monica_lashelle

Hello brides! I haven't been on this site in a while so I thought I'd come lend a hand if need be. It's been 2 1/2 years since our wedding in Montego Bay @ Iberostar Rose Hall Suites, and we STILL have family member that talk about it! It was so incredibly fun- you're going to have an amazing time! Don't sweat the small stuff if I could tell you just one thing! Please let me know if you have any questions- I don't have one bad thing to stay about the resort.. Happy planning and no worries mon! Luv monica

Quote: Originally Posted by JMarie Hi Monica!! Congrats on your wedding! Your pics are amazing! Thanks for allowing people to see them!!! I am in the process of deciding where to have my wedding... I have been looking at Iberostar Rose Hall Suites too! Do you have any complaints about the resort?? NONE at all!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by magz88 Hi Monica, Thank you soo much for your extensive review and your beautiful photo album that you have allowed us to look through. You were a beautiful bride and your wedding looked perfect! Congratulations to the both of you! I am also getting married at IRHS in may 2010 so these pictures really helped me see different angles of the resort i haven't seen yet. I have a few questions for you re: the wedding. 1. did you bring the white tulle and dangling flowers from home to decorate the huppa? the resort just provides the wood huppa? 2. where are your bridesmaid dresses from? 3. did you bring the torches or were they provided by the resort? extra cost? 4. did you communicate well with Nicole? did she call you w/ questions you had before your wedding? What about the jamaica man who married you the 2nd half of the ceremony? did he speak good english? Thanks so much for your help...it means so much. Congrats again to both of you. best, maggie Magz88: I haven't gotten on in a while, sorry took so long! TO answer your questions: 1. They provide the huppah and the white tulle, I got the idea for the hanging jeweled orchids from someone on this site: VERY easy to make! I just bought some jeweled Christmas strands that go on a tree, and I bought fake orchids from Hobby Lobby, and strung them on.. And the hotel actually hung them for us!! 2. I knew I wanted yellow but I couldn't find typical bridesmaid dresses I liked in bridal shops.. We bought them @ Dillards for $53, and they were long so we had them cut and hemmed. Exactly what I wanted! And the girls love them! 3. The resort provided the tiki torches! no charge.. If you are using the runner, beware of windy days! we had SHOES holding down the runner at some spots, but at that point I didn't care! I just wanted to marry my boy! 4. Nicole is wonderful! I emailed her with questions and she replied promptly. You discuss everything when you have your meeting with them once you get to the resort. The whole "don't worry" thing Jamaicans have is SOOO true: it's hard to get used to when here in America it's all stressful and you want everything to be perfect and you are freaking out! You have to put yourself in Jamaica time and relax, I really had to calm my mom down And the Jamaican minister was wonderful, he had a beautiful speaking voice, and you could understand him very well. All in all- wonderful resort, everyone LOVED it!! Email me if you have any more questions! Good luck with your planning!! [email protected]

Quote: Originally Posted by debbmach Thanks for sharing all that with us...really has me thinking of switching resorts! How is the sand on the beach...fine, white? How rocky is the ocean? thanks The sand is ok, a little rocky when you are actually stepping into the ocean, but for enly like 2 feet then it becomes nice and soft again. But that wasn't a big deal. The rest of the beach was fine, I've seen better but I've also seen a lot worse! Negril, Couples Swept Away where we honeymooned, had SPECTACULAR sand! Nice and soft, more white than Montego Bay.

The grounds are gorgeous for pics!!! Outside the main lobby, balcony overlooking the grounds The giant beautiful staircase This was a really cool red couch in the main lobby

This is what the setup looks like without the white sheer material on it They roped off the wedding site on the beach during the day

Here are pics from our TTD session and some other fun ones!

Quote: Originally Posted by Linzwedding monica...did you use the dj there? if so , how did u like him? did he mc and do all the introductions and get people out to dance? i was planning on using him but i really want a mc that will get everyone involved the whole time...let me know! thanks! I did not use the DJ, we just decided to bring our own Ipod speakers and make our own playlist. My brother kind of acted as the MC, it turned out pretty well.. Like I said in my review, we had to switch the location of the cocktail reception since it was kind of rainy, so he had a microphone to use in the Jazz club, and announced our entrance and all the dances. At that point during the cocktail hour I wasn't really worried about how all that panned out b/c everyone was having fun anyways, those little details aren't as important when you actually get there, which was great in my opinion!! But I believe a DJ is only $150 and hour, so really that's not a bad price per hour if you have a large group and they all love to dance! We more or less mingled!

Quote: Originally Posted by edSweety thank you so much for your review and sharing all the details with us. Your pics where amazing and your all look very very happy. I am really interested in the flowers your mother made for you. Where can you purchase those? thanks again your pics where amazing. I am on my way there in about 30 days yeaaaaa I'm sorry I'm just now replying, I've been so busy! My mom and I went to Hobby Lobby and just picked out large pink lilies and they were called "real touch" flowers, they felt so incredibly real! They were exactly what I wanted- fun and tropical.... Have fun! It's so soon!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by NegrilLB Congratulations on a beautiful wedding and thanks for the review! Did you have dinner at your reception? If so, what was the menu? We ate after the ceremony at Aunt Ruby's Steakhouse on the patio. We had a choice between steak, chicken, or salmon for entree. And for dessert we could choose between a chocolate brownie, apple pie, or pastries. They have an pretty large appetizer buffet, our guests were pleased with the food!

OK here we go... Booking the trip I signed up with destinationweddings.com and my agent was Lois- she did a great job in booking everyone but was a neurotic with the whole process. She sometimes did not understand what we were trying to do- for example my family is very conservative and traditional, and Jonny (the husband) and I wanted have separate rooms until the wedding night, and just stay with our bridal party the nights before. Lois did not get this entire concept, I have no idea why but we finally got through to her and everything was fine. She did not offer a lot of insight into the actual destination wedding process, just the bookings for the flights and hotel for our guests. We knew what hotel we wanted for our wedding prior to signing up for this service, so that made it easier. I would say a normal travel agent would be just as much help, it was $50 for signing up, so I wouldn't go with them if I could do it all over. Choosing the hotel We chose IRHS for several reasons- we of course wanted all-inclusive, something reasonably priced for our guests, and a hotel and setting that was beautiful. This hotel was absolutely PERFECT- I honestly am trying to think of something that I did not like, and I can't think of any! (except the resort photographer- we'll get to that later!) The rooms were nice and big, clean, and every room had a view of the ocean. Some of our guests did have to call the front desk for minor things- like the air conditioner went out in one room, the shower didn't have hot water- but it was fixed right away. They have an entertainment staff at the resort and their sole job is to get people involved in activities on the beach, in the pool area, etc. We became friends with these people and had sooo much fun doing all the activities. The hotel was beautiful, the grounds were perfectly tended, and the beach was great. There were a few rocks that you had to step over once you got into the ocean, but it wasn't bad. The pool was wonderful, they have a swim-up bar was was quite popular... I thought they would have more staff than they actually did to serve drinks on the beach and poolside, we mostly had to go get our drinks from the bar, but we didn't mind. The restaurants were great- we tried all but the gourmet. I loved Mare Nostrum- the Mediterranean restaurant- where we had our rehearsal dinner. They so many interesting things to try at the appetizer buffet- it was delicious. Aunt Ruby's is the Steakhouse- which has the only outdoor terrace, the steak is great. There is also a Mexican restaurant which was decent but not spectacular. There is a breakfast buffet which has a HUGE selection of food, and the lunch buffet also has so many options to choose from. And room service is available as well, but a limited menu. There is a midnight buffet from 11p-7 am but we never went... No matter what kind of food you like or diet you are on- you most likely will be satisfied! As far as night activities- there was a theater where the entertainment crew put on shows nightly, a different one each day of the week. The ones we went to was Battle of the Sexes- which myself and my 2 bridesmaids participated in!- that was SOOOO much fun. We laughed so incredibly hard, it was fun to play but all our family and friends said that it was great to watch too. Another night they had a comedy show- we only caught the last half of it, but it was also hysterical. Definitely catch the theater if you can! There was the Disco that we went to pretty much every night, it was pretty fun. We danced and drank at the bar, but I was so wiped out every night I never stayed very long. But it was fun to party it up with cousins and family that I had met for the first time on his side! Everyone loved it. I have no regrets about this hotel- everything was fabulous!! The dress I had bought one of Maggie Sottero's destination wedding collection dresses, and it had a semi-long silk chiffon train, so I was super worried about traveling and it getting ruined- and I knew that I was going to get it steamed but I was still worried about how it would come out. First of all, traveling with a wedding garment bag was so funny because EVERYONE was congratulating us and I think we got a lil bit of special treatment on the flight it was pretty fun... I told Jonny that I might travel with it all the time. JK Anyways, on every flight I was able to hang it up in the front closet. Once we got to the hotel, I called laundry service and they steamed my dress and the two bridesmaids dresses, and they came back so perfect and beautiful. We did a TTD session on Sunday morning, and left that afternoon for Negril to our honeymoon resort. I wore the same gown for the TTD, and it was so fun, but my dress was so wet and heavy! I did have to put my dress in several plastic garment bags and haul it with me on the bus. It was still wet but it was wrapped up tight. I let it air dry on our balcony @ Couples Swept Away.. laundry was going to have to send it out to get it cleaned, and I didn't want to risk them not getting it back to me on time before we came back to the states. I got it dry cleaned when we got home and it looks fine. The Photographer I had been on this forum for months before the wedding, so I was well aware of the reviews of Digipix (the resort photographers), and that it was not recommended to use them. I decided to fly in our own photographer that lives in my city (Tulsa Oklahoma), Tulsa Artworks Photography. Rebecca and Jimmy did our engagement photos, and they did such a spectacular job. I researched different photographers in Jamaica and I couldn't find the style of pics that I wanted, so in our contract with them we made a deal to pay their flight and 4 nights all-inclusive arrangements @ IRHS. They did 3 days worth of photography, and we got over 1200 photos! They were so beautiful, they took pics @ the rehearsal dinner, some fun pics of Jonny and I at the beach in casual clothing, then all day Saturday (wedding day), including bridal portraits before. Jonny and I decided that we wanted to do lots of pictures of us before the wedding since it was a 5:00 ceremony and it gets dark at 6! It was a really special moment the first time we saw each other, we had our own little private moment to talk and cry, and they captured the entire thing from a lil ways away. We then took pics all along the beach, then our bridal party photos. We did a TTD session on Sunday morning (my favorite!!) .. It was so worth flying in our own photographers! And of course the hotel didn't have a problem with it because they were our guests... The wedding package that you get includes 12 photos from the resort photographer, but I knew I didn't want him at the actual ceremony since we had our own photographer and we also wanted a DVD of our ceremony. I told Nicole this, and she told me that she would tell him to come after the ceremony and take pictures of our family, and we would choose 12 of those. I don't know if she forgot to tell him or what, but he showed up and kept getting in my photographers way (I didn't notice but my mom was telling me after). So keep this in mind if you have your own photogapher! Granted, he did take SOME pretty pics, there were like 180 and we only liked maybe 30 of them.... The DVD was totally worth it as well, it was $350 and I'm glad we purchased it. They mailed us the DVD and our 12 pics to Couples Swept Away in Negril that next Wednesday. Girls, you have to do a TTD, it was so incredible!! Check out our pictures: collages.net and user name is Danaher, password is 22232. There are a lot! But there is a favorites folder under M&J's faves, it summarizes all the photos The Flowers My mom does floral arrangements and I decided to do real touch bouquets for my bridesmaids, and for the mother's corsages and the boutonnières. They were large pink lilies, and they turned out so pretty and tropical. We just carried those on in a shopping bag, and they traveled well. They include the bridal bouquet and groom's boutonnière with the wedding package, even though they weren't the same as the bridal party, I didn't care. That was one of those little details that I didn't care about. I ended up loving my bouquet though, it was pretty. The Cake We choose the cheesecake and it was really good! They have other options- vanilla, chocolate, fruit cake.. but I'm glad we chose cheesecake, everyone loved it! The Ceremony Was so incredible! I did get freaked out when the big clouds started coming our way around 4. I knew what I was getting into since it was October and rainy season. But we decided to take the chance anyways. It make the entire ceremony kind of fun and intriguing, b/c we still would have stayed out there and gotten married in the rain! It ended up sprinkling a lil bit on us, but it turned out fine!! The decorations I brought were pink chair ties, and I made chuppah orchid bejeweled strings that were tied on the back of the chuppah and hung down behind it, I saw the idea on this forum and loved it. They were super easy to make. I also bought these fans to place on the chairs for the ladies... They set everything up for us. We did a sand ceremony also, with a 4 paned Umbra frame that we bought on Amazon, I got that idea from this forum as well! My ceremony music turned out just the way we wanted, remember that you have to burn them onto a CD for them. My brother (younger brother, he is 22 but looks 15!) is wanting to be a youth minister, and he did the first part of our ceremony- the vows, rings, I dos, etc. He did a really good job, and it was really special having him do party of the ceremony. The Jamaican minister did the last half, and he was great, he was incredibly nice. The signing of the marriage license is a part of the ceremony, so keep that in mind. I did not know this before we left, and I just had them play the song for our processional during the signing, and it turned out well. Reception Our original plan was to hold the reception poolside at Lazy River Island, but since we didn't know if it was going to rain any more, we switched to the Jazz Club inside the hotel. It was really nice, maybe not exactly what we wanted but a good alternative given the situation. We didn't pay for an open bar but paid to have champagne and then soft drinks, virgin drinks, etc (since my family is conservative and didn't want to pay for an open bar). It was $4 per person per hour, open bar was $8 per person per hour. We got lucky and had an open bar anyways! I don't know how that worked out, but it did. I don't regret anything about our wedding weekend. We got there on a Wednesday and left on Sunday. We had 30 people including us, and every single one of them told us that this was the best wedding they had ever been to. It was so incredibly special. You will not regret choosing this resort, it was wonderful. I need to load all my pics on my computer and I will attach some of them, but you can visit the site to look at them as well. The following pics are what the resort photographer took (except for the TTD photo, my brother took that).. Any questions you have or anything I forgot, let me know! I would have been lost without this forum, and I'm glad to add to the IRHS reviews knowing there aren't a lot out there! I hope this was helpful in any way!

We're back!! We had SUCH an amazing time @ Iberostar Rose Hall Suites in MoBay! I will be posting a long, detailed review this week for all your Iberostar brides out there. We were there for 5 days, then we honeymooned @ Couples Swept Away in Negril, which was also amazing. Nicole was our wedding coordinator @ IRHS, and she did a fantastic job. They take care of everything, it was absolutely stress-free!! Here are a few pics of the setup: We brought the pink chair-ties, and I made the chuppah flower strings, and they set everything up for us... If anybody has any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me! My email is [email protected] I will post my review asap!

I'm an October 17th bride @ Iberostar Rose hall suites! It does get overwhelming, but you just have to take a deep breath and tackle one thing @ a time! MissK is right- keeping everything organized in a notebook really helps.. I have those little moments where I have a minor freakout, but I know everything will work out great!

YAY! Thank you so much for finding this site!

There are several websites, the cheapest I've found is $3.85 each for 100, and I'm sure you can get blank ones. There is a $60 setup fee when you get a logo imprinted on it, but I'm sure you don't have to pay a setup fee when you get blank ones. I'll investigate it further, but here's some of the websites: Milan Jute Tote Bag - Promotional Tote Bags - Leaderpromos.com Milan Jute Tote Bag How many are you needing?