Thread: Questions Questions Questions

I have a few questions that I would love you guys to help with. I have really enjoyed reading everyones posts and get more and more excited each day.

My partner and I are coming to CSA on the 10th July and getting married on Friday 16th. We are on our own but so looking forward to getting married in such a beautiful location.

My first question is regarding the grooms clothes. My partner obviously does not want to be fully suited up beacuse of the heat. I want him to be comfortable for the day. But he also does not want to be too casual in comparison to me. I have chosen a proper grecian wedding dress so he would like us to compliment each other in the photographs. Can anyone give me ideas as to what to go for. Any photographs of what the grooms wore would be fantastic.

Second question is about the photographer. I have looked at all the posts on here regarding the photographers available and think they all look brilliant. I love Stacey Clarkes and Sungold at the moment. Can anyone help with their own recommendations and a bit more info regarding the costs of these compared to the resorts own photographers. Also where we will be on our own, our parents would really like us to get a video ofthe ceremony. Is this worth it, seeing as the ceremony is only 15-20mins long.

Third question is just to find out what other couples did about carrying on the celebration after the photographs have been taken. It being only the two of us, a Cocktail reception seems a bit much. I was thinking of joining the beach party in the evening as we are getitng married on a Friday. We are getting married at 11am so have the whole afternoon to do something. I want to wear my dress for as long as possible so any ideas on what we could do would be great. And could I wear my dress to the beach party or will I look out of place??

My last two questions are not wedding related.

Has anyone swam with the dolphins at Dolphin Cove while they were there? Do the hotel do an excursion to the cove?

My last question is just regarding the transfer from the airport to the hotel. When I booked our holiday, I was told that the transfer was not included, but from reading everyones posts and those on trip advisor it seems there is a Couples lounge at the airport and you can get a coach from there. Can anyone help with this. I'm not sure if this is different as we are travelling from England.

I hope you guys can help, thank you in advance. xxxx

The only thing i can really help you out with is the airport transfer. Your choices are to wait at the airport til everyone arrives and take a bus to the resort. They make a stop at a place to get t shirts or souvenirs and then you get back on the bus and go to the resort. Your OTHER option is to pay $90 and get a private transfer from the airport to the resort. Because we are getting married (and saving so much by doing a destination) we're going to pay the $90 (just there) to make the experience as intimate and stress free as possible. For our previous vacation we took the shuttle bus and it was no problem- just waiting for everyone to get there took a few minutes. But that is included!
I hope this helps!!

I am also thinking about buying a grecian wedding dress. The groom and best man are wearing very casual clothes, beige linen pants (bought at OLD NAVY, and chocolate brown linen shirt also bought at OLD NAVY the groom will be wearing a white shirt.

We are also from the UK and booked our hotel (CN) with On The Beach, when I asked whether transfers were included (this was in Jul 08) we were told they are not! But they are, there's a Couples lounge in MB airport and I think we emailed Couples directly before travelling but we may not have. I hope this helps.

We were wanting to swim with the dolphins, but I read that the cove is four hours away from CSA. I don't want to spend eight hours on a bus on my vacation

Also there is a bus that picks you up from the airport and takes you to the resort. We have decided to hire a limo so we can ride alone. I hope this helps a little!

Hiya
I probably won't be very useful as I'm still at the planning stage like you, we are getting married on the 8th November 2010.

I can't really help with the grooms clothing as my fiance is wearing a suit, I think he's going to be boiling but he is set on wearing one as he wants to make sure he looks smart and doesnt think that he will in anything else!

Below are the costs of the resort photographer (these are also under the 'weddings' section under the 'overview and planning' header):
Photography: All digital photo packages include CD and album – prices range from $300 - $650
24 Photos- $300
36 Photos- $400
24 Photos w/VHS-$450
24 Photos w/DVD-$500
36 Photos w/VHS-$550
36 Photos w/DVD-$600
Deluxe pack* w/VHS- $610
Deluxe pack* w/DVD- $650
DVDs (20 – 30 minutes) $300
Webcast - $375

I havent chosen a photographer yet, I really like Stacey & Misha though. Im not sure how many hours you are looking at, but for 3 hours for example Misha is $1500 (which includes the $500 Vendor fee) and Stacey is $1295 (this does not include the $500 vendor fee), plus if Stacey needs to travel to MONTEGO BAY, OCHO RIOS, WHITEHOUSE, KINGSTON OR PORTMORE there is a $100/$200 fee. I haven't looked at Sungold I dont think. Diana Campbell is cheaper than these, but I would say her photography style is quite different...
I'm definately going for an outside photographer as you get 200-400 photo's rather then max 36!

We are coming from the UK and we were told the transfers are definately included and we have to go to the couples Lounge.

I'm pretty sure that couples do excursions to Dolphin Cove, If not there are plenty of companies you can book with to pick you up and take you. We are definately going to go! Make sure you go on a day that doesnt have a cruise ship in though and try to go in the morning, its supposed to be quieter then. If you want to see what people that have been thing, I would suggest looking on trip advisor....thats what I did and there's loads of reviews!

Jen

I booked Stacey for my wedding in April. We chose the 3 hour package, which is $1075. She will pay half of the $500 vendor fee, and then we will pay the other half when we get there. The 2hour package is $995, and there are two other larger packages. She has been great to work with so far. I'm very excited to see how the pictures turn out.

I have a suggestion for a photographer--Misha Earle. I booked her for my December 2010 wedding... She was always very fast in writing me back, and even called me to talk to me about some questions i had. She is such a sweet, nice lady--AND in my personal opinion, her photography is AMAZING! Good luck!!

Originally Posted by Ashntommy

The only thing i can really help you out with is the airport transfer. Your choices are to wait at the airport til everyone arrives . . . .

Transfers to the resort are included no matter how you booked your trip. After clearing Immigration and Customs, you'll proceed to the Couples lounge, check in with a staff member at the desk, and be invited to enjoy a Red Stripe. I don't know what the above poster meant by waiting until "everyone" arrives. Your wait will be short, and you may be the only people in your vehicle depending upon your arrival time.

You do have another alternative besides resort-provided transportation and a private transport. You can fly via TimAir. The cost for two people round trip to Negril is approximately $400, and the flight time is less than 15 minutes. You can make a reservation on its web site: www.timair.com.

No matter what you choose, please remember that you (or your travel agent, if you use one) must provide Couples with your arrival information (flight number and ETA) so that Couples will know what time to expect you and can schedule your transport to the resort.

I used Sungold for my wedding this past December. They are absolutely amazing and their work speaks for itself. They are a great husband and wife team and wonderful to work with. I'm excited to get back my photos. Check them out at sungoldphoto.com. They have a range of packages, so you will need to talk to them directly.

However, I hear great things about Mischa and Stacey Clarke as well. You can't lose with any of these photographer. However, I would strongly suggest going with an off-site photographer. The resort photographers are decent, but not great.

The resort did my video of the ceremony. It turned out pretty good. Again, I'm sure there are professional videographers that are better, but it was only $300. It was more important to me to invest in the photography.

Good luck!

Cat:

How many hours did you book Sungold? Do you think it was enough, not enough...i really wanted to go offsite somewhere to take pictures too, but it sounds like Sungold only wants to go offsite if you book the 8 hour package.


I was thinking of getting the resort to do the video, also. Or maybe buying a camcorder and setting it up ourselves??

Thanks!

I booked Sungold's gold package that included:
1) 8 hours during the day of the wedding
2) 2 hour photo shoot the day after the wedding
3) DVD slide show
4) All usable images on a CD
5) Photo Album of photos
6) $100 print credit for additional images

I'm not sure if their packages/pricing have changed for 2010, so it's probably best to confirm with them. Paula is great and can answer your questions. All the Best!

I'm interestedin Sungold also. What are their rates like?

I cannot tell you the prices exactly (for one, I can only remember the one I booked and for two, I know that prices can change given the time of year and the economy).

I went with Stacey Clarke not only because she was the one I had my heart set on but also because she was the cheapest for what you get. I booked her for five hours and we are getting married at Sans Souci. Everyone I checked (Stacey, Misha, and Paula/Damian) had an extra fee for travel to Ocho Rios. Also, no one except Stacey was willing to split the vendor fee (which is $500--Stacey took $250 off the total package price). A big, huge deciding factor for me was that Stacey was the only one to include the DVD slideshow even in her cheapest priced package. I just couldn't afford to pay the other photographers' fees to include the DVD slideshow (which is something that I really want to show back home for an at home wedding reception). Also, with Stacey you get a copy right free cd so that you can print your photos anytime you want as many as you want which is awesome to me.

My best advice: get in touch with at least three different photographers and get a quote from each. Go with your gut and the one you can afford and like the best. Good luck!! And congrats on your wedding! We get married October 23 this year at Sans Souci!! Can't wait!!

1. You will have the BEST wedding ever ( Got married at CSA March 09)

2. Stacey Clarke is amazing, so fun to work with, pictures are fantastic. email me with any questions hpenza1@verizon.net. We still keep in touch with her!

3. My husband wore very nice tan linen pants with a long sleeve (rolled up) Tommy Bahama Shirt. I must say he looked very very nice. I wore a wedding "type" dress. More fancy than him NOT as fancy as yours BUT we looked good (-:.

4. We were married @ noon ( noon and 11 are perfect, the colors are so bright for pictures). We did a small cake and drinks in the garden area after, it was perfect.

5. I wore my dress for a while as we did "trash dress" photo's. This is SO MUCH FUN. My dress did NOT get ruined ( I was able to have it cleaned and wear it again at our home ceremony).

6. CSA makes reservation for you @ Feathers for your wedding night ( you don't have to go). You could do both, beach party and Feathers.

7. Have so much fun, Please feel free to get in touch with me with any questions. I would be happy to share my photo's with you.

Originally Posted by Pamela

Transfers to the resort are included no matter how you booked your trip. After clearing Immigration and Customs, you'll proceed to the Couples lounge, check in with a staff member at the desk, and be invited to enjoy a Red Stripe. I don't know what the above poster meant by waiting until "everyone" arrives. Your wait will be short, and you may be the only people in your vehicle depending upon your arrival time.

You do have another alternative besides resort-provided transportation and a private transport. You can fly via TimAir. The cost for two people round trip to Negril is approximately $400, and the flight time is less than 15 minutes. You can make a reservation on its web site: www.timair.com.

No matter what you choose, please remember that you (or your travel agent, if you use one) must provide Couples with your arrival information (flight number and ETA) so that Couples will know what time to expect you and can schedule your transport to the resort.

When we went to CSA, we had to wait about 10-15 minutes in the lounge until everyone who was supposed to get on that bus got there. once about 5 couples were in the lounge, they took us to the bus, where we waited another 5 minutes to see if anyone else would show up.
If you were to take a private transfer, all the waiting time would be eliminated.
Hope that clears things up.