jamaica2009bride

We got married at the ROR and wrote out our entire ceremony, pretty much from the first word he spoke to the last. He added a prayer (guess he forgot it was a civil ceremony) and a couple of other small things, but other than that he just read off the sheet that I gave to Chandlyn at our first meeting.

I spent HOURS in Ocho Rios searching for the best prices on small bags of BM coffee. In the end, I found a local shop where I was able to bargain to $4 for a small bag (I was only buying 10+). Most other shops I checked had it advertised for $7 but if you were buying a few would go to $5. The same brand of coffee was selling for $9 or $10 for the same sized bag at both the hotel gift shop and the airport. If you plan to bring a lot home, I would plan a trip into town.

Here is a link to some more of my wedding pics if anyone is interested: Charlene Connors's Photos - Wedding II | Facebook

Quote: Originally Posted by JNL2011 really nice pictures. Had a question where did you get the bridesmaid dresses the style looks perfect for a beach wedding. We got the dresses at a store called Le Chateau. It's just a chain store here in Canada- the dresses were I think $80 or so each (they went down to half price about a month after the girls bought them-- oops!). Thanks for the comments about the BMs, everyone! I didn't want a traditional BM dress, and told them I didn't care if they wore matching dresses (or even the same colour for that matter) but myself and a couple of my BMs saw this dress in this colour on a mannequin and they all tried it on and loved it!! I think it photographed really well, and the flowers matched PERFECTLY!! The bouquets are from Floral Fantasies. Their prices were GREAT, and I was so pleased with the bouquets. I paid $40 US for each of the BMs bouquets, $50 for mine and about $10 for bouts, plus $50 delivery to the ROR. Chandlyn let me have extra sparkling wine for the reception in place of the "free" bouquet that comes with the package.

I had a great experience with the spa staff as well. Two of my BMs got their hair done, and the hairdressers did an amazing job, neither girl had brought a photo or anything. I had brought a photo of what I wanted, and I thought she did a pretty good job, even though she told me that the style I wanted might be difficult to replicate with my hair type. I am attaching a pic of the "inspiration" pic, and how it actually turned out. I was pleased. Here is what I wanted: http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/200...ssica_alba.jpg Here is what I got: Picasa Web Albums - Charlene - Pro wedding pics And here: Picasa Web Albums - Charlene - Jill & Jul's ... I hope these links work!!!

I would do almost everything over- I had an amazing time at the resort and the wedding was awesome! One thing I did that I highly recommend is (if possible) to stay a second week! I felt like I spent my first week worrying about the wedding, trying to spend time with all the guests, and rushing around! I would have felt like I didn't have a vacation if we hadn't had the second week to enjoy the resort and the country.

I wore shoes similar to the ones posted by montegobay09 but did not have the same experience, unfortunately. I found it extremely hard to walk with the little wedge heel in the sand, and ended up kicking my shoes off as soon as I made it back down the aisle, and only wore them to dinner. We had a beach reception so they sat in the sand most of the day! I would highly recommend flipflops or barefoot/barefoot sandals, both of which I was originally totally against

When you go the the eboutique it's hard to find the persona gift card- I had to do a site search and found it. I'm glad I saw the search because I almost ordered some travel stuff that we didn't need from the eboutique.

Sorry Claire, I had just emailed them to Sarah when I got your response. Have a great wedding and trip!

The guys definitely will not have to wear close toes shoes for the dinner. Many of my guests had changed into shorts and flipflops for our dinner (for comfort for dancing on the beach) and there was no problem. The men in the bridal party wore flipflops and it was fine. In terms of the dress code, as Maureen said, Sir Richard, Sir John and Tushima were the only places where it seemed enforced. My brother and my husband wore sandals and shorts to all other restaurants, and we ate at each one several times. I would STRONGLY advise to book your rehersal dinner before you go! We hadn't planned on having one, and when we met with Chandlyn we had changed our minds. She told me that a rehersal dinner was not really an option, and that the best she could do was to see if they could get us a big table put together at the regular buffet. So three of my guests got up early and each made a reservation for ten at the Mammee Bay. It was fine, but the downside was that we had the same menu the night of the wedding at the Plantation. It seems like other people have been able to book rehersal dinners though...I don't know why I wasn't able to.

I've never gotten my makeup done at home so I won't be much help. I'm about 99% sure that they didn't use new brushes, but to be honest I was in a such a daze I can't say for sure. She did an amazing job on my makeup- I don't wear very much normally and she kept it simple. I looked like myself but she put on just enough that it looked great in pics. She was very bossy (in a good way!) telling me not to worry that she does a dozen brides a week and she definitely knew what she was doing. She did my hair as well, and she was brilliant at that too. I can't remember her name, though, sorry.

Thanks everyone!! We had an absolutely perfect day. Review to come soon!

I know this should go in the buy/sell/giveaway thread but they are expiring soon and I want to make sure they go to someone soon. I've got three phone cards with unknown balances (I would guess about $10 each, but I can't guarantee it) that are valid at Riu hotels only. I'm not sure on the exact expiration date, but I'm guessing it's April 8th or 9th. They expire 30 days after first use, and I'm thinking that they were activated on the 8th or 9th or March. You don't need the card to use them, I can just email the instructions and the PINs from the back of the card. Anyone interested, or know someone who might be? It's a shame for them to go to waste.

Try this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...9&l=6391b7b240 I don't want to change my facebook privacy restrictions, so If it doesn't work I'll upload them to an online sharing site tomorrow. I only had the photoshop for the ceremony, so I ended up only purchasing 30 pics. He took 206 in about 45 minutes and I loved about 125 of them!!! But I thought the pictures were outrageously priced- having the photog for the hour for the ceremony and purchasing a total of 30 photos cost $410 US, which I know is reasonable in terms of photography but I am cheap! When I get photos from family and friends I'll put a bigger online album together and post them here.

Hey everyone, I'm kinda slack with all this stuff, so I'm going to try to post a link to my facebook album with some of my pro pics for now (done by the Photoshop, but not Michael, the other guy). I will post my full review soon- I've started it but it's long already! Let me know if the link works. Photos from RIU Ocho Rios Weddings | Facebook