riubride08

Congrats Jason. I hope you had a wonderful time because we definitely did that night. Jill

My flowers looked really. Everyone thought they were real until I told them. Even my bridesmaids. If you use them you will not be disappointed. Jill

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I used Simply Classic Creations at simplyclassiccreations.comfor my flowers. Elza is great and works fast. Check her out. Jill

No one will notarize the original. You must make a copy of the certificate then take it to your local bank or notary and explain to them why you need it notarized. That should work.

You should be fine. I used air jamaica and they were fine with hanging it up for me. You don't have to worry about it people will completely understand and should be more than helpful with your dress situation. Enjoy your trip. jill

There's a place on the Riu website under weddings that will allow you to select your wedding date and time. When I tried to do that for my date it told me that this time was booked. So I had to personally contact the Riu headquarters in Mexico to get permission to have it after 4pm. That was just my experience.

I would suggest you call chandlyn. She is very busy as they have weddings going on everyday except Sunday. As the time grew closer she was there when I needed her. Jill 7/4/08 Riu Bride

The entertainment was about $400 US dollars

One more thing, if any of you have or plan on using DestinationWeddings.com - Destination Weddings and Honeymoons to plan your wedding please don't. Just to be clear they are NOT affiliated with this site. This site is great! Second, my experience was miserable. They are basically just a flashy travel agency that takes your money and guests for a ride. They promise to make your wedding planning easy but I and my guests got nothing but drama. My agent Mrs. Easton was the worst. She didn't do anything right and those guests that used her services were very disappointed. You might have a better chance with them or with a different agent but I will NEVER recommend them to any of my friends or family. That experience was a nightmare. Jill

Thanks everyone for your kind words. I just wanted to help people and I'm happy to know that you all appreciate my review. As for the entertainment, they are $400 for about 10-15minutes. I know that's a short time but its well worth it. Everyone loved them and they were a great added surprise. They do 2 dances and then the fire breather does his thing. Let me know if you all have any more questions. I will work on the pictures later this evening. I haven't sent out my Michael picks because we are still trying to pick them all out. We had over 1000 and it takes some time when trying to narrow them down. Also, they copyrights are still under Michael so I do want to interfere with that until we have everything purchase. Jill

Thanks everyone. I will try to answer all your questions. 1. I used the Royal package and upgraded by using the Tai Flora for the ceremony and reception décor. I sent Jennivie pictures I found of centerpieces and ceremony hupa’s and she would give me the price they charged to replicate the same thing for me. She was very helpful. I would suggest calling her in advance. Also, I brought my bouquets and other flowers with me. 2. I picked the plantation because we wanted a private reception. I’ve attached some more pictures from our reception at the plantation and of my ceremony hupa. Remember you can make some changes up until the day before your wedding day. So if you decide that the disco is fine and want to rent it out just tell Chandlyn and she will take care of it. There were things that I couldn’t decide on until I experienced it for myself (ie, the dancers). 3. I got the 5pm ceremony b/c when I first went online to book the 4pm time slot it was taken. So I contacted the Riu headquarters and persuaded them to allow me to use 5pm instead. I really wanted my wedding on the 4th so they were very helpful. Actually on the 5th they only had one wedding which was shocking. I think people select the times and then drop out but no one lets you know that bit if info until you get there. However, if you’ve selected the 4pm time slot you should be fine. You will still be the last wedding of the day and the beach is not that crowded during that time. For those of you who chose the garden gazebo be aware that the gazebo is located near the active pool and so the pool noise and or activities might sound loud in the background during your ceremony. 5. I contacted Michael prior to arriving to the riu. I gave him the basics of my wedding. When I arrived to the Riu we meet up with Michael and discussed what type of pictures we wanted and how much everything would cost. He has a TON of sample pictures that you can look at to get an idea of he does. Also, Michael is a professional photographer. He’s been doing this kind of work for over 8+ years and has a lot of experience. You just have to know what you want. We even set up a morning ‘trash the dress’ shoot with him the morning after our wedding. In total he took over 1000 pictures. ~$u Plantation_Hupa.doc

The disco smells I think because its so small and they don't turn the air conditioning on unless needed. I am pleased that everyone liked my pics. Michael was great. Take into consideration that my wedding was the last one of the day. There were only 2 weddings that day which made Chandlyn and Nicky easily accessable when my time came around. Chandlyn and Nicky do a really good job especially since they are the only two people working in the entire wedding department. I would recommend being very detailed with your requests. I wrote everything out EXACTLY how I wanted it to look or happen. I would go over everything with them to make sure we were on the same page and I would call them if necessary. Sometimes I think it was easier for me to call them on the phone to explain things just to make sure we had that understanding. Remember its your wedding. Don't be affraid to buy a calling card and call them if you are not getting a quick response with using emails. Then you can follow up the call with an email to confirm your conversation. When you arrive to the Riu for your big day ask Chandlyn: - how many weddings are planned on your day -what are the times and -where they will be having their receptions This will help you figure out where your wedding comes in during all the events on that day and how busy Chandlyn will be during your time of need. Remember to ask questions. Here are some more helpful tips: -Make your hair and or makeup appt with the salon at least two days in advance to make sure you get the time you want and arrive a little early as they will make you wait. -Put all your important items in a small to go bag like, vows, makeup, shoes/slippers etc... and keep them with you. I left my vows in my room and had to have some one run back and get them at the last minute (lol). That wait was not fun If you have more questions just let me know. Jill

Here are some pictures that my guests took of my wedding. I haven't gotten the professional ones yet. Were still narrowing everything down. Riu Ocho Rios 7.4.08.doc

I used both the photographer Michael and the videographer and they were great. Micheal in total took over 800 pictures. We have been having a hard time narrowing them down. Everyone loved what he did as he gave us a CD with the proofs which we let everyone look at. Once we receive our official photos I will be happy to post them. Jill & Tim 7/4/2008 Riu Ocho Rios

I was married on July 4th at the Riu in Ocho Rios Jamaica. I've been an avid reader of this site for a while. I was hoping to share my wedding experience with those who are planning to have their wedding at the Riu and answer any questions you might have. Hotel: The hotel was beautiful. The staff was friendly and the rooms were clean. My only issue was with one of my guests having to wait for over 6 hours for their room to be ready. They told him that since he was sharing a room with other guests who had not arrived that he would have to wait. This was unacceptable and after practically cursing out one of the managers he was finally allowed access to his room. Also, one morning we didn't have any hot water. I called to the front desk and they said they had someone working on the issue. It really didn't bother me that much as I was headed to the beach and pool and really didn't need hot water right away. When I returned to my room later on that day the hot water was back on without any more problems. Also, beware that not all the room keys work. You will at some point have to go down to the front desk to have your key reset. Don't ask me why. Things to know: -You must go to the Jerk Hut its awesome -The beach is clean and there is always a seat -The swim up bars are a must -The disco SMELLS and is very very dark. -The entertainment is REALLy good. Food: The food was good. It's best to make reservations to the speciality restuarants if you want to mix up your sense and try something different. The buffet is fine but it could get a bit redundant after a few days. Some of the food is very bland ex. the deserts. If you have a sweet tooth this will not help satisfy your desire. If you call first thing in the morning you can make reservations. We ate at the steakhouse and asian restaurants and the steakhouse was the best. Things to know: -Have them make you an omlette for breakfast -Make reservations first thing in the morning -Dinner is semi-casual so no bathing suits [staff : The staff were very nice to all of my guests (about 46 of us). No one complained about the staff during our stay. They maid service was good. Just remember that the hotel is very big and so your room may not be cleaned until the end of the day. The maids have a lot of rooms to get to and its a hard job trying to keep the entire hotel clean. However, everything will be cleaned by the end of the day. Also, use your room safe. We didn't have any issues with thief but you can never be too careful. Wedding: I would suggest finding Chandlyn right after you check into your room. She is very busy and if she or Nicky are not in their office they are problem on the beach or gazebo with another wedding party. We meet with Chandlyn first thing the next morning and she went over everything that we requested. She wrote everything down and double checked everything with me to make sure she had it all right. Rehearsal: Our rehearsal went well. Chandlyn explained everything to us and we walked thru the ceremony about 2-3 times to make sure we had it right. She also set up our rehearsal dinner at the St. Ann restaurant which turned out fine. All they do is push together some tables toward the back of the St.Ann so that you have a semi-private dinner. We had no problem with that set up. Things to know: -write down the order of your party because someone might forget where to stand and when to walk. Ceremony: On the morning of my wedding we walked over to Chandlyn's office and gave her all the things that we brought with us that we wanted to have set up during the ceremony and the reception. (ie., program cards, menu cards, candy for the tables, guest book etc) My wedding started at 5pm on the beach so I set up my hair appt at the salon around 2pm and was finished about 3ish. Then I went back to my room and waited for my bridesmaids and began to get dressed. Nicky was at my room around 4pm and so was the photographer. We all finished getting dressed and left my room around 4:50pm. Due to slight delay (which was my fault) the wedding started around 5:15pm. The ceremony goes rather quick so try to enjoy every minute of it. We had a hupa which we ordered from the tai floral company (they also decorated the reception site). We wrote our own vows. I also wrote out exactly what I wanted the preahcer to say and gave it to Chandlyn. On the day of my wedding the preacher read exactly what I had provide and he did an excellent job. We also did the sand ceremony which Chandlyn provided us with the colored sand and container (since I forgot to bring one). Things to know for your ceremony: -Get a microphone for the ceremony -Walking in the sand is hard so be ready -Everyone will be taking pictures and video so get your best Tyra Banks pose together -Have someone who can keep swimmers out of your background during the ceremony or they will mess up your video. Photography: Michael is a hard person to find sometimes. However, once we did find him he sat and went over everything he would do for our wedding. He was on time and very professional. We also had the videographer who was good. I didn't even notice them during the wedding. After the ceremony they instructed us on how to pose and asked us what pictures we wanted to take so everything worked out fine. I would say use Michael for sure if you have any concerns about your wedding photos. Things to know: -Make a list of your must have pictures and give it to Michael in advance. -Bring blot tissues for your makeup so you don't end up wiping it off with tissue -SMILE Reception: The reception decor at the plantation was PERFECT. I would not have changed one thing. Chandlyn and Nicky did everything I asked. Everything from the table cloths down the to cameras on the table, it was all perfect. We had the steel band during the ceremony and the reggae band and the DJ during the reception. The photographer and videographer stayed for the first hour of our reception which is when we cut the cake, did the first dance, and had people make speechs. We also invited the entertainment to perform for the reception. They were the best. It only last about 15 minutes but everyone loved them. Ask Chandlyn about them if you want to hire them for your wedding. After about an hour the photographer and videographer left and we were served our dinner which was very good. The servers were very attentful and they had fun dancing to the band and the DJ. We all partyed until the wee hours and everyone told us that they had the best time ever. Chandlyn and Nicky were there with us until about 9pm. They made sure that we had everything we needed. They will stay out of your way so you will not see them but they are around so just look for them if you need them. Things to know for your reception: -Have FUN, the hard part is over and the fun can begin -Make sure your dress is light weight as it starts to get heavy as the night moves on. -Have someone who can collect your table cameras and any personal items so they won't get left behind. -EAT, you will be starving by the end of the night. My guest had such and amazing time that they are already planning the reunion Let me know if you have ANY questions. Pictures coming soon. Jill

My name is Jill Joseph-Johnson I was married at the Riu in Ocho Rios on 7/4/2008 I will be posting a review of my experience on a new thread under Jamaica. Thanks, Jill