JM2010

 We just got back from our honeymoon and our wedding was on July 5, 2010.  The ROR resort was great! Our 77 guests and my husband and I had no complaints about the resort at all. The food, wait staff, beach, cleanliness etc. was great. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the sub wedding coordinator or hotel management that we had to deal with. Below is a copy of an email I had to send to complain about what happened with our wedding:  Hello, My name is Jennifer Yearwood and I am trying to get in touch with someone from the RIU company who could help with some problems we encountered on our wedding day at the RIU Ocho Rios. Firstly, management did not inform me that our original wedding coordinator, Chandlyn Edwards, had been fired prior to our arrival at the resort. We arrived on the 30th of June and was informed that she had been fired when we went to meet with her on July 1st. I had been emailing Chandlyn prior to our arrival and had not gotten a response and no one from the resort's management responded in her place or tried to inform me of what had happened. We met with Tina Dunbar and she informed us that she would be taking over for Chandlyn. She told me that nothing had been booked/scheduled for our wedding and that she would have to confirm everything, which she did do. She also honored the prices that Chandlyn had quoted us, which were apparently cheaper than what the resort is supposed to charge. We felt confident after meeting with Tina that everything was going to run smoothly and that she would be a great wedding coordinator. However, on the day of our wedding, I did not hear from or see Tina until 3:30 when she brought us our bouquets. Our ceremony was at 4pm at the beach gazebo. The ceremony was perfect and everything went as planned except for the fact that the steel pan band did not play for an hour as we had paid for. Tina was supposed to have them start playing when our ceremony ended for one full hour and that did not happen. After the ceremony, all of my guests moved to another location to have a group photo taken. The chairs from our ceremony were supposed to be moved to our reception location and Tina did not make sure that that was done. The excuse given to us was that they couldn't move the chairs because our guests were sitting in them after the ceremony, which is not true because we were all doing the group photos. I was under the impression that, as our wedding coordinator, Tina would be there to make sure that things went as planned but she wasn't. Then there was some talk about us only having 30 chairs booked for the reception, which was also not true because we had 77 guests come to our ceremony and reception. The chairs did not make it to the reception venue on time even though there was 2 hours in between the end of the ceremony and when our reception was supposed to start. Furthermore, Tina was supposed to lay out the place cards and table numbers prior to our guests coming to the reception. She was also supposed to put out wedding candies that we had packaged on every guests' plate. My husband's cousins were asked by us to give out the wedding favours (wine stoppers) to lessen Tina's load at the reception but that obviously did not help. When my bridal party got there, none of that had been done. I had given her a floor plan of the table seating arrangement as well. My bridesmaids, who were supposed to be enjoying themselves at this point, had to step in and do Tina's job. They had to do the place cards and table numbers and make sure that everyone was seated where they were on the floor plan. Tina and the other assistant coordinator did not make any effort to help or fix the situation. They also were very rude to my bridesmaids. I was really disappointed to find this out and it was completely unfair that my bridal party had to run around and get everything organized and set up properly while Tina stood on the sidelines watching. I realize that she was stepping in for Chandlyn last minute but that's no excuse for her to take on a 'I don't care' attitude. When my husband and I arrived at the reception she greeted us by saying 'I wasn't ready for you to be here yet' as if we were supposed to know that she didn't have things running according to plan. We had been doing our own photos at this time. Then she tried to sell us on the idea of having a buffet dinner when we had clearly stated that we wanted the meals served. It was obvious that the kitchen staff was not ready either because nothing was set up and ready to go at 6:30 food wise either. My guests had to wait around until my bridesmaids had the table seating figured out and Tina just disappeared. We were supposed to have a buffet salad bar and a dessert bar after dinner. Instead, they put the dessert out with the salad and cleared it all away before anyone finished the main course. No one got to have any dessert. And again, Tina was not around to consult. The staff started clearing everything away at 10:40 even though our reception had started late because of the chairs/seating problem. Our cake was served to only a few guests who were dancing on the dance floor which was rude and just plain tacky. Aside from Tina's lack of wedding coordination, the resort had some maintenance issues as well. We had rented out the upper level of the Plantation restaurant and some of the lights/fans were not working and it was uncomfortable for our guest who did not have a working fan over their table. Furthermore, my husband and I had requested an ocean view suite because all of my bridesmaids were to get ready in our room for our wedding. That is the only reason we had requested a suite- to accommodate all of the people that would be in there. Our air conditioner was not working and we asked to have someone fix it on July 2nd. Someone came and played around with it and said they would come back and never did. We called several more times and we were assured someone would be there to fix it and no one ever came. By our wedding day, still nothing had been done to fix it. My father had to contact the hotel manager, Edgar Ortiz, and he finally sent another person to come and look at it. He realized that the room needed a whole new AC unit altogether and a new ceiling fan. The fan that was in our room was defective and did not go faster than the first speed so we didn't even have that to help cool us down. The bottom line is that my bridesmaids and I, my mother, my photographer and our hair stylist were left to sweat in a suite that was 28 degrees Celsius (Suite 1061). Then, the day after the wedding, we finally get a letter from the front desk asking if we'd like to change rooms. This offer was a little late as our wedding had come and gone. We tried to find Tina to discuss the issues we had with our wedding but had no luck. Instead we were referred to Antonette (not Antonette Fowler) , who was apparently new to the resort. We sat down and spoke with her and she took a photocopy of our complaints, assured us that something would be done to help fix the situation and then she never got back to us. My husband searched her down again the next day and she said that she had not been able to talk to Tina about anything, even though we had seen them having lunch after we'd spoken to her the day before. We then had to search down the hotel manager again on the day we were leaving and he too assured us that something would be done. That was on July 9th and I still have not heard from Antonette or Edgar. They have my contact information on file, and they also had the photocopy of our complaints/issues. I assumed a resort of this caliber would have much more impressive management and customer service skills and we are really disappointed with how things were left. We had 79 people come to the RIU Ocho Rios for our wedding and we paid to have our wedding there. We assumed that, as a wedding coordinator, substitute or not, Tina would have made sure we were happy and that everything went according to plan. This was not the case. We are left with this feeling that since the RIU already got our money, they don't really give a damn, to be perfectly frank, how our wedding went or if we were satisfied/pleased with the resort. I also feel like Antonette and Edgar just brushed us off because they knew we'd be leaving in a few days. Overall, I can't say that I was happy with my wedding day and it's not something you get to do over. I would like something to be done about all of the problems we experienced that day and for the maintenance/customer service issues as well. We did not get what we paid for. I realize Tina did not really care about getting the job done, although she tried to assure us that she did when we first met with her on July 1st, but the RIU should have made sure that someone who genuinely wanted to get the job done right was there for our wedding and the others that took place that week. I have Cc'd my maid of honour, my parents and our wedding MC in case you need to confirm that the bridesmaids had to set up the reception. I will continue trying to contact someone higher up until someone tries to rectify this. I look forward to a prompt response to this matter. Thank you.~  I still have not heard anything back from anyone at the RIU but I'm not letting this go. If anyone else has any suggestions about what further steps I should take, please let me know!  Tai Flora is amazing and everything from them was exactly what I wanted and gorgeous. Jennivie is great to work with. Renova spa did my hair and make up and hair for 3 of my BMs and they did an amazing job as well. We had Rose and Nicole and they were able to make miracles happen with our hair!! It lasted the entire day and night.  The steel pan band was great too but they were supposed to play for an hour AFTER our ceremony and they were there at the beginning of it at 4pm. Tina didn't give them the correct time to be there. Our ceremony was about 30 mins and then they played until about 5 and left so we really only had them play for 30 mins and payed for an hour. Which cost us $450. I'm surprised by this as others seem to be paying $350.  The cocktails and hors d'ouevres were good and everyone enjoyed the refreshments after the ceremony. The food at our reception was ok, nothing I would recommend though. I definitely had better meals at the buffet restaurant. Our salad bar was buffet style and our dessert was supposed to be as well. Again, Tina was not there to keep the staff on task so we never got to have any of the dessert bar as it was served with the salad bar before dinner and packed away before dinner ended. Our soup and main meal was served.  Our cake was perfect!! We ordered our cake from Sheila and she made it look exactly like the pictures we had emailed. It tasted amazing as well and everyone loved it.  Our DJ sucked. That's the only way I can put it. We should have just rented the equipment and played our own ipods...would have been more effective. Because Tina didn't have things running on time, we literally only had four songs to dance to with our guests and then he packed up and left. We didn't even get a chance to offer him $ to stay longer. Luckily our MC was amazing and was able to keep the music going and dances on track for our first dance and dances with our parents. The DJ took off most of the time and just left the music playing.  The wait staff did they best they could with Tina's lack of scheduling/organization. I really can't hold anything against them because it wasn't their fault that they had to rush through everything.  I am not totally unhappy with the memory of my wedding day only because we had 6 other days in Jamaica to make up for the problems we had. Everything was great except for Tina Dunbar, the wedding coordinator who did not coordinate everything as was discussed and planned.  We had a great honeymoon in Bali on a good note!  Here are a couple of the pics from our guests...I will post some of the professional ones when we get them! Note my photographer putting the petals on the aisle...another one of Tina's tasks she didn't do! I also have pictures of my BMs setting up the tables/place cards/wedding favors at the reception!  " title="" width="1" />.bmp" src="http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/image/id/119058/width/1000/height/500" />

Thanks everyone! = )

Music The processional is going to be Ribbon in the Sky by Stevie Wonder. I’ll be walking down the aisle to Like You’ll Never See Me Again by Alicia Keys (instrumental version). Spend My Life With You by Tamia and Eric Benet will be played when we’re signing the papers. The recessional will be the traditional wedding march played by the Caribbean Melody Steel Band. Our first dance will be to Stay With You by John Legend. Father-Daughter dance will be to Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion and the Mother-Son dance will be to Mama by BoysIIMen. We have a DJ booked for the night and are hoping to be able to use our own playlist during dinner. Guestbook We are using a personalized guest signature frame as our guest book. I found it online on The Knot. Reception It will be at the upper level of the Plantations restaurant from 6:30-10:30. The centerpieces will be groups of 3 vases of different heights with submerged white orchids on a round mirrored plate with 5 votive candles around it. There will be a turquoise table runner on each table. I want to have some hanging candles from the windows looking out onto the ocean as well. We’re doing tables of 8-10 people and then a head table for him and I. The restaurant is L shaped so it will be interesting to see how it all turns out!! Our head table will be in the corner of the L. We will be able to dance at the Plantation as well (or so I’ve been told!) so I’m happy about that. If they really kick us out at 10:30 we will just relocate somewhere on the resort! (We’re planning to slip them some $ to get to stay longer than that...hoping that works!) The plan is to have the wedding party walk in to different intro songs in couples and then we’ll be the last to come in and have our first dance. Then start eating, do the bm’s, moh’s and parents’ speeches during dinner/dessert, cut the cake, do our speech and then dance the rest of the night! Cake We want a plain and simple cake (surprise!) but I still want it to look elegant. Here’s a pic of what we hope it looks like... We decided on a 3 tier vanilla cake with a mango buttercream filling/icing. We’ll be decorating it with real orchids. We’re using Sheila’s bakery and have heard great things about her work. Welcome gifts/Wedding Favors/Bombonniere/Wedding Party Gifts Each of our guests will be getting a welcome card and travel mugs for the beach when they get to their rooms. They mugs say: These will be great for keeping drinks cold on the beach ; ) Our wedding favors are sweet tarts in transparent pillow boxes that say ‘love’ on them. I got the boxes at Michaels and the candy at Bulk Barn. I stole the idea from a friend of ours. We had fun making messages with the tarts at their wedding! We are giving our guests stainless steel wine stoppers/pourers from Urban Barn at the reception. They come gift boxed so all we’re going to do is wrap a ribbon on them and add our thank you tags that came with our invitations. He bought the groomsmen ‘Leatherman’ utility knives (a very man thing to do) I got my bridesmaids earrings to wear for the wedding and gift cards for Bikini Village ; ) The Flight He and I will be flying down on June 30th. The majority of our guests will be flying in on the 2nd. Because we have guests coming from the US, Caribbean and Montreal, there are a few who will be coming in on other days. We were supposed to fly down with everyone on the second but I panicked and figured it’d be better to get there earlier to get organized. We’ll be on the flight back to Toronto together with everyone on the 9th. Honeymoon We’re spending 9 days in Ocho Rios, 2 weeks in Bali and one week in the Mayan Riviera. We’ll be back home on the 31st of July. I’m off during the summers and he got the requested time off. We can’t wait for this part! Thank you all for your help and ideas...this site has definitely been a life saver many times!!! I’ll post my review/pics when I’m back from our honeymoon. Wish us good weather!! = ) I'll be in touch when we're back with my review! J (Sorry it's so long and that some of the pics are too big/unclear!! :S)

Programs We had our programs made by a company called ‘Custom Programs For You’ in California. I found them online (like pretty much everything about our wedding!). What’s great about them is that the programs come in a fan design so our guests will be able to use them if they’re hot during the ceremony Photographer I came across an album our photographer had put together at the boutique I bought my dress at, White Toronto. It was of a destination wedding and I loved the shots he’d taken. His name’s Christoph Strube and he’s an amazing person who’s done loads of photography and traveling around the world. His website is Christoph Strube Scroll down on the main page and you can see a couple of weddings he’s shot. I’m so happy he agreed to do our wedding!! = ) He’ll be there with us for the week and will take shots throughout the week as well. Ceremony We are doing a non-religious ceremony. I’m Buddhist and he’s not religious so that was the best option for us. We will be doing the unity sand thing. I want to have a white runner going down the aisle and have it bordered with flower petals. We’re having white chiavari chairs with white organza sashes. I think the ocean is the most beautiful thing in the world so I don’t want to have any other floral arrangements for the ceremony because I don’t want it to take away from the perfect setting! The groomsmen and our fathers will have white orchid boutonnieres, my fiancé will have white calla lily and orchid boutonniere. The bridesmaids will have white calla lily bouquets. I’m having a larger version of the bridesmaids bouquets with a few orchids. Our mothers will have orchid wrist corsages.

Bridal Party We have 6 bridesmaids, 6 groomsmen and 1 flower girl who will be almost 1 and ½ by our wedding day. Both sets of our parents will be there as well. I had the bridesmaids dresses made by a seamstress a lot of my friends have used for their weddings. They’re turquoise, 100% silk with silk chiffon over top. They’re all empire waisted but each girl chose their own top style (halter, strapless, sweetheart etc.) They’re floor length and flowy. This is the look I was going for (in turquoise!): I covered the cost of material for the girls and he covered the shirts/pants for the guys. Our seamstress only charged $90/dress. The groomsmen will be wearing light grey linen dress pants from Le Chateau and white dress shirts from Esprit. The flower girl will be wearing a simple ivory dress because I want her to be comfortable! I ended up getting it at Winners for $30! Bride and Groom I was quick buying my dress. I got it at the first store on the first day of shopping. It was the second one I tried on. It’s an Amy Michelson gown called ‘Millionaire’. I found her website online and really liked a lot of her dresses but I didn’t plan on trying that particular one on. When I did though, it looked amazing. I absolutely love it and I know he will too. It’s form fitting and open back, which is what I really wanted. I found some Swarovski crystal slim Havaianas online and will be wearing those! He will be wearing the full, light grey linen suit from Le Chateau and a white dress shirt, no tie. Hair/make-up I’m going with a low, side chignon. I’ll be having my hair done at the resort’s salon Renova Spa. 3 of my bridesmaids will be getting their hair done as well and the others want to do their own. I’ll be getting my make-up done and the girls chose to do their own. One of his cousins does hair/make-up so she will be there for damage control!

Destination Wedding Location My family’s background is largely Bajan (from Barbados) and his is Trinidadian. Neither of us has been to Jamaica so we figured it would be a good neutral island to choose. We chose RIU Ocho Rios because we went to a wedding in 2008 at one of their hotels in Punta Cana and we LOVED everything about it and heard great things about Ocho Rios. We will be getting married at the beach gazebo at 4pm. We have rented out upper level of the Plantation restaurant for our reception. We wanted to have more privacy so that seemed like the best option for us. I’ve heard that we will have a view of the ocean and the pool area so it should be a nice background. We have 75 people coming which is wayyy more than we were expecting. We’re both pleasantly surprised at the turnout. Invitations We got our invitations made by a company called Stephita. We went with a simple design on the front (2 palm trees) and a turquoise colour. (It’s the colour I’m going with for the wedding). We’re both really happy with how they turned out. Bridal Party We have 6 bridesmaids, 6 groomsmen and 1 flower girl who will be almost 1 and ½ by our wedding day. Both sets of our parents will be there as well. I had the bridesmaids dresses made by a seamstress a lot of my friends have used for their weddings. They’re turquoise, 100% silk with silk chiffon over top. They’re all empire waisted but each girl chose their own top style (halter, strapless, sweetheart etc.) They’re floor length and flowy. This is the look I was going for (in turquoise!): I covered the cost of material for the girls and he covered the shirts/pants for the guys. Our seamstress only charged $90/dress. The groomsmen will be wearing light grey linen dress pants from Le Chateau and white dress shirts from Esprit. The flower girl will be wearing a simple ivory dress because I want her to be comfortable! I ended up getting it at Winners for $30!

I know every bride-to-be on here probably ends up feeling like this, but I cannot believe it's already time for me to do this post!! Here it is! = ) I'll start with... The Proposal 07/02/09 I've been getting a lot of calls/emails about how it all happened so here's a copy to you guys: We almost missed our flight because I thought it left at 7 but it actually was leaving at 4! Realized that at 3:15 and made it to the airport by 3:30! We had to bypass the lines and sprint to our gate but we made it. So Marlon and I were packing for Europe on Tuesday night and I was tired so I said I was going to just go to bed around 1:30 and finish in the morning. He said he wanted to stay up and finish. At about 4am I heard him coming into the bedroom and I woke up. Went to go to the washroom and there were 4 ring boxes spread out on the counter. I asked him what they were and he said he didn't know. So of course I open one and there's a post it note inside that says 'Remember when you were late for our first date?'. So now I realize that he's proposing and I start sweating and yelled his name. I open all the boxes and there's a post it inside and each has a different memory/inside joke of ours. I come out of the bathroom and notice that there is a trail of boxes going down the stairs and into the den. I start opening them all and they all had post-its inside. He just watched me open all of them with a smile on his face. There were some random ones in there too like a stick person picture that said 'This is me waving at you'. There were boxes all over our place!! In the fridge, all over the floors, furniture, everywhere, and they all had notes inside. The trail went down the stairs to our garage and it ended there but there was no ring in the last one...so I was like 'Am I supposed to go into the garage?'. He said, "No, let's just go back to bed." I knew that that couldn't be the end of it because he wouldn't make me open all of those boxes (100 of them) for nothing! So we go back upstairs and there's another trail back into our bedroom that leads to the bed and up onto my pillow. They have notes in them too and the second last one says 'Will you marry me' and the very last one had the ring in it. I didn't cry I was just happy and excited and still half sleeping. My hair was a wild bird's nest and I was just wearing one of his t-shirts and I had racoon eyes cause some of my mascara didn't wash off. He was actually planning for it to all happen in the morning and not 4am but he made too much noise coming in the bedroom and woke me up. He put the ones in the bathroom because he knows that’s the first place I go when I get up. The ring's beautiful and exactly what I wanted. Nothing's finalized yet but the wedding will be next July somewhere in the Caribbean. So that's the story! We're both really happy and I'm still somewhat in shock and now jet lagged. Haven't slept since he proposed! Rings He had my ring made by a jeweller. My wedding band was made as well. He wanted his to be tungsten and we ordered it online. I have a round solitaire in platinum and the band is plain platinum. I’m not a big bling kind of girl...pretty plain and simple! It’s this style he had made for me. (He knew beforehand that I loved this combination) Destination Wedding Location My family’s background is largely Bajan (from Barbados) and his is Trinidadian. Neither of us has been to Jamaica so we figured it would be a good neutral island to choose. We chose RIU Ocho Rios because we went to a wedding in 2008 at one of their hotels in Punta Cana and we LOVED everything about it and heard great things about Ocho Rios. We will be getting married at the beach gazebo at 4pm. We have rented out upper level of the Plantation restaurant for our reception. We wanted to have more privacy so that seemed like the best option for us. I’ve heard that we will have a view of the ocean and the pool area so it should be a nice background. We have 75 people coming which is wayyy more than we were expecting. We’re both pleasantly surprised at the turnout. Invitations We got our invitations made by a company called Stephita. We went with a simple design on the front (2 palm trees) and a turquoise colour. (It’s the colour I’m going with for the wedding). We’re both really happy with how they turned out.

That's the same email address I've been using too. If you want to call them, ask for Jennivie Wisdom: 1-876-795-2500. She's the manager.

I contacted them directly to set up my order because I knew the flowers I want would have to be imported.

We're getting white chiavari chairs for our wedding too. They're costing us $7.50 each through Tai Flora.

We're doing white and turquoise...trying to match the ocean as best as possible! = ) There will be some hints of fuschia and orange at our ceremony too.

I'm getting my cake through Sheila's bakery. It is an upgrade from our wedding package. $370 was the quote she gave us. We have 75 people coming but I asked for a cake large enough for only 45 because everyone always says there's so much left over and we'll have a dessert bar as well.

Thank you!

I'm doing a 3 tier vanilla cake with a layer of mango buttercream in each. The mango buttercream will be the outside icing too.

Thanks! This is great

I contacted Chandlyn recently and she said you can also have tables of 8 or 10 set up at the Plantations restaurant. I'm going with that plan instead of the T shaped thing. We've rented the upper level so I'm not sure if things are different for the lower level.

Great pics!!

Thanks for the info on packing the sand ceremony vase for the flight home! I was stuck on what to do to make sure the sand didn't spill or get messed up in the vase.

Wow... Hope everything ends up working out for everyone being screwed by this situation!

I've been looking for pics of the Plantations restaurant for hours! Thank for these!

So glad I found this thread!! Thanks! = )

Thanks! I'd appreciate it.

What is the table set up like for the Plantation Restaurant reception? I'm trying to do a seating plan and have heard that the place is L shaped so I don't know how the tables would be set up. We have booked the upper level. Is it done as a huge long table or can there be individual tables set up? If anyone has pics of the restaurant I'd love to see them!! Thanks a bunch!! = ) Jenn

I've heard that Lake Arenal is really, really beautiful and exotic...might be a place to consider.

We're planning to spend 3 weeks in Thailand after our wedding. I've been before but it will be my FI's first time. I always said I wanted to go back so I'm really looking forward to it. I think it's one of the most affordable places to go for that amount of time. And on top of that it's beautiful and the people are so friendly. You can live like royalty for peanuts! I hit Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Koh Samui, Phi Phi Island and Koh Phangan back in 2005. Haven't decided where we'll end up yet...