ROR Brides (Riu Ocho Rios)

[Yassy]

Hello All,

 

I'm new to this site, just signed up today!  I saw this thread and how helpful it has been for so many of you who are getting married at the RIU in Ochos, so I had to join in;)  Here are some questions I've been pondering...any help would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

 

1. Do they have a steaming service available for the Wedding Dress/Bridesmaid Dresses/Tuxedos and is it chargeable or complimentary?

2. Does anyone have a pricing list of the group excursions that are available through the resort?  And can we book ahead?

3. Did anyone use the on-site photographer/videographer?  If so, do you happen to have info on the pkgs/pricing avail?  If not, can you recommend any outside photographers?

4. Is or has anyone done the poolside reception?  And can you tell me if there is a good amount of space for dancing?  (I would hate for myself or a guest to end up in the pool due to a mis-step! lol)

 

My wedding day is booked for Nov 18th/2013 and is set for 5pm (I thought a wedding at sunset would be pretty and romantic!).  My "tentative" wedding party is approx. 30-40 people.  I got a group rate quoted to me in the amount of $1438.00...I'm told this is actually a pretty decent rate.  I'm waivering on if I should grab it or take a chance and wait to see if it drops even more:/ 

 

****CONGRATS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS GOTTEN MARRIED OR WILL BE GETTING MARRIED SOON!!!***

[CdnBrideJoanne]

Originally Posted by Yassy 

 

Hello All,

 

I'm new to this site, just signed up today!  I saw this thread and how helpful it has been for so many of you who are getting married at the RIU in Ochos, so I had to join in;)  Here are some questions I've been pondering...any help would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

 

1. Do they have a steaming service available for the Wedding Dress/Bridesmaid Dresses/Tuxedos and is it chargeable or complimentary?

2. Does anyone have a pricing list of the group excursions that are available through the resort?  And can we book ahead?

3. Did anyone use the on-site photographer/videographer?  If so, do you happen to have info on the pkgs/pricing avail?  If not, can you recommend any outside photographers?

4. Is or has anyone done the poolside reception?  And can you tell me if there is a good amount of space for dancing?  (I would hate for myself or a guest to end up in the pool due to a mis-step! lol)

 

My wedding day is booked for Nov 18th/2013 and is set for 5pm (I thought a wedding at sunset would be pretty and romantic!).  My "tentative" wedding party is approx. 30-40 people.  I got a group rate quoted to me in the amount of $1438.00...I'm told this is actually a pretty decent rate.  I'm waivering on if I should grab it or take a chance and wait to see if it drops even more:/ 

 

****CONGRATS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS GOTTEN MARRIED OR WILL BE GETTING MARRIED SOON!!!***

Hi Yassy,

 

I'm from Ontario as well and I have Nov 27 at 3pm booked at the ROR.  I have heard good things about Jamaica Water Sport for catamaran tours and I have contacted them to quote me how much it would be to do a snorkeling trip for my group of 40 people.

 

Who did you get the group rate from?  Does that include taxes?  If so, that's a great rate.  I am waiting on itravel2000 to send me my quote on Tuesday.

 

Joanne

[Jessica Correa]

Hey does anyone by any chance know what the wedding cakes from ROR look like? 

[Atrack]

Originally Posted by CdnBrideJoanne 

 

Hi Yassy,

 

I'm from Ontario as well and I have Nov 27 at 3pm booked at the ROR.  I have heard good things about Jamaica Water Sport for catamaran tours and I have contacted them to quote me how much it would be to do a snorkeling trip for my group of 40 people.

 

Who did you get the group rate from?  Does that include taxes?  If so, that's a great rate.  I am waiting on itravel2000 to send me my quote on Tuesday.

 

Joanne

Hi Joanne

 

We are getting Married Nov 27th 2013 to. Our wedding is at 5pm.

[kalolaco]

Originally Posted by SHANNON4 

 

 

I was told that the 15 dollars was for 2 hours, private bar and bartender, table and chairs. Not including music. I'm not sure on what all decorations that will including, or like table cloths or anything. Waiting on a reply email not. And I also asked how many people per table, that way Iknow how many tables Ineed 2 decorate for. Good luck. I'm having a pool reception on september 7th!

 

I was married at the Riu Ocho Rios on February 16, and I had the beach party reception from 9-11pm. There were plastic chairs, but NO tables. Keisha had said there would be tables, but when I got to the resort on the 13th and asked her about it, she said there would only be very small square plastic tables - basically the size of a night table. So not really meant to be sat at.

 

In the end, those weren't even set up on the beach, just the chairs. It was $15 per person for 2 hours with a private bar and bartender. We didn't ask for a DJ. We rented out the sound system for $150/hour and brought an iPod and some CDs as backup (we ended up using the iPod). However, there were 2 people there running the sound system the whole time, so that was an unexpected bonus!

[kalolaco]

Originally Posted by Jessica Correa 

 

Hey does anyone by any chance know what the wedding cakes from ROR look like? 

 

Our cake was very plain. You get a choice of chocolate or vanilla cake, with white icing being the standard icing. It was 3 tiers. To fancy it up a bit, I ordered a bag of flower petals for $28 from Tai Flora (I upgraded my flowers, didn't use the ones from the free package), and used those to decorate the cake, along with a cake topper. 

 

I'll try to attach an image to this post....

 

 

 

[kalolaco]

Originally Posted by Yassy 

 

Hello All,

 

I'm new to this site, just signed up today!  I saw this thread and how helpful it has been for so many of you who are getting married at the RIU in Ochos, so I had to join in;)  Here are some questions I've been pondering...any help would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

 

1. Do they have a steaming service available for the Wedding Dress/Bridesmaid Dresses/Tuxedos and is it chargeable or complimentary?

2. Does anyone have a pricing list of the group excursions that are available through the resort?  And can we book ahead?

3. Did anyone use the on-site photographer/videographer?  If so, do you happen to have info on the pkgs/pricing avail?  If not, can you recommend any outside photographers?

4. Is or has anyone done the poolside reception?  And can you tell me if there is a good amount of space for dancing?  (I would hate for myself or a guest to end up in the pool due to a mis-step! lol)

 

My wedding day is booked for Nov 18th/2013 and is set for 5pm (I thought a wedding at sunset would be pretty and romantic!).  My "tentative" wedding party is approx. 30-40 people.  I got a group rate quoted to me in the amount of $1438.00...I'm told this is actually a pretty decent rate.  I'm waivering on if I should grab it or take a chance and wait to see if it drops even more:/ 

 

****CONGRATS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS GOTTEN MARRIED OR WILL BE GETTING MARRIED SOON!!!***

 

I was just married at the Riu Ocho Rios on Feb 16 I'll try to answer some of your questions!

 

1. I emailed Keisha the wedding coordinator about a steaming service. Unfortunately, none is available on resort. For $45 there is a vendor that they work with off-resort that will steam the dress. I opted not to do this. I purchased a handheld portable steamer and brought it with me (Rowenta brand from Sears), but unfortunately it wasn't really effective at getting rid of the few wrinkles my dress got during travel.

 

**Also, a note to anyone travelling with Sunwing airlines - there is no place to hang your dress on the plane. There is a dedicate overhead baggage compartment around row 7, but this is highly problematic! Both on the flight to and from Jamaica, people placed their luggage in this bin, even though there is a bright orange label that says "dedicated for wedding items". One passenger was downright rude to me. I watched as he forcefully crumpled my garment bag containing my dress, bridesmaid dresses, and fiance's suit into a corner of the baggage compartment before shoving in his own bag. Thankfully there was an amazing flight attendant who saw this and set him straight.**

 

2. I also tried to find out pricing for excursions before arriving, but couldn't find the info online. They're all really great about accommodating groups though, so if you can give them at least 1.5-2 days notice, you'll have no problem booking an excursion for your group. They're pretty good about giving group rates, and if you mention that you're the bride, there's a good chance that you and your hubby can go for free. We booked a catamaran to Dunn's Falls for $45/person (about 25 people in the group), and my husband and I were complimentary. In the end, high winds prevented the group from going, but those who wanted to were able to get their money back (a few went another day, and they still honoured the group rate even though only around 6 people went). This was booked through the Scuba Caribe hut right on the beach next to the jerk chicken hut (it was about twice the price to book through the Sunwing coordinator located near the lobby).

 

3. I did book the on-site photographer. I have the price list from 2012 (since I booked in 2012, I was given the 2012 pricing even though my wedding was in 2013. I'll try to attach it here...) 

 

 

 

 

 

I booked the head photographer, but he was sick the day of my wedding so 2 of his assistants (Lincoln and Denise) were my photographers. I just got the low-resolution images emailed to me yesterday to look through. For about 4.5 hours of photography (spread out throughout the day) I have close to 1700 shots to choose from and a lot of them are truly fantastic! I'm very impressed. To compensate not having the head photographer (Michael Sondern), my package was upgraded from 100 images to 125.

 

4. I had the beach party reception, and didn't see any poolside receptions while I was there, so not too sure about this one  

 

In total 36 people travelled in my group, and our group rate was about $1460 for 7 days in standard ocean view rooms. This was through Sell Off Vacations (Sunwing) for Feb 13-20 flying out of Toronto. It was not much more to upgrade to the ocean view junior suites, which is on the newer side of the resort. (Less than $50 person to upgrade to these rooms).

 

 

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have more questions

weddings_2012 pricelist.pdf

[DANIELLE03]

Hey guys,

 

Just a quick question. IN regards to the Free package at the Riu. You have to pay for your minister and certificate correct? Does anyone know how much that would be and how you go about getting that?

 

Thanks!

[Jessica Correa]

I can't see the attachment... but thank you for the info. I will get a wedding topper and a few things to make my wedding cake a little bit more wedding like!

[Yassy]

Hey Joanne:)

 

I've been back and forth with at least 5-6 different agencies since October of last year and finally decided to book with Sunwing. I found that the rate was mostly the same (give or take a couple dollars) for every single agency I dealt with, however, I like the bonus options that Sunwing offers for Weddings, that is why I went with them.  So definitely give Sunwing a try and let them know you are doing a Destination Wedding and need a Group Rate for you and your guests:)

 

P.S - I dealt with both Jessie and Megan who were both very friendly and patient.

 

 

Yassy