riubride08

Congrats Jason. I hope you had a wonderful time because we definitely did that night. Jill

My flowers looked really. Everyone thought they were real until I told them. Even my bridesmaids. If you use them you will not be disappointed. Jill

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I used Simply Classic Creations at simplyclassiccreations.comfor my flowers. Elza is great and works fast. Check her out. Jill

No one will notarize the original. You must make a copy of the certificate then take it to your local bank or notary and explain to them why you need it notarized. That should work.

You should be fine. I used air jamaica and they were fine with hanging it up for me. You don't have to worry about it people will completely understand and should be more than helpful with your dress situation. Enjoy your trip. jill

There's a place on the Riu website under weddings that will allow you to select your wedding date and time. When I tried to do that for my date it told me that this time was booked. So I had to personally contact the Riu headquarters in Mexico to get permission to have it after 4pm. That was just my experience.

I would suggest you call chandlyn. She is very busy as they have weddings going on everyday except Sunday. As the time grew closer she was there when I needed her. Jill 7/4/08 Riu Bride

The entertainment was about $400 US dollars

One more thing, if any of you have or plan on using DestinationWeddings.com - Destination Weddings and Honeymoons to plan your wedding please don't. Just to be clear they are NOT affiliated with this site. This site is great! Second, my experience was miserable. They are basically just a flashy travel agency that takes your money and guests for a ride. They promise to make your wedding planning easy but I and my guests got nothing but drama. My agent Mrs. Easton was the worst. She didn't do anything right and those guests that used her services were very disappointed. You might have a better chance with them or with a different agent but I will NEVER recommend them to any of my friends or family. That experience was a nightmare. Jill

Thanks everyone for your kind words. I just wanted to help people and I'm happy to know that you all appreciate my review. As for the entertainment, they are $400 for about 10-15minutes. I know that's a short time but its well worth it. Everyone loved them and they were a great added surprise. They do 2 dances and then the fire breather does his thing. Let me know if you all have any more questions. I will work on the pictures later this evening. I haven't sent out my Michael picks because we are still trying to pick them all out. We had over 1000 and it takes some time when trying to narrow them down. Also, they copyrights are still under Michael so I do want to interfere with that until we have everything purchase. Jill

Thanks everyone. I will try to answer all your questions. 1. I used the Royal package and upgraded by using the Tai Flora for the ceremony and reception décor. I sent Jennivie pictures I found of centerpieces and ceremony hupa’s and she would give me the price they charged to replicate the same thing for me. She was very helpful. I would suggest calling her in advance. Also, I brought my bouquets and other flowers with me. 2. I picked the plantation because we wanted a private reception. I’ve attached some more pictures from our reception at the plantation and of my ceremony hupa. Remember you can make some changes up until the day before your wedding day. So if you decide that the disco is fine and want to rent it out just tell Chandlyn and she will take care of it. There were things that I couldn’t decide on until I experienced it for myself (ie, the dancers). 3. I got the 5pm ceremony b/c when I first went online to book the 4pm time slot it was taken. So I contacted the Riu headquarters and persuaded them to allow me to use 5pm instead. I really wanted my wedding on the 4th so they were very helpful. Actually on the 5th they only had one wedding which was shocking. I think people select the times and then drop out but no one lets you know that bit if info until you get there. However, if you’ve selected the 4pm time slot you should be fine. You will still be the last wedding of the day and the beach is not that crowded during that time. For those of you who chose the garden gazebo be aware that the gazebo is located near the active pool and so the pool noise and or activities might sound loud in the background during your ceremony. 5. I contacted Michael prior to arriving to the riu. I gave him the basics of my wedding. When I arrived to the Riu we meet up with Michael and discussed what type of pictures we wanted and how much everything would cost. He has a TON of sample pictures that you can look at to get an idea of he does. Also, Michael is a professional photographer. He’s been doing this kind of work for over 8+ years and has a lot of experience. You just have to know what you want. We even set up a morning ‘trash the dress’ shoot with him the morning after our wedding. In total he took over 1000 pictures. ~$u Plantation_Hupa.doc

The disco smells I think because its so small and they don't turn the air conditioning on unless needed. I am pleased that everyone liked my pics. Michael was great. Take into consideration that my wedding was the last one of the day. There were only 2 weddings that day which made Chandlyn and Nicky easily accessable when my time came around. Chandlyn and Nicky do a really good job especially since they are the only two people working in the entire wedding department. I would recommend being very detailed with your requests. I wrote everything out EXACTLY how I wanted it to look or happen. I would go over everything with them to make sure we were on the same page and I would call them if necessary. Sometimes I think it was easier for me to call them on the phone to explain things just to make sure we had that understanding. Remember its your wedding. Don't be affraid to buy a calling card and call them if you are not getting a quick response with using emails. Then you can follow up the call with an email to confirm your conversation. When you arrive to the Riu for your big day ask Chandlyn: - how many weddings are planned on your day -what are the times and -where they will be having their receptions This will help you figure out where your wedding comes in during all the events on that day and how busy Chandlyn will be during your time of need. Remember to ask questions. Here are some more helpful tips: -Make your hair and or makeup appt with the salon at least two days in advance to make sure you get the time you want and arrive a little early as they will make you wait. -Put all your important items in a small to go bag like, vows, makeup, shoes/slippers etc... and keep them with you. I left my vows in my room and had to have some one run back and get them at the last minute (lol). That wait was not fun If you have more questions just let me know. Jill

Here are some pictures that my guests took of my wedding. I haven't gotten the professional ones yet. Were still narrowing everything down. Riu Ocho Rios 7.4.08.doc

I used both the photographer Michael and the videographer and they were great. Micheal in total took over 800 pictures. We have been having a hard time narrowing them down. Everyone loved what he did as he gave us a CD with the proofs which we let everyone look at. Once we receive our official photos I will be happy to post them. Jill & Tim 7/4/2008 Riu Ocho Rios