Riu Brides (former,existing,ANYONE!)

[MANNEY]

OK, I apologize if this has been discussed before but it is confusing the hell outta me and hope sum of you's may be able to clear something up....

I am getting married at the Riu Santa Fe in November of 08, what I don't understand is the reception part. We have around 70 ppl joining us and we are paying for the caprice package.

I suppose my question is, the package includes a private dinner reception correct? Is it buffet style? What I don't really get is we are already paying for the all inclusive, so does that package include a different dinner? or just the private area>?

And also I heard that it does not include drinks?? How does that work when all my guests will have the lil all inclusive bracelets? Do they just wonder up to the lobby bar and grab bevys??

This just does not make much sense to me and was hoping someone could help a lady out!

Thanks!!

[andreaz]

I am getting married at riu palace (next door to the santa fe) in May. I experienced the same confusion when started making my plans.....this is my current understanding....the reception included in the Caprice package is not considered 'private' meaning that if you have the reception at one of the restaurants, other guests who are staying at the hotel may also be in the same dinning area. However I am having my wedding on the terrace at the mexican restaurant and it has a 70 person capacity, and my guest numbers are similar to yours...meaning that there will likely be no guests that want to sit out on the terrace and be the hanging around the reception area. So basically from understanding the extra costs only come into to place if you want to make the reception a private event. Does that make sense? Let me know if you have anymore questions....I can share what I know so far!!! Also just a warning, it seems like the Riu likes to tac on a lot of extra charges...so be careful!

[aimee]

I got married in Oct 2007 at the Riu Palace. I think I paid for the Royal Package and we had approx 40 guests. I had my reception on the beach and we did not have a buffet dinner (although I've seen some buffet dinners). Ask Danielle what your options are for dinners, she should be able to help you. I would suggest that you consider a private reception b/c it seems like you will have a big party - that's great! In regards to your alcohol question, the bar that is included in the package included beer & wine. That was ok with us b/c most of our guests were beer and wine drinkers anyway. If your guests want other drinks they will have to walk to another bar to get their cocktail. We were also allowed to bring our own alcohol so my husband went to Cabo Wabo and bought a couple bottles of tequila - but be careful b/c we caught a couple of the wait staff enjoying a few shots with our guests. I was so annoyed when I found this out.

 

Have fun planning and let me know if there's anything else I can do to help.

[KACENGG]

Hi Manney,

 

I was married at the RIU Palace in Cabo in November 2007. As far as I understand it Andreaz is right. The dinner fee is only if you are having a private reception. Remember there is a seating fee also for a private reception (ridiculous) which is charged per seating (2 per night). We had our reception dinner at the Mexican Terrace and were not charged a per person dinner fee as we just had the restaurants regular menu. I do know a bride that was married before me was threatened that she would have to pay the $35/person meal fee but she argued that. I'm not sure where this sits now. The other thing to note that to have alcohol beyond the wine, beer, and champagne at the reception was $10/person/hour. This fee is completely unreasonable in my opinion as we are already paying for the all inclusive. Don't understand it and never will. My guests were happy with lots of champagne and wine so I guess its up to you whether or not you need to pay the extra. I know there was a wedding after me that negotiated the price down to $3/person/hour so you may want to try that although I think that may be difficult depending on your wedding coordinator. If you do a search in the wedding reviews thread for KACENGG'S RIU Palace Cabo San Lucas Wedding Review you can read about my experience.

 

My experience was that the wedding coordinators try to charge you for alot of extras regardless. Please let me know if you have any further questions even though I can only tell you about the Riu Palace.

 

GOOD LUCK!

[aimee]

Kim, I remember reading your review and I felt so bad for you. I didn't have a 'perfect' wedding either but I don't think my experience was as bad as yours. I still loved my wedding but at some times I wish Adriana was at my wedding instead of Daniella.

 

I agree that the 'open bar' charge is a complete waste of money!

[KACENGG]

Thanks Aimee,

 

I didn't have the best experience but I'm getting over it. I am married and am trying to just remember the things that did go right. I love Cabo and am so excited that we got married there and had beautiful pictures on the beach (still waiting on Juan for those). You cannot beat a backdrop like Cabo! Glad to hear that you had a much better experience and yes, we both should have had Adriana!

[aimee]

lol. I'm also trying to forget the bad memories of my wedding. Cabo is a beautiful place and I can't wait to go back one day.

 

I just got my photos from Juan this weekend. I had to get my husband to keep on emailing him because I was getting frustrated. It was worth the wait b/c they turned out great.

[kiki]

ok so if i want a private reception at the garden there is an extra charge right. Do you know what it is? 500$? Then to have extra booze another 10$ an hour /per person..can we have all the extra booze we want for that price? Where did you guys have your cocktail hour and your dancing? did you have a DJ Can you have a wedding coordinator at the riu What kind of prob's did you have with Daniella?

[kiki]

Can we see your pics!!!

[aimee]

-The cost for a private reception is $500.

-I'm pretty sure that if you pay the price for an open bar that it's unlimited, double check with Daniella.

-I didn't have a cocktail hour. I'm glad I didn't have one because most of my guests wanted to get out of the sun and freshen up before the reception. I suggested to my guests to hang out in the lobby bar for drinks and shade.

-they set up a dancefloor on the beach. I acutally loved the set up of my reception!

-i didn't get a dj, instead we brought an ipod and had a friend play it for us. You should be able to rent the speakers for free.

-I think the only co-ordinator you can use is the RIU one. When I looked into it, all the co-ordinators told me that I had to work with the RIU.

-problems with Daniella: 1) I didn't have my flowers until about 20 minutes before my ceremony. My sister had to track her down! 2) I gave her candles for my candle ceremony but they weren't at the ceremony when we were ready to light them. Daniella had to run back to her office to get them. We were able to move on with the ceremony but I was disappointed that the flow of the ceremony wasn't there. 3) I also gave her some decorations for my reception to put on the tables and they weren't there when the guests arrived. Daniella was already with another wedding so I had to ask someone to get her or get into her office to get them.

-I've heard that the Riu has hired a 2nd co-ordinator so hopefully you won't run into as many problems. The co-ordinator prior to Daniella was telling me that the job is too big for one person and that was her reason for leaving -she was too stresed.

-I'll post some pictures tonight.