Future Mrs. Coleman

We are getting married at ROR next Saturday, April 17th. We are doing 2 pm. We wanted 4 pm, but we were told it was already taken so we didn't really have much of a choice. We booked over a year in advance so I was pretty surprised that the 4 pm slot was already taken for the date we wanted, but it seems like that is the most popular choice. My biggest concern is the 4 hour window between the end of the ceremony and the 6:30 pm dinner time. We are going to do the steel drum band for an hour on the beach and do the first dance, bouquet toss, garter toss and pictures so hopefully that will take up some time.

sweetluna, I decided not to go with the package because I knew I wanted to do my own makeup (I have had a couple bad experiences in the past so I don't really trust anyone else). I am going to get a mani and pedi and get my hair done, but doing them separately was cheaper than choosing one of the packages. Like Marie, I have read on here that the majority of brides are happy with their hair, but not their makeup.

Her e-mail address is [email protected]. She or Roxianna (the wedding coordinator assistant) usually respond within a day or two. Neither of them contacted me first though. I had to send them an e-mail with all of my questions.

p.s. I also asked Chandlyn about the free bouquet and she said it was "tropical flowers" so it may just be whatever is in season, not necessarily like the bouquet I posted. The picture I pulled was from August 2009.

I was wondering what the free bouquet looked like too. I wanted to use it since it was included. I found this picture on Trip Advisor where someone had posted a wedding review. Hope this helps anyone else who is trying to decide to go with the free bouquet or upgrade. (Hopefully this works - I haven't uploaded a picture before) free-bridal-bouquet-beautiful.pdf

NikiCrosby - we may be at the resort at the same time. What day are you getting in? We arrive on Wednesday, April 14th. Yes, the updos better be perfect with the prices they charge. I have heard good things about the salon so hopefully it will all work out. I made appointments for me and my three bridesmaids. They can only do two updos at a time so I am having two of my bridesmaids go at 10 am and then me and my maid of honor are going at 11 am. The wedding is at 2 pm. They said we should all be done by noon (but nothing is ever on time in Jamaica!). I originally had the appointments at 8 am and 9 am, but I thought that was really early and I didn't want my hair to start falling before the wedding. We all just have to go back to the room to do our makeup and put on our dresses so I am hoping a couple hours is enough time. I didn't even think about food. Good call Marie! We will probably need to grab some lunch. Maybe I will have some of my friends run down and get us some food while we are getting ready. I'll let you all know how it goes!

Hi Marie, I am getting married next Saturday, April 17th at ROR. I booked hair appointments for myself and my three bridesmaids several months ago. They will give you a quote and you have to put a 50% deposit down via credit card. They will then send you a confirmation sheet. My total for four hairstyles is $390, which I think is outrageous (that's almost $100 each and that is with a 10% discount!). I have had some really nice styles done here in the U.S. for $50-$60 and I have long, thick hair. I asked the Renova Spa manager (Paul Casas) about the price and he said the reason they ask for just 50% down is that the price can change once you get there and let the stylists know exactly what you want. It could be less (hopefully). They will give you a final price once you let them know the hairstyles you want and then you can pay the rest at the spa. I am hoping I can negotiate the price down, especially since my bridesmaids are not having really fancy or time-consuming hairstyles. My bridesmaids and I are going to go into the spa the day before the wedding to talk to the hair stylists to make sure they can do what we want. I am going to bring lots of pictures. I hear the style books they have are quite dated. I'll let you know how it goes!

Has anyone flown with their wedding dress on JetBlue? If you did, where did you stow it? I called the airline and they told me they do not have closets on any of their planes. They said I could bring the dress on with me, but I would have to hold it in my lap or put it in an overhead bin. I really don't want to cram it into one of the overhead bins and I am worried that they won't let me hold it in my lap once we get on the flight.

Hi Spanky, I am getting married in two weeks (April 17th) at 2:00 at the ROR. I started a thread with a bunch of questions about a week or so ago (ROR Help Needed - Getting Married in Three Weeks). I think a lot of your questions are answered in that thread. I started freaking out too when I saw this site and the amount of work some brides have put in, but trust me, you can do as much or as little as you want. I am choosing to do very little. I just want to relax and have fun in the sun with my friends and family!

I was wondering the same thing Skinner. Thanks for asking this question.

Thank you for all the great answers jawedding! I really appreciate it.

I will post a long wedding review with some pictures once we get back. We are honeymooning in Ireland until the end of April so I will try to get to the review posted by May.

Thank you so much TA Maureen for the clarification on pricing. This was what the sales department in Mexico e-mailed to me so that is why I thought there was an extra $300 minister and documentation fee on top of the $350. I thought the $350 was for the wedding coordinator, dinner, cake, etc. I am always happy to hear that we can save more money! I thought it was kind of weird to call it a "free" package, but then charge $350. Kindly inform you that Free Package does not include the minister fees (around 300usd). On the other hand please note that the Free Wedding Package is up to 20 guests, after 20 guests you only need to pay the extras for those services (cake around 5usd per piece and wine around 15-20usd per bottle).(*Prices subject to change without prior notice).

Thanks Hiccups! I finally contacted the sales department in Mexico at the e-mail address you gave me and they responded quickly. This is what they said: the "free" package is $350, the minister's fees and documentation is an additional $300. The extra cake is $5 extra per slice and champagne is $15-$20 per bottle. We switched to the Free Package from the Royal Package because I think it will save us about $400-$500. I am so thankful I found this website and realized we could do that. I thought we just had to pick the package that was the closest to the number of guests we had. I think I finally have all my questions answered. For anyone who is interested and who has a 2:00 wedding, this is our game plan for the day. Hair appointments: 10 am-noon Get ready in room and have photographer come to take some pictures: noon-2:00 Ceremony: 2:00 Steel drum band/pictures: 2:30-3:30 (or later if the ceremony is later). We are going to do the first dance, bouquet toss and garter toss during this time. Bar/go back to rooms to change/guests free time: 4:00-6:30 Dinner: 6:30-8:30 or 9:00 Beach party that is put on by the hotel: 9:00-whenever We are not doing a private reception because many of our guests don't drink and not many dance so we don't want to pay for a bartender and DJ that we won't use. We are just going to tell our guests to go to the beach party if they want. We will already have done our first dance right after the ceremony so I don't really care about having a private reception. Plus, our guests will have been doing "wedding stuff" from basically 2:00 until whenever dinner is over (around 8:30 or 9:00). That is a really long day. We don't want to make them feel obligated to come to the private reception for several more hours if they are tired. I hope this helps!

I tried to e-mail the wedding department in Mexico three days ago to change my package from the Royal Package to the Free Package and they still haven't e-mail me back. I am using the original e-mail I used to book the package ([email protected] and [email protected]). Does anyone know if these are the correct e-mail addresses or have they changed? Does anyone know what the minister's fees and documentation fees are in Jamaica? I am just wondering if getting the free package and paying for all the extras will end up costing close to the same as the Royal Package.

I am getting married in just a few weeks and looked into the Free Package vs. the Royal Package. We also have 36 guests booked. The Free Package does not include minister fees, wedding certificate fees, etc. It clearly states that on the Riu wedding webpage (see below). I have no idea what they would charge for minister fees and legal documentation so we went with the Royal Package. It just seems easier to me to let them do all of that for you. I would also think they would make you pay a price per head for the extra 16 people for dinner and who knows what that would cost. The Royal Package says it serves dinner for 40. Let me know if you find out anything different. I would rather pay just $350 versus $1,245 and upgrade if it is more cost-effective. The Free Package 2010 at the Riu Ocho Rios includes: * On-site wedding coordinator to help plan the special day * Decoration set up for the ceremony location * Bridal Bouquet and matching boutonniere for the groom * CD or recorded music during the ceremony * Semi private dinner for the wedding group at one of our specialty restaurants * Wedding cake for 20 people * Sparkling wine for 20 people (during the main toast only) * Surprise spa gift * Ten percent discount on all spa services for bride and groom * MINISTER OR JUDGE SERVICE, LEGAL DOCUMENTATION & FEES ARE NOT INCLUDED.

Thank you all very much for the answers. This helps so much and has definitely calmed my nerves. Since we won't have dinner until 6:30, I am going to do pictures and the steel drum band on the beach right after the ceremony. We are going to do our first dance then and the bouquet toss and garter toss. I doubt we will be done until close to 4:00 (or later if the wedding doesn't start on time). Then we will allow everyone to go back to their rooms or go to the bar and meet back for dinner later. We are not going to do a formal reception. Many of our guests do not drink or dance so I don't feel the need to pay extra for it. The steel drum band after the ceremony should suffice. We will probably do the beach party that is hosted by the hotel after dinner and any guests who want to can join us, but they won't feel obligated if they would rather go back to their rooms or do something else on their own. I am getting married on Saturday, April 17th. We are arriving at the hotel on Wednesday, April 14th. Chandlyn or Roxianna have always e-mailed me back. It does take them a couple days though. There is a thread on here about sand ceremonies and how to bring them back on the plane. There are several options: 1) get a vase with a cork in it so the sand doesn't spill everywhere, 2) melt candle wax in the top of it to seal it and then pack it in your luggage or 3) carry it onto the plane with you and hold it in your lap. I don't think the third option is very realistic, but other brides have said they have done it. I wouldn't think any airplane would allow you to bring a glass vase on since it can be broken and used as a weapon. The airlines are quite strict now. We bought our own vases for the sand ceremony because the pre-made kits can be pretty expensive and they aren't really all that special. I found some very cool shaped vases at Pier 1 and my total cost was about $25.00 ($15.00 for the vases plus $10.00 for two different colors of sand, which I bought from Party City.) We are going to seal the top of our vase with candle wax and put packing tape over the wax to make sure it is sealed very tightly and then pack it in our suitcase.

Thank you so much SweetLuna! This is very helpful information.

Hello Mello78, Congrats on your wedding! I can't believe they haven't contacted you yet when you are going to be there in less than two weeks. I know the e-mail I originally got with my confirmation code said they would contact us 1-2 months in advance to finalize all the details. I am glad to hear I am not the only one who is confused. I have e-mailed Chandlyn and Roxianna a couple times with different questions and they do respond quickly. I asked about programs. They don't provide those so you have to make them if you want them. I also asked about the sand ceremony. They told me they could provide it for $70, which I think is overpriced. We have found some sand ceremony kits online for $35 or $40 so we are going to bring our own. We are also bringing our own guest album and bags for favors because those will fit easily in our suitcases. We are planning on going shopping in Ocho Rios to get some Jamaican souvenirs to put in the favor bags. I e-mailed them again this morning asking all the questions I asked the forum so I will let you know if I hear anything back. I am sure everything will work out fine at the end of the day. They have done so many weddings. I know they know what they are doing. I just got a little worried when I logged onto this website and saw the amount of work some of the brides have put into this. I feel like I haven't done enough, but I just wanted a nice, simple, relaxing wedding with as little stress as possible!

I am so happy I found this wedding forum. There is so much great information here. I wish I had found this sooner. We are getting married in just a few weeks (April 17th, 2010) at the Riu Ocho Rios and I have lots of questions after reading many reviews and posts on this website. Any help that anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated and would help calm my nerves! Basically, I am trying to keep this as simple and low-cost as possible. That was the reason we chose to have a destination wedding. I thought we could just show up at the resort and pick a package and everything we needed would be included in the package, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I do apologize if these questions have been answered previously. I have done several searches and can't find the info I am looking for. 1. We are doing the Royal Package for 40 guests (we have 35 booked so far), but I have noticed a lot of people doing the Free Package and then upgrading. What is the advantage to doing the Free Package? 2. We are getting married at 2 pm. Do we have the option of going right to the dinner/late lunch after the wedding ceremony? It seems like a lot of people didn't eat until 6:30. I really don't want to have a 4-hour gap between the ceremony and dinner because I think our guests will go off on their own and not come back for dinner. 3. Is the free cake they provide really that bad that we need to upgrade? I don't want to spend extra for a cake when we are supposed to get one with the package we purchased. 4. Is paying for a private reception really necessary or is there an area by one of the bars that we could just set up our iPod and dance and drink? It seems a little weird to pay extra money for drinks and dancing when we are at an all-inclusive with six bars where our guests can drink for free and a disco where they can dance for free. 5. If we do a reception, do we need to bring our own decorations? I don't know how we would get decorations to the resort since the airline we are flying on has weight restrictions on luggage. If we don't bring decorations, is there something standard they can provide at no additional cost or do they charge you extra for everything? 6. Can we pick out our flowers when we get there? I haven't even thought about what I want. I thought we could see some samples when we get to Ocho Rios and choose what we want then. Did anyone use the free bridal bouquet and boutonniere? If you did, were they nice? If not, why didn't you use them?

Hi Everyone, My name is Stephanie (Future Mrs. Coleman) and we will be getting married on April 17th, 2010 at the Riu Ocho Rios in Jamaica. I just found this forum and I wish I had looked earlier since my wedding is now only a few weeks away. There is so much helpful info on this site!