jmhein

I'm a Riu Ocho Rios bride as well! I cant believe how many of us there are! It's great! Welcome, you will find tons of help and support!

Thanks everyone for all of your help and suggestions! I think we are leaning toward staying at the Sandals Royal Caribbean in Montego Bay, and then hoping to check out the Sandals in Negril to see that part of Jamaica since you can "Stay at 1, play at 7"! I would LOVE to stay at the Sandals Negril or Sandals Whitehouse but the prices we are being quoted for them will just really break the bank. The Royal Caribbean is affordable, and the reviews for it sound like it is newer and nicer than Sandals Montego Bay. Sooooo... at least we can stay at a decent Sandals and hopefully see Negril as well! However, I am going to look at some of the other resorts you ladies suggested too to see if they could possibly be worked into the budget! Thanks, I will keep you posted!

Oh wow, I really love this one! Dont love Jess Simpson but love the hairdo!! Thanks for posting!!

Hi everyone, I am having a heck of a time deciding what to do for our second week in Jamaica! We are spending our first week getting married at the Riu Ocho Rios with our 40 guests, and that week has been consuming my planning and thoughts! But we do want to stay for a second week for a honeymoon just the two of us! Since we're from Canada and won't get to return to Jamaica for quite a while until our bank accounts recover, I was thinking of going to a resort on a different area of the island to see more of it. I am leaning toward a romantic vacation at one of the Sandals in Montego Bay or in Negril! I would really love the Negril one but it is quite pricier than Sandals Montego Bay or Sandals Royal Caribbean, both in Montego Bay. Plus we would be responsible for our own transfers because our first week would be with the Riu.... so we are thinking of staying at one in Mo Bay and taking a Sandals bus to check out the one in Negril for a day... Anyway, those are my rambling thoughts... just wondering if anyone has ever stayed or knows anything about Sandals Royal Caribbean, Sandals Montego Bay, or Sandals Negril? I thought a Sandals resort would be a very romantic location for just the two of us... however, the Riu Ocho Rios also looks so nice, i wonder if I will regret not staying there for a second week? Any thoughts, advice?

Oh wow, I just found this thread and wanted to say thank you so much to Jamy for writing such a great review and for posting the BEAUTIFUL pictures!!! I can't see the last few you posted, just get red x's and they won't show when I right click on them... if anyone else can see them would they be able to re-post them?

Thanks Brittney! The cake's not really a big deal for me, but it would be nice to see some of the free options, some of those are OK...!

I hope this hasn't been posted somewhere already, but has anyone ever received cake design options from the Riu Ocho Rios? If so, I would love to see them!

Congratulations Heidi!! That's awesome you still get to have your Riu wedding! Let us know how all your guests react to the change in plans, are you telling them right away?

Quote: Originally Posted by Jerzzygirl I finally heard from Chandlyn today!!! She told me that the scanned copies that I emailed her came out very clear and that they are just going to use them to process our marriage licence. She did not say that I was missing anything or needed anything extra so I guess we are good to go. I also asked her what kind of minister is doing the ceremony and she told me his name and that he is Baptist. Do I need to tip him or do you think that the fee's that we are paying are sufficient enough? Maybe just a gift of some kind? I had asked another Riu bride if she had tipped the minister and she said she didn't... I think it is completely optional, they are receiving the fee. So if you are extremely happy with him feel free to tip. A gift would also be a nice gesture but not necessary! Yay that your scanned copies worked!! The days are just going to FLY by until you are MARRIED on the beautiful island of JAMAICA!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Heidi I just noticed that the free wedding package does not include Certified copies of the wedding certificate. That seems like a necessity for a legal wedding there; any thoughts?? I noticed this too and was a little concerned... maybe I will email Chandlyn!

Quote: Originally Posted by Jerzzygirl Hi Heidi posted those fees under a thread I started I think its called fees...lol Its on this main page I think. I also booked the Royal package but we have decided if for some reason we dont get the upgrade to the full suite we wil just go with the basic/free package and add on from there. I will let you know what happens since I leave in 28 days. Oh my its coming fast!!! Oh 28 days, you must be SO excited!!! I'm excited FOR you!!!

Perfect, thanks Pouchie, that answers it for me! And thanks Heidi, I will have to have a look and see if I can find those Minister's fees. I just want to make sure my budget is showing most of the costs!

Hi ladies! I know many of you have booked the Royal Wedding Package at the RIUOR and many of us (myself included) are going with the Free/Basic package and adding on from there. I copied the below from the weddingsbyriu website: RIU FREE WEDDING PACKAGE INCLUDES ($150 USD for Religious Wedding and $200 USD for Civil Wedding) : • On-site wedding coordinator to help plan the special day • Bouquet of flowers for the bride and a matching boutonniere for the groom • Decoration for and set up of the ceremony location • Two bottles of sparkling wine • Wedding cake for up to ten people • Wedding group dinner at one of our specialty restaurants • CD or recorded music during the ceremony • Ten percent discount on all spa services (restrictions apply) • Surprise gift and fruit basket RIU CLASSIC WEDDING PACKAGE INCLUDES: ($475 USD for Civil and Religious Wedding) • On-site wedding coordinator to help plan the special day • Decoration for and set up of the ceremony location • Reception dinner at one of our specialty restaurants • CD or recorded music during the wedding ceremony • Local judge to officiate the wedding ceremony • Certified copies of the wedding certificate • Legal or religious documentation and fees • Witnesses if required RIU ROYAL WEDDING PACKAGE INCLUDES ($775 USD for Religious and Civil Ceremonies): • Complimentary room upgrade to the next category (subject to availability upon arrival) • On-site wedding coordinator to help plan the special day • Bouquet of flowers for the bride and a matching boutonniere for the groom • Decoration for and set up of the ceremony location • Two bottles of sparkling wine • Wedding cake for up to ten people • Candlelight dinner at one of our specialty restaurants • CD or recorded music during the ceremony • Natural body exfoliation for the bride and groom (sauna/Jacuzzi) • Ten percent discount on all spa services (restrictions apply) • Eight 6x8†color photographs and their negatives along with a special photo album (with the purchase of 24 photos) • Breakfast in bed the morning after the wedding • Surprise gift and fruit basket • Local judge to officiate the wedding ceremony • Certified copies of the wedding certificate • Legal or religious documentation and fees • Witnesses if required My questions are - the Free/Basic package does not mention it includes the services of a local judge... umm we NEED the judge! Does anyone know if this is actually included and just not listed, or is this an additional cost to get the judge? Also - we will have 40 guests and I assumed that with the Basic/Free package the ceremony would be set up with chairs for all those guests, but does anyone know if that is the case or is that an extra charge as well? Thanks for your help ladies!

We chose Jamaica for a few reasons: 1. Neither of us had ever been to the Caribbean and really REALLY wanted to see the beautiful Aqua blue waters! 2. Jamaica had always been one of those places on our "must see" list, 3. We have a very well-traveled group of family and friends who had been to the Mayan Riviera, Dominican, and Cuba, but none had been to Jamaica so we wanted it to be a special getaway for everyone. 4. It turned out be more affordable than we thought!

I am pretty sure Saturday counts as a 'free' day in Jamaica, I will be arriving on a Saturday and getting married on Tuesday... so Sunday should count too!? I was told it would all be good... so I think each day counts.

We will have three on each side. I always liked the idea of 3 actually, one MOH and 2 bridesmaids... and one BM and 2 groomsmen, but we did wait and see who booked and luckily it was the close friends we wanted to be in our parties who WANTED to come and be there for our wedding, and then we asked them to be in our wedding party and they were honoured. I bought the girls their dresses (they were under $100 so it wasnt too bad) and we bought the men's shirts for them as well. They didnt expect it but were greatful!

Quote: Originally Posted by Chiquita Sooo undecided on this.. I like the idea of a flower for sure. Not sure about a tiara or veil though... I'm in the same boat! Love the idea of flowers... not sure how a veil even would look with my dress... but I want to look bride-y! AAGH!

I am really not sure what I want to wear IN my hair! Part of me likes the idea of a simple soft updo with flowers in my hair, and then there is the part of me that wants to be really "bride-y" and wear a veil and tiara! What are the rest of you planning on doing?

Quote: Originally Posted by NurseSarah When you start a new thread, there is a place below the text box that you can check to add a poll. It will ask how many options, then when you hit "submit" you'll be taken to the next page where you add your poll options. Does that make sense? Yes, I'll give it a try, thanks very much!!

Sorry, I've looked to try to figure it out but can't seem to find how to start a poll thread?

This is going to be our song!! My Fiance played it for me as he has the Marc Cohn CD and we both started crying and both loved it. It's the background music on our wedding website!

Oh it's GORGEOUS!! Love it!

Dragonfly - Did you bring them all down in a suitcase? How did that work?

Quote: Originally Posted by dragonfly I gave all of our guests beautiful custom travel mugs. It was the best thing I gave them, everyone used, and loved their mugs. They kept our drinks cold, we could have bigger drinks(always a bonus) and they didn't spill in the pool, very important with my rowdy alcoholic friends, lol. I seriously reccommend them. Discountmugs - Coffee Mugs, Travel Mugs, Water Bottles, Promotional Pens, Glassware, Commemorative Plates, Tiles & Promotional Items Oh yeah I went to a party last weekend, and all of my crazy friends brought their mugs to drink out of. Heres some pictures Those are nice! I think I will stick with the travel mugs as they will keep the drinks colder longer and work better in the POOL, I never thought about the pool! Maybe I will relax about getting the right colours, your stainless steel mugs look very nice!

After reading reviews on Trip Advisor and everyone highly recommending bringing an insulated travel mug to our resort - the Riu Ocho Rios - I decided I would do travel mugs as my wedding favours and also fill them with an aloe vera gel, SPF lip balm and ... something else I havent decided on yet.. Apparently the insulated travel mugs come in very handy because they are much bigger than the little plastic cups the bartenders will normally give you so you have less trips to the bar, and they'll keep the drinks cold. And most of our guests loooove their drinks! Is anyone else doing this as a favour and I'd love it if you could post pics of the finished product!? What I would like is something in Aqua which seems to be very hard to find! I would settle for white with Aqua imprint... I also want a tumbler style as I think that will be easier to pack than the ones with handles. I am just having trouble finding ones in colours I like at an affordable price, we will have 40 guests at least, I will probably buy 50 to be safe! I did find these which are more of a travel water bottle, do you think they would serve the same purpose? I like that they have the optional Ice Stick, I would probably go for that... what do you think? Would they still keep drinks as cold? They are just as pricey so should I stick with a travel mug? Sorry for the multi question thread! ha ha! This is my current wedding-related obsession!