Congratulations on your upcoming marriage. I will do my best to describe our experience at "The Riu Ocho Rios".

If you read the website info, it tell you to have your paperwork at the resort 30 days before the wedding. That's it... no cost. Have you picked or booked a package yet?

This is my review of my daughters wedding in March/07

It's very detailed... sorry!

We arrived at the hotel late on Sunday night. The next day (keep in mind, I went & did everything with my daughter) we went to the front desk & asked to see Chandlyn Edwards (wedding co-ordinator). They said she was busy, but would give her a message .

We checked back later that day & she was there. She took us, the bride & groom & the grooms parents, to her office and sat down to go over the plans. Most of everything was booked well in advance of going there. She just wanted details, colors etc. and go over the extra's they wanted. We then went to the front desk & paid for it all.

They had The Royal Package booked (which included dinner at the Mammee Bay Steakhouse), then we added on the"Extras".

We got the Extra Flowers, Champagne for 50 people, The Steel Drum Band and The Disco for two hours (before it opened to everyone). That included the drinks, the DJ & the bartender.

Hair appointments were made before we went to Jamaica, at the Renova Spa on site.

We booked the photographer & the videographer on our own, the same day. There is a photo shop in the hotel. They are very nice. I highly recommend Ann. She was our photographer and did a great job. The video was beautiful as well. No regrets...

The day before the wedding, a time was set up to do a rehearsal. It only took about a half hour and went smooth & easy.

The wedding day, the girls went to the Renova Salon to get their hair done. Shannon (my daughter) had her make up done as well. The wedding was at 2:00 so our appointments started at 10:00 They did a great job there too. That was a main concern of Shannon's... she is very fussy about her hair. Just bring a picture.

After that, I made sure the girls had something to eat & lots of water, so no one got dehydrated. It was very hot & humid that day.

All the guests gathered in the lobby at 1:45. Shannon & the girls got dressed in my room on the "suite side" & the guys got dressed in a "standard" room. Chandlyn went to the lobby & escorted everyone down to the beach, to the ceremony site. Then the guys showed up & got into position. She then went to get the bride & girls. They walked down to the beach area and proceeded to walk to the site one at a time to meet with each of the guys, then walk in together... Then Shannon & her Dad walked in together.

The ceremony took about 15 minutes or so, then they walked over to sign the register, went back to the ceremony site & were presented the certificate from the minister & we all had campagne. It was a very beautiful wedding. All went well.

Then the photographer took everyone to the shoreline to take a group photo. Once that was done, everyone went their own way for awhile and the bride & groom, bridal party & family pictures were taken.That took about a half hour or so. Ann set up a time for us to meet with her to go over the photos the next day.

We then went to the lobby bar to have a drink & relax for a bit. We grabbed a piece of pizza at the Italian Restaurant for a snack...The dinner wasn't until 6:30, so we had some down time. That was really nice.

Dinner was set up nicely. They took the flowers from the ceremony & put them by the Bride & Grooms seats and had centerpieces all the way down the long table. We had 50 people, so it was set up as one long table with the bride & groom, bridal party & parents at one end. They served wine & beer. The menu had several different choices... chicken & steak were the most popular. They also had a salad bar that we could help ourselves at. Dinner was good, but took a very long time to come out. So, they opted to not have "the cake". It would have run into the Disco time, which was paid for. So it wasn't too big a deal.

We went to the disco & had the "First Dance", "The Bridal Party" dance & the "Parents" dance. We brought our own music & the dj played it for these three dances, then mixed up the rest after that, with his own music. A few speeches were made and then we had a great party.

Sorry I had to go on so long, but it is hard to descride in a brief way. It was a long day, but a very happy & beautiful one. The next day we went to see the photos & were very happy with them.The video wasn't done for a few days. It turned out very nice as well. We were pleased with it all.

This was "our" experience at the Riu Ocho Rios, Hope it helps.

To see the photos, I will email you the info... Take care & good luck with your wedding.

Bonnie

Hey Bonnie what a great post!!!!!

You sound like a very happy mother!!!!

I want to let you know how many brides you have just put at ease with your post!!!

I'm still getting married off site but, I really do appreicate you taking the time out and doing this for all of us!!!

Have a great day, melissa

I am a very proud & happy Mom. We know what it's like to be afraid of the unknown...

So I am glad to give information to those who need it. I also have beautiful photos if anyone wants to take a look, just leave me your email address...

Congratulations & good luck to all you "soon to be Brides"!!

Bonnie (Albertagal)

I would love to see your pictures!!!

hammond147@hotmail.com\

This will give us some ideas of what we want for pictures!!!

Thanks again!!

I too am looking to get married at Riu Ocho Rios in April 2008. I really appreciate Bonnie's post, as it helped put my stressful mind at ease. It sounded like a wonderful day! I would love to see pictures and would be interested to know in total, with all the extras, how much the wedding cost if you wouldn't mind. k_glatt@hotmail.com

Thanks Bonnie GREAT review!!!!! We also went with the royal package for our wedding in October and booked the disco for the party.

I stumbled on this post and is very grateful. I am getting married at the RIU in December and Bonnie your post was very helpful and put my mind at ease at least for now:)))

Hi,

I was married at ROR in April 2006, it's hard to believe that it's been over a year!

This was our first all-inclusive, so the novelty of that plus getting married was enough for it to be our best travel experience of our lives.

We arrived late on Saturday night and married on Monday at 4:00 p.m. On Sunday we met with Chandlyn and went over the details, chose the cake and paid.

There were 22 guests + us. We opted to upgrade the flowers, champagne, the photo package and the cake. We also had the steel band during our ceremony, which helped to entertain the guests while I pulled myself together. We also bought lapel flowers for all of our guests, as we didn't have any bridesmaids or ushers.

The best part was that people kept asking if we were nervous - how can you be, you're going for runs on the beach at 7:00am, sipping cocktails by noon....it was by a long shot the perfect way to tie the knot.

We had the hairdresser come up to our suite to do our hair as my mother-in-law is wheelchair bound.

The best tip I can give to any bride is to not select a traditional wedding dress. My dress was actually a strapless, cinderella-style bridesmaid dress and it was perfect. Not too bulky to travel with, not too heavy for the heat and humidity.

In hindsight, when you get married abroad, you can't really be picky as there are only a few options in your control.

Hey, Canada!!

Sounds like you had a great time in Jamaica!!

We are also getting married but, offsite with a private company!!

Married on Jan 11 2008 we can't wait.

Hey did you happen to bring any gifts for you family and friends that came with you?

If so can you please give me some ideas?

I would like to bring something to say thank you but, not sure what?

Thanks again and congrates on your wedding.

I did opt for a traditonal dress but, only because I wanted it to feel like I was in the moment, of getting married and because I have always wanted one when I got married. But, I could see how it would look great to have something that had color and looked summery....

Well anyways thanks again.

Do you recommend any certain pictures we should have done?

Just thought I would bump this post, due to a few emails I have received, looking for info.

Bonnie