Spazz

Congratulations!

Congrats on your engagment!

Mike just came in while I was on this forum and as I started talking about it and all of the information I've found and everyone on here, his eyes started getting wider and wider. He told me to slowly back away from the computer until I become sane again...haha!

I'm looking to get monogrammed beach bags for my BMs. Let me know if you know of any places with nice bags that aren't too expensive!!! Thanks

Below is an example from the website of the STD I sent out:

I got my STDs at Party Basics, Custom Printed Products at the LOWEST prices! Quick Delivery!. They were only about $150 including shipping for 125. They came with the magnet, magnet holder and envelope. They have a lot of cute ones. I got the one with the bride and groom flip flops. My guests say they really love them!

I was just about to post the same question. I was talking to 2 of my sisters today and they said there is no need to send out invitations because when I sent out my STDs, they said the book with our travel agent/wedding coordinator by a cut-off date (which is about 3 months before the wedding). I have a list from her of everyone that is coming. So by the time I would normally send out invitations, I will already know who is definitely coming. What do you all think I should do?

I really like the calla lilies and orchids. I'm sooo glad they're not all carnations! Thanks so much for the info

Hey everyone,

I just found this review posted on tripadvisor.com...sounds great!!!

"Ocho Rios: Riu Ocho Rios: "Amazing Weddingmoon"

JamaicaJuneBride, California Jul 2, 2007

My experience with this property took place in:

June, 2007

Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend? absolutely!

I recommend this hotel for: An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, Great pool scene, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists

My age: 25-34

Traveling group: Family (extended)

My visit was for: Personal event (wedding, ...)

We stayed at the Riu Ocho Rios from June 7 until June 13, 2007 before heading off to the Sandals Grande down the street for our honeymoon. We were a group of 20 there for our wedding, which was on June 11! The hotel and setting was absolutely fabulous and we couldn't have picked a better location for the wedding. The Riu accommodates groups really well for a couple of reasons 1) there is only really one main walkway, so it was always easy to find people and 2) there were always large tables at the buffet style restaurants (however, my mom would like to recommend that if you are a large group, bring walkie-talkies since you are usually out at the beach or pool and not in your room). Hands-down it was one of the best beaches I have ever stayed on, and it was worth it for that alone (I live in California). Also, the food was pretty good and the Jerk sauce at the beach hut was great! The hotel also has some of the best fruit I have tasted (try the champagne mangos, which were in season, and the fruit shakes).

The only complaint I have about the entire stay was the need for the hotel to hire more maintenance staff so that the front desk can adequately address real problems they have with room keys. I stayed on the suite side and our battery in our door for the keycard was slowly dying, so that by our wedding day, we were unable to get in our room unless a porter at the front desk accompanied us. It would have taken a maintenance person 2 minutes to get a screwdriver and replace the battery to fix the problem but instead, my husband and I had to change rooms while in our wedding dress & Tux, (I actually have no complaints about that either since they upgraded us to a full suite with a Whirl-pool in our room to compensate us), but it must have looked pretty funny. I have other stories with our guests about the room situations but it’s small in comparison to the important aspects of a vacation. To be clear, I would definitely stay here again because everything else was perfect. The full suite room is probably the nicest room we will every stay in, the balcony was right over the beach, and most other resorts in Jamaica don’t have marble bathrooms (we stayed previously at The Rockhouse, Royal Decameron Montego Bay, and Sandals Grande Ocho Rios).

For those brides who searched the web like me looking for other stories, the wedding was absolutely amazing. It rained on my wedding day (4:00 pm) but for my group of 20 we fit perfectly at the Mammee Bay restaurant, which is also gorgeous, with a view of the ocean in the background. Everything was set up very nice, and we had the steel band play. I highly recommend getting live music for the ceremony, it was worth every penny. Our steel band was fabulous and I saw a saxophonist for someone else’s wedding that was equally as good. The Minister was really good as well and he spoke with the groom (right before the wedding) to ask details about what type of ceremony we would like. The wedding photographer (Michael) is also great! Although he’s very busy and I would highly recommend talking to him before the ceremony so that you can plan adequate time to review the photos you want to choose (it took us ~2 hours). "

Overall, it was the best vacation ever and the resort and staff were great!

I'm working on finding out exactly what we can do for flowers at the RIU. I will let you all know as soon as I hear!

I got these flower pictures from a bride on Wedding dresses and planning advice | Brides.com forum, so I thought they were the ones RIU offered. If it's only carnations, that will not be good! If you hear anything else about this, or get the name of the outside florist, please let me know!!!

Yeah! Chandlyn finally emailed me back last night. I reserved the Plantation from 6:30 to 8:30. I'm not sure if I'm going to also reserve the disco for later on that night because it is a Friday and I've heard such great things about the beach party on Friday nights. Still not sure what to do in between the ceremony and reception, but I'm sure eveyone will figure something out. When Chandlyn emailed me, she did not mention anything about an included menu, just the ones that I have to pay for; also, we have to pay for open bar?!? I just think it's weird because the guests are already paying for their food/alcohol...oh well!

Jerzzy girl...sorry to hear about your guest problems. I'm having some of the same issues with my future in-laws. But I realized no matter what I do, someone will be unhappy. It's your day, so do what you want!

I vote for the beach!!!! It looks so pretty!

I'm not too computer-savy, so thanks for posting them for me on here! I didn't get prices, I actually just got those pics from another RIU bride on another site.

Ok, I did what you said and copied all of the arch pictures onto photobucket. Below is the link: Let me know if it works!

Wedding_Arches1.jpg - Image - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

On Wedding dresses and planning advice | Brides.com destination wedding forum, someone posted all of the pictures of the bouquets and arches, so you can take a look there.

I can't seem to paste the pictures of the restaurant's wedding reception set-up, so let me know your email addresses if you want me to send them to you!

Group Buffet $ 35/person

Salad Buffet

Assorted bar of mixed and green salads with variety of dressings

Cold Buffet

Proscuitto mirror with assorted melon pearls

Smoked salmon with variety of garnitures

Variety of cold cuts and international cheeses

Sorted bread buffet

Soup

Roasted eggplant and tomatoes cream with a touch of gin

Hot Buffet

Boulanger potatoes

Italian vegetables

Neapolitan rice

Glazed sweet potatoes

Hominy corn

Scallion’s tomatoes and artichoke quiche

Sautéed pasta with prosciutto,

Champignons and sun dried tomatoes in a light pesto cream sauce

Chicken breast in mushroom sauce

Boneless lamb leg with papaya sauce

Fresh pork loin stuffed with spinach and mozzarella cheese in an herb graying

Caribbean sea grouper filet in almond sauce

Specials

Beef tenderloin in a green whole pepper sauce

Dessert

Jamaican fruit buffet

Assorted desserts out of our own pastry

Group Buffet $ 25/person

Salad Buffet

Assorted bar of mixed and green salads with variety of dressings

Cold Buffet

Proscuitto mirror with assorted melon pearls

Variety of coldcuts and international cheeses

Sorted bread buffet

Soup

Roasted eggplant and tomatoes cream with a touch of gin

Hot Buffet

Boulanger potatoes

Italian vegetables

Neapolitan rice

Glazed sweet potatoes

Hominy corn

Scallion’s tomatoes and artichoke quiche

Sautéed pasta with proscuitto,

Champignons and sun dried tomatoes in a light pesto cream sauce

Chicken breast in mushroom sauce

Boneless lamb leg with papaya sauce

Fresh pork loin stuffed with spinach and mozzarella cheese in an herb graying

Caribbean sea grouper filet in almond sauce

Dessert

Jamaican fruit buffet

Assorted desserts out of our own pastry

Jamaican Menu (US$30/ person)

SOUP

Pepper pot Soup

SALADS AND COLD BUFFET

Coleslaw

Carrot and Raisin Potato Salad

Lettuce

Simple Salad Smoked Salmon

Shrimps with Cocktail sauce

Dressings

HOTBUFFET

Fried Plantain

Rice and Peas

Red Snapper Fillet

Curry Goat

Oxtail

Chicken

Yam Dumpling

Bread

DESSERT

Jamaican Fresh Fruit

Assorted Pastry

Wedding Cake

Hors d’ oeuvres

US $8/person

Tuna stuffed mushrooms, smoked salmon, shrimp canapés,Serrano ham, cheese mousse

US $8/person

Smoked salmon mousse, three cheeses canapés, tomato and egg canapés, ham and cheese canapés, BBQ chicken mini-brochettes

US $10/person

Cheese stuffed chili peppers, BBQ chicken wings, beef mini-tacos, cheese sopes, chicken mini turnovers

US$12/person

Lobster canapé over smoked salmon, mousse and bread, smoked salmon canapés, Serrano ham canapés, caviar canapé (mujol)

US $12/ person

Asparagus, smoked salmon, shrimp canapés, Serrano ham, caviar

US $12/ person

Shrimp tacos, cheese stuffed chili peppers, huitlocoche corn quesadillas, melted cheese stuffed mushroom with guacamole, totopos and Mexican salsa

Check MailCompose Search Mail: Search MailSearch the Web

Hey girls,

I am so happy we are all on this together! I'll tell you all of my plans...

I am getting married on Friday, May 16, 2008 at noon on the beach at the RIU. I have about 80 guests coming and 8(!) bridesmaids and 8 groomsmen, 2 ringbears and no flower girls (all nephews and no nieces). I have NO IDEA what I'm doing afterwards yet. I was planning on a reception, but I am hearing now that the earliest possible time for a reception is 6:30. So my question is what do my guests do between the hours of 1:00 and 6:00? I don't know what else the resort offers in way of a party or luncheon (nothing from what I've heard). I haven't booked the reception yet b/c Chandlyn has not gotten back to me. I emailed her a few weeks back and she said they don't plan weddings til 2 months beforehand!!! Then I wrote back a few days ago asking if I could at least reserve a reception venue and haven't heard anything yet. Any ideas??

As for the rest of my plans, I am thinking of doing program fans for the guests. For their welcome bags: koozies, cups, maybe some cards/dice, maybe suntan lotion/aleve/lip balm. I'm not 100% sure yet.

I have my dress. It is tea length and strapless. I'm still working on the bridesmaids dresses.

I am also on a forum on brides.com and a girl there sent me the photography package info and the menus. I will try to post them here asap.

Talk to you all soon!

Lizz

Thanks for all of the congrats and welcomes. I have the date booked, I have my dress, but that's about it. I'm trying to figure out what to do for a reception. Are you all having dinner/dancing/etc at a place at your resort or doing something else? I was even thinking maybe a party boat after the wedding, but need to find a company. I thought this would be simple, but it seems like the more I read, the crazier it's getting. I'm sure I'll be on here a lot asking questions!!!! Congrats to you all!

Hi!

My name is Lizz. I'm getting married at the RIU Ocho Rios on May 16, 2008. I would love to hear from anyone else who is getting married there! I love this forum already from what I read.

Congrats to all of the soon-to-be brides!