Just back from RIU Palace-My Wedding 5/11/13

[Houstonnlh]

Hi Everyone, I'm happy to answer any questions you might have about RIU Palace as I just returned... I will do a more detailed review, but here is a start :)Thank you to all the brides before me for the reviews and advice. This forum is a lifesaver!! I will post some pics in a new thread.... Arrival: We arrived on Monday 5/6 and didn't meet with the WC "Jazz" until Weds 5/8. Once I met with Jazz I realized she totally has everything under control and can do just about anything you want done. So don't worry!! One recommendation I saw on here and totally helped was to do our own rehearsal before the wedding with the wedding party. Otherwise people might be a little lost. The WC will tell you how it all goes down and you can meet with your wedding party after that (at least that's what I did and it was fine). Wedding: We used Rev. Marco Archiega and he was amazing. He was assigned to us through the RIU. We emailed a few times and didn't meet until that day. Absolutely no complaints! We had so many compliments from the guests about him. Ceremony was about 30 mins and then there is a champagne toast Reception: Baja Norte. Absolute perfection. We had 62 guests and it was beautiful. We did a bunch of round tables and groom and I sat at our own small table. I don't have all the pics yet, but will try to find a few. The other reception venues were nice as well, but what I liked about Baja Norte was being in the open air with great views. I think the steakhouse/beach location would be really pretty too, but the dinner portion of that has a low ceiling and I liked the fresh air feel better. The dancefloor on the beach would be really neat, though if you go with that option. Music: I 100% recommend DJ Arturo Ortiz. I found him through the WC. I didn't want to bother with the ipod so I made an xcel document with a playlist and he played every single song I put on there! I was really surprised b/c we didn't have much correspondence beforehand. Bottom line: he was awesome and downloaded all that music for me at no charge. Saved me a lot of time and headaches. We had the DJ and lighting package. Flowers: Just send Alina the pics you want and she will make it happen! My only complaint is the grooms boutinear was really small for some reason (?), but at the end of the day, I don't care! Everything else was BEAUTIFUL and I married my best friend Not sure why his wasn't up to par, but the rest were stunning. Rehearsal Dinner: We rented out the sunset cruise through Cabo Escape. It was a BLAST and probably a highlight of the trip for our guests. My only caution is it is kind of like a booze cruise so if you are looking for something more low key, I would not recommend it. We have a pretty lively crew so it worked for us. They do have microphones and dinner so you can do speeches, etc then party afterwards...they will work with you. Photographer/Videographer: Photo: Gilda Badillo--- I know I'm raving about everyone, but these 2 really were the best vendors. Gilda is affordable and she works her BUTT off! We had a lot of comments about how good she is and how hard she works. No complaints at all. Same with our videographer: Jorge Ibarra. He was great and he and Gilda know each other so they know how to work well together. Can't wait to see the final products! I'm sure there is more, but overall I was incredibly happy with the entire experience!

[Houstonnlh]

For some reason that posted as one LONG paragraph...sorry. Also, I used Suzanne Morel for hair and liked her and her staff very much.

[Houstonnlh]

[MRuiz2013]

Hello Houstonnlh,

 

You might just be my lifesaver. I am getting married next month at the Riu and I have not heard from any WC. I am not sure how to obtain a photographer or DJ. You mentioned Gilda Barillo is great and affordable...how would I go about contacting her for my wedding? I was contemplating on having the reception in a private ballroom but I am estimating about 35 guests in all and not sure if perhaps a terrace or ballroom. Any insight you can provide me with would be greatly appreciated. BTW....your pictures are beautiful. Congratulations!
 

[Houstonnlh]

Hi MRuiz,

Congrats on your upcoming wedding! You can either use the photographer through the hotel which is on their website (Mango Productions?) or hire an outside vendor. There is a charge for using outside vendors...$300. Gilda's email is [email protected] if you just want to inquire with her about pricing and if she's available. There are a lot of good photographers in Cabo!

 

As for the DJ, that is an option they offer when she emails you the spreadsheet with all the options. It's the "DJ and lighting package" and she then sent me the DJ's email...you could probably just email him now and say you haven't heard from the WC yet and see what he says? [email protected]. I think the DJ and lighting package was around $650 (ish) but worth it in my opinion.

 

In terms of reception venue, they will send you all the options (or you can do a search on this site), but there is pool side (I did Baja Norte and there is Baja Sur--Baja Norte is the quiet pool by day and Baja Sur is the activitiy pool by day), The San Jose Mexican restaurant or Terrace (Very pretty view of the arches here, seems good for smaller groups), the steakhouse terrace with a beach reception right off the terrace, and a few more (English Garden--inner part of the hotel but still outdoor), Ballroom (I actually never saw the ballroom, sorry).

 

Has she sent you any of the spreadsheets or anything yet? PM me your email address and I can send them to you!

[marcoloscabos]

Thank you so much for your coolest Review of my services Houstonnlh We had fun didn't? All my love to you and your lovely family. Send a picture or two when you get them, I'd love to add your review to my website

 

Once again CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

 

 

  Rev. Marco Arechiga  Wedding Minister

t:       011 52 (624) 173.0005

c:      011 52 (624) 122.5090

m:     [email protected]   

w:      www.marcoarechiga.com

 

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Vimeo 

 

[sophieamanda]

Originally Posted by Houstonnlh 

 

Hi Everyone, I'm happy to answer any questions you might have about RIU Palace as I just returned... I will do a more detailed review, but here is a start :)Thank you to all the brides before me for the reviews and advice. This forum is a lifesaver!! I will post some pics in a new thread.... Arrival: We arrived on Monday 5/6 and didn't meet with the WC "Jazz" until Weds 5/8. Once I met with Jazz I realized she totally has everything under control and can do just about anything you want done. So don't worry!! One recommendation I saw on here and totally helped was to do our own rehearsal before the wedding with the wedding party. Otherwise people might be a little lost. The WC will tell you how it all goes down and you can meet with your wedding party after that (at least that's what I did and it was fine). Wedding: We used Rev. Marco Archiega and he was amazing. He was assigned to us through the RIU. We emailed a few times and didn't meet until that day. Absolutely no complaints! We had so many compliments from the guests about him. Ceremony was about 30 mins and then there is a champagne toast Reception: Baja Norte. Absolute perfection. We had 62 guests and it was beautiful. We did a bunch of round tables and groom and I sat at our own small table. I don't have all the pics yet, but will try to find a few. The other reception venues were nice as well, but what I liked about Baja Norte was being in the open air with great views. I think the steakhouse/beach location would be really pretty too, but the dinner portion of that has a low ceiling and I liked the fresh air feel better. The dancefloor on the beach would be really neat, though if you go with that option. Music: I 100% recommend DJ Arturo Ortiz. I found him through the WC. I didn't want to bother with the ipod so I made an xcel document with a playlist and he played every single song I put on there! I was really surprised b/c we didn't have much correspondence beforehand. Bottom line: he was awesome and downloaded all that music for me at no charge. Saved me a lot of time and headaches. We had the DJ and lighting package. Flowers: Just send Alina the pics you want and she will make it happen! My only complaint is the grooms boutinear was really small for some reason (?), but at the end of the day, I don't care! Everything else was BEAUTIFUL and I married my best friend Not sure why his wasn't up to par, but the rest were stunning. Rehearsal Dinner: We rented out the sunset cruise through Cabo Escape. It was a BLAST and probably a highlight of the trip for our guests. My only caution is it is kind of like a booze cruise so if you are looking for something more low key, I would not recommend it. We have a pretty lively crew so it worked for us. They do have microphones and dinner so you can do speeches, etc then party afterwards...they will work with you. Photographer/Videographer: Photo: Gilda Badillo--- I know I'm raving about everyone, but these 2 really were the best vendors. Gilda is affordable and she works her BUTT off! We had a lot of comments about how good she is and how hard she works. No complaints at all. Same with our videographer: Jorge Ibarra. He was great and he and Gilda know each other so they know how to work well together. Can't wait to see the final products! I'm sure there is more, but overall I was incredibly happy with the entire experience!

 

Please ignore my request on the other forum asking you to do a review! Thanks so much for writing this. I am so with you, this website has been such a life saver and I too plan to give back by writing a thorough review after my wedding! So thanks again

 

Can you please tell me which menu options you chose for the Baja Norte reception? I also plan to have my reception at this location, it is so beautiful. Do you get to choose two options? I am waiting to hear back from Jazz on this...

 

My fiance and I have also been looking into doing a Sunset Cruise/Booze Cruise as a welcome party for our guests. We have been quoted some prices by contacting the different companies online, and they average about $3000 (for 50 guests). Did you pre book this? Do you mind sharing the cost for Cabo Escape? I am hoping we can get a deal if we book when we get down there by peaking with the locals since it is low season...

 

P.S. You looked stunning!! I am so glad to hear everything went so well!

[Houstonnlh]

Originally Posted by sophieamanda 

 

 

Please ignore my request on the other forum asking you to do a review! Thanks so much for writing this. I am so with you, this website has been such a life saver and I too plan to give back by writing a thorough review after my wedding! So thanks again

 

Can you please tell me which menu options you chose for the Baja Norte reception? I also plan to have my reception at this location, it is so beautiful. Do you get to choose two options? I am waiting to hear back from Jazz on this...

 

My fiance and I have also been looking into doing a Sunset Cruise/Booze Cruise as a welcome party for our guests. We have been quoted some prices by contacting the different companies online, and they average about $3000 (for 50 guests). Did you pre book this? Do you mind sharing the cost for Cabo Escape? I am hoping we can get a deal if we book when we get down there by peaking with the locals since it is low season...

 

P.S. You looked stunning!! I am so glad to hear everything went so well!

Thanks Sophieamanda!

 

I'm not 100% sure what you mean by choosing 2 options. My wedding was the only wedding that day so I pretty much just told her where I wanted the reception and it worked out. I'm not sure how it would work if there was more than one wedding in the same day.....

Cabo Escape was ~$3,000 and we had 60 people that went. It was so much fun! We did pre-book it because the orginal boat we wanted got rented out early so I started getting nervous. LOL. There is a rehearsal dinner included in the wedding package so you could use that as a backup if you get down there and the boat thing doesn't work out. But, if you really want to do the cruise, I would book in advance just to be safe.

[Houstonnlh]

Originally Posted by Houstonnlh 

 

Thanks Sophieamanda!

 

I'm not 100% sure what you mean by choosing 2 options. My wedding was the only wedding that day so I pretty much just told her where I wanted the reception and it worked out. I'm not sure how it would work if there was more than one wedding in the same day.....

Cabo Escape was ~$3,000 and we had 60 people that went. It was so much fun! We did pre-book it because the orginal boat we wanted got rented out early so I started getting nervous. LOL. There is a rehearsal dinner included in the wedding package so you could use that as a backup if you get down there and the boat thing doesn't work out. But, if you really want to do the cruise, I would book in advance just to be safe.

.....also, we chose the "Brunch Buffet" option for the reception dinner and it was fantastic! It has everything. I don't know why it's called 'brunch' b/c it's dinner food. I didn't know how to go about doing a plated dinner and didn't want to have to email 63 people to see what they would want to eat, if they hate fish, blahblahblah The buffet worked out perfect and you can see in one of my pictures, it's kind of off to the side by the bar so it's out of the way.

[Houstonnlh]

Originally Posted by marcoloscabos 

 

Thank you so much for your coolest Review of my services Houstonnlh We had fun didn't? All my love to you and your lovely family. Send a picture or two when you get them, I'd love to add your review to my website

 

Once again CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

 

 

  Rev. Marco Arechiga  Wedding Minister

t:       011 52 (624) 173.0005

c:      011 52 (624) 122.5090

m:     [email protected]   

w:      www.marcoarechiga.com

 

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Vimeo 

 

Thanks Rev. Marco! We loved our ceremony! I'll be happy to write a review on your website.