My long ROR review! Finally!

[amandalovesryan]

I love, love, loved the Riu! It was awesome! The hotel itself was beautiful! The staff was so friendly and nice, very accommodating. A bunch of our guests were upgraded to suites for no extra cost, which was great. The only problem that anyone really had was the musty smell. Some of our guests’ rooms were terrible. It was very musty in some rooms but others there was no smell. Ryan and I were on the sunny side of the hotel and our room did not smell. Not sure if this is a factor, just mentioning it.

The food was not that great. I am a really picky eater so that is something you might want to keep in mind. The French fries were great and the rice was good. They had good desserts and a nice selection of fruit. Sometimes the grilled fish was really good. The specialty restaurants had the best food. We went to St. Richards (I think) and that was good. We also went to Mammee Bay and that was decent. I recommend trying to get reservations at one of these places.

The wedding coordinator that we worked with was Chandlyn’s assistant, Nikky. She was awesome. Basically all that you do is go pick out flowers and add any extras that you want to add. I was freaking out a bit because we had scheduled a beach reception and the entertainment board said that there was going to be a beach party. Everyone kept saying, “no problem” but you know how it is when it is your day. You worry about everything.

The wedding itself was great. We had the steel drum band and they were awesome. My minister was not the one from most of the pics that I have seen. He was great. We chose religious ceremony so he did a little sermon and recited some Bible verses which was nice.

We paid Michael to come for 2 hours. We are so thankful that we did this. He was amazing. His work is great. Some of our friends had professional cameras and he did not care. My advice, make sure you tell people which camera to look at or else everyone is looking in 10 different directions.

We had dinner at the Plantation with the steakhouse menu for no additional cost. The food was great and we were pretty much by ourselves. Someone from the photoshop came and took pics while we cut the cake (which was huge, we had 25 people and did not upgrade the cake and had some left over).

Finally, we had a beach reception with a bonfire and a dj and bartenders. TOTALLY AMAZING! I gave the DJ the CD that we made ahead of time that had the songs we wanted to dance to together, and with our parents. This made it easier, I don’t know if he would have had the songs but why chance it. The bartenders were great. They would come out to the sand and pour shots down your throat. It was so much fun. They were really great. They would remember who was drinking what so when they saw you coming for a refill, they would start making it. Edmund, King, and the wedding guy were our bartenders. After the Dj was done with his 2 hours, Ryan and I, along with our bridal party, ran out into the ocean. It was so cool. I was not going to TTD but I thought it over and decided it is a once in a lifetime thing. Ryan and I went totally underwater but so far no one has pics of it.

After the wedding, people seemed to be really impressed, saying they did not know what to expect with a DW but they were really pleased with ours. I am so glad that we did this. It was the most amazing thing I have ever done and it was so beautiful. And most importantly, now I am ryan’s wife! YAY!

(P.S. pics will come, give me time)

[amandalovesryan]

oh, and I forgot to tell you that we went to the falls on the morning of the wedding. it was so much fun and a great stress reliever. highly recommend it!

[Bride010101]

Yay! Thanks for the review... I have been waiting to hear how everything went. Congrats... everything sounded amazing. : ) Now I just can't wait to see some pics!

[KHarrod]

Thanks for the review, it sounds like you guys had a great time.

[Neema29]

Thanks for the review....I can tell you had a wonderful time! Congratulations and ......Bring on the pics! Bring on the pics! Bring on the pics! :-)

[Yari]

What a great review!!! Welcome back.

[crawford2B]

Great review! It makes me want to go back!! Congratulations!!

[Birdie07]

*sobs* I want to go back!! We should have like a ROR Bride Reunion. And like we all go at the same time! Oh dreams....Sounds like you had an awesome time. Congratulations MRS!!!! Can't wait to see pics!

[kitty_kat_uk]

thanks for the review - dying to see your pics now!!

[FYB87]

Congratulations! Sounds like you guys had a great time.