Forevelyn2

Here is my facebook link : https://www.facebook.com/#!/evelyn.mays.39 My profile name is Evelyn Young. I am standing in the gazebo. I have pics on facebook. I have a ton more that I have not gotten from the photographer yet.

Also, I paid SHiela's Bakery extra money to bring me some flowers. You can talk to them about it. The RIU's flowers were pretty too. I will post pics soon

Hey everyone, I got some pics and some info about the RIU Palace. My wedding was on the 21st. The coordinator named Anne no longer works there. The new wedding coordinator is Sophia. The resort is just like the pics you see online. So here's how my stay went: 1. Staff is very friendly 2. Shows are every night - I enjoyed the International Show 3. The water is pretty 4. Activities - jet skis, excursions, etc 5. At least 4 restaurants (french, italian, japanese, and a steak house When you arrive, you will meet with WC. She will go over the wedding day and costs. We had the free wedding (which is not totally free). I think we still had to pay $325. We chose the beach instead of the gazebo. Both are pretty (when decorated). Decorations are extra like $12 per chair. I brought my own runner. I paid for the saxophone player; but you can use your own music. The sax player was $450. Hurricane season is from June-November which means rain almost everyday. We arrived on Tuesday and it rained from Wednesday until the day we left on today. Showers are for about 20 minutes to an hour; then the sun comes back out-pretty. Lots of mosquitoes. When it rains, they move you to the restaurant terrace and set up chairs. It was still pretty. I chose to have my reception at the Steakhouse. So you might be wondering about the semi-private part. You can see the other wedding parties but it is sectioned off pretty good. Don't worry. All receptions start at 6:30pm (All restaurants start dinner at 6:30pm). We rented the Steakhouse for a private party from 9-11pm (it was expensive) and we rented the sound system for $200. We invited the other wedding party to our private reception and danced and had fun. We used Sheila's Bakery for the cake. It is located in Ocho Rios. Cost me $450. But I got what I wanted. RIU cake was not pretty enough for me. I also added my extra decorations from home to the ceremony and the reception. Tip: Get to the lobby around 8am to reserve any restaurant. If you don't use the restaurant during the rest of your stay then the Negril restaurant requires no reservations. The locals walk the beach, but do not come to close up on the property. They will try to offer you marijuana (some guests buy it and you WILL smell it around the resort). They will try to get you to buy other things like cigarettes, purses, jewelry, etc. There is a jewelry store on property - overpriced. Most things are overpriced. Hope you are not using Apple Vacations - I was not pleased with Apple's services and how they screwed up my guests transportation to the airport. I brought my own photographer with me and had to pay $75 for him. All inclusive (was ALL inclusive). We didn't have to pay for food or drinks. A minibar and fridge is in every room. Tip: Do not walk the beach after dark --- I didn't want anybody to attempt to rob or hurt me. Overall on a scale of 1-10 (10 being good) --- I give my total wedding week a 7.5. I give it a 7.5 because I think the free wedding could have been prettier without having to pay so much money for pretty. I will post pics soon.

My wedding is June 21. I started buying and ordering things from Exclusively Weddings and from Ebay. I am taking my favors and all with me; just in case. I have packed it all in 1 box. I even purchased a personalized runner (most expensive). RIU charges extra to decorate the chairs for you. I think it is $12 per chair. I found a cake maker too because I don't want a cheap looking cake. I will only have about 20 people, but I still want it to look like I have 200 people (that's just me).

My wedding is in June. Are you renting a dance floor? I am thinking about bringing my own decorations for the ceremony. The resort charge for EVERY LITTLE THING. ugh!!! But I want everything to be like I want it. I saw a fold up arch online. I really don't like that skinny one that comes with the free wedding.

I have a 2pm wedding time. Do you have any idea what I can do until dinner time.? We want to have our first dance. What des it mean to be semi-private at the restaurant? Will we have a dance floor for our first dance?

Did anybody send you any pictures? Just curious....because I am getting married June 2013. If you get pics, coul ou forward them to me [email protected] Thank you so much. Congrats!

So what you all are saying is....eventhough arches ae at the resort, they may not be as pretty as we would like and so we could just bring our own fabric for it.......right?

This is my second marriage. My first wedding really wasn't the way I wanted it to be. I even want to ride a horse in my wedding dress on the beach....(if possible). I am going to try and get as many things on the plane as I possibly can. Does anyone know if there is a dance floor on the beach? I also want a saxophonist. My cousin is a photographer, but I just can't afford to pay her way. Airfare is getting expensive too.

Thanks so much for the information. I hope the cakes are pretty.

Was the cake pretty? 3 tiers or 2 tiers? How many choices? My wedding is June 2013. What are the extra prices? Are the archs plain or should I do the gazeebo instead? What the color choices?