StarandJay's May 9, 2009 Riu Negril Wedding Review

[StarAndJay]

Flight: We took Air Jamaica from Phildalphia to Montego Bay. We or our family didn’t have any complaints in this department! Everything was great, the flight attendants hung my dress near the front of the plane.

 

Arriving in Jamaica: We didn’t have any problems getting through Immigration or Customs. There was a bit of a line but it moved pretty quick…and our luggage was waiting when we got through!

We were transferred to our hotel by Jamaica Tours Unlimited. We were loaded on the bus right away. Our driver was really nice but OMG! The way they drive there is CRAZY!!! It did take about 2 hours to get there and the driver was weaving in and out of traffic, passing cars... Luckily, the time went by pretty fast.

 

Check in: Check in was fairly easy! We got there around noon and check in wasn't until 3 so we just left our bags in the lobby and went to get something to eat. After lunch I inquired at the front desk about our room upgrade and there were able to accommodate us right then! We were upgraded to an ocean view room…I was just happy we didn’t have to wait until 3pm for our room!

 

Hotel: The hotel was great, so beautiful! We had an oceanview room that was great, it was right near the gazebo where we got married. It did have a slight musty smell but we didn’t let it bother us. The AC barely works!! I think we heard someone say that it only comes up from 3pm to 3am; we woke up sweating every morning! But it was okay; we just went and hoped in the ocean or pool.

There were some topless ladies on the beach and at the pool; some people were offended by it didn’t bother us.

 

Wedding: Our wedding was AMAZING!!!!!! We couldn’t have asked for anything more! We met with Dionne Thursday at 10am; she was very prompt. I had communicated everything with her before hand via email so we really just went over everything with her. She answered all of our questions and was very accommodating.

We ordered extra flowers (2 BM bouquets, 3 wrist corsages, 3 bouts, & 4 hair flowers for $212). Our flowers arrived at the very last minute; however the hair flowers were waiting for us when we got our hair done.

My sister and I got a massage the morning of the wedding; AMAZING! The best thing we could have done; it was so relaxing. We had our hair done at the Renova Spa and they did an excellent job on our hair; we were so impressed!

We had Michael come over from Ochos Rios to do our pictures; we loved him! He was really great! We did have to pay for a day pass for him but it was no problem & worth every penny!

It started to rain a little before 4pm but it blew right over and cooled everything down! The ceremony was at 4pm and we did pictures until about 6:25pm and went right to our reception at 6:30pm! We paid $1000 for a private reception at Sir Andrew. It was the best time ever! We had the whole place to ourselves w/ a DJ for 4 hours. The wedding party was introduced; we had our first dance and then sat down for dinner. It was a sit down dinner and the food was very good. We were very pleased. We used Sound Illusions as our DJ and he played good dance music all night! After dinner we had some more dances; speeches; toast; & cake. It was all amazing, really amazing! We were having so much fun dancing, the kitchen staff was even joining in on the dances.

 

If anyone getting married at the Riu Negril ( I know there are a few of us) Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions!

 

http://starandjaysmay92009wedding.shutterfly.com/

[inunez]

congrats on becoming a Mrs! sounds like you had an amazing time!

 

i'm also getting married at the RIU Negril. i have a few questions...

1. did you pay extra for the dj? how much did they charge you if you did?

2. do you have pictures of the setup for the ceremony and reception you can share?

[StarAndJay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by inunez congrats on becoming a Mrs! sounds like you had an amazing time! i'm also getting married at the RIU Negril. i have a few questions... 1. did you pay extra for the dj? how much did they charge you if you did? 2. do you have pictures of the setup for the ceremony and reception you can share?

Inunez:
1.) We paid $660 for the DJ for 4 hours. We had a member of our group be the "MC". It made it more fun and personal that way!
2.) I should have pictures; they are from the actual ceremony and reception but you can still see the set up. They are on my computer at home Ill have to post them when I get home.

[kris]

Great Review, Im glad it tuned out amazing! Your pictures are beautiful!!

[drbrainfreeze]

Congrats and great review. Hubby and I are thinking about going to RIU Negril for our 1 year anniversary. I know its a long time off but we loved the RIU and Jamaica!

[ukbride]

Congradulations! Thanks for sharing

[inunez]

thanks! i think i'm going to change my reception setup! i orginally had the steakhouse for 2 hours and then move to the disco for 2 hours - but i kind of feel a little uncomfortable asking people to move.

 

you looked gorgeous by the way!!!

[inunez]

actually - one more question. did Dionne say you needed to pay extra to keep the bartender on? if so how much was it?

[baj]

congrat's & thanks for sharing

[Sloan]

Congrats! It's hard coming back from Jamaica, eh? DH and I are already planning our return trip! Glad you had an awesome time!