JesseLyn10

Quote: Originally Posted by Sheree10 Our wedding was last night and everything was PERFECT! For fellow July brides with weddings coming up... Don't stress the small stuff. Once u get off the plane, relax and enjoy your vacation... It will all fall into place. Can't wait to hear about your weddings and see pictures. We were lucky to find an amazing photographer and I will share some pics with you all. I totally agree! My wedding was last Tuesday and the night before I was sitting up doing a seating plan. I stressed out so much and everything worked out as it should have and was perfect! Don't waste your energy on stress

I also think that selecting dresses that they can wear again may help the cost - they will get more worth out of the dress rather than spending money on a dress they will only wear once.

I just got home from the RIU Ocho Rios, my wedding was last Tuesday. It is a fantastic resort and good luck to everyone heading there for their weddings!

thanks so much! it really was a magical day!

My very long review is posted! There are lots of pictures as well! Please send your questions along - it was perfect and I really believe that all your worries about the resort will be relieved once you arrive there!

One more thing I forgot to add: Internet reception is only available in the main lobby. There isn't access from the rooms so you have to plan to bring your laptop etc. with you and then bring it back to your room before going to the beach. I didn't want to chance getting sand etc. in our computer so I rarely used it. I did see another guest (whom I didn't know) using his laptop in the lobby when a huge storm blew through at night and his computer got soaked - the lobby is open air and the rain just pours in.

Hello! I just posted my ROR review with LOTS of pictures!! It was amazing and I couldn't have asked for a better experience with Antonette the wedding planner! If you have any questions please send them my way!

Beach Reception: We had lit cocktail tables and 8 wrapped palm trees, tiki torches and tables and chairs set up on the beach in front of the Seagrape beach bar. Our centrepieces from dinner were brought down to the beach reception as well. The Seagrape is below the Dunn's Bar which is in front of the theater. We had people watching over the balcony, cheering and congratulating us all night! By jesseandtony at 2010-07-24 one of our lit palm trees: By jesseandtony at 2010-07-24 This is one of the lit cocktail tables, they looked amazing in the dark!! This is also a photo of the bread that my FI and I fought over to see who will wear the pants in our family (I won!) It's a tradition from northern Greece when my in-laws are from. We were surprised with this bread that the parents of our best man brought all the way from Toronto! By jesseandtony at 2010-07-24

All flowers/decorations were ordered through Tai Flora. I worked with Jennievie and she was totally accommodating and attentive to what I wanted my wedding to look like. My bouquet - blue hydrangeas, purple orchids and cream mini calla lilies: By jesseandtony at 2010-07-24 My bridesmaids/MOHs wore wrist corsages because they carried parasols and the flower girls carried fairy wands: By jesseandtony at 2010-07-24 Our cake and topper. I bought the topper from the hotel gift shop because I forgot ours at home. I love how it turned out! By jesseandtony at 2010-07-24 Bride and Groom's table, without centrepieces. The other tables were at angles to ours and sat 8 people each. I haven't found a photo of the set up yet. We lucked out that the regular glasses at Mammee Bay had blue accents, they matched our colours perfectly! By jesseandtony at 2010-07-24 Our centrepieces. I wanted something simple because I wasn't sure how it would turn out. I had white roses and plumeria in vases with candles. By jesseandtony at 2010-07-24 By jesseandtony at 2010-07-24

Ceremony: Beach site, just to the side of the beach gazebo. I made fan programs that are hanging off of the chairs. I had a friend place all the fans and confetti on the chairs because the wedding staff no longer do this. By jesseandtony at 2010-07-24 My girls with their parasols, view of ceremony site from the water By jesseandtony at 2010-07-24 My FI and groomsmen with the steel drum band prior to the ceremony By jesseandtony at 2010-07-24 Our ceremony By jesseandtony at 2010-07-24

Test photos: The view from my balcony and the beach before a storm. Cruise ships floated by all week and the daily rain gave us perfect rainbows! By jesseandtony at 2010-07-24 By jesseandtony at 2010-07-24

We just got home from our week at the RIU Ocho Rios in Jamaica!!!! This is going to be long so it is going to be broken up into parts. Enjoy! Traveling: The Montego Bay airport is tiny and we landed with 4 other planes. The lines are long and it is hot so be prepared to have some patience - the time you spend at the airport is well worth the vacation you are about to have! You have to wait in a few different lines so remember to breathe and focus on the amazing vacation you are going to have! Bus: It wasn't bad. It was full and my FI and I were the last ones on it, ensuring that all our guests all made it on so we couldn't sit together. Our bus stopped at the Bahia Principe on the way to the RIU to drop off travelers to that hotel. We also stopped half way for beef patties and beer. We noticed that from one person to the next, prices for water fluctuated from $2 to $5 per bottle. The Resort: One whole wing is jr. suites and oceanview and one wing is standard rooms. My grandmother found that walking to her room at the other end of the hotel (near the pond) was a little far and there were a few ramps that became SO slippery in the rain. We arrived on a Friday and the hotel was full for the first 2 nights but by Monday the hotel had no problem moving her and our other guests from the far wing to the 2000 building (in the center building). Another of my guests had an ant problem and requested a room change, again no problem. The bulk of our guests (including myself) stayed in the jr. suites wing. We had thought that the rooms included either a king sized bed or 2 doubles and a pull out couch but it seemed that my room had the only pull out couch. The food was fantastic and the staff were great!! Our phone only made outgoing calls intermittently which was kind of annoying but we would just use someone else's phone. All in all I was very happy with the resort, food and staff. The bartenders and staff were amazing!! We tipped a little each day at every meal and the service was fantastic! The guys on the beach who sell necklaces were kind of pushy at the beginning (especially D. Feelgood) but a majority of our guests bought a necklace or bracelet (the black, red, yellow and green one) the first day and would wear them, then when we were approached we would just show them that we had already bought something and they would float away. We were kind of disappointed that the bars close at midnight until we discovered that we could bring beers and cocktails from the disco out to the lobby bar! Fridges are stocked with Bigga orange (a sweet version of orange crush) and we fell in love with Ting (a grapefruit drink) when we drank it on out catamaran boat tour. We took a boat to Dunn’s River Falls and then snorkeled on the way back - this trip is a must! Wedding Planning: I was just as nervous to go through this process because of the whole Chandlyn situation. My FI and I made an appointment for planning with the coordinator but since we arrived on a Friday and she was booked up for the Saturday, we had to make it for the day before our wedding. Totally stressful but I had to roll with it. Antonette is amazing!!! This really is all I can say. We met with her Monday morning for our Tuesday afternoon wedding. I had brought all the correspondence that I had with Chandlyn with me and Antonette honoured all our quoted prices. We met with her for about an hour, gave her our cake topper, Tai Flora invoices, cds for reception etc. I left feeling totally at ease! Wedding! I had booked our mothers, wedding party at the Renova spa for their hair and makeup. The ladies there went over and above expectations with hair and makeup. They let everyone hang out in the room while they did 2 people at a time, it was so much fun and they really were excellent at personalizing hair and makeup for each person. It rained everyday except our wedding day!!! Our flowers didn’t arrive until right before I was escorted to our beach wedding site, which was great because they really didn’t hold up to the Jamaican heat. Tai Flora provided our ceremony decor, flowers, diner decorations and beach reception decorations and set up everything perfectly! Our wedding was on the beach, next to the gazebo. I had specifically requested a bamboo, 4 post arch because I felt the gazebo didn’t really fit the theme. Our ceremony was 6 minutes long and then it was onto the rum punch and finger foods. Our dinner was at Mammee Bay. We had about 6 tables set up to accommodate our 51 guests. I haven’t figured out how to attach photos but after I post this, I’ll see if I can add photos. The dinner was the regular Mammee Bay menu which is really good! We opted for the standard wedding cake that came with our Caprice package and bought an additional cake for my FI’s mother whose 60th birthday happened to fall on our wedding day. Beach reception: If there is 1 regret, I think that hiring a dj was something we shouldn’t have done. We added a dj last minute because we didn’t want the stress of worrying about music but he wasn’t that good and we ended up telling him what to play anyway. He announced my dance with my dad and our first dance as a married couple but his friends hung around the bar which was totally unacceptable. We only had the venue until 11 but we paid the bartenders and dj for an extra hour (the dj complained about it but took our money then hung out with his friends). Our bartenders, O’Neil and Kevon were 2 waiters that we requested to bartend our wedding - they generally work the pool areas and are amazing!!! They told us that they have never been paid to stay longer and that they had no idea that Canadians partied this much! Our reception ended with the wedding party, parents and friends going for a midnight swim in the ocean - incredibly amazing!!!!!!! All in all, our experience was fantastic. If you have doubts about this hotel because of the Chandlyn situation, relax and go with it. Looking at the big picture, I would not have changed a thing about my wedding!!!!!

Hello!!! I just returned from Ocho Rios last night and am about to post my review. After all my stress (almost) everything turned out wonderfully! I'll post here when my review is up (trying to figure out how to load photos!) my ticker also isn't working

I just got home from me wedding in JA. If you can't get anything delivered to Canada, there were all sorts of vendors down there selling seashells/starfish. I can only assume that other destinations will be similar and then you can assemble everything when you arrive which may not be ideal but I had my friends assembling place cards and it took no time at all!

I am still doing laundry so we can pack!! I am actually making place cards for dinner right now...so last minute! I have been trying to do a planning thread but just have no time - I am going to have to do my planning thread and resort review when I get home! I am such a photo junkie - I'll post lots of photos!

Quote: Originally Posted by hutchets Jen1407, I didn't think that we actually heard from or spoke to the WC until a month or two prior to the wedding. I'm curious as to what everyone is speaking to them so much earlier about. Can you elaborate the types of things you spoke with her about so early? I only started talking to Chandlyn in May - just 2 months before our wedding. The only thing I did in February when we booked our trip is book the salon appointments with Renova spa.

We leave tomorrow at 7 and I STILL have 2 people 'hoping to make it to the wedding' and 'might make cameos'. Seriously. I feel as if they just don't want to say no, they aren't coming but in all honesty, it's more insulting to be given the false promises. Just grow a pair and say that you can't make it. We have 51 people and are spending probably $15,000 including flights, clothing etc. This is more than we had originally wanted to spend but WAY less than we would be spending on an at-home wedding.

Quote: Originally Posted by SDSteph we got screwed into a 1 o' clock wedding........now I am actually really excited about it! It will give us more time to celebrate........less pressure about having a reception.......I wont have to wait allllllllllll day to see my new husband! The chances of everyone showing up hammered is lower.........People wont have to sit around the resort and wait for a wedding to start! I love it and now am really exciited! There is positive in everything, we just have to find it. Yay! We originally had an 11am wedding but (thankfully) our flight sold out before the majority of our guests booked so we moved the wedding day to 10 days later. At the time I was kicking and screaming out of frustration but it was actually a blessing because now our ceremony is at 2 and the reason I am happy are all the reasons you listed. Now if I can just avoid the rain...

Seating chart!!! I totally forgot!!

I just wanted to let future ROR brides know that I received an email today from Antonette at ROR. This is such a huge relief as I have not heard from them in a month - I am just happy that I am still in the system somewhere. Leaving on Friday! I am going to find a WC on Saturday if it's the last thing I do! I have printed out all my correspondence in case we have to start planning from the beginning again.

I am stamping our monogram on our program fans right now.... still have to: assemble fans pick up my dress and my starfish (tomorrow!) get hair done pedi/mani general maintenance (waxing, threading - all that good stuff) start and finish place cards clean my condo finish guest book finish reserved signs for parent's chairs finish pashmina cards (for moms) finish handkerchief cards (for dads) finish laundry for our trip pack! Leaving on Friday!

I was emailed by Antonette from the ROR this evening. I assume she is an assistant WC? I am SO happy that I have heard from them! (prematurely sent the message!) Thanks for the email address YumYum! I received a reply from Chandlyn's old address, from an email I sent 2 weeks ago right after I found out she was let go from Antonette. I have printed out everything and am bringing it down with me. Everyone on this forum has been such a great help - thank you all! Now I can concentrate on my planning thread

Quote: Originally Posted by blackrock We just had our wedding on June 25 at ROR. When we got there we tried to track down Chandlyn, only to find out she no longer worked there. Her replacement was Tina (from a Montego Bay Riu), but Tina did not have any of our documents that we had sent prior. We still got married and everything, although I'm trying to track down a new e-mail address to resend the documents because she told us she didn't have access to the other account that I emailed Chandlyn at. That mskes a lot of sense because I keep emailing the Chandlyn account. What's funny is that my TA emailed that acount a few weeks ago and got a reply in 2 days but since then hasn't been able to contact Tina. I really just need to know that we will still get married and that our reserved spot is still booked. Thanks for this info!

We are getting married at 2 pm on the beach at ROR, July 20. Because of the WC change, I haven't heard from the resort in over a month so no one will answer my weather questions. Is 2pm a prime time rain time? If we have to move the ceremony indoors, does anyone think we'll still be able to have our beach reception? I know that someone wrote that it rains every day at 1 or 2....then it clears up and it's party time?

No problem! Glad I can share my finds with other Canadian brides!