Mo's Riu Ocho Rios Wedding Review (5 pages long in MS Word!)

[destaney22]

Thanks Mo the review was awesome but I have more ? now!!!!! Maybe you could help or maybe someone else knows these answers too! I am deciding between Breezes in runaway bay or The Riu OR? I am leaning toward ROR. I guess after reading the review it seems that I will actually end up spending way more money then I hoped for.

What did the Royal wedding set up consist of? Did you feel that you needed to add on to the set up?

The flowers....well I really didnt want to spend too much for them. What does the bouquet look like that come with the package? Are there many choices or do you recommend adding on to it?

How much was it to add the rum punch and the steel band?

Photos....Do you pick your photographer?

What was the wedding cake like?

Did you add lots of extras to your reception? What are your choices in restaurants?

Can you send or post some pictures??

How much did you spend on the fans?

 

Thank you so much in advance! If anyone has any input please let me know I am just starting this whole process and I am totally confused!!!!!

[Heidi]

I can take a stab at some of these questions you have! Look at our other Riu Ocho Rios threads...there are a TON of your answers on those!

 

What did the Royal wedding set up consist of?

Wedding Packages by Destination. Honeymoon Holidays. Weddings by Riu - you can get ALL of the details about the different packages at this site

 

The flowers....well I really didnt want to spend too much for them. What does the bouquet look like that come with the package? Are there many choices or do you recommend adding on to it?

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t5770 - read through this thread!

 

How much was it to add the rum punch and the steel band?

Again, it's all on Wedding Packages by Destination. Honeymoon Holidays. Weddings by Riu

Steel drum band is $250/hr

 

Photos....Do you pick your photographer?

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t5770 - again, look in this thread.

 

What are your choices in restaurants?

If you want the free semi-private dinner, you have to have under 50 guests and it will be in the Mammee Bay Steak House. If you have more than 50, you have to pay a couple thousand (don't know how much exactly!!!) to rent out the Plantation restaurant. Then you'd have a private dinner.

 

Can you send or post some pictures??

Look through our other threads; TONS of pics in there!

[DLyteful]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoBride I was going to bring DIY centerpieces for the reception but decided against it and just ordered floral centerpieces through Ocho Rios Flowers for $20.00 each. We also bought the rum there as wedding favors and we tied our place cards to them. Our tables were named after Jamaican rum cocktails. I made the signs on the computer and put them in a 5x7 frame to put on the tables. We bought the fans in jamaica instead of bringing them from here. So what we brought with us were our actual OOT bags, travel mugs, individual tylenol and meds like that, palm tree pens, travel candles, all of which were put in the OOT bags. This took up one large suitcase. We also had candles to decorate the rehearsal dinner table and cocktail tables at the welcome party. Other things that were brought from home included our sand ceremony set, cake serving set, and toasting glasses. I'm glad we decided to get a lot of stuff once we were there because we had a ton of other crap to bring. Oh and by the way the OFF towelettes that i searched for weren't really necessary. I never got bit by a bug or heard anyone complain about them. I will post some pics of the welcome party as soon as my sister sends me her pics. She took a lot of them there. Like I said I was not impressed with Seagrape at first but when they moved tables and chairs down there and we hung our banner and added candles to the tables it looked great and we had so much fun there.

Thanks for all of the info Mo!!!

[Mich]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write this very thorough review.

It has helped a great deal and I will definitely not be having the dancing part at the disco. I'm still considering doing the whole reception by the pool.

Did you ever see it set up for a wedding?

[Mich]

When I tried to book the Plantation she told me it was already booked. I wanted to have it at a private area, so she gave me the option of having it by the pool or at Seagrapes. They are both $50/pp which includes (set up, food, drinks). The good thing for me too, is that I can have both the dinner and the danicing at the same place (which is why I initially wanted the Plantation). I won't know until I get there and able to look at both places but I'm glad you saw Seagrapes and liked it.

 

In terms of the disco, I'm sure it will be perfect for many people, but I have quite a few older folks coming and stools just wouldn't work for them.

[AlmostMrsForbes]

Hi, Mo

 

Thanks for the great review - I can almost picture everything. It sounded beautiful, and your pics were gorgeous.

 

You mentioned that Evita's was good. I'm having my reception there on May 19th - and Eva has been wonderful so far. In the end, is there anything you would have changed or would have liked to know before hand about Evita's? Everything with that part of the planning is going so easily ... it seems almost too good to be true.

 

Congrats, again!

[AlmostMrsForbes]

That is great! I'm so excited. I've gotten a very good feeling from Eva.

 

I'm so glad we made the decision to have the reception off site. All of our guests are traveling so far - I really think it will be nice to get them off the resort for a little while and treat them to something different.

 

I'm going to look into the regae band - sounds really fun.

 

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving, and that you are relaxing and enjoying married life!

[Mich]

I'm glad that she offered this too because I was going crazy. If I had known about this site and realized that Evita's was even an option, I probably would have chosen them instead.

I do have a plan B but really praying that I won't have to use it.

I didn't even think about the steps, so thanks. So many things to think about and so difficult when your so far away. All your info has helped out ALOT!!!!!

[AlmostMrsForbes]

I'm glad you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm sure it was nice to relax after all the wedding stuff. We had a really good one, as well - although lots of traveling.

 

So far, we have about 30 guests confirmed, although that could jump in the coming months - way more than I thought! I guess we are going to have an open bar, and are working on the menu. I'm having a hard time cutting it down. We have to offer a steak option because my dad and my brothers are kind of meat and potato guys - but I don't want to limit it and not offer people all the delicious jamaican/italian food.

 

So, I think we've decided to offer 3 appetizers (shrimp, conch, and mozzarella) - Eva said they could set it up like stations so that people could enjoy during cocktail hour. Then, we'll limit the salad options and offer all of the dinners. I will still plan to make my own menus, though.

 

How was the wedding cake that they got for you? Did you give them any input on what you wanted?

 

We are still having our wedding @ the Riu. We're going to do the Beach Gazebo location. The ceremony will be at 2, and then the reception at Evita's will start around 5:30 or so. I'm also planning to hire an off-site photographer from Jamaica (Brian Design - Photography & Website Design by Brian Nejedly - Ocho Rios, Jamaica) - so I still have to work that out.

 

Eva hooked us up with travel arrangements ... I'm assuming it's Lee's. I think we're going to use them (based on your glowing rec) for our trip to the resort, as well as for my brother and sister-in-law (since they'll be traveling with an infant).

 

Sorry so long ... I'm becoming completely obsessed with this place!

[twinkletoes]

Mo - Awesome Awesome review!

 

I have a few questions for you I hope you dont mind answering. Here goes:

 

1. I saw you chose the Royal Wedding Package. (Included is a candlelight dinner and cake) Since you had your reception off-site, did you negotiate the package price or substitute in place of those things?

 

2. How much did you have to pay for your trial updo?

 

3. Did the minister read the sand ceremony or someone else?

 

4. After the ceremony and pics, did you and your hubby arrive separately to Evita's or with your guests? How long was the wait in between after the ceremony and arriving at Evita's? (For you and your guests) And did someone announce you when you arrived at the restaurant?

 

5. From your pics it looks like Evita's has inside and outside seating. Did you guys only sit on the inside?

 

6. I saw you did a TTD session. Is it safe to assume you did this after your reception?

 

7. Oh, did the resort have the beach party while you were there? If so, what day was it?

 

Ok, I think I've asked enough questions for one day. Thanks!