorts
Find out about this new adult only resort brand building in the Caribbean by looking at their current resorts in Mexico.

July 19 - Destination Weddings - Where do I go? What do I do?
Lets get you started thinking about where is the best spot for me.

July 26 - Special Time 8:30am - 10:30am CDT Honeymooning at Sandals Resorts

August 2 - Destinations Weddings in Mexico

August 9 - Honeymoons at Adult Only Resorts throughout the Caribbean and Mexico

August 16 - Destination Weddings in the Caribbean

August 23 - Honeymoons outside of the box! Take a trip with us from Africa to the South Pacific

I hope you can all join us! We would love to hear from you.

Best wishes to all bridal couples.

[FFC]

I'm not doing the DW, but honeymoon at Sandal's Ocho Rios... I"m sooo looking forward to it! I totally recommend it though, shoot Matt and I wanted to do it after planning for 18 months! :)

[MrsDM]

TripsDowntheAisle - Where in Wisconsin are you???

[TripsDownTheAisle]

We are located about 11 miles north of the Greater Milwaukee area off of Hwy 41. Actually two stop lights off in Slinger. Our strip mall here has a view of the ski hill, the Slinger Speedway and the highway. Great during the storms lately watching the lighting dance on the ski hill. You should stop by our strip mall when you get north of the city sometime.

[MrsDM]

I actually live in East Troy. I was in Beaver Dam last weekend for a race. Good to know where you are at least!!

[jenkniivila]

I was Maid of Honor at my friends wedding at Sandals in Ocho Rios. I remember driving through Montego Bay.. and boy oh boy is it a scarry place. I'm sure the resort is beautiful and safe, but step a foot outside and prepare to be stabbed. Seriously. Our bus stopped on the way from Montego Bay to Ochio Rios and my hubby had a KNIFE pulled on him. Nice. BUT, don't let this scare you away..... it was SOOOOO beautiful! The wedding was beautiful.. Sandals Ocho Rios is AMAZING! Although, I hear Negril is phonomenal, too. What makes you want Montego Bay?