Now, I’ve been to 3 different all-inclusive resorts in 2 countries. Jamaica resorts were both Sandals and Mexico was a TRS by Palladium Hotel group- with that math, I’m a beginner, so read on for details.
Jamaica- Ya mon, relax!
Indeed- relaxation for an all-inclusive is the consistent feeling, with the exception of when you are getting married!
My first all-inclusive vacation was for my own #wedding. Yep, I had never been to a resort out of the country, let alone anywhere before Canada or the Bahamas (see other articles… Eh? and All Aboard).
Insight on the #Freeweddings that are offered at resorts like #Sandals. I got married at the Sandals Whitehouse Resort in Whitehouse #Jamaica, they have since renamed this as Sandals South Coast Jamaica, (yes, it is on the south coast of the country and takes about 2 hours from the airport to get there via van). I have no idea how the resort could have improved, but some additions were made, from my knowledge they added over the water #bungalows, but I am not sure why since every room in the resort is ocean front. This resort was beautiful, big, but not too big, and looked like luxury. The wedding planning started with phone interviews with an offsite wedding planner located in Jamaica getting to know us. We chose options from ‘wedding packages’ offered and customized for us. The wedding does start as free, but with the add-on options and customizations, you will end up paying for some items. With the offsite wedding planner, we were able to submit our song lists, get details on the person to marry us, discuss types of vows, if we want God to be mentioned or not, choose colors (pink and tan), choose flowers, choose a wedding theme, choose dates and activities.
(Stopping for a moment to let you know I was, as everyone says these days, "raised Catholic". I still attend Church for major holidays, but not being married in a church was a big deal, so we did ask a Priest to bless our rings, and we did attend Catholic marriage counseling via a gift from my G-Ma (save that story for another time). My G-Ma did attend our wedding and enjoyed and loved the guy that married us!). If you still want to be married by a priest for an all-inclusive, you are able to find one in the country and get them a 1-day pass for the resort.
We had in mind that we wanted to get married on the actual beach, but we knew the weather could be a factor, and also were told we would be able to ‘walk the grounds’ once we arrived to choose the rehearsal dinner location, wedding location, cocktail location, and reception location. We did end up getting married on the beach, (we had to move the wedding time up by 1 hour due to a threat of rain (from 4 to 3 pm). We got #lucky, it never rained on our wedding day. We decided to add a tent to our reception, we had to make this choice the day prior to make sure it was set up. We also got lucky with the choice of wedding time. The resort offers a Twilight wedding time (extra costs), but great for pictures. BUT we ended up getting the sunset pictures since we had picture time during cocktail hour and before the reception, so it worked out.
As for pictures, you choose different packages like any other wedding package. We opted out for the video, but my groom did get a mic put on and video messages from the guests were made (after a couple of drinks). We viewed the video they made after, and still opted not to get it as we planned to make our own.
We had a wedding planned on site who was just the best, she walked us through everything, calmed us down from our nerves and got us excited. (Tip the wedding planned and person who marries you, think about if you want to tip in addition to the staff as well.) Our staff for rehearsal dinner and our wedding were great and were with us the entire time, they danced with us, showed us their dance songs, let us be guest bartenders, and took song requests (this is how I had #PeteyPablo somehow playing at my wedding, but the fact it was balanced out that we had Jamaica #Soca music playing and everyone dancing, it was ok.
Checkout #Pinterest for gift bags ideas, ours were pretty nice, we gave some snacks (#GoldFish , #Swedishfish, chocolates, flip-flop key chains, mints, a beach bag, etc. and we added in details on Jamaica, the bridal party info, and info to meet on the night most people arrived to hang out at one of the bars on the resort, details for rehearsal dinner (everyone was invited to, not just bridal party), and location for the wedding. The resort, in addition, also gave each room an itinerary for the wedding and rehearsal dinner for locations to meet. If you are planning to get married, consider some of the time it does take for planning, walking the resort, looking at pictures the day after the wedding for approx. 2 hours, a special dinner, a special breakfast, hair, make-up, also the trial hair and make-up, etc. Be cautious and considerate of the guests’ time as well. Make sure they have their own time and own vacation, but make them feel included as they are there for you after all.
We had a total of 25 people for our wedding (about half of the people we invited) and it was perfect. Friends and family still ask and talk about each other today since it was an intimate trip, and everyone hung out.
The #weddingcost, All-in (flights, our stay for 1.5 weeks, the wedding, guest gift bags, wedding party, and parent gifts, etc.) cost approximately 17k USD.
As for the overall resort, it was great and it started when you land at the airport. In Jamaica, you have a little waiting room from your specific resort that you can get some snacks and a beer from (they only have 1 beer- #RedStripe) once you get through customs (customs take a while at the normal busy times, so prepare for that). From there you get in a van from your resort (have a few dollars for a tip) and go. You will be asked by the driver if you want to make a pit-stop. SAY YES. We did not, but everyone else did, and we also did on our next trip back to Jamaica. When you get to the resort, you are met with a drink during the check-in and have to allow a little time for them to get you situated. From there, get to your room, don’t unpack, just get in a suit and get out to the sun. Our resort had a ton of food options, include the buffet and a ‘Jerk Hut’ where you could get jerk chicken and pork- so good. There were water activities every day, at both pools from exercise in the pool, pool volleyball, 2 pool bars, or you could chill at a pool for relaxation. There were sea water sports, and also land activities. There were daily/ nightly overall resort actives and entertainment as well. There was a café for pick me ups, and 2 #peacocks that roamed around. There were no other people roaming around to sell you anything, only on 2 of the 5 days were outside vendors allowed in, in specific parts of the resort for you to shop/ walk around for art and tchotchkes. Check out my wedding video we made using a #GoPro
This report is HIGHLY recommended, and I would go back to this specific one- Yes, I may be a little biased since I was married there, but it has been the nicest resort I've been to (out of 3...). Also, check out the video made from other guest pictures that include the resort and fun.
#Final review: An all-inclusive is not for everyone. Try it out, that way you know what sort of travel you like, or if you just want and need to get away, and don’t want to put much thought on what to do, how am I going to eat and what to drink- book one! Also, I urge you to look into booking one post of your engagement.
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