ROR Jamaica 2012 Brides

Hello ladies! I just confirmed my wedding for Riu Ocho Rios on July 23, 2012!! It will be a 3PM wedding at the beach gazebo followed by a beach dinner reception.  Can't wait!!

We actually went there this past summer and absolutely fell in love with the place and hospitality of Jamaica.  We knew by the end of the trip that this is where we wanted to get married. It didn't hurt that we met a couple with 150 guests that managed to keep it under 4K. AMAZING! 

I have had the opportunity to read many great reviews on here which helped seal the deal for sure! If any of you ladies have questions about the resort itself, please feel free to ask me. I look forward to the upcoming months ahead and I'm sure this forum will help ease a lot of the stress!

Happy Planning, I got married there last month.... had a blast, I am also available for any questions.  This site def. helped me out a lot!!

Thanks Ericka! I read a lot of your posts- they were very helpful!

glad to help!!
 

Originally Posted by txbride 

Thanks Ericka! I read a lot of your posts- they were very helpful!

Hi! My FI Pete and I just got engaged a few weeks ago and we really want a destination wedding - we love the idea of going on vaca with our friends and family and then ending it with a wedding on the beach. I would love to hear about your experience at ROR. I've heard mixed reviews about RIU in general. Specifically, how was the food? Were there many bar/entertainment options at night. What kind of nightly rate did your guests pay.? Any info you can share would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Congratulations!! That's exciting!

So about your questions...the food I would say was sub par. But that being said, I could always find something I liked.  Let's just say I didn't end up losing weight on the trip! The french fries and nachos were definitely clutch lol!

The entertainment was probably one of my favorite things about the ROR.  We unfortunately missed the beach bonfire -Saturday and Michael Jackson show-Friday (arrived on a Sunday and left on Friday).  The staff is wonderful and we met a lot of friends with the other guests and couples getting married there/celebrating honeymoon there.  There was never a dull moment! We actually played Bingo a couple times which was highly entertaining, and I took a chance on the slots and won $50 in two pulls! Definite plus! This of course went to tipping for the rest of our stay.

We paid about $2500 each for 5 nights but that included non-stop flight from Houston as well (~$700 each for this). 

We did only one excursion during our stay which was the catamaran tour, snorkeling and Dunn's River Falls for just $40 each.  Fantastic time-money well spent! We are planning on doing this again for a group activity for our guests and paying for everyone that chooses to go. 

The beaches are absolutely beautiful and the water is calm.  You won't have to fight the tide or waves here.  Great snorkeling right off the beach! My fiance and I did this several times during our trip.

Yes there are vendors on the beach, but a polite "no, thanks" or "respect" work just fine.  They actually enjoy just talking to you about their life and where you are from.  Pretty interesting actually. 

One tip if any I can give you is to give all your guests the big igloo mugs.  We used these the entire trip! I honestly would fill it up at the beginning of the day and not have to go back for ice or anything until several hours later.  GREAT BUY! We plan on getting some monogrammed and put in our OOT bags for our guests.

Lots of info-so please let me know if you have any additional questions.

I did a container for my guests too.. huge hit.  they walked around loaded off frozen drinks the whole time.  very convenient and saved us a few trips. Also, I adored the Jerk Chicken Hut!!!!!  If I had the chance to do it all over again, I would have done a destination wedding again, hands down.  my guests had a great vacation, no driving, and it was all inclusive.  We also did the catamaran boat ride to dunns river falls/snorkling package with 20 of my 32 guests...good times!! came to $32 pp We also missed the bonfire because we rented the disco for 2 hours after dinner.  I would give this hotel a 4 our of 5 the cons - no room serivice, and the ants by the nachos, burnt popcorn and the limited late night snacks.   eat before midnight or else. 

Originally Posted by txbride 

Congratulations!! That's exciting!

 

So about your questions...the food I would say was sub par. But that being said, I could always find something I liked.  Let's just say I didn't end up losing weight on the trip! The french fries and nachos were definitely clutch lol!

 

The entertainment was probably one of my favorite things about the ROR.  We unfortunately missed the beach bonfire -Saturday and Michael Jackson show-Friday (arrived on a Sunday and left on Friday).  The staff is wonderful and we met a lot of friends with the other guests and couples getting married there/celebrating honeymoon there.  There was never a dull moment! We actually played Bingo a couple times which was highly entertaining, and I took a chance on the slots and won $50 in two pulls! Definite plus! This of course went to tipping for the rest of our stay.

 

We paid about $2500 each for 5 nights but that included non-stop flight from Houston as well (~$700 each for this). 

 

We did only one excursion during our stay which was the catamaran tour, snorkeling and Dunn's River Falls for just $40 each.  Fantastic time-money well spent! We are planning on doing this again for a group activity for our guests and paying for everyone that chooses to go. 

 

The beaches are absolutely beautiful and the water is calm.  You won't have to fight the tide or waves here.  Great snorkeling right off the beach! My fiance and I did this several times during our trip.

 

Yes there are vendors on the beach, but a polite "no, thanks" or "respect" work just fine.  They actually enjoy just talking to you about their life and where you are from.  Pretty interesting actually. 

 

One tip if any I can give you is to give all your guests the big igloo mugs.  We used these the entire trip! I honestly would fill it up at the beginning of the day and not have to go back for ice or anything until several hours later.  GREAT BUY! We plan on getting some monogrammed and put in our OOT bags for our guests.

 

Lots of info-so please let me know if you have any additional questions.

 

 

 

 

Soon2BNJersey- Did you book your catamaran cruise through the vendor on-site? Drawing a blank on their name.  Would love to save money where I can! Thanks!

I booked when I got to the resort with a company called Scuba Caribe, they sit right in the lobby.  we set sail at 10:00am includes snorkling, rum punch, and the cost of climbing the falls. we paid $42 pp. (well the guests paid)

Originally Posted by txbride 

Soon2BNJersey- Did you book your catamaran cruise through the vendor on-site? Drawing a blank on their name.  Would love to save money where I can! Thanks!

Hi Ladies,

I'm getting married at the ROR in May 2012, I just wanted to ask you about flowers… my bouquet and my FI’s boutonniere are included in the package. We have requested a quote from Tai Florist for décor and the bridal party’s arrangements. I don’t want to spend a fortune on the flowers, etc but we have chosen the free package so we literally have no decorations at the ceremony site. Any advise on the set up? Did you use Tai?

Thanks so much!