drhubby

Oh! and as for getting the wedding dress there most flights let you have it as carry on, I just put my in 2 dress bags and it was fine. I did have a GIGANTIC crinolin though which I stuffed in a "space saver" bag from zellers. Its a huge bag that you use a vacuum to suck the air out and it turned a 6' round crinolin into a 2" sheet that travelled perfectly.

Hi Amanda, welcome, welcome. A couple things. We got married at 1 and people really just wanted to bum around on the beach after until the reception (especially since it was many people's last day) so this is fine to do. We did our reception at seagrapes and after seeing the disco I was really really happy with our choice. It was a friday night and the beach party was saturday. You can email the coordinator and shell let you know if you can have it. If you are having someone else do the photography note that there is a 250$ fee that has to be paid to the photo shop there for bringing in an outside photographer. Also, we got married at the beach gazebo after getting there and seeing the options (the pond gazebo is completely surrounded by purple hotel...) the nice thing about the Riu is that they only book 1 wedding at a time so you can switch to any of the other sites for the wedding after you get there. (and Mammees Bay was perfect!!)

For the reception we had dinner at Mammee's Bay from 630-8ish (where the groom and i got full service but our guests had buffet salad/soup bar but got served their entree). That was fine and you get set up on a long table seperate from the restaurant. For the tour (which did include snorkelling) we had some older people that didnt want to hike the falls either, there is a walkway next to the falls and its quite scenic and they really enjoyed it. I think we paid about 72$ a person and the kids were either 40$ or 44$ but it was awesome cuz Leroy took us into town for shopping after for as long as we wanted (local market and sony's plaza) so it was a really nice event that didnt start too early in the day (1230 til about 6ish). I really enjoyed the Sandals Negril. In comparison to the Riu it depends what you're looking for. The food was much better at Sandals (except the Jerk Chicken that was AMAZING at Riu). The liquor at sandals was all top shelf and the wine was a hundred times better. But I didnt like where the beach gazebo was at sandals so im glad we did it at riu. Also, Riu was great for the family - the entertainment and night life were spectacular (heck, even the day activities were grandiose!). This was seriously lacking at Sandals which was fine cuz it was just the two of us but I wouldve been saddened by this if the family was there. Alternately Sandals has ALL watersports included and Riu only has some (catamaran, snorkel...) and we made good good use of the scuba diving at sandals So it really depends on what you want.

hey guys, I just noticed this was a thread. I just got back from Riu Ocho Rios and would strongly advise to take the beach bar over the disco for the reception. They really do it up well and the Beach Party alternates between friday and saturday nights (Right now its a saturday rotation) so if you're married on a friday you can get the beach bar and the beach for the reception. They really do it up beautifully complete with Tiki torches and a huge table for all the guests.

For the reception we had dinner at Mammee's Bay from 630-8ish (where the groom and i got full service but our guests had buffet salad/soup bar but got served their entree). That was fine and you get set up on a long table seperate from the restaurant. For the tour (which did include snorkelling) we had some older people that didnt want to hike the falls either, there is a walkway next to the falls and its quite scenic and they really enjoyed it. I think we paid about 72$ a person and the kids were either 40$ or 44$ but it was awesome cuz Leroy took us into town for shopping after for as long as we wanted (local market and sony's plaza) so it was a really nice event that didnt start too early in the day (1230 til about 6ish). I really enjoyed the Sandals Negril. In comparison to the Riu it depends what you're looking for. The food was much better at Sandals (except the Jerk Chicken that was AMAZING at Riu). The liquor at sandals was all top shelf and the wine was a hundred times better. But I didnt like where the beach gazebo was at sandals so im glad we did it at riu. Also, Riu was great for the family - the entertainment and night life were spectacular (heck, even the day activities were grandiose!). This was seriously lacking at Sandals which was fine cuz it was just the two of us but I wouldve been saddened by this if the family was there. Alternately Sandals has ALL watersports included and Riu only has some (catamaran, snorkel...) and we made good good use of the scuba diving at sandals So it really depends on what you want.

oh the salon again - I paid 40$ for a hair trial which basically got me 15 minutes of styling and not really clear on what she was doing. I dont recommend that waste of money.

The minister was really really nice but you only meet him when you get to the altar which is kind of funny. We also hired the steel drum band for the ceremony (250/hr) and it really gave it incredible ambiance.

we also took all our guests on the Lees tours Dunns River/Catamaran and snorkelling trip which people are still saying was the best part of their trip. (we had little kids with us as young as 3 so we wanted to do something that they could enjoy). Be forwarned though if you do do this, make sure the kids are seated inside on the boat ride back cuz thats when the captain really cuts across waves on purpose to make the boat bounce and the kids totally freaked.

HEY! ok for the couple of questions. At the beach bar we had our reception the night of our wedding. Second, my brother in law brought an awesome sound system for the beach bar - speakers and all (otherwise its 75$/hr to rent the beach bar system which is really just a little stereo that skips tracks alot from what I can tell during the day). Originally I had booked my flowers through Lee's but was shocked when I found out a beautiful bouquet and boutenniere were included for free with the free wedding package so I cancelled them. We were on a really tight budget cuz we went to Sandals Negril for the honeymoon. So instead of flower pedals for the flower girls I snuck down to the palm trees before, cut some palm leaves down and cut the palm leaves into tons of tiny hearts. It looked really natural and pretty when the girls were throwing them. (they cut easy too cuz they fold in half). The busride with Leroy was AWESOME the bus was nice and the red stripe/rum punch abounded and our family WAS sooooo excited when they found out (we only told them when everyone was searching for the sunquest bus...). It was really easy to find too (Norma sends some complicated sounding directions but really that whole part of the airport consists of just a room).

The hotel was at full capacity but Dan and I still got a free upgrade to a junior suite. I am not sure if its regular policy but we were only allowed to eat at each gourmet restaurant once. In the mini bar theres little rock beer and juice/soda - you cant get wine. The jerk chicken hut was amazing and the shows left us all dumfounded. This resort is fantastic for kids cuz the entertainers are really engaged.

What else? k, the busride is a nightmare. So we booked a private bus through Lee's tours to pick all our guests up at the airport (18$ pp including red stripe and rum punch!!) and we had a suitcase ready full of the welcome bags and handed them out on the bus (they contained a hair moisture treatment, spf lip balm, massage oil for valentines day, a game for the guys, heart lollipops, pool/beach toys, hand sanitizer, mini sunblock, mini after sun, scented bath powder)

Hi guys. Ok I am back from my fabulous wedding at the ROR. With lots and lots of do's and donts. First things first, beach gazebo is awesome and private. Basic and free decorating includes thule wrap around with birds of paradise and its just beautiful. Second, we ALL went barefoot and it makes the pictures amazing (we were all in super formal wear so it was a perfect contrast). Third, mammees bay has these perfect long tables for reception that are seperate from the rest of the restaurant and perched over the beach - just perfect. Fourth, get married AFTER 2pm otherwise the beach gazebo is IN FULL SUN (1pm= deadly for boys in a tux and girls in a dress). Fifth - disco, ew, no. Even if its just you and your guests its SOOOO smoky and dismal. Beach bar - OH my !! i have to post pics but it was incredible. They sectioned off the majority of the beach using tiki torches all lit up, had a really long table set up with white linens spanning the length of the beach bar which was stunning, and signs were put up saying "private party". It was more than I had asked for and it was stunning. We brought our own IPOD, note though that your reception runs in the evening the same time as the show which is upstairs so our "speeches" had to be shouted quite loud to overcome the noise but once our music started you couldnt tell anymore. Ok, bad points. If you've been to a sandals - this isnt a sandals. Food is good, but not gourmet however the mammees bay steakhouse steaks were PERFECT and gourmet. Liquor- no top shelf stuff - this didnt bother us but some people complained. Hair and makeup - I brought my own makeup and normally I wear makeup but my makeup artist CAKED it on rather thick - better to do your own. If you are booked and some of your bridesmaids are booked to have hair done on the morning of the wedding be clear that you want SEPERATE stylist. My wedding was at one and I was supposed to be out of the salon by 11am, but I was only out at 1230 cuz my stylist did my bridesmaids hair, then mine, then my makeup. Also know that if it rains, like it did the morning of my wedding - there are NO alternative locations for the wedding so you have to wait the rain out. None of this bothered me but if it does you then better to know ahead of time. Whats included for free?? A beautiful bouquet, a matching boutenniere, champagne, a lovely cake (that could easily feed 30), decorations of gazebo and reception site. You should make an appt with Chandlyn for while your there BEFORE you leave cuz she's hard to get in touch with (we knew this ahead of time). Michael the photographer is FANTASTIC and split our hour and 45 mins up between beach shots and the cake cutting/first dance at night. (it was probably more like 2-3 hrs but he didnt charge us extra).

Oh! And i know some people werent sure what to put in gift bags so we have done welcome bags per couple that include (some of which is because its valentines day while we're there...): SPF sport lip balm hand sanitizer hair mask treatment (as hair will get really dry with salt/sand) romantic bath powder massage oil heart shaped lollipops we got mini games for guys (like golf on the go...) and personalized drinking cups (as cups at resorts are often small) and we got special sand bucket gift baskets for the kids that have lots of activities ... anyway hope that helps!

hi! ok I didnt know that about the photographers so thanks! Also, thanks for the pics Mo! we booked Seagrapes and released the disco for our reception. My brother in law has offered to take care of the music. One note for girls on a tight budget (ie me with all my tuition...) We are having a private bus pick us and our family/friends at the airport so we can hand out gift bags on it and get a direct ride to the hotel. We're doing this through Lees tours. We're also doing a day trip with everyone and they have been so accomodating!! I asked Norma (the super nice woman from Lees tours) about what I could do for flowers and she gave me a ridiculously cheap price for flowers for me, my bridesmaids, the groom, and my flower girls AND they'll deliver it to the hotel first thing in the morning. If you need ANY services I am strongly endorsing these guys - they're fantastic and fast to respond by email. I cant believe I'm a week away!

ok that really didnt line up well, if anyone wants the proper document or the pricing packages for the spa lemme know your email address