Riu Palace Riviera Maya Review...tons of pics!

I loved the videographer...We just let him do his thing and he was wonderful... and very creative. They are extremely professional and great at what they do. My husband and I actually work in the wedding industry in Chicago, so as you can imagine we were fearful without seeing their work or meeting them prior to the wedding day. They had better equipment than the photographer we brought and were very fun. Unless you have a specific style of videography or photography in mind and have to have that or you will be unhappy, I would go with the hotel.

Save yourself alot of stress and time...and as far as recommendations when you are at the RIU....enjoy it!!! You will not have as much time when you are there for your wedding. Take advantage of the 24 hr room service etc.. also know that they come off like they don't care about your wedding when you first are dealing with the WC via internet or phone but come the time you meet before your wedding day they will do all they can to accommodate you. If you want a specific cake, bouquet, dinner or decorated reception....they do not have an abundance of choices. What they do have though we LOVED!! Good luck to you and have a great time!!

BTW our resort photographer's name was Juan Carlos Magallon.

Thanks for posting a great review. I will be getting married there on Nov. 20th, and i have been a bit scared because everything is out of my hands.

I see that you had a private reception. Was that in the Disco or at the restauraunt? That is one of my worries because I hear that the disco is dingy and dirty! Also they say that the private dinner will be at 8:30 which i dont like because I am getting married at 4 pm.

Do you have any advice regarding the private reception

help!

We had the private reception at Botofogo( which has great authentic Mexican ambiance, terra cotta etc) and we hired a DJ who was awesome!!! The disco is at the Riu Tequila... It is a little "worn!". My wedding was at 5 PM and I had an insane 3 hr cocktail hour( we did have h'ordeurves,pictures and 2 hrs of live music to fill the space)... but I feel your pain...our guests were beyond drunk for our wedding!!That was OK for us but I am sure some people would not want that. Some of our guests changed clothes because it was so hot out and then came to the reception.It does give people time to do personal things. There isn't alot you can do about the time, but you will still love your wedding...it will be amazing!

As far as the private reception...you have to have 40- 50 people attending and everything will fall in place when you get there and see the venue. We used all of their table decorations(terra cotta candles and cream tablecloths) and purchased flower arrangements...I wouldn't worry about your tables looking empty if you don't order flowers..you can get maracas in town(we did) and they will set them on the tables for you.And with 4hrs of cocktail time....no one will notice the table decorations!!! Good luck..I am so excited for you...you are going to have the best time!

Here is what we had on the tables:

Here is our cake:

Sorry it's a thumbnail..I have to get the hi-res pics from our photographer we brought from home...

I would also recommend having a private table for you and your husband at the reception...and setting the tables lengthwise in a square with the dance floor in the middle...it worked very well for us. Then everyone can sit where they want and you don't have to do place cards and no one will be hurt because they aren't at the head table!!!! Also,know that if you want to do speeches at your welcome dinner do them before they eat...our guests were drunk for 5 days and it was like herding feral cats to get them to any dinners or events on time!!! You are going to LOVE it!! BTW, our guests had such a good time that a group of them are planning to go back for New Years Eve!!!

thanks for the help, so glad your day was amazing:)