Sandals/Beaches Wedding Reception

PGPrendy

Hi everyone!  Congratulations to all the brides-to-be and newlyweds!!!  My fiance and I will be getting married at Beaches Sandy Bay this October.  One of my biggest questions now is what sort of reception to choose.  Have any of you Sandals/Beaches brides chosen the hot and cold hors d'oeuvres reception?  If so, how was it?  What sorts of hors d'oeuvres were included?  Was there seating as well?  Did you have a DJ for that time too?  For us the desire for a reception is sort of different because we have guests flying in from the USA, like ourselves, but we also have some of my family members in Jamaica who will attend... so I still wanted to have a sort of formal reception/gathering at the resort, so those family members get the full wedding experience, especially since they won't be staying at the resort with everyone else to enjoy the all-inclusive vacation.  Our family doesn't generally have "appetizer receptions"... we generally have sit-down dinner receptions... but a part of why we chose to have a destination wedding was to have an affordable wedding.  Any suggestions and/or reviews from your own wedding experiences??? 

jebuell

Hello!  I got married at Beaches Sandy Bay in April of 2008 and it was a great time.  You are going to have a fabulous wedding.  I have a ton of pics and a full review in my married bio (click on "My Bios" below) if you want to see that.Anyway, we did not pay for any type of reception.  Beaches includes a little reception of meats and cheeses (and the cake) after the wedding.  All of our guests just came down to the beach and munched on that after the ceremony.  There was plenty of food for everyone (we only had 24 guests though).  After that I had my Dad and the best man go up to the Bayside Restaurant right when it opened and request a table for 24.  We were put at two tables of 12 overlooking the ocean and for free we were able to order from the full menu (the paid receptions only let you pick two entres, we had six entres to pick from).  Then after that we went down to the stage where there was a live reggae band playing and we danced with our guests.  And finally, later that evening, they had a bon fire with bongo players on the beach.  So basically, without spending any additional money we had a great reception.  But if you really want a DJ with a playlist you control (since you can't control who the evening's performers will be) we did visit another bride/groom who had that and it seemed like fun.  But I think they just rented a sound system with an iPod because I didn't see a DJ there, which is probably cheaper then the $600 they want for a DJ.  Honestly, I thought the receptions seemed like a bit of a rip off.  They're charging you for food at a resort where food is already included (you've already paid for it).  It just seems a bit extreme.  The way we did it fit better into our budget, but if you have more than 25 guests it may not work for you.

jebuell

Oh, I don't really post over here anymore unless someone brings up BSB.  So if you want more details on our trip/wedding you can e-mail me at jebuell(at)gmail(dot)com.

manda311

If you have facebook, try searching for "sandals weddingmoons". A lot of brides who are getting married/have been married at Sandals/Beaches resort post there. There is a lot of useful information. Also, there are 3 Sandals Certified Specialists there to answer questions. I love the site!! I can even give you the email of my specialist/wedding coordinator if you would like. I have a wedding kit for Royal Caribbean, I am sure the meals change by resort...but I am sure they also have similarities. I can also email that to you if you would like.

nycbride2011

Congrtulations! I attended a DW at Beaches Turks & Caicos last year.  The Bride & Groom paid for the extra appetizer reception immediately following the ceremony (while they took their pictures).  From what I can remember they had Conch fritters; shrimp rolls; tuna salad sandwiches; cheese & fruit displays and something else but I just can’t remember (sorry).  But there wasn’t any DJ.  There were tables set up on the grass directly across from the gazebo they were wed under.  We sat at about 3 tables holding 8-10 people.  There was a limited bar at the reception with rum punches; sodas and rum.  After the cocktail reception we all went to our rooms to change (I think I even took a dip in the pool first) and went to one of the hotels restaurants.  We just had a long table put together to fit all of us and we ate at no extra charge to the bride & groom since all our meals and drinks were already included.  After that we went to the resorts night club and danced for a little while but just to the music they were already playing.  So to sum all this up…they paid for the cocktail reception; but we just went to a regular dinner as a group and danced in the night club on the property.  Hope that helps!

PGPrendy

Thanks ladies!  That definitely helps.  Manda311, thanks for the info about the facebook page... although I have the Weddingmoons page on my friends list, I haven't really looked around on there as much as I look around on The Knot... but I will.  Jebuell and nycbride2011... seems as if you all had a great time with the cocktail reception, especially 'cause there were other things to combine with it.  I hope your plans are coming along well   Oh... and Manda 311, I'd love to see the wedding kit you received... you can e-mail it to me at pgprendy@aol.com.