Stephanie (RAENJAY) & Jason’s RIU Cabo Wedding Review ~ June 23, 2007

Ok, it's really long, so read what you want to know about.

Accommodations- RIU Palace (A+) – For me everything was absolutely perfect. Our room was just as we had booked, and I requested the Mexican Restaurant side of the resort and that is exactly what we got. We actually had the last room on that side of the resort, so it was very quiet all the time. We booked the Jacuzzi Suite with the upstairs. For us, being there for 7 days, this room was perfect. It had just the right amount of room to not feel like you were in a hotel. A couple of my guests had some issues with their rooms – Jason’s Mom, but that not because she had the wrong room, she didn’t like her view. So I had issues trying to get her changed. Then my mom and brother were to have 2 double beds, and they got a king. It took 2 days to get straightened out, but it finally did. Oh yea, and in the process they lost her luggage for about 4 hours. That was lovely. If it wasn’t for those things, I would have given the RIU an even higher rating, but I was pretty freaked out by lost luggage. We did get the smell once in the morning, but it was more like garbage than sewer so it might not have been the same smell others have had. We didn’t have room service, but a few guests did, and they said it was quick and tasted good. All the food was pretty good as far as that goes. I do suggest that you make reservation for the entire group at the meeting with Adriana; she will let you do that. Then if somebody wants something different, they can try to get their own. They will only let a “normal” guest make reservations for 2 days at a time. Line up early. Our favorite meal was the Japanese restaurant. We always had our fridge fully stocked, and it only took about 10 minutes after a phone call to have it restocked when we ran out of beer. I love the RIU, and I look forward to vacationing with them again.

Wedding Services – RIU with Adriana (A+++) Let me tell you, this girl ROCKS! She works amazingly hard, and is so sweet. (And Jason wants the FI’s to know – really cute) –She came out to the desk to meet us when we got there, we set up our appointment for the first thing in the morning and then she said – go relax. She said they average 20-35 weddings a month. There were 2 every day that we were there. I never saw the other bride (kinda cool, but would have made for a great picture). We met with Adriana at 9AM on Thursday morning, and by 10AM, everything was planned and ready to go. We went over the flowers (I had orange roses with lilies in the center, the BM had orange roses, and then the guys all had the single orange rose) – she’ll get you whatever, but these were the included ones, and in my opinion all I needed. Why pay more? I had wanted Calla’s but then she said $10.00 a stem, and I quickly changed my mind. We wanted Grey Goose & Crown Royal for the reception, and they had that brought in (we paid for it, but normal price) – She took all my DIY stuff, asked what was what, and she got it all perfect. They actually handed out my fans and tears of joy packets as our guests arrived so they wouldn’t blow away. Very nice. We went with the Royal Package (which was the middle package) this will give you more than enough options really. We knew we wanted the beach ceremony, and thought that we wanted to beach reception until as Sarah said in her review, they set up early AM, cover it all, and then uncover about 1 hour before you eat. I wasn’t into the sand in my food so we switched to the Mexican terrace. Absolutely lovely. We used my iPod for everything. The only thing I forgot to do was add our recessional song to the ceremony play list, but they found it on the iPod and played it anyway. You will have everybody from the quiet pool watch your wedding, which didn’t bother me at all until afterwards when I learned that some guy, was yelling “Don’t do it” but apparently the crowd took care of him. I never heard him, but Jason did and so did our guests. The guys will wait FOREVER outside for you to come down. They do provide some shade at the beach for while you wait, but just be aware of that. And the people in the pool will get them drinks while they wait. The speaker system they use is AWESOME, and the music comes through load and clear. I loved when we were done and walked up the beach, not only our guests clapped and cheered but so did the people in the pool – it was very cool. We were congratulated everywhere we went that night. They gave us champagne on the beach to toast, and then we went off to have pictures.

Reception: Mexican Restaurant terrace – With our small group of 16 people, this was perfect for us, and we were so glad that we changed it. We had 3 waiters to ourselves, and they were absolutely AWESOME! They took care of Jason and I and our guests had a blast. The food was excellent, well what I got to eat of it. I just didn’t really even think about eating. Again, we used our iPod for the music. We had a friend introduce us for the first dance, and then just put the iPod on random, if the song wasn’t working, somebody would go change it. There was plenty to drink (yea, we’re drinkers) and to eat. I have never had so many people thank me so many times in one night. Also in the restaurant, the people inside would all cheer and say congrats through the glass when they would see either Jason or it. The restaurant does have its own restroom, but it’s down some serious steps – something to think about if you have a “big” gown. But it was good not to have to run all over the resort looking for one.

A funny – We had our recessional song stuck in with the dinner music, and after the wedding they didn’t turn the iPod off, well Jason had these “funnies” stuck in the middle, and this one is a fake tequila commercial about how tequila may make you forget your name, become promiscuous, and all this other stuff, well it played while we were taking photos at the beach- and I thought that the quiet pool people were going to die. Story will continue with Photography.

My only GRRR – I had just sat down to eat, and had gotten the filet. For some odd reason Jason’s mother sat right beside me,and apparently, her steak was to rare. Before I could say anything, she was stealing my steak, and trying to put hers on my plate – and yep – you guessed it, dropped it in MY lap. Luckily 90% of it went on my napkin, but I was and still am pretty pissed off about it. She didn’t even say she was sorry.

My favorite moment – Well, besides the whole day… Jason and I were taking a moment to us at the reception, and he said to me how proud he is that I am his, and that he knows that everything was perfect that day because of all of my hard work and dedication. It wasn’t said just like that, but that was the jest of it. It came out so sweet.

Photography – Jose “Pepe” Lima (A++++) – Ok, so I’m giving him 4 stars before I even see my pictures, but he was just SO awesome. We had him for 5 hours total – 1 hour on Friday for romantic shots in by the marina, and then 4 hours for the wedding. He was prompt, courteous, and listened to our ideas but had a ton of his own. I actually couldn’t get a line out of our room so I had Adriana ring him for me so we could confirm times and things. The next thing I knew, about an hour went by and there he was sitting by the pool with us talking about what we wanted to do and where. To me, that’s service. I don’t even really remember him being there most of the time. This is exactly what I wanted. I didn’t want a bunch of posed shots, and he did that perfectly. I hope he finishes them soon. His sense of humor went right along with Jason and me. Jason doesn’t like to have his picture taken, but Pepe got him to loosen up. When we were in town, I told him about the b-pics and he offered to deliver the gift to Jason to get the perfect reaction shots. Well, Jason opened the headset first (I got him the Bose Aviation Headset for the airplane) and I guess that reaction was priceless. Pepe and all the guys said that Jason got tears in his eyes at that. Then he found the book. He opened the box, but thought it was just a picture in the frame, so never fully opened the book while Pepe was there. Jason said that he kept asking Pepe, “Did you take this” And Pepe would just smile. I explained at the reception that it was a book, and so we opened it together on Sunday morning. I got some pictures of that. We were walking around taking pictures after the wedding, and he says – did you hear that tequila commercial, we talked about it a little, and then I couldn’t believe but he dropped the “f-bomb” when he started laughing about it. Jason and I were dying. Not because we thought that was bad, just because it’s an everyday word for us. WAY TOO FUNNY!

Other Comments – The guests loved our OOT bags, esp. the chapstick everybody forgot theirs. They couldn’t get over how much time and effort I had put into everything. I had so many of them tell me that it was the best vacation ever, and even some cried when they left us to come home. We are already talking of a group trip next year. It was so much fun. We took the water taxi from the RIU to the Arch and to see the sea lions – very fun. But be careful getting in and out of the boat, you have to jump. We spent Friday night in town just kind of wondering around – we ate at Ole Ole, just picked a random place. It was a ton of fun, but I didn’t like the little kids asking us every 3 minutes to buy something. But I guess that will happen if you sit right on the sidewalk. We also went o Cabo Wabo that night – CRAZY, and I’ll leave it at that – some things are better left in Mexico.

Renova Spa - RIU Palace - The girls at the spa are really nice, but they only know about 3 words of English. Make sure that you take lots of pictures for your hair ideas if you are going to have them do your hair. I was a little anxious at the beginning, but in the end it came out pretty close to how I wanted it.

If you have any questions, or comments, please ask. I know I have probably left out a ton. It all seems like such a blur already. All I know is that it really was the best day of my life and I want to relive it every day. My best advice – and I know it’s hard – but for the RIU brides – Don’t stress, Adriana ROCKS, and everything will be perfect.

glad you had such a memorable time. what did you put in your oot bags.

stephanie~

Wow..it sounds like you had a very good time! I'm glad all your guests liked the oot bags! I couldn't imagine them not liking them...you put so much work into them! I can't believe Jason's mom dropped her steak in your lap and didn't even apologize!! WOW!

Well can't wait to see the pics!!

Congratulations and welcome back! Maurice and I actually witnessed you taking your marina pictures but didn't want to interrupt. You guys look just like your pic. I told Maurice, " Hey she's a web friend from the BDW!" He thought I was nuts. The marina was a great idea... so picturesque!

Good luck and can't wait to see more pics!

What a spectacularly detailed review! I am waiting to hear back from Adriana to confirm my date there, so I will probably be contacting you to ask some questions if that's okay. Congrats!

Yeah Stepanie I am so glad everything went so well! Great review I cant wait to see you pics!

Sarah

Im so glad everything went well for you Stephanie... Congrats you looked stunning!

Congratulations Stephanie!!! Your wedding sounds amazing! I'm so happy for you!! Post some more pictures!

Congratulations Stephanie!! It sounds like everything was perfect! I knew your guests would love the OOT bags...you put so much thought and effort into them...they were really fantastic! I wish I would have seen you during our trip. We were in town on Friday night too.

p.s. I'd be errk'd about the steak thing too!