Wow!  We had such a wonderful experience at the RIU. 

We chose Jamaica because of the ease of getting married there and the fact that it's recognized as a legal marriage in the USA.  You do NOT have to have your official marriage certificate translated either as you do in Mexico. 

We had 19 people total for our wedding.  We flew in on a Wednesday and the rest of our group arrived on Thursday.  Our wedding was on Saturday 4/16/11.  I will say I was a little concerned going somewhere I'd never been before and having 17 other people follow us but it was the best decision for all of us.

The resort is pretty large which can have it's pros and cons.  There was a little too much walking for my mother to get to our rooms and back but she managed.  Check in is slow as I had previously read but they are there with rum punch for you as soon as you arrive which was nice.  We arrived around 2:45pm.

We visited the pool that afternoon and ate dinner at the buffet.  The next day, we took our kids to swim with the dolphins.  It was the most memorable thing for them there and we are so happy we splurged to to do it.  Our guests started to arrive that afternoon.  Some of them had problems when they arrived at MTB because several planes had landed at the same time.  It took them around 2hours to get through customs.  We, on the other hand just flew right through as our plane arrived around 11:30am on a Wed.  Those who arrived lon Thursday had the issues. 

I had scheduled a meet and greet and the Dunn's River bar that evening at 8pm which was fun for all of us. 

I had already planned /scheduled a private catamaran cruise for our group for Friday morning through Lee's Tours.  They took us on the catamaran to Dunn's River and we pretty much had a private tour up the Falls because we arrived at the Falls from the water and it was early enough that all the other groups had not yet arrived from the top of the falls.  Plus, I had checked to make sure there were no cruise ship dockings that day as well so it was great.  Everyone had a blast at the falls.  They are pretty pushy at the end of it though for you to purchase their video and pics.  By the time we walked back down to the sea, there were TONS of groups getting ready to climb the falls so we were very fortunate we went when we did.  After that, they gave us drinks and took us out to snorkle.  So worth it and it was cheaper than doing a shared catamaran with tons of other people and just our group.

Friday night, we all just hung around the hotel and drank.  I wasn't real impressed by the shows for those I saw.  Apparently, the first night we were there it was really good but I missed it as I was so tired from travel.  The food in the buffet was good. It's excellent for kids because they can try all sorts of things they never would try.  If they didn't like it, they'd go get something else.  We ate at the steakhouse (Sir John's I think) one night with some friends.  The steak was a little tough for me (which I had also read) but we had fun.  You can make reservations for all of the nights you are there on any morning.  You don't have to go down each morning to make a reservation for that night anymore.  We had friends eat at the Japanese restaurant and they raved about how excellent it was that they asked for more food.

Saturday, we hung out at the pool until it was time for my daughter and I to go to the spa and have our hair done.  Nichole did a great job and we were thrilled we had them do it.  My daughter's hair stole the show!  

Wedding - I am so glad we had a 4pm wedding time.  It's much hotter in the mornings down there than in the afternoons and around 4pm is when things begin to cool off.  Keisha's assistant came and got me at 3:30 from our room.  We walked down through the hotel and to the site.  They started our music and we were on our way. My son had a fun time walking down the isle.  He decided to stop and shake hands with everyone before doing a little dance at the end.  It was so cute and everyone laughed. The minister read the ceremony script we prepared and added a few words of his own which was nice.  He was very energetic which I liked.  After the wedding, they immediately handed out rum punch, played more music and then we took pictures before heading to dinner.  Our ceremony lasted 20 minutes which was perfect. 

We had our semi-private reception and the staff was wonderful.  I'd pass on the steak  though as it was tough and go with the combo dish. Those who got the trio said it was wonderful.  We did the free wedding package and were so pleased with all of it.  No need for us to upgrade and spend money on extra's we really didn't need.  The cake was plenty for all 19 of us and tasted good. The waiter took pictures of us cutting the cake and then served it for us.  He was wonderful and received a rather large tip. 

The beach party is on Saturday nights so we all just hung out around there rather than spending more money on a private rental or reception.  Everyone had a wonderful time. 

Cleanliness - Hotel was very clean.  I was impressed compared to some complaints people have made and was worried about it for my guests.  There was NO reason to worry at all.

Rooms - Beds are stiff and pillows are small and lumpy.  I had read that early on and expected it but was worried about it for my guests!  I am a bed/pillow snob but it didn't matter really as we were all so tired when we went to bed, we didn't notice it.

Staff - very nice.  We tipped the bartenders and got excellent drinks.  It shouldn't make a difference but it does. The pools were great and clean.  I never once had that "yucky" pool feeling I sometimes get at public pools. 

Overall, it was a great experience and our entire group had a wonderful time at the RIU. 

We moved to Couples Tower Isle after 5 days at the RIU and had our honeymoon.  It was definitely different.  Not sure I'd return to Couples but will definitely return to the RIU.  We were there for 5 nights and paid 1100.00 per person with air.

We spent hardly any time doing anything for the wedding ahead of time.  Just the meeting with the coordinator the day after we arrived and then the afternoon of the wedding.  I didn't think much about it until it was time to get my hair done so we had a lot of time to hang out with our friends and family with no stress! 

If you have any questions, please PM me.