Jwed12

What a great idea! Thanks for sharing!!!!

Hey ladies! I was having a really hard time finding reviews about the Riu BDW, and I was starting to freak out a little. I PMed Tammy Host and she helped to point me in the right direction. I think you should check out these links. http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/42016/riu-tropical-bay-riu-montego-bay-april-7-2009-review http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/45413/riu-montego-bay-wedding-review http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/40732/riu-montego-bay-wedding-review-with-pics-4-11-09 http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/46808/geralyn-s-riumbride711-riu-montego-bay-review-with-pics They were really honest and helpful. Some good...some bad. The last two are the best ones. Enjoy!

You are awesome! This review is so helpful and fantastic. I saw some bad reviews, and I was starting to freak out a little bit. This really calmed me down. I'm glad you guys had a great time, and thanks again for sharing.

Thank you sooo much for sharing! This review was detailed and extremely helpful. I'll be getting married here in June of 2012, and this got me so excited!

Thanks for posting this! It was helpful. You had a couple of bumps, but overall it sounded okay. My fiance and I are getting married there in June 2012. Would you stay at this hotel again? Thanks!

We used a friend of the family as our travel agent. For the most part, you don't really need one as your planning everything, but I think it will definitely be helpful as our guests start to book their flights. If you want the group discount, you have to book as one large group. Our travel agent is going to take everyone's information, and then she'll book all at once. Sorry! Hope this helps.

This may be a dumb question...but how did you cut it? Did you have to take the ribbon off before cutting in? Is each tier ribboned separately? Thanks! It looks gorgeous.

I did! Thanks so much. That was really helpful.

We'll be at the Riu in Montego Bay. You?

When's your date? We aren't getting married until 6/12/2012. (Year and a half engagment). I'm on the edge about booking him now because I haven't heard anyone else talk about him really. I've heard a lot of comments about Diana Campbell, so we might go with her. She gave us close to the same offer. What hotel are you using?

Do you mind me asking how many guests you had and how many centerpeices? I'm just trying to get a feel for how many I'll need. I'm not sure if we'll be at small tables or one long table. We're expecting about 50 guests though, so I think smaller tables would be better. Thanks!!!

Wow! This is a beautiful dress. I can't believe you had a family friend make it! I'm sure you saved a boatload. You're brave for doing it that way, but I'd say it definitely paid off. It fits you like a glove. Congratulations!!!!

Yay! I'm glad you're finding the posts helpful. I've found that us brides are a lot more on top of things and willing to help then some of the resort people. The Mahoe Bay private reception will be $1,000 on top of your wedding package. We're getting the Caprice package which is $2,365 I believe. With Mahoe Bay, it will come to $3,365. The steakhouse menu comes included in the $1000 dollars. If you want the beach bar-b-que menu, it will be an extra $55 per person. I saw where it says $19 per person as well, and, to be honest, I really don't know what that's for! I know it doesn't cost anything to eat at the restaurant on a regular night. They just recommend that you make reservations. For the private reception, it's $55 per person. Although, now that I look at the fact sheet again, it seems like maybe the $19 is if you reserve the steakhouse for a conference or something. For a wedding, it's going to be more though. I have the steakhouse menu and the bar-b-que menu if you want to see them. PM me your email, and I'll email it to you. The steakhouse menu isn't bad, but the bar-b-que definitely looks more classy. I don't know if it's $55 dollars worth of classy though.... Hope this helps!

Roxy, This is almost exactly what I had in mind. Thanks for sharing. I look forward to seeing the pictures with the lights in them. Where did you get the lights?

I was hoping that our resort (the Riu) would provide some hurricane globes for us. Do most hotels not do this? Thanks for the tips though! They will definitely come in handy if we have to pack.

Oh my goodness! Those are gorgeous. I love watching all of the Food Network cake shows which these remind me of! Thanks for sharing.

Same for me MrsHamblett! We checked out alllll kinds of hotels on the island, and I just really felt that we were getting the most "bang for our buck" with the Riu. It's a beautiful hotel, and I've only heard good things about it. I love that it's all inclusive and close to the airport. I also loved the wedding packages. My TA was really pushing us towards Beaches, but I haaated their wedding packages. I also liked that they allow you to bring in outside vendors (for a small fee of course), and they provide transportation to and from the MoBay airport. I believe its $24 per person (round trip). A friend of mine from work just got married last summer at a Riu in Aruba and had a fantastic time. I know it's a different country, but she absolutely loved the hotel. Shop around though and see what you find before settling on anything.

I agree! This looks great. What is the green plant floating in the water? It almost looks neon-ish. Did the resort give you the vases?

Okay...stupid question but....real or fake limes???? That would look pretty awesome with lemons or oranges too.

Riu-Mo Bay.....June 23, 2012

I do! PM me your email, and I'll send it.

That sounds perfect. I think brides helping brides is the best because you're getting honest, truthful information. We're expecting about 50 guests, so I think we're going to go with the private dinner. The semi-private is the one that comes with the package, but you can't really have music and dancing at the reception since you're sharing the restaurant with the other patrons. We definitely want a DJ for the reception, so that's why I think we're aiming for private. We're bringing in a photographer, so I'm talking to a few right now, but I haven't made a committment to anyone yet. The on-site photographer looks awesome, but I also think he's a little pricey. We've been offered $2,000 from a couple of different photographers, so I'm going to try and keep it around that. Hopefully, that will include coverage for the day, TTD, and videography. We'll see...I know the Riu charges a $350 vendor vee. As for flowers, I wasn't crazy about the free bouquet either. I haven't really talked to any flourists in the area yet. What did you think of TiaFlora? Were they reasonable? We were thinking about bringing down silk flowers for the bouquets and centerpieces. You're totally right about being in Jamaica though. That's what I keep telling myself. The wedding will be on the beach. It will be gorgeous no matter what! And as for the reception, we'll be surrounded by good food, drinks, and a beautiful hotel. What could be better!!! Thanks for keeping it going Mrs Hamblett. I'm excited about our new forum. Originally Posted by MrsHamblett2012 Jwed12 - I am working with a travel agent and from what I can see reading A LOT of different things for different resorts on this forum it is not uncommon for the wedding planner to be bad at communicating. I notice a lot of people say that they worked with a WC atfirst and thent he WC didnt contact them until like a couple months before the wedding. So I guess that is what I am expecting. I have only heard great things about this resort so I am going to plan it here based on that and see what happens! I think the thing you have to remember is that your in Jamaica! There might be a couple bumps along the road but just being there is going to be a great experience in itself!! I dont think we qualify for the private reception because we only have 20 people. So I guess what we will do is just do the reception that comes with the freee package at one of the restaurants. You are able to decorate the table yourself so I already have an idea of what I would want. I am thinking of using TiaFlora for my flowers because I've seen pictures of the free bouquet and Im not a huge fan. I also am thinking about using the steel drum band for the ceremony because ive seen a lot of people say that the steel drum band is the best thing they got that was extra. So maybe that. Also I want a professional photographer so I might just use the one that comes with the resort..I dont know ive seen mixed reviews. Have you thought about using any of these extras? There is so much to plan and decisions to make! It is a shame that the WC's arent better about corresponding with brides. This is a stressful time! But I think that if we use this forum to post everything we get from the WC's we can help each other!

Melino, I contacted the resort myself, and they sent me a bunch of great information. If you PM me your email address, I can forward you the PDF files they sent over. It has different reception options and what not. The Riu in Montego Bay is a fairly new hotel, so there's not a whole lot of info out there on it. Fortunately, everything that I have heard has been very good! I've also seen a couple of different BDW brides that have posted their pics if they got married there, and they are all beautiful.

I loooove this! It's gorgeous. Thanks for sharing.

This is beautiful! It has a great pop of color, but it's also so simple and elegant. I think it would look fantastic on a square cake. I'm all about square.