RIU Wedding disappointment

[Lifes_a_Beach]

Rettie 2011-
Why is every negative review from us citizens!
Andrea J is correct we are both Canadians and not Americans, which is really not the issue at all but do understand where you are coming from.

I think your comments are unjustified and certainly dont constatute a full refund!
We are not looking for a full refund at all and wouldn’t expect that. At the end of our review it does say “to see if we could get a partial refund” so not too sure where you got the thought that we wanted a full refund. Too busy worrying about the important stuff like what country we were from I guess. Anyway, comments being justified or unjustified, we did not receive many parts of the package that we paid for so we would not expect that we be required to pay for that. Nobody in his or her right minds would want to pay that kind of premium for something and not get it. What we hope is that they will refund us the price difference between the Caprice Package that we already purchased, to the price of the Basic Package or at least in that area which we feel would be fair. It really all boils down to paying a high premium for a package and service and not getting what you paid for. If it was one of the resorts that offered a free wedding package and we took it…..well how can you complain, you get what you pay for….well you should anyway.

Constructive critisim would be good for future brides, not a step by step guide to your day and how bad it was… I cant see why we would want to know that the bride had trouble getting into her dress… as im sure she doesnt!

We did write the review with a lot of extra information including the civil ceremony details just to try and paint the whole picture of how the day went down offering our own opinions and thoughts and to let people form their own opinions as well from our whole experience. We realize that the Civil Portion isn’t part of the RIU. By the way, the bride herself put the dress fitting part in the story so I guess she didn’t mind.
You must have known the language barriers with the spa and men in Speedos on a the PUBLIC beach... you are visiting a foreign country and its very ignorant to think everyone should speak the english language well, this is their country not yours.
The language barrier was expected to a certain degree. If we were outside the Resort pretty much anywhere and someone wasn’t able to communicate in English that would be expected and most times kind of fun to try and figure it out. On the other hand, being an employee that works with the public on a resort that has a majority of it’s clientele speaking English you would think that they could at least comprehend enough to know that when someone pulls out a picture and points to the hairstyle they want you to do, that you can figure that much out. As for the fat people in thongs or speedos…..obviously they are expected to be on the beach but not jumping into the aisle to take pictures as the bride is walking down it and standing right by your side during the ceremony or even one review I read they actually sat down with the other guests. This is just plain rude and shows absolutely no common courtesy at all.

The fact that the bride was feeling rubbish all day is unfortunate but again, probably didnt help matters. Also, how would the the guests know how long she would take to come downstairs... seems like there was a lack of organisation and communication in the wedding party. Again, someone could have picked up the flowers from reception well before the bride came down
There wasn’t a lack of communication in the wedding party. The groom and his side of the wedding party along with the guests are supposed to meet in the lobby/lobby bar before the bride is ready. We were told to be there and we were there as directed. The problem is that the wedding planner said to go get another drink because we had plenty of time due to the dress issues. Not even 2 minutes later the bride in on her way down…..so I wouldn’t say the wedding party is the ones with the disorganization problem. Yes I suppose theoretically someone could have went down and spent time trying to track down Abigail to get the flowers earlier but it is common practice at any destination wedding to have the wedding planner either have the flowers brought up to the room where the bride is getting ready or bring them up herself. I have been in a couple other destination weddings on a couple different Caribbean islands and this indeed seems to be what is supposed to happen. Why have a wedding planner at all if we are going to send our guests around to do everything that she is getting paid to do? What if there is only a bride and a groom. Should the bride have to drag herself down to try and find her own flowers while she gets ready??

The only comments i can see that’s justifiable is the cake error and possibly the chairs.
These are our 2 biggest complaints from the events of the day. The cake is obvious and the fact that 4 of our guests had to stand throughout the ceremony is completely unacceptable. Especially after the number of chairs had been gone over at least 3 times prior. You may not think so apparently but maybe you won’t mind making the guests you have that came a long way stand out in the hot sun for your wedding when you have it….to each their own I suppose.

The breakfast rule is probably standard, regardless of you getting married and maybe should have been sorted out in advance.
I am not certain if this is standard or not but I still think that we should have been briefed by the wedding planner on the wedding package that we purchased as well as how the events of the wedding day are planned to go down. I did mention this to her afterwards as well as in the review as a constructive criticism and something to possibly do in the future to help alleviate any misunderstandings. She did however say when we talked to her, that she had ordered the breakfast and asked the front desk to have it sent up, then you go to the front desk and they say they were never told anything of the sort. Not a big deal at all and wouldn’t have cared at all if we didn’t pay for that in the package.

People from the US have such high standards that other countries will struggle to achieve that level as its not America you’re in its a Caribbean island. We are from the Uk and although we too have high standards, we also have civility and accept we are not at home and things might not be as we would expect but surely thats why you go on holiday?.... its the reason why we want a destination wedding ...to be different from your norm.
Both my wife and I have traveled extensively in the past (Just myself alone have been to all 7 continents at least 3 times including over 80 countries including living and working in the Caribbean for over a year), so we are very aware of what to expect when traveling abroad. My wife actually lived and worked in the UK for 2.5 years as well as myself being there numerous times. We think it is interesting on how you feel UK citizens are so much better than Americans and act civilly when abroad. This is the first time we have ever felt compelled to write a negative review after any trip or excursion.

ADVICE - if you want a top notch - super duper high calibre wedding, dont opt for a destination wedding, stay at home where you feel more comfortable!
Its sad that you have left on a sour note...unfortunately, with all weddings – be it home or away – there will always be something that doesn’t go to plan...even if its minor! FACT!
We were not at all expecting a “top notch-super duper high caliber” wedding. We just wanted something easy plus the fact that we both love to travel and scuba dive, we chose to do the destination wedding and carefully chose to do it in Aruba. We chose the RIU due to the fact that it offered great wedding packages and the resort itself had very good reviews. We also realize that there was likely to be some sort of problem during this adventure. It really all boils down to us feeling that the wedding planner really doesn’t care or put any pride into what she does as well as us not getting the service and items we indeed paid for.

We will ensure this review does not spoil my forthcoming wedding!
This review wasn’t meant to spoil anybody’s forthcoming wedding. It was meant to make people aware of the events of our day with hopes it improves for other newly weds. We also read all the reviews ahead of time as you are doing and we chose to think that people were just being catty or had too high of expectations. In hind sight we should have used them to be more prepared in the fact that it seems there are many inconsistencies in the weddings at the RIU with Abigail at the helm. For your sake I hope that you have her when she is on her A game. Good luck!

[gretch]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000]Lifes a Beach…I’m sorry you felt you had to justify your post. You shouldn’t have to. You were attacked unfairly and that’s not what this forum is all about.

Also, you are 100% justified in being upset with not getting what you paid for, no matter how small. You don’t buy a dishwasher, get it home and find out it does not have a motor and think to yourself…gee, the person who made this is only human, they are still learning, no big deal. No, you contact the store and get what you paid for…period.

[leighfrompoole]

the statement made that if : YOU ARE LOOKING TO GET MARRIED IN ARUBA WE STRONGLY SUGGEST GETTING MARRIED ELSEWHERE is a this not a slightly unfair attack also?

[Andrea J.]

Have respect for other opinions. If you disagree with someone, do not attack them personally. Try to make thoughtful comments about their opinion, perspective, assumptions, etc., but do not attack them personally. Everyone has an opinion based on a number of different factors, like their own personal experiences, values, etc. If someone disagrees with you, it is probably because they value one thing more than another. Attacking them does nothing but create anger and resentment. Discussing the values and perspective that underlies their opinions may increase your understanding and it may encourage them to see your perspective as well. Personal attacks are the tools of someone who probably doesn’t have a very good point to make, or of someone who holds a belief that has no foundation in reasoned thought.

[Andrea J.]

imo , no.
thread is closed.

Originally Posted by leighfrompoole

the statement made that if : YOU ARE LOOKING TO GET MARRIED IN ARUBA WE STRONGLY SUGGEST GETTING MARRIED ELSEWHERE is a this not a slightly unfair attack also?