Just got back from Riu Palace

[Shayt2412]

Originally Posted by Jess4219 

 

I’m back from my honeymoon and here’s my review of the RIU Palace and Our Wedding

 

Reception/Check-in

Horrible, it’s a circus. Their way of doing things is so old; they need computers. The staff works off print-out paper and there’s always guest at the counter complaining about something. Two of our guest, got double booked (meaning someone else walked into their rooms) they are a true mess, LOL but onnce you get passed that, the resort itself is Beautiful and the food is okay/good. The dinner system were you have to wake-up early to make dinner reservations at their specialty restaurants… .sucks! We didn’t even bother! The Medano Buffet, is huge and has a variety of food selection. The staff is amazing and sweet, the entertainment staff and nightly shows are fun. The beds, not the most comfy and the sheets are hard. The showers are narrow, small and slippery. The grounds clean and tidy.  

 

Wedding Coordinator

Kylene…she was great over emails (I did carry out all communication with her in Spanish) that might have helped. She always got back to me, with my many questions and during our wedding she met all of my request and expectations. She didn’t miss one detail.

 

Welcome Bags

Each morning I gave the front desk labeled bags (they prefer you write the person’s first and last name) to give everyone. We had 35 guests. No problems there.

 

“Welcome dinnerâ€

We had a semi-private dinner at the San Jose Mexican restaurant and invited everyone  to come.  It was out on the terrace overlooking the ocean. That was beautiful, the staff was amazing! This was included thru our travel agent (Vacations for Less/Wright Travel agency) we worked with Teresa Stauring (tstauring@vacations4less.com)  she was amazing and took care of our entire guest, booking their rooms and flights. She blocks the rooms and works together with the RIU, thru going that route we got some complimentary services/credit (one being the semi-private rehearsal dinner) No extra money was paid to Teresa, nor for the dinner.

 

Reverend

Marco Arechiga is extraordinary, I knew from my research and from seeing him on youtube that I wanted him to marry us. He is funny, but knows when to be meaningful; he’s inspirational and knows how to make each ceremony memorable. Loved him!

 

Photography

We choose to book the RIU photographer for one-hour, during the ceremony.  We had plenty of family and friends with video cameras and professional cameras. We even did our own, “trash the dress†photo shoot the next day, jumping into the pool and at Lover’s beach. The pictures are awesome, I hope I can share (if I can figure out how to download them)

 

Ceremony Set up

I brought my own chair sashes in orange and fuchsia, fans, ribbon wands and ceremony music. Kylene did an awesome job with the set-up.

 

Dinner

At Mar de Cortes, Steakhouse Restaurant, it was lovely. I had custom menus and  votive candles, flower petals and starfish as decor. We cut the cake here too.

 

Reception

At Baja Norte, with open bar. Set-up just like a normal reception with round tables, table linens I provided and all of my decorations. We had a DJ, that mixed songs from our IPODS. Our guest danced non-stop and had a great time.

 

Flowers

I ordered centerpieces, 3 extra boutonnieres, 2 wrist corsages and the matron of honor’s bouquet. I was happy with the flowers; however the wrist corsages were VERY CHEAP and wouldn’t stay in place. The boutonnieres too were not the best ( I don’t know if anyone else had this problem). My bouquet was beautiful and so were the 2 medallions that decorated the Gazebo.  

 

Well I hope this helps. I know we did a ton of homework on the resort, and on every single detail. We have a 2-inch “wedding†binder with all of our notes, print-outs of every email, schedules, maps, vouchers, transportation info, blog reviews, pictures, and checklist but it was all worth it, our wedding couldn’t have been better! J We used a lot of everyone’s advice and tips from this website.

 

“Thank you†to previous brides, and happy planning to future brides.

Jess

 

your info is so helpful! Where did you get your chair sashes? Did they charge you extra to put them on the chairs?

[Jess4219]

Hello Everyone Planning Their Wedding at Riu Palace,

 

I can't believe it's almost going to be a year already since I got married there in August 2012. I remember around this time last year reading all the great forums and using all the great information to plan my wedding. My husband and I read a lot and we did our homework.  Future brides....You are going to love the Riu Palace. Do not panic!!! Be patient with the wedding coordinators. They are really busy planning and organizing all the current weddings. They will respond and they are really helpful. Our WC was awesome. I thought we picked a great time in August. They don't seem to be as busy and we did what we wanted because we were the only ones to get married that day. Marco the minister was awesome. Read our short review when we got back from our honeymoon. There's also some pictures we posted from our wedding. We loved it and so did all of our guests. Yes, early August is really hot and humid but it didn't bother us since we knew ahead of time. DO NOT HAVE YOUR RECEPTION INDOORS!! The disco is really dark. We did our homework. Trust me. We looked at ALL options and what we decided on was the best. The outside views are awesome for dinner and reception ( the steakhouse upstairs for dinner, mexican restaurant terrace, or Baja Norte will work best). Our travel agent was awesome. We found her through this website. Teresa Sterling with Vacation For Less. She's based out of Los Angeles. Overall, we all had a blast!!! Read our review. 

 

Shayt2412,

 

I got the chair sashes locally in Los Angeles at a party supply store. The lady let me rent them for a whole week. I packed them and took them with me along with the table covers, napkins, etc.. They don't have many colors to pick from at Riu. The colors and me packing them was worth it.

[Shayt2412]

Originally Posted by Jess4219 

 

Hello Everyone Planning Their Wedding at Riu Palace,

 

I can't believe it's almost going to be a year already since I got married there in August 2012. I remember around this time last year reading all the great forums and using all the great information to plan my wedding. My husband and I read a lot and we did our homework.  Future brides....You are going to love the Riu Palace. Do not panic!!! Be patient with the wedding coordinators. They are really busy planning and organizing all the current weddings. They will respond and they are really helpful. Our WC was awesome. I thought we picked a great time in August. They don't seem to be as busy and we did what we wanted because we were the only ones to get married that day. Marco the minister was awesome. Read our short review when we got back from our honeymoon. There's also some pictures we posted from our wedding. We loved it and so did all of our guests. Yes, early August is really hot and humid but it didn't bother us since we knew ahead of time. DO NOT HAVE YOUR RECEPTION INDOORS!! The disco is really dark. We did our homework. Trust me. We looked at ALL options and what we decided on was the best. The outside views are awesome for dinner and reception ( the steakhouse upstairs for dinner, mexican restaurant terrace, or Baja Norte will work best). Our travel agent was awesome. We found her through this website. Teresa Sterling with Vacation For Less. She's based out of Los Angeles. Overall, we all had a blast!!! Read our review. 

 

Shayt2412,

 

I got the chair sashes locally in Los Angeles at a party supply store. The lady let me rent them for a whole week. I packed them and took them with me along with the table covers, napkins, etc.. They don't have many colors to pick from at Riu. The colors and me packing them was worth it.

 

Thanks for the info

[sophieamanda]

Did any of you fabulous past Riu brides go to the Wal-Mart in Cabo? I am wanting to make my own centerpieces with vases that I would much rather prefer to buy there than to lug down with me. Any experiences or suggestions? Do the Mexican Wal-Marts have similar inventory than the American/Canadian ones do in terms of decor?

[Houstonnlh]

Originally Posted by sophieamanda 

 

Did any of you fabulous past Riu brides go to the Wal-Mart in Cabo? I am wanting to make my own centerpieces with vases that I would much rather prefer to buy there than to lug down with me. Any experiences or suggestions? Do the Mexican Wal-Marts have similar inventory than the American/Canadian ones do in terms of decor?

I went to wal mart and they do have a lot of stuff, but not sure about vases. You can rent them from the florist as an alternative. Not sure how much that would be, but you could rent the vase and still make the rest of it....

[RNtoBe]

Originally Posted by sophieamanda 

 

Did any of you fabulous past Riu brides go to the Wal-Mart in Cabo? I am wanting to make my own centerpieces with vases that I would much rather prefer to buy there than to lug down with me. Any experiences or suggestions? Do the Mexican Wal-Marts have similar inventory than the American/Canadian ones do in terms of decor?

I went to the Wal-Mart in Cabo, they have very similar items to Canadian stores. I didn't look for vases specifically but I would recommend just renting them from a florist. I paid $15 per vase and used mine and the BM bouquets for the head table.

[Terbear]

Although my wedding didn't take place at the RIU I ordered table runners online from Smarty Had A Party! I originally intended to give them to the WC for the RIU. They were reasonably priced and just what I wanted! I did use them @ The Hilton on our dinner tables! [/img]

[Terbear]