krissysnow

I might be a little late with this reply, sorry i havent been on the forum in a while. I got married about a month ago at RMB. Chantelle is no longer there, but im sure you will have good luck with the new coordinator. I am working on posting a full review. Dont know about Chuppas, but I had bows tied to the chairs and thoes were $3 each. My ceremony was at a church, so i cant answer the music question. For the reception though we had an awesome dj. Unfortunatley I dont know their names, Riu arranged it for us and we paid cash, so no receipt either. I had a 2 tier cake, I think it had 2 layers inside of it with cake and whipped cream. It was the standard cake, I ordered chocolate but didnt really care about upgrading it. It was pretty small, and they put a cute little topper on it. I can send you a picture if you would like. I think they can get you any color decorations that you want, but I dont know if the die lot would match exactly to your David's bridal stuff. It was really difficult for me to arrange anything like that before my trip. When i got to the RIU is when I picked the colors, and they had no samples to show me. I just had to hope for the best, but Im not too picky about that stuff anyway. Chantelle worked with tai flora to make the table centerpieces and they turned out awesome! All the glasses were clear at my reception. I had a private reception on 2nd floor of mahoe bay, not sure if that is why. All the table cloths were white and I dont remember any runners. On 1st floor I had a rehersal dinner, and there they used the blue rimmed glasses. With some runners & place matts, it was a really nice table display. Full open bar is NOT included with any bridal package. Only wine & beer is included (i think). I paid extra to have a full open bar, and if you want shots available you have to specifically ask. I think you need a private reception in order to have a dj or live music. Unless you just happen to be the only wedding in that particular restaurant. I dont know about other entertainment, but I can tell you the prices for ragge bands and steel drum bands are outrageous. DJ's are more affordable. The only outside reception would be on the beach. I was supposed to have a beach reception but it rained, and they moved us to mahoe bay. It still turned out beautiful. I heard the beach receptions are awesome though. Its about $50-60 per person for that. Trust me it's well worth the money, because service will be better and you will get better unique food that is not found at other restaurants on the resort. I didnt have a welcome party, but my opinion is that the coconut bar is really cute, it is oudoors. If dont mind that it is not private, you can all gather there. The stage is nearby where they do nightly shows, so the atmosphere is nice. I had no luck with planning a welcome party so we just all met at the buffet for dinner on the first night we all arrived. There were plenty of tables avilable when they first open around 6:30 or 7:00, you can get there early and reserve a section in the back of the restaurant. Then we headed to coconut bar and had fun. I had a hard time getting RIU to deliver my welcome bags, so I hand delivered most of them to each guest. They just arent that organized yet. Check with the new wedding coordinator to see if she can help you with that. Feel free to email me any questions, I can send you pics if you would like. Good luck!

Yes Chantelle is no longer there. I had my wedding at RMB and she dropped the ball on many things. Im not sure why so many people wrote great things about her on this forum because I had a horrible experience with both RIU and Chantelle. I apologize for not posting a review yet, but I'm will soon. I heard a that another wedding was completely ruined a few days after mine, so I think that's why Chantelle is gone. She was very nice and was great at decorating and flowers, but was not good at paperwork and organization. I think you are lucky that you have the new coordinator. My advice is to follow up on everything. Bring copies of all your documents just incase. If you are bringing welcome gifts, hand deliver them to the rooms because the RIU couldnt handle that for us. Talk directly with photogrpaher and spa to make sure things are arranged. Good news is that our reception was awesome, food & service was better than anywhere else on the resort. I did pay for a private reception though. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have about RMB.

During my research I heard that Sandals resort in Montego Bay has a chapel on site that supposedly a Catholic priest would come to, but that is a couples only resort. Then I just recently found out that the Ritz Carlton in Montego Bay has a courtyard or garden area on the resort that has been approved by the Catholic church for ceremonies and the priest would come on site. I wish I would have known about this earlier, but the Ritz is pretty expensive. Another option that we thought about was getting married in our home town church with just our immediate families present, then having a vow renewal on the beach in Jamaica, and the reception there, that way you kind of get the best of both worlds.

It's probably not too late, as long as the church has that date open. Im guessing it's not very popular to get married in the church down there since most people are doing beach weddings! And you would have to complete pre-cana with your home parish asap, and then and get your priest forward all paperwork. PM me if you have any questions, I can tell you the exact steps I had to go thru. Good luck!

Do you know of anyone who had their ceremony off the resort and had a bad experience at RIU Montego bay or somewhere else? So far the wedding coordinator Chantelle has been nothing but accomodating. My TA loves working with her and talked me into the RIU because they are so accomodating with my situation. Im using all of their services so I dont see why they wouldnt do their best, not to mention how much money they will be making off of my guests and reception dinner. If anyone has any stories to share I would love to hear them. Thanks

These are the shoes Im wearing: Tori by Coloriffics at Zeta Zappos Zappos.com is a great website, I have ordered many shoes from them in the past. They always have free and free returns. Shipping is super fast, I got my shoes within 24 hours. On thursday night I drove around to 3 different bridal shops and trying on shoes, each place told me they would have to order and it would take a month or more to get the shoes. I went home that night and ordered on Zappos and they were in back of my door the next day when I got home from work. I wore these shoes around the house and they seem comfortable. But its hard to say how they will be on the actual wedding day. My wedding is in May so I just couldnt take a chance waiting weeks for shoes. I hope this helps!

Hi everyone, Yes! A Catholic destination wedding can be done! I have a lot more info now, sorry it has taken me so long to post. Im so excited to finally have a date! It is May 16, 2009. I changed resorts from Iberostar to RIU Montego Bay. My TA said the RIU was very accomodating with us having the ceremony at the local Catholic Church, they will setup transportation for guests and their photog will travel to Chruch with us, and they have done this for other weddings in the past. Church is about 15 drive. I wasn't aware that there are 3 churches in Montego Bay, but the Church we are getting married at is called Blessed Sacrament Cathedral. I dont have the address, but here is their website: Blessed Sacrament Cathedral (Montego Bay) Google maps does not have much detail for Jamaica. If you want to actually see this on a map, install Google Earth (free download) and you can type in the name of the church and the popular resorts and it will show you their locations. The resort was able to book a date & time at the Church for us, but they are waiting to recieve our documents. This is what they will need: 1. Baptism Certificate 2. Pre Cana completion Certificate 3. Letter from our home parish priest giving permission to marry outside the parish 4. I was divorced and received an annulment from the Catholic Church, so in my case they require a copy of the annulment certificate, and possibly copy of my divorce papers. This is just what the chruch requires, but more is needed for the legal part of the marriage, the TA will need Birth certificates, and divorce papers in my case. And of course passports. I beleive all these documents would need to be official certified copies with the raised seal on them, and issued within 6 months of the wedding date. But, my TA thinks xerox copies might be ok, but i tried to get 2 certified copies of everything that I could just incase. Oh one more thing, if you have not completed pre-cana yet, it might be ok to book as long as they know you are working on it. You should try to complete pre cana ASAP. Many churches requre 6 month's lead time when planning a wedding. When I explained the fact that I am over 30, and I have waited over a year for my annulment to complete, and have been engaged for quite some time, they were very accomodating and helped me plan this quickly. Also, I can tell you from past experiences that if you are not already a member of a Catholic Church, they might give you a hard time. Most churches are accepting if you live in their district, but some will want you to become a member first, then wait the 6 months. Another option is to try talking to the parish where you lived or grew up in and they might be more accomodating, especially if your parents are still members. If you are going this route, I would recommend using a TA just to make sure everything is being handled. I wouldnt feel safe trying to do all this myself online, especially when it comes to communicating with a church in a foreign country. If you are interested in Negril, they have a church called Mary Gate of Heaven. website: Mary, Gate of Heaven Catholic Church If you are not into having all guests leave the resort, I think there are some resorts with chapels on site, I know Sandals couples only in Montego bay does, and I was told by another TA (not sure how accurate this is) that a preist would come on site for the ceremony. And this is also the case in many resorts in Punta Cana, I looked into Dreams resort that said this could be done, but there seemed to be a lot more rules & red tape to go thru so thats what made us decide on Jamaica. Sorry this post is so long, but I want to give as much info as I can, because I had such a hard time finding info when I was searching. If you have any questions, feel free to ask or PM me. I will try to keep posting as I find out more. So I have the date booked with both Chruch and RIU, but havent actually put a deposit down. Im hoping to do that this week and I will feel much better! Now I need to start researching the RIU, because I dont know too much about it. Good Luck everyone!

Hi Amanda! Thanks for all the info on Beaches resort, that helps me a lot. I still havent decided between Negrill and Montego bay, but if we go to Negrill then Beaches is at the top of my list. Thanks so much!!

Is anyone planning or has anyone had a catholic wedding in Jamaica? Im trying to plan my wedding in either Montego bay or Negril, and definitley want a catholic ceremony. Im having a hard time finding any info on this. Any help would be appreciated. Im curious what the process is, and if I can set a date without having all documentsprecana complete yet (im working on it). I am working with a TA but not getting much info, and Im getting very nervous because I was planning for this spring. Thanks everyone!!

Hi Courtney, Congratulations! I am planning a Catholic wedding too, but it is taking a while to get things set up. We are still not sure if it will be in Negril or Montego bay. Can you tell me how difficult the process was for you to setup the church? Were you able to set a date before having pre-cana done, and having all your documents forwarded to Jamiacan diocese? My TA wont let me pick a day or even inquire on availability until I all my documents and precana certificate sent in, and I have been told not to contact the church. It is making me very nervous because we wanted our wedding in May. Also, how are you getting to the church, will you arrange transportation for everyone, or is there some type of hotell trolley? I cant seem to get any info from my TA about this stuff. Thanks for your help!!

Hello Jamaica Brides! Username: krissysnow Name: Krissy & Joe Location: Jamaica - Negrill or Montego baby? Date: Sometime in May I just decided on Jamaica, but not sure where. Im looking into resorts and hopefully will be able to book soon. I really hope there are still dates open for may.

Im considering Iberostar for my DW coming up in May. Im trying to decide between Iberostar Rose Hall & Beaches Negril. I havent found any info on Iberostar but I did stay at Iberostar resorts in Riviera Maya, and everything was great. So part of me trusts their reputation because of my experience in Mexico. I did look on Trip Advisor and saw a lot of great reviews for Iberostar Jamaica. If I find out any more info, I will post. I did hear that Negril has nicer beaches though, so not sure how great the beach is at the Iberostar.

Congratulations Courtney! That's great news! I just joined this forum today, and I am hoping to plan a catholic wedding in Jamaica. I did see that the Catholic church in Negril has a website and appears to be welcoming. Is this something you had to plan yourself or did the resort help you out? I have a travel agent looking into details, and I just completed Pre-cana class with my local parish. I'm not exactly sure what next steps I should take now. Any advice you can give is much appreciated! Thanks!!

Hi Amanda! I am looking at Beaches Negril for my upcoming wedding this May. I was wondering if you could tell me how the resort is overall, is it very romantic & elegant? Some of our guests will have kids so we cannot go to a couples only resort. We are ok with the resort being kid friendly, but I am a little concerned after seeing the pictures of sesame street characters. Im just wondering to what extent they are geared towards children. We are going to spend our honeymoon there as well so we just want to make the right choice. Any advice you can give is much appreciated, PS: Im new to this message board so I hope I'm doing this correctly Thanks!

Hi everyone, My name is Krissy and I'm from Chicago. I'm planning a DW for May of this year (I know it's pretty soon)! The problem is that my fiance and I want a Catholic wedding, at a destination. This is probably not that common, so I was hoping to find some good information from others who may have done this, or just general info on resorts, etiquette, etc. I'm looking into the Punta Cana and Jamaica right now. Any help would be appreciated!!