**Calling all Riu Negril brides**

[wemkulaf]

Thanks for your response Lisa. So do you have any more info to share with me. I am going to email Dionne this week, will let you know if and when she responds. I have several questions for her. Also any brides that just got married and RIU Negril have any reviews to share? I saw smashlee,23 but haven't seen her review. Does anyone know where it is?

[wemkulaf]

My date has been confirmed for RIU Negril, July 24, 2010. I decided to do STD Magnets and Note Cards with Travel Arrangements info on them. Vistaprint had a really good deal so made the order with them today.

[wemkulaf]

PAST, Present and FUTURE RIU Negril Brides, this thread has been kinda of quite lately. Still looking for recent reviews and pictures of weddings at RIU Negril.

 

Lisa, did you decide to use an outside vendor for photographer? If so who?

 

My STD notecards and magnets have been mailed this week, and after several emails and reviews of photographers websites, I finally choose and secured one for our date next July. Two task checked off my list.

[smashlee23]

Here are a few general questions I got, and my review follows.

 

Which wedding package did you choose?

 

We had the Caprice package because we had 54 people, and the Royal only goes up to 50 guests.

 

Did you have a semi-private or private reception? We had a private reception on the second floor of Shadows.

 

Did you have a welcom reception for your guest? We did not have a welcome reception, however the second day we were there we took everyone on "The Wild Thing" which is a fun boat that takes you to Ric's Cafe, drinks and pizza are included.

 

Which photographer did you use? Stacey Clarke

 

Do you have any pictures to share? I am working on my photo bucket, but will post the link as soon as everything uploads.

 

I gues I will just go over a few things and everyone can send me any specific questions. I am sorry this took me so long, but I will try to be better about answering quickly.

 

Prep- I wrote to Dionne many times to make sure everything was clear. I also gave all of my guests little goody bags which included sunscreen, a letter from my husband and I, and mug to drink from. These mugs were great. The cups for drinks were small and do not keep your drink cool. Pictures will be on photobucket.

 

Checking In-

They had our Junior Suite ready when we got there. We did not wait at all. Some of our guests had a couple things wrong, like their room was not Ocean View, or they could not find their reservation. Nothing too major, and a few things were expected with a large group. They fixed everything pretty quickly.

 

Our Room- Beautiful. Very big. Great to get ready for the wedding with the bridesmaids. Nice balcony.

 

Meeting with Dionne-

Dionne asks that you make an appointment as soon as you arrive. We made our appointment with her for the day after we got there. She had everything organized very well. We basically went over all the requests I had emailed her prior to our arrival. We went over flower color, type of flower, how many of everything we needed. We scheduled all of the things included in our package, like hair and nails, couples massage. We also scheduled our rehearsal time, and made our order for breafast in bed after the wedding. One thing I did try to do was change the package after we got there, but this was not allowed. So be sure which package is best for you when booking.

 

Rehearsal- Dionne was very good at keeping everyone in line. We went through everything until we had it right. She made everything very clear.

We had not planned on it, but my parents had a last minute rehearsal dinner. Since we had a large group we did not think it would be possible, but the hotel staff were very helpful and put together a huge patio outside the main buffet restaurant. (We ate there most nights)

 

Wedding Day- I got my hair done in the salon. They did a great job. We had the wedding at 4:00pm by the arch. They told us the gazebo would not work for the larger group. We found the arch to be a little more private than the gazebo as well. The gazebo is pretty close to the beach where everyone hangs out, and the arch is a little more secluded from everything. Dionne came to the room and brought all of the bouquets and corsages. She took the cd that I had made with all of our wedding music. I just told her when to play each song, and she did it perfectly. The arch was decorated beautifully. We got chair covers last minute, and it was definitely worth it. The minister was great. Very personable and funny. Stacey Clarke did the photography and Videography. She was very easy to work with, and responds well to email. I have her photos on the photobucket site. She did a good job keeping everyone under control. We also had the steel drum band play for an hour after the ceremony. We did not get to enjoy them because we were taking pictures, but our guests really enjoyed it. They served rum punch and champagne right after the ceremony.

 

Reception- The reception was on the second floor of Shadows. One thing I regret is not having DJ at the reception. There was no music or microphone for speeches. Some brides on here had said they played their ipod but I was told they did not have any system to play one. I am not sure if it was because of the size of our party, but it took a very long time for everyone to get dinner, and half were done before the other half even got their food. My one complaint would be that the cake was pathetic! I do not know what they were thinking. It was big enough for probably 10 guests, but they cut it into little tiny pieces and told me it was for 54! It was ok because other desserts were offered but it was pretty sad, considering we purchased a package for more than 50 guests. It was more just for the two of us to cut. It did taste good, we got chocolate, but it should have been much bigger. We got the breakfast in bed the next morning and it was delicious! Ham and cheese omlettes and toast and juice and coffee. They have many things to choose from. That was great.

 

License- Social Security did not accept the Certified Copy of the Marriage Certificate that we were given. I had to wait to receive the actual license in the mail before I could change everything. Luckily it came in about 4 weeks.

 

I'm sure I'm missing a lot of things, but ask me anything and I'll be happy to answer if I can.

[smashlee23]

Hopefully this link works, I will try to put up some more when I have a little more time.

 

http://s867.photobucket.com/albums/a...view=slideshow

[~*Lisa*~]

Ok, I only have about 3 and 1/2 months to go before the wedding. Today, I got scared about the WC. I haven't had time to send an email (super busy between work & buying a house) and I don't know when she'll be emailing me. I kinda freaked out because I'm worried that they'll forget about me or something! lol

[wemkulaf]

Send her an email and see if she responds, I am sure she will.

[~*Lisa*~]

Im sure she will, I'm just super busy and keep forgetting - ugh! lol

[~*Lisa*~]

smashlee23 - OMG I can't believe I didn't say anything about your review! lol THANK YOU for doing that! Sounds like your wedding was wonderful. I can't see the pics right now because I'm at work, but I'm looking forward to looking at them when I get home!

 

Oh My, I only have 2 and 1/2 months to go, yikes and WOO HOO at the same time!! lol

 

How far ahead did you ladies send your notorized copies of birth certificates/passports?

 

Did anyone have any contact with Dionne lately? I'm going to email her tomorrow just to touch base with her.

[jen_in_negril]

Hello Everyone! We just booked our wedding at the Riu Negril for April 27,2010! Info from this forum helped us make the decision...looking forward to hearing more reviews and seeing some pics leading up to our big day!