14 replies to this topic

[Linzibella]

Hi everyone. I'm nearly decided about having my Jan 2009 wedding at the ROR. Everyone's reviews and pictures lately have seemed really great and just what I'm looking for.

So I was looking at dates and times and nearly every day in January has several weddings already booked. I'm even looking at doing this in the 3rd or 4th week of January, not around New Years. I am now worried about it being too busy there and not being able to reserve the Plantation or Mammee Bay restaurants that everyone has been talking about. And also a little concerned about feeling like it's a revolving door of weddings. Next......

Do any of you recent brides have any comments about it being too busy and too many weddings on the same day as your wedding? Did you even notice or were you just having a great time at your own party? I realize that I'm not going to be the only one at the resort, and if that's what I want I should look elsewhere at a smaller resort, but I'm just already stressed that we won't be able to have a nice dinner. Is the wedding coordinator really able to put an individual feel on 6 weddings a day, 7 days a week? I'm also not really excited about getting married at 11:00 am.

Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated. Especially those that will put me at ease.

Thanks!

[Agape Gems]

My weding isn't until April, but I think I can put your mind at ease about a few things. I think the 4-5pm time slots are in the highest demand so getting an 11am slot probably won't be as hard. Mammee Bay, which is the semi-private reception, doesn't have a limit to the number receptions. Also, if you do 11am you can request to have a lunch time reception at Mammee Bay instead of the standard 6:30 if you don't want to have all those hours inbetween. And there is a limit of 3 weddings per day.

[jmhein]

I do understand your concerns, I had some of the same! But when I was there, in the entire week, I only saw two other weddings, even though I am sure there were 3 every day. The resort is very big and we were always busy having our own fun that I was never in the same area as a wedding, even though I would have liked to have watched some more!
Fridays and Saturdays seem to be the most in-demand days for weddings. Our wedding was a Tuesday and there was only one other wedding that day, earlier in the day, and I never saw them at all. We had the Mammee Bay restaurant all to ourselves. I think you are still booking far enough in advance that you should be able to book the receptions the way you like. Get your travel agent to confirm that you will have availability at Mammee Bay or Plantation if that's what you will like!
I would recommend going for a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday wedding because they seem to have more availability.
Chandlyn really does an excellent job of making every wedding detail and reception detail personalized and you honestly won't even notice anything else on your big day! You will be having way too much fun!!
Hope that helps!

[JenniferSS]

I have to say that I have seen a huge upswing in the amount of weddings at the Riu Ocho Rios! That being said the advice from jmhein was right on the money! Weekends are booked quickly, mid week is usually much slower. If you want to be an only bride I would try a Monday or Tuesday- with the two business days prior to the wedding you'd have to get their the Wednesday or Thursday before and not many would be willing to do that!

If you have your heart set on one of the restaurants book quickly!

TA Jennifer

[Bride010101]

Also, the resort has a full hour between ceremonies. So if you have an 11:00 spot... the next closest wedding would be the 1:00 spot.

[Linzibella]

Thanks girls! You've made me feel better.
I was thinking that there were up to 6 weddings a day since there are that many time slots on the website where you book. So only 3 makes me much less concerned about getting a reception location that I'm happy with.

I would actually like to get married on the Tuesday of the week that we're looking at (it would be the anniversary of the proposal) and there is lots of availability, but I don't know that with the flight schedules that I'll be able to be in Jamaica for the required 2 days. Also, my sister is a teacher and so since we're not doing this on March Break or over Christmas, she's only going to be able to be there for the weekend plus 2 days (either before or after the weekend), so scheduling is becoming a bit of a problem. I guess it's like that for everyone and so that's why the middle of the week and the weekends are popular.

I can't believe how stressed I'm getting about this already and the wedding is so far away. I guess picking the resort and the date are 2 of the biggest decisions.

Anyways, I've rambled on enough. Thanks again for your calming words of wisdom.

[jmhein]

I would like to calm you one more time! We actually arrived on a Saturday and were married on a Tuesday! Everyone said this was fine. I think they count the Monday and the Tuesday as the 2 days and it was no problem. Or maybe they count the Saturday and Monday, I'm not sure! But I know that I'm married and had a wonderful wedding, so you can definitely arrive on a Saturday as well!!

[kater]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this question, but it got me thinking and I went to see what "available" times were on the date that we have already booked, and all of the six time slots show up under the "available" menu. Does it do that for everyone? Do you send in the request and then they tell you that time slot is full? Otherwise...I'm a little worried that maybe I didn't book right...?

[Birdie07]

I agree with previous posts. I got married on a Tuesday and arrived on a Friday. Saturday counts as a business day. I only saw 3 other weddings well just the brides and some groom and groosmen who looked late hahah.

[IrieBride08]

Hi Mo! Would you mind posting your wedding day timeline or PM'ing it to me? I'd like to see one with an earlier ceremony time. Trying to plan mine and I'm getting married at 2pm. Thanks in advance!