eddieandsheila

hey girl! i LOVE your reception set-up! so beautiful and thats just a great pic walking down the aisle - you`re beaming! sheila

hello BDW brides! we're back, tanned & married! it was an amazing day and week =) here's my review of our wedding at ROR: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/riu-ocho-rios-all-inclusive/reviews/4612 shei =)

Hey Ladies! I was married on May 21st, and everything turned out perfectly. I've posted my review: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/riu-ocho-rios-all-inclusive/reviews/4612 =) If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. Shei

Hey Ladies, I cant believe it's time to write my review! So here goes (its a long one)... THE RESORT If you book ROR you will not be disappointed. From the moment you walk into the main lobby you can feel the warm breeze and see the white sand beach. The scenery is breathtaking & the rooms are neat and comfortable. Check-in was a breeze - we simply showed the front desk our hotel voucher and they did what they could to keep our rooms as close together as possible. We had two groups checking in on different days and everything went smoothly for all. **Upon check-in for the standard rooms, they only give you 1 key. You can request a 2nd and they give it to you no problem. I didn't understand why they didn't do this in the first place. However, when you check-in to the junior/deluxe suites, you get 2 key cards. THE STAFF They were amazing! They seem to work with a "No Problem" mentality. Some guests requested extra keys, and they received them on the spot. One of our guests had a minor issue with their key getting stuck, but someone from the front desk went with them to the room to fix the problem. On our first night, we met Kimon at our rehearsal dinner at St. Ann's (who we also requested for our Wedding) - he was amazing. My parents loved him, as he was very friendly and accommodating. He was fun, quick with our orders and always had a smile on his face. We even got him to bust a move at our reception, it was hilarious! I would definitely recommend him. THE FOOD My favourite restaurants were Mammee Bay Steakhouse (reservations needed) & St. Ann's (the buffet). We had a family dinner (about 12 people) at the steakhouse the day before the Wedding and they all loved the food! My mom made the reservations Friday morning for the same night, with no trouble (esp considering we were a relatively big reservation). The buffet was a hit with our family & friends - most actually preferred to dine here then make reservations at the a la carte restaurants. They had a good variety, changing up their menu's daily. **We didn't like Mandalay at all. The food was very bland - we ended up at the buffet after! Sir John seemed a little to "posh" for us, so we didn't even bother. THE SPA The ladies at Renova are absolutely amazing! On the day of the Wedding, I had a mani-pedi and my hair done, plus 4 other hair appointments set up between 11a-2p and they did such a great job. None of us every felt rushed or felt like they didn't have enough time to accommodate what we wanted done. I loved my hair! I usually have issues with curls, but they held up well into our pool bar reception! I 100% recommend the salon! **A day before the Wedding, hubby & I had a couples massage. The one thing I will say is, their "medium" pressure feels more like "hard" pressure. Even when adjusted, it was still quit hard. But after the fact, I was so relaxed... THE WEDDING I have nothing but wonderful/incredible/amazing things to say about Keisha and her assistant; they were a pleasure to work with. I had been in contact with Keisha months before our Wedding to go over all the arrangements I had made with the old coordinator and she followed through with everything that was promised to me. We set up a welcome dinner at St. Ann's for 40 people, a rehearsal at the Garden Gazebo the night before the Wedding and she was able to set up the menu's/rose petals/centrepieces we brought for our dinner. We did the Caprice package - we had a beach Wedding under the huppah, which was beautifully decorated with white tulle (at no extra cost). I had light blue rose petals down the isle and white chairs for our ceremony (again, no extra cost). My mom set up the programs/fan giveaways/bubbles on the chairs - they looked perfect. The assistant came to the room about 15mins before the ceremony to walk me & my bridesmaids down. There was a little worry about rain, but it held off and it was perfect for pictures. The Minister did a great job - we wrote our own ceremony/vows and he was able to blend in some of his words with ours. There were a few hiccups during the ceremony, but that was due to the wind blowing out our unity candles. But for us, it was "No Problem, mon" We booked the steel drum band for an hour 4-5p and they did a great job - they added to the ambiance of the location and everyone agreed it was a nice touch. After the ceremony, our guests were served rum punch (at no extra cost) while we took family/group photos under the huppah. We originally planned to have dinner at Mammee Bay, but decided we wanted something more private, so we moved to Plantation - we couldn't be happier with our decision! We still had the Mammee Bay menu, BUT had the whole restaurant to ourselves. Keisha set us up on the 2nd floor, which over looked the pool and it was the perfect setting. We requested speakers, as we planned to use our iPod for music during dinner, but the DJ ended up playing some for us. We did our Bridal Party intro & First dance at the Planation. Our dinner ran a little late, we went from about 7-9:30p. We had dancing/drinks after dinner by the Plantation pool bar. We booked the DJ for 2 hours and he had everyone jammin'! We didn't come with a set-list request, but the music was still good. Dancing went from 9:30-11:30p. EXCURSIONS I read many reviews about Norma from Lee's Tours and they did not disappoint. We set up a private catamaran/Dunns River excursion the day after the Wedding for 40 people. Norma was a pleasure to work with - she and my mom got along so well! Definitely recommend her too. http://www.leestours.com/ FLOWERS I brought Real Touch flowers from Toronto. I got my flowers & parasol's (for my bridesmaids) through Enchanting Memories. My friend used them for her Wedding and I loved her flowers, so I also decided to go with them. They did an incredible job and everyone loved my bouquet. http://enchantingmemoriesstore.com/ So, to all the ladies planning to get married at ROR - you will love it! If you have any questions, feel free to send me a DM. And don't worry, everything turned out better than I ever could have dreamed! Shei =)

Hey! Thanks for the photo. Were you able to walk in heels on the runner? I have flats just in case, but would REALLY love to wear my shoes - they're only about a 2 1/2-3inch heel. Shei =)

omg ladies, today's my last day of work (its DRAGGING) and we leave in 4 days!!! cant believe the day is almost here. getting a little antsy/anxious.... aahhhh!

any brides getting married next week worried about the weather? it says possible rain all week... i def wont let that damper my excitement for our trip, but i hope it doesnt rain on the 21st! 8 days to go!

hey frizzy64, would you mind PM-ing me the canapes menu?

WOW! everything looks amazing. i love crafts!

i LOVE this thread amazing dresses ladies!

LOVE THEM!

the night before & the day of the shoot, i was so nervous! it definitely helps to bring a friend, because she kept me calm and i felt relaxed with her around. the photograher also made a HUGE difference - she mad me feel very at ease, right from when i walked into the studio. good luck with your shoot, im sure you'll rock it!

wow, everyone's stuff looks amazing! we still have a few little things to do here & there, but i'm too excited to really fuss about them, hehe. i cant believe may is 2 months away!!!! anyway, i just wanted to share a teaser pic from my BD shoot from 2 weeks ago. my photos were taken by erin from renaissance studios photography (swank boudoir). i HIGHLY recommend them - they made me feel so comfortable (ive never done professional photos before) and i had such an amazing time doing it: i'll prob do more shoots in the future! i hope my fi loves my pics!

I'm starting to feel real anxious ladies!! 4 MONTHS TO GO! Ahhhhhh! =)

Your flowers are gorgeous! I cant wait to see mine, I ordered my real touch flowers from Enchanting Memories - they're based out Hamilton, if any Toronto brides are interested =)