Riu Montego Bay Wedding Review - Indigo 12/06/08

[Indigo]

Pics: http://www2.snapfish.com/photolibrary/t_=155527559

 

 

PREPARING FOR THE WEDDING:

1.Wedding website – ewedding.com

We used ewedding to provide family and friends with information about the wedding and details about one another. I love the site because we can post pictures and videos. We have already received phone calls from family members who could not attend wanting to know when we would update our website with pics and videos. It is very convenient. Also, guest could leave a few kind words in our guestbook and our website will be converted to a keepsake CD. This is one of the best decisions we made regarding the wedding. We have received countless compliments and it has been a money saver in keeping family and friends updated.

 

2.Invitations – DIY and email

I first emailed family and friends with STD and I followed up with passport invitations. Thanks to all of you BDW ladies with this project. I absolutely loved putting the invitations together.

 

3.Ceremony Programs-DIY

This is another DIY project. I put our program on a hand fan that I created from scratch. This was another good decision. Our guest used the fans and we received compliments.

 

4.Flowers

Okay. Since RMB was a new resort I didn’t know what to expect when it came to bouquets and gazebo decoration so I tried to DIY. I spent about $250 total on both natural touch and silk flowers for bouquets, bouts and gazebo decoration. About $200 was spent at 1800flowermall.com on natural touch flowers. However, on my wedding date, I didn’t used 1/3 of the flowers. Since I changed my mind on which gazebo I would use I decided not to use the flowers to decorate the plaza gazebo. Instead, I used the free bouquet, my DH used the free bout, we ordered a hand corsage and my MOH used my natural touch bouquet.

 

5.Dresses

a.Brides

I purchased my dress from RK Bridal in NY on sale. It is a Davinci. The closer I got to the wedding the more I wanted to change the dress to one that was less poofy; but, I didn’t. I received a lot of compliments on my dress from family, friends and RMB guests. So, in the end, I’m glad I didn’t spend ANY MORE MONEY! LOL.

 

b.MOH

My MOH and 1 of my bride’s maid got their dress from David’s Bridal. My second bride’s maid got her dress from Lord N Taylor

 

6.Shoes - DSW had several clear sandals on sales for less than $10 so I jumped on that deal and brought 3 pair of clear sandals.

 

7.Seamstress

I used Estee of Gaithersburg, MD for my alterations and her prices are incredible. She charged me $185 to remove the champagne sash from the dress and put an apple red sash on the dress, she took my dress in 2 inches, put a 4 point bustle on my dress and so much more. So, I am very happy with her work.

 

8.Pre-travel Handbook

I created an 18 page handbook that I don’t believe many people read so if I could do it again, I wouldn’t do the pre-travel handbooks. I felt good about doing them because I felt that my family and friends couldn’t say I didn’t give them the info they needed. But they kept asking me questions that were answered in the handbook. Gotta luv Family. LOL.

 

9.Airlines

a.Air Jamaica. Great roundtrip flight. My only problem is that I had to put my dress in the overhead bin but it didn’t wrinkle at all. I absolutely loved the direct flight.

b.Southwest Airlines - No complaints from my guest. They flew into Fort Lauderdale and took Air Jamaica into Montego Bay.

c.Spirit Air- My guest absolutely hated this airline. Will not use again. My guests didn’t like the flight delays coming and going and the crowding.

d.American Airlines - Haven’t heard any complaints yet from my guests who used AA.

 

10.Wedding Favors

Our wedding favor were 1) a personalized CD of some of our favorite reggae and r & b songs, 2) personalized Hershey kisses 3) Coasters and 4) measuring spoons. We bought our wedding favors from myweddingfavors.com and the personalized kisses from the knot.com. Our order arrived quickly.

 

WEDDING:

1.Wedding Coordinator

Chantelle is great to work with because she really wants you to have your dream wedding. Chantelle was the one trying to hunt us down. My DH and I were all over the resort enjoying activities so Chantelle left us a message in our room with her personal cellphone number so we could call her ASAP. We met with her on Friday morning and she had me write out the things I wanted her to do for me. Our ceremony was suppose to begin at 4pm but I think we started at around 4:45pm. We ordered an aisle runner that morning and it had not arrived so Chantelle had to wait for its arrival. Also, Chantelle said Saturday 12/6/08 was the first time she had 3 weddings in one day so I had already expected some delay. So the later start did not bother me.

 

2.Welcome Dinner. Our welcome dinner was in Rose Hall Restaurant. It was pretty simple. We went to the area of the restaurant that was not occupied and start moving the tables together. Restaurant staff saw what we were doing and took over with ensuring we had enough seating for all of our guest. So, if you want a welcome dinner, it would be no problem organizing one in the Rosehall Restaurant.

 

3.Aisle Runner thru TaiFlora. Aisle runner cost $33 with tax. It was nice. I just wish it could have been a little bit longer.

 

 

4.Plaza Gazebo Decorations. We chose to get married in the plaza gazebo because it was more private. The beach gazebo was beautiful but less private than the plaza gazebo. The plaza gazebo is inside of the Exodus Bar which is outdoors so our cocktail hour was seamless.

 

5.Wedding Music. We provided Chantelle with two CD’s that were clearly labeled. The first CD was our prelude music. This is the music that she played while guest arrived. The second CD was the bridal music. She took notes when each track should be played and she did an outstanding job.

 

6. Renova Spa gets two thumbs up and a snap from me. LOL. I had not planned on using their service. However, I was not happy with the manicure I received at home so I made an appointment to see if they could make my manicure look better. Well, Aubrey (?) did a wonderful job with my manicure and when she found out about my wedding in a few hours she convinced me to have makeup and hair done there. And I am happy that I did. She did a fantastic job on a short notice. She kept telling me she wanted me to look like a princess and she did. Everyone was surprised when they say me because I hadn’t intended on using their service. Aubrey is sooooo sweet. When I passed the salon to get to Mahoe Bay she ran out of the salon and gave me a big hug.

 

Cocktail Hour

2 bottles of champagne and rum punch came in the free package so we ordered an additional bottle of champagne and Chantelle set up a table with the champagne and glasses. After the ceremony my guest drank the champagne and socialized. Then they went over to the bar and ordered drinks and began toasting our wedding. It was great. Guest at the hotel and friends and family were all around toasting us.

 

Mahoe Bay/Reception Dinner - The food was great and it felt very private. The only thing I would change is that they didn’t set up a cake table. Instead they placed the cake before me and DH and we cut it there. I think I would have preferred a separate cake table.

 

We used Photoshop for both photography and video. We really love our video we are glad we decided to definitely have video. Although our ceremony started late, I have been told that Michael started taking pics at 3:45 and did not stop until after 6:00 pm. We have several pics in the sunset. We only paid for 1 hour 45 minutes but he stayed longer. We are pleased with both the video and photogaphy.

EXCURSIONS:

1.Ocean Safari

2.Hip Strip/Blue Diamond Shopping Center

3.Zip Lining/Canopy Tour

4.Horseback Riding with Swim

 

Important RMB Notes:There are no elevators in buildings 1, 3 and 4. There is an elevator in building 2. Didn’t visit buildings 5 and 6Mahoe Bay is where lunch is served dailyRose Hall, Italian and Asian Restaurants are right next door to one anotherYou are allowed to book reservations for the restaurants up to 4 days in advanceWrite an itemized list of everything you want Chantelle to do for you and provide her with the list. She uses this list to make sure that she completes all of your requests. Be sure to go over each item at your meeting with her to ensure that your request is doable.

 

 

Please feel free to ask any questions. I would love to help in any way I know how.

[drbrainfreeze]

Congrats!!! I can't wait to see your pics. I bet all the RMB brides are more than excited to read this and see the pics as well

[Geralyn]

yea the first RMB wedding review!! Congrats to the new Mr. & Mrs....I'm glad to hear that eveything went well. Thanks for such a detailed review. Sounds like you had a blast...can't wait to see the pics!!

[Danniellou]

Congratulations! Great review- can't wait to see your pics!!!

[KellyG24]

Congratulations Indigo!!

 

Did you purchase the cocktail hour option, or was that included with your package?

[Indigo]

Sorry ladies,

 

I can't get snapfish to work so I am moving my pics to Photobucket. This is a test to see if it works.

 

 

 

http://s442.photobucket.com/albums/q...goweddingpics/

[Indigo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KellyG24 Congratulations Indigo!! Did you purchase the cocktail hour option, or was that included with your package?

The 2 bottles of Champagne was included in the free package. Chantelle added rum punch for free and an extra bottle of champagne for $25. Chantelle set it up like a "cocktail hour". Also, since I was the last wedding of the day and my ceremony was at the Plaza Gazebo my guest used the Exodus bar to order more "rounds". It was perfect.

When I get an opportunity I will post more pics of both gazebos and other RMB pics that RMB brides may need to see.

HTH.

[Geralyn]

Indigo you looked beautiful!!! I love the back of your dress! The gazebo decorations are really nice...i love the palm leaves

[Trice]

Welcome back Indigo! Thanks for the review and posting pictures. You looked beautiful. I love the picture of you two on the rocks. I'm glad everything turned out nice. I'm sure I will have some questions for you as my day approaches. Congratulations!

[panther]

Congrat! The pics are great! Glad you had a great experience to put the other RMB brides at ease.