sherryl_joy

Hi YumYum, Thanks for all the info, really appreciate it and it answered a lot of my questions. Another one I do have for you is regarding the fire dancers. Did you get them through the resort or on your own? What is the cost for fire dancers, is it per hour and is one hour or 30 mins enough time for their performance? I'm also glad to hear that the $55 per person included open bar...I always thought it was another $10 per person. How about the cake? I've been in touch with a Joanne Hutchinson that the RIU gave me as a contact for cakes. If you deal with her directly rather than the RIU, does it cost extra for whatever requests you make through her vs the resort? Not sure if you can answer that but I thought I'd ask anyway. Thanks a lot, Sherryl

Hi, sorry...our wedding date has changed to November 8, 2010 at the ROR. Thanks! Sherryl Joy

I have been emailing back and forth with Dawn for a couple of weeks now and she's been great at responding back right away, at least within 24-48 hours at most. The only thing is that it's taking her awhile to put together a package for me so I'm not sure what the end total will be and what's actually included...LOL It's good to hear nice reviews about her, makes it tough to decide whether to go with Dawn or Almarie at TWJ.

It's a little high for a destination wedding but we also figure we want a great one, so why not? So far, it's been about 9K for everything but all off site from the resort. This includes ceremony location, setup, flowers, hors d'houvres for a small reception after the ceremony, reception dinner, cake, drinks, etc.

Comparing all three wedding planners, who would you go with? Dawn at Elegant Weddings Jamaica, Almarie at TWJ (Tropical Weddings Jamaica) or pussbackfoots? Pricing seems pretty similar but I'm just wondering who might do a better job out of the three and whose suppliers are better, etc? I can't make a final decision on who to go with as I've heard great reviews for all of them...

Wow! I wanted to go to Sandals but unfortunately, we have couples coming with their whole family so we decided to go with kid-friendly ROR. Our wedding is Nov 2010 and got the all-inclusive package of $3200 per couple, with a condition that if the rate goes down, we can change the booking to the lower rate only once time.

I have yet to book with her, although I have received a quote a few months back....the reason why I'm hesitating is because I think we may end up with a big group and she charges $20/per extra person beyong the 10 ppl in her packages. I'm not too keen on spending $5000 just for the ceremony (it doesn't even include the reception or any kind of dinner!). Does anyone know if there is another contact we can go to in order to book seperate transportation or booking for the Grande Oceanfront location? Sorry, I am not sure how much the Always & Forever package costs.

Wow, that is a pretty great quote, Ashly! If you don't mind me asking, how many guests are you expecting to have? Almarie gave me a quote for the Tropical Splendor package without the photographer and it was $1500 for up to 10 guests. I have about 40-50 guests. Here are my add-ons: Grande Oceanfront location - $300 Additional guest surcharge - $20/person Cocktails Option 2 - $45/person Open Bar - $25/person Additional Bridemaid bouquets - $45/bouquet Additional groomsmen boutounniere - $10/boutonniere Overall, I think it was about $5000-5500 for the whole thing...is she planning your reception as well or are you doing that seperately? I think I may

My TA advised me that Sunquest will have their Winter 2010/2011 contract rates out this around November/December. We were thinking of booking our package around January or February 2010 since our wedding won't be until Nov 2010. She gave us 2009's Winter package rates as $1500 with taxes all in as an idea of what to expect for pricing around that timeframe, with every 17th person free (or maybe it was 11th person, I can't remember)... I sure hope it's about the same or better!! We have (hopefully!) about 50-60 guests coming.

Hi, I think we are most likely going to go with TWJ as well based on everyone's rave reviews about Almarie. That being said, the prices are quite high for just the ceremony alone. I guess as long as everything turns out great, I wouldn't mind paying the extra cash for having someone plan a wonderful (but stressful) event! LOL

I just received an email today to confirm my date for ROR but they told me since I was only having the reception there and not the ceremony, I would still have to pay for a Royal or Caprice wedding package. I would not qualify for a free wedding package because I have about 50-60 guests. Plus they would charge $500 for two hours or $1000 USD for four hours to have the reception at Plantation and $10/person for open bar. Not only that but DJ is $150/hour but dinner seating is only 6:30 or 8:30pm and would have to end by 11pm? It just doesn't seem right!!

Thanks so much, that's great to hear!

I've heard Almarie mentioned from various members here who have used her and they have all had nothing but good things to say. Then, when I went on her website to request some info on pricing, she's been very good at responding back quickly and providing me with very detailed information on the things I wanted. Granted, I haven't actually officially signed with her yet so I know how you feel about trusting someone so far away when it comes to money...there have been other members who have used her so I think it's been okay since I haven't heard/read of any complaints with regards to payment.

Hi Maureen, When you say getting the marriage blessed by the Catholic Church, do you still have to go through all the wedding counseling beforehand? What exactly are the steps to getting that done? Sounds like a good plan! Thanks, Sherryl

My TA has given us the rates for Nov-Dec 2009 and it's about $1460/pp with taxes all in...if we want the group rates, it's free for every 17th person and minimum number of rooms you have to book is 5. She said they had just closed the deal on these rates for the 2009-2010 season with Sunquest and it was just to give us an idea of what the rates are like during that time of the year. However, the winter season for 2010-2011 will not be published or confirmed until Jan 2010 so we were thinking of waiting it out until then before we book....Nov 2010 is too far away!! Marie, thanks for all the info...but 1900 is a bit too much for our guests, who we're hoping to only have to fork out about 14-1500 at most...but I guess it's all dependent on the time you're going, right? I don't think Nov is too busy, it's just after the hurricane season ends (I hope!!) so we're hoping the rates are about that price range.

Thanks so much..some of the things you suggested, I probably would never have even thought of! I think I will definitely go with what you're both suggesting, Debra and Maureen. It sounds like I am being quoted much higher rates than the ones you got, Debra because it is $20/person for round-trip transportation and yes, they broke down the prices for certain things I wanted like how much flowers for for each person would cost (i.e. bridesmaid bouquets and boutonnieres). The only real reason I want to use TWJ is to help plan/decorate my ceremony as I want to hold a religious ceremony at the Grand Oceanfront...does anyone know of other vendors or coordinators that can access or be able to book that site? Thanks!!

Do you think we can choose the free wedding package if all we want is to hold the wedding dinner/reception at the ROR? They told me I would have to purchase a wedding package and suggested the Caprice because I mentioned I may have about 50-60 guests going, even if I didn't have the ceremony there. All I really want is just a good menu, maybe some dancing for after dinner (so maybe a DJ or a dance floor) and a bit of privacy and good food.

So far, the Riu has told me that I would still have to pay for a wedding package even if I didn't want the ceremony there but want to keep the wedding dinner/reception there, depending on the number of guests I have attending. They would coordinate everything for me for the reception but I would not be able to use the same coordinator that I would have for my ceremony. So, it looks like I would have to have two wedding coordinators, one for the ceremony and one for the dinner/reception at the Riu. I've since thought about maybe having just a general religious ceremony at the Riu (if they can do it) and just do the church wedding on another day with the people who are really keen on seeing me get married in the Church. It seems a bit much and just a little stressful but if anyone has any other ideas, I would be more than willing to listen!! Thanks!

Hi! I, too, have been looking at a catholic ceremony in Jamaica but Catholic priests don't really perform ceremonies outside of the church and that is why most resorts don't offer catholic ceremonies on-site. Below is a link where we've started some discussion about this before: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t36795 Good luck and if you have any questions or want to compare notes based on our individual research, feel free to PM me. Sherryl

No worries, I am still looking around, although TWJ would be my number one choice right now. I am still cutting down on the package, not really wanting to pay $5000 for just a ceremony...however, that rate is all-inclusive of the ceremony site, for 60 guests, mini reception with cake and open bar for 2 hours after ceremony at th site, 7 bouquets for the bridal party, 7 boutounnieres for groom and groomsmen, flowers for both sets of parents, transportation for all guests to and from the site and pictures. Overall, I thought it was a decent price but I will be cutting it down to what I feel I really need. I appreciate everyone's advice and as I am still currently shopping around, any other helpful tips, ideas or suggestions are more than welcome! Sherryl

Thanks for all the suggestions! Has anyone used both TWJ and Evita's at the same time, one for the ceremony and one for the reception or is that too much? The reason TWJ seems like a lot is because they actually provide a lot of the things you need, like flowers, decorations, transportation and even includes a mini reception after the ceremony (with cake and drinks). But maybe I don't need a cake and a mini reception if we're planning on having a full reception dinner afterwards, anyways. However, still worried about what to do with the reception part because we need to feed our guests dinner!! LOL I figured that even if we spend about $5000 for each vendor, it will still be half the price that we would be paying to have it here at home.

If I book it as a private event, is that the $35/per person for their special menu dinner? Maureen, does Evita's allow offsite wedding coordinators or am I mixing that up with The Ruins? I think one of them charges some kind of fee for using an outside vendor?

I am actually thinking of going with Tropical Weddings Jamaica, too!! I love dealing with Almarie, she has been great with all of my questions...it's nice to hear of someone else recommending them before I make my final decision. The only thing that's been holding me back is what to do about the reception and where to hold it. Do you mind me asking where you have decided to hold your reception offsite and is TWJ also taking care of that for you? Thanks!

I have been debating between holding the wedding ceremony offsite and just having the wedding dinner reception at the ROR. Has anyone else done this and if so, how did it all work out? What are the packages available that you got or what kind of pricing would they charge you if you just go for a reception dinner at one of the restaurants, like the Plantation, for example? Or can we still get the free wedding package and just go for the semi-private dinner at Mammee Bay? My problem is that the Riu isn't actually answering my questions directly, they tend to go around my questions...I have emailed the Riu and their response was that I would still have to buy a wedding package (preferably the Caprice package as I have approximately 50-60 guests) but do not have to have the wedding ceremony at the Riu. The only problem is they won't authorize any wedding coordinators other than the Riu wedding coordinator at the resort. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to do? I would like to hold my reception at the resort as I would like to keep my costs down...my ceremony is already going to cost me about $5000 to have it offsite, not even including my dinner for out guests!! LOL Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks, Sherryl

I know there are extra charges for using outside vendors, though...does anyone know how much more extra it is to use someone else for your flowers, decorations, cake or photographer besides the ones used by the ROR? We have asked my FI's cousin to take pictures for us but he's not a professional by any means, do you think they will still charge you if it looks like you brought an outside photographer in? He does have a pretty nice professional-looking camera with lenses...LOL