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congratulations! We were honestly quite happy at the RIU. We had to pay an extra $10 per extra person we had over 10. I think the price may have gone up slightly for this year though We also wanted to do a private reception, but found it crazyexpensive. We ended up hosting our own event on the beach for free. We brought down lanterns, an ipod with speakers and and created an area by the gazebo. I had asked the WC and she was totally fine with it, as long as the resort didn't have to do anything. As for drinks, one of friends offered to be bartender and did runs to the closest bar. We ended up scoring a dishwasher tray to lug drinks back and forth. It was sweet. We also filled up bottles with the booze from our rooms, and brought down all the beers so we had drink on site also. They allowed us to party there until 2:30 am, at which point we made our way to luigis for late night eats. It was all so easy, I highly recommend it. We did have friends decorate for us too... It was very easy for all 45 of us to gather on the beach. By the pools may be more difficult, but further down the beach it was empty. We went in December though, I would guess it depends on the time of year. i'm not sure what these "private fees" might be. I can only guess doing a private reception. If so, I would agree. We saw a beach wedding set up the following night and it got rained out before it even started. I felt so bad. Oh, also - the disco is dark and dank... we did not want to rent it. We saw all of our guests frequently, and everyone seemed quite happy. I'd be happy to send you pics or provide any other info... just let me know! happy planning!

Hello - we brought our own photographer from home. We found the prices of photographers in Jamaica to be really high.. I've attached a picture of our arch. Best wishes!

Timnlaura101213 - the cake really was basic. Just vanilla, no tiers - but we also aren't cake people so we were fine with this. We did manage to score extra weight for our flight down for free - 50kg! We opted to pack all of our decorations and gifts into moving boxes (we had 2 large moving boxes) and flew those down with us as our second piece of luggage (we each had one large suitcase too). This actually worked out perfectly, as we could just break the boxes down and not have to lug everything back home with us. For the private beach party (yes, this was our reception after the dinner) - we just brought our own decorations, ipod and speakers and dragged chairs out to the gazebo. Created a bar using supplies from our room mini bars. One of our friends offered himself up as our bartender, and worked as a runner every hour to the lobby bar and coming back with TONS of mixed drinks. the bartender actually gave us a huge dishwasher tray to carry everything. We did ask our wedding co-ordinator if we could set this up - and seemed like they could care less, as long as they didn't have to do anything... I'm sure partying by the pool would be just as great - but maybe slightly less private. Our photographer was from Toronto, and is a friend of ours so it was pretty easy. It worked out to be much cheaper than hiring someone from Jamaica. We didn't do a TTD - as I'm hoping to chop my dress up into a cocktail dress...

congratulations to all of you! we just returned from our wedding the riu club - i realize it's not the TB, but I'm sure similar rules apply. we brought our own photographer down with us (she is a friend of ours), and both her and her friend brought all of their equipment. there was no issue with them being there as our photographers and we didn't have to pay anything! i'm not sure what the gazebo is like at TB, but at the club it's quite close to the walkway, so people can walk by, stare, listen. we had our ceremony further down the beach by the fish sanctuary with the arch. it was absolutely beautiful and very private. we then used the gazebo for a photo shoot at sunset and private beach party after dinner (that we set up ourselves for free)... we actually opted to bring silk flowers down, as I had heard rumours of wilted flowers by dinner. our flower girl did use the fresh bouquet provided by the RIU, and it really did wilt by dinner time! i was really happy with our silk flowers, and they were actually much cheaper than the florist. our cake was one tier vanilla (the free option), that we added silk flowers to to dress them up a bit. i am sure you can ask for more elaborate cakes for a cost... happy planning!

we just returned from our wedding at the RIU Negril. Though not the same as the Tropical Bay, I suspect the wedding planning is similar. we opted to bring our own photographer from canada, as the prices in negril really were ridiculous. I'm really happy we did. We are able to meet with her here and go over everything, as well as have easy access to our photos. Bride 2013 - there are a few fees not included - depending on the package you've selected. We chose the free package - which I only includes 10 guests. We had to pay $10.50 US for each additional guest we had. This includes a chair for them at the ceremony, a glass of champagne and cake. Other than that - you are given a choice of adding onto your free package from the a la carte items... Let me know if you have any other questions, I know what it's like not really knowing what to expect - but the RIU honestly did a fabulous job with our wedding day!

Congratulations to you!! To be honest, we lucked into finding the RIU Negril - as it was one of the recommendations from our travel agent. We were really skeptical at first, as the reviews online were all over the place. Trying to keep costs as low as we could for our guests, this one seemed to offer a fair bit of stuff compared to other locations. And, it was gorgeous, our entire group seemed very happy. That said, it really does appear that most of the resorts are absolutely beautiful. We were torn between some locations in Montego Bay, and some in Negril. We opted for the beaches and sunsets offered from Negril over Montego Bay (which is obviously way closer to the airport). We also liked the free wedding package offered by the RIU, as most of the add on items for the pay packages seemed unnecessary. We were happy to pick and choose items to add a la carte. They also let us organize our own private beach party for no extra cost (we had to set up and take down ourselves), but a few decorations, speakers and lanterns made dancing on the beach the perfect ending. We did find the week actually went pretty fast, as the wedding day was right in the middle. We took a catamaran ride the next day organized for our group which was awesome. I would definitely recommend this. I'm not sure how many activities you are hoping to plan, but it did seem there was a fair bit available - we just didn't look into other activities ourselves. Most of our group was happy with the free activities around the resort (snorkelling, wandering around the fish sanctuary, playing beach volleyball or bocce ball), but I did see quite a few off resort activities advertised. One person in our group did rent a motorcycle to tour around Negril - I would not recommend this, as he came back with some pretty dangerous sounding stories. Or perhaps, just don't rent a bike alone... I'm sure your agent could help you to organize activities also? Happy Planning!

Congratulations to you!! To be honest, we lucked into finding the RIU Negril - as it was one of the recommendations from our travel agent. We were really skeptical at first, as the reviews online were all over the place. Trying to keep costs as low as we could for our guests, this one seemed to offer a fair bit of stuff compared to other locations. And, it was gorgeous, our entire group seemed very happy. That said, it really does appear that most of the resorts are absolutely beautiful. We were torn between some locations in Montego Bay, and some in Negril. We opted for the beaches and sunsets offered from Negril over Montego Bay (which is obviously way closer to the airport). We also liked the free wedding package offered by the RIU, as most of the add on items for the pay packages seemed unnecessary. We were happy to pick and choose items to add a la carte. They also let us organize our own private beach party for no extra cost (we had to set up and take down ourselves), but a few decorations, speakers and lanterns made dancing on the beach the perfect ending. We did find the week actually went pretty fast, as the wedding day was right in the middle. We took a catamaran ride the next day organized for our group which was awesome. I would definitely recommend this. I'm not sure how many activities you are hoping to plan, but it did seem there was a fair bit available - we just didn't look into other activities ourselves. Most of our group was happy with the free activities around the resort (snorkelling, wandering around the fish sanctuary, playing beach volleyball or bocce ball), but I did see quite a few off resort activities advertised. One person in our group did rent a motorcycle to tour around Negril - I would not recommend this, as he came back with some pretty dangerous sounding stories. Or perhaps, just don't rent a bike alone... I'm sure your agent could help you to organize activities also? Happy Planning!

Thanks! We had 35 people and two children.

Hello, We were recently married at the RIU Negril on 12/12/12 - it was absolutely amazing - both the week long stay as well as the actual wedding day. I do plan on completing a proper review on this site very soon, but wanted to let any future RIU Negril brides know they could ask questions here if they like! I know how difficult planning/prepping can be when you have no idea what to expect. We did opt for the free package for our wedding day at the RIU, but I am able to provide a bit of information on the other packages too. Dionne, the WC on site was wonderful, and everything came together perfectly the day of our wedding. We couldn't be happier!

Your starfish sound cute! I'm sure they will look fantastic. From what I've read, though I'm not sure for the free option, someone at RIU may even set it up for you. If not I guess you could just have someone head in a bit earlier to do this for you. Yes, I tried to request the disco. But I had to confirm our numbers for this, and we won't know our final totals for a few more weeks, so I've held off. I can't decide either to be honest. I love the idea of our own private dance party, but... maybe it would be fun to just hit the regular disco. Have you spoken a lot with the wedding coordinator down there? Given that ours is so far away, I figure we won't chat for a while...

Congratulations to you!! You're big day is much sooner than ours. We are at the RIU Negril and getting married on 12/12/12. I have also heard it's they do corner off an area for you, but no real other info other than that... I'm wondering if there is any need for a seating plan, etc. We are bringing about 45 people, so we are hopeful it's pretty private.

Hello, Has anyone opted for the free package from the RIU and done the semi-private reception? Were you still able to do speeches, or was it awkward? We are trying to decide if and when we should do these... Thanks!

congrats on your recent ceremony! - thanks for posting this. we have also arranged for the "free" ceremony this coming December (2012) and would love to hear any tips you may have. Did you choose the semi-private dinner option? Were you able to still do speeches?

Hello - has anyone previously rented the disco for their ceremony? Is it worth it? We are considering this and wondering if it's worth it.

we are also bringing a friend to the riu negril who will be our photographer... hopefully we have no issues.