RIU RM Palace Brides??

[JNagan2011]

 

 

Originally Posted by vlvetter7 

 

Jen

What songs did you pick for ceremony songs? Did you do the traditional father/daughter, mother/son, etc dances? If so, did the sound system work ok?

 

We picked cannon in d for bridal party entrance, here comes the bride for my entrance, somewhere over the rainbow for signing, and better together for leaving.. .  There were some technical difficulties with cannon in d during the wedding, but it seemed to be the CD more so then the sound system (we used their CD). The song skipped around. 

 

We did do the traditional dances using our own ipod sound system which worked great. Kory and I danced to the the mariachi band for our very first dance and grabbed our parents for a dance with the mariachi band. However, none of us have very good dance skills or rhythm so it was hard for us to dance to unfamiliar tunes. So I was glad we had set up songs to do the traditional dances to after the mariachi band had finished. 

 

So I am about half way done with the review. Hopefully will be done in next few days. Have been busy seeing friends before I go and getting ideas for AHR in March.

 

[JNagan2011]

So apparently for wedding reviews, you now have to go to the resorts & villa sections and find RPRM. I posted my review there. I also copied it so I could post it here.... Here goes:

 

 

We got back from our wedding in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico at the Riu Palace Riveria Maya a couple of weeks ago. It was the most amazing and perfect wedding, although I may be biased ! I would like to thank this forum for giving me so many great ideas and advice over the past year. Especially all the girls previously married at RPRM! Here is a review of my wedding, let me know if you have any other questions:

 

Resort A+++

The resort was everything we could have wanted and more. It really made you feel like you were in a palace as you stepped into the lobby. We traveled from 12/15- 12/25 and they had a bunch of holiday decorations set up, which my group absolutely loved since some of us were leaving Christmas day.

 

As soon as we walked in, everyone was very helpful. We got to Mexico pretty early, was at the resort by 11 AM, so unfortunately not many rooms were ready. But they gave us our wristband, and offered a hospitality room for changing in. The manager called me and my FI (now husband J) up to the front desk thought right away though and let us know they had a Suite ready for us. Free upgrade with the wedding package, and we didn’t even have to ask. This was pretty cool because the resort was full, I had guests book the week before and couldn’t get into RPRM because it was full!

 

The pool bar= awesome. Be ware of sitting in the booths all day in the sun and having too many drinks. It took a couple of my guests as victims one day. They always seemed to have music playing around the pool bar. But, we did get up early to claim seats!

 

Restaurants: I thought the food was great. My guests who have stayed at other all inclusive said this was the best food they’ve had. Mimosas and bloody mary’s at the breakfast buffet was great. Oh yea, reservations for the specialty restaurants were fairly simple to. Yes, it required leaving the beach/pool for 10 minutes any time between 12-3, but you can always just send a different person each day (only need one person). The buffet was great too, so no need to make reservations if you didn’t want to.

 

Welcome Dinner A+

We arranged with Nancy ahead of time a welcome dinner at the Buffet the night before the wedding. They even included it for 2 of our guests staying at a sister Riu (through emails, Nancy made it sound like they weren’t going to be able to come at first). They sectioned us off a more private (as private as you can get in the buffet area) of 3 tables of 10. They even added simple decorations on it to make it feel more special.

***This is one of the three tables they set up for us!

 

Ceremony A+ (3pm)

We bought the royal package because we had 36 people attending (so under 40). Included in the package were two fresh flower decorations for the gazebo. Since I brought down real touch flower for my bouquet, she changed my bridal bouquet into another bouquet for decoration no extra charge. I also brought fake flower petals for my FG since we had 3, so she took the rose petal bag included onto the cake table.

 

We met the minister right before the wedding, and he did a great job. Mexico being so catholic, he automatically inserted prayer and bible versus without us asking. We are both more spiritual then religious so it wasn’t something we anticipated being apart of the wedding but didn’t bug us  (it was actually a really nice passage). But if you for some reason don’t want prayer apart of the ceremony, I would make it known ahead of time. He also introduced our readers and our name at the end without hesitation and good pronunciation!

 

We did have some music issues with the Riu’s CD. The bridal party song, cannon in d, jumped around and skipped, etc. But it was really no biggie.

 

All in all it was absolutely beautiful! I wouldn’t change a thing. We even had random person come up to us and told us they watched our whole wedding and it was perfect (Randoms will watch, but it felt a lot more private then the beach location. I didn’t really notice anyone watching)

 

Cocktail Hour A + (5:30-8:30 pm)

We did this outside the Lyrico Bar. We also had the mariachi band play from 5:30-6:15. I would recommend, having the band start at 6 if you are doing the cocktail hour at 5:30. Some of our guests were a little late, so missed the beginning of the mariachi band and even our first dance. (Our flower girls were down for quick nap between the ceremony and reception )

 

We decided not to do appetizers, but for our group this was just fine. People grabbed a snack following the ceremony at the snack bar. And then we danced so much and socialized during the cocktail hour that it didn’t seem like were missing anything. That being said, we brought down a sony stereo system for our ipod (like a bose, my dad just liked the sony better). We had a wedding playlist set up, but were able to browse through songs when wanted. It was perfect!

 

Another tip: make friends with the staff, they are soo much fun! Also, treating them with a little $$ to show gratitude for what they do goes along way. Santos, one of our favorites, came in on his day off to serve our cocktail hour reception! We got the best tequila they had for one of our toasts (it didn’t even burn going down!)

*** I didn't really have any good pictures that show how they set up the cocktail hour. But here is the Lyrico Bar. They set up the cocktail hour on the far left side facing tables inward creating a rectangular-ish shape.

***Here is our first dance with the mariachi band during the cocktail hour. They were great!

 

Reception B (8:45pm-11pm)

We had a semi-private dinner at Chilli’s for our reception dinner. Unfortunately with the size of our group, the only time we could have was during the second seating at 8:45. It worked out just fine for us, and no one complained about the late dinnertime.

 

For dinner they provided the two appetizer options on the table for everyone. There was chicken caesar salad and a seafood plate (it had crab legs, shrimp, smoked salmon, calamari). Everyone got to order his or her own dinner option.

 

So we had a group of 36, so they had 4 tables of 8 and a head table of 4 (which was sort of awkward since our bridal party consisted of 6+ us two and we had 2 MOH and 1 best man). They took our order first, and had brought out just our appetizers before anyone else had really ordered. The last table didn’t even place their orders until we had already ate which was really weird. We knew with a big group the odds of us all getting food at the same time was slim, but we thought they could have done a better job. Also the servers never came around with wine or soda options for any of our guests. That being said we were fairly disappointed by the service we received (there was like no one else in the restaurant either, so it was not like they were busy)

 

 All in all, it was such a great day that I don’t think my guests were too disappointed by the poor service. We were all chatty and in such a great mood that we made the best of it. We had really great service at all of the other restaurants, so I have to guess they were having an off night there.

**Here is the setup for dinner... You can see the head table in the background!

 

Wedding Cake A+

We got the wedding cake included in our package. We chose vanilla cake, with strawberry filling and vanilla icing. Was going to go with chocolate, but when I wear white I am prone to spills. I thought vanilla would look better on my dress . It was REALLY good. Although we were full and couldn’t enjoy it fully, I am still really happy with the job they did.

** our cake.. they brought over flowers from the gazebo and my BM put their bouquets there as well.

 

Wedding Coordinator A

Nancy was our wedding coordinator. She did a great job at responding in a timely fashion. We communicated through emails until our on resort interview a couple days before the wedding. That being said, I was not all that needy so really didn’t see her much or have any big requests she couldn’t handle.

 

 Photographer A++++ Alan Johnson

We flew our own photog down and he is absolutely amazing. He did all my family’s senior pictures as well as my sister’s dw in Jamaica 2 years ago, so calling him a “family friend†that is apart of our wedding guests really wasn’t a lie. Nancy was really cool about us having one of our guests take photos and no questions were asked during all day pictures or the TTD session a few days later. Alan did amazing job, anyone in Northern MN area definitely should look into him! He took 71 gigs (I think that’s the term) of pictures for us J!

 

***First picture Alan sent us the day after we got back. Still waiting to get more

*** sent us our family photo early so my mom could use it for a christmas card!

*** He sent us one more sneak peak of the pictures! Can't wait for the rest!

 

Renova Spa A

Included in our package we got a couples massage. It was only 20 minutes so it was kind of a teaser but they did a great job. We were very pleased.

 

My sister and I also got our hair done there… I had done a hair trial at home and brought pictures. My hair turned out exactly how I wanted it. It was perfect! My sister’s hair turned out great too, although it wasn’t exactly what she wanted. But she hadn’t brought a picture down so had to look through their pictures and describe what she was thinking. I would definitely recommend bringing a photo! 

[vlvetter7]

Jen

Thanks so much for posting your review here. I'm still pretty bad at navigating this site...it sounds like you had an amazing time. Your pictures are beautiful! I'm seriously getting SO excited. Now that I'm only 3 months out and the holidays are done all I can think about is the wedding.  Your review is really helping with some of my decisions. Thanks and CONGRATS MRS!!!!

[JNagan2011]

No problem Virginia! I am jealous that you only have 3 months, I want to go back allready ... What is your actual date? Also...although we didn't have great service at Chilli's, if I had to do it all over I still would have chosen that restaurant I think. I really liked the open air feel. Also, we had dinner at Boto Foga with a group of 13. I can't imagine my group of 36 fitting comfortably in there (maybe just because it was enclosed, not set up for any larger groups at the time and it was during the earlier seating).

 

Also if you have any other questions please ask.  

[vlvetter7]

April 9th! We leave Boston on April 3rd and are staying at RPRM until the 11th - then we'll head over to the El Dorado Casitas until the 17th for our honeymoon! I seriously can't wait! We have 17 booked and are expecting at least another 10 to book, maybe even more.

[DreamingofSunshine]

 Jen - great review i couldnt agree more!!!! I’m not great with reviews or anything but here are the key things I have to say.

 

We told nancy up front that we didn’t want any bible verses during our ceremony  but that we were spiritual and were happy to have the ministry talk about  God and family which he did. We had 2 readers and he called them both up and everything worked out fine. We had brought our own cd for the ceremony and that went well though a little loud.  The walk to the ceremony site from the meeting place was kind of “far†for a short song like we had so we just moved ourselves closer to the ceremony area. I also got the royal package and LOVED my bouquet. We got single lilys for the girls in the party and nothing for the men….since we didn’t have a flower girl the rose petals were put on the table for decoration at the reception dinner along with the flowers from the gazebo. We had brought our own chair bows and fans and they set these all up for us. We got the fans back but not the chair bows. Oops… I was too lazy to track them down so it wasn’t that big of a deal. If you want them back though I would make sure that nancy knows this. Overall she was great to work with and very responsive once you get in touch with her via email. We only had to pay 100$ each for our 2 photographers day of. No issue was made of this.

 

We also had our semi-private reception (total of 27 guests)at chillis but got great service (though like you mentioned our other guests got their food last, and the wedding party was already done eating!). they also brought us champaign  and beer constantly. We were also told we could bring our own sound system but I forgot to and this wasn’t a problem. We got the same cake as jen and they put our wedding cake topper on it (however it kinda got broken, it was 2 lobsters, and the male lobsters hat had broken off so they just put it besides him.. not a big deal). The cake was awesome! I wish I could have brought some back to the room (I’m sure they would have let me but I didn’t ask because I forgot….)  

 

Room service was awesome. My girls threw an impromptu bachelorette party for me and they kept bringing us water, beer and champaign  . i think one of the calls we made actually went like this "what is the most amount of beer and champaign  you can bring up for us?â€) -- answer was 4 bottles of champaign  and a case of beer. = awesome. We did get a noise complaint though at 1:30am – half an hour after everyone had already left so I’m kind of confused about that ( why did it take them that long??) anyways I felt really bad.

I think my only complaint would be the musky smell in the room – you didn’t really notice it while you were there but when I got home I had to wash everything in my suitcase even if I didn’t wear it. Not a big deal to any of my guest but I’m super sensitive to smells. But as I said you didn’t really notice it while you were there.

 

As for the specialty restaurants – my favorite was the Mexican one. If you are huge sushi fan I would not go to the Japanese one, their sushi was very disappointing; however the entrees were good. Also make sure all your men have long pants for evening dinners. They wouldn’t let one of my guests fathers in to the buffet dinner (the more casual place) because he had shorts on (though formal looking) so they were forced to have room service for dinner.

 

We spent some of our nights upstairs in the lobby bar since it was cold outside; service was great though!. Also if you want the good liquor be sure to ask for it.

 

The front desk was super helpful. Guests were able to leave notes to each other there.

 

OH and the water aerobics can get awkward at the end when they make you get into a circle and massage each other faces….. nothing like getting to know your neighbor!!!

 

We also arranged for a private tour to chitchen itza. The private van for 17 picked us up at 7:30am. It was 45$ a person and this included the entrance fee to chitchen itza, fee for a huge cenote you can jump into (it was pretty cool), private tour guide at chitchen itza, lunch at an awesome yucantan buffet place and a stop at a craft /souvenir outlet store. We didn’t get back to the hotel till 8 but it was SO worth it. Contact me if you want the company’s information. My parents did a separate tour through the hotel to Coba, it was a half day and didn’t include lunch and was about 60$ so as you can see we got a great deal.

 

Overall though the place really is awesome and so is the service. I guess I had more to say than I thought I did.  Definitely will be going back!!!

[Nicyx]

What a fantastic review Jen, brilliant..... I am so so excited its un-true... I just cant wait, The only problem i have is i just dont ever want it to end!!!! What a brilliant read though :-) Thank you so so much for sharing!! x Congratulations Mrs.

 

xox

[Nicyx]

DreamingofSunshine, Great review!!! Give me goose bumps reading about you ladies weddings!!! Time is ticking, i just cant wait to get there now!!!! x As i said to Jen, Thanks for sharing xox

[dana]

Wow Jen your pics look great! I'm so glad you had a good time. Sorry to hear about your service at Chili's, I had the opposite experience. The constatnly walked around and gave out chamagne and wine.  Yes, some people got served after we were done eating, but that is how it is at most weddings. I loved the open air feel too.

 

Dreamingofsunshine-That's awesome that you go so much beer and chamagne! That is strange about the shorts at the buffet too, my husband wore shorts almost everynight. We asked the first night and they said as long as they were "nice" shorts.

[vlvetter7]

Dreaming of sunshine - great review. Thanks! I'd love to know the name of the tour place you used to go to chitchen itza! Can you email it to me? [email protected].

 

Strange about your guest being denied from entrance into the buffet for shorts- this is the first I've heard that men must wear pants. Has anyone else had this experiencce? April might be a little warm for pants every evening...