We were mostly pleased with their work and have some wonderful pictures from the wedding that we love. There were only a couple disappointments in that certain photos we wanted were not taken and there seemed to be many more photos of the groom solo and with his groomsmen than there was of the bride and her bridesmaids before the wedding. Since there were two photographers, I'd recommend making sure that each of them is taking equal amounts/varieties of photographs (1 with the guys and 1 with the girls), rather than 1 taking a lot with their group and the other one only taking a few with theirs. They were very nice, high energy, and great fun to work with.. our guests loved them as well. We happen to be very organized so everything worked out fine, but for couples who may not be as detail-oriented, there were a few times when we really had to follow-up or initiate contact before the wedding just to confirm that all the details were set before the wedding because we hadn't heard from them. We would definitely recommend them, however we'd just encourage you to be very organized and explicit about exactly what you want and when you want it.
After doing a run through of my make-up for the wedding I realized I would have to do my make-up on my own. They had a very sad, paltry collection of products, and mismatched brands at that. Not what you'd expect from a salon in a high-end resort. It almost seemed as if they literally had clients leave their own personal products there in the past and they just added them to their "collection." They really didn't have a wide selection of colors, and didn't even have things that would seem like obvious staples for a resort that hosts many weddings, such as waterproof mascara. As for my hair I was overall pleased with the style, but again the products seemed very low quality. The hairspray they used was not a brand name (ordinarily wouldn't matter, but at the Ritz and on an important day I think high-end products are in order, and this hairspray looked like the kind that would be the cheapest available at any drug store) and by the end of the night the hairspray literally melted and was disgusting and sticky in my hair. Given the humidity of Jamaica, they should have been much better prepared with skill and products that could combat frizz, heat, and at the very least not have your hairspry melt into a sticky mess. This part was disappointing, the Ritz should really do better.
The Aqueduct (ceremony location) is located on the property of the Rose Hall Resort, and their wedding coordinator is named Charline Henry. Charline is phenomenal. She is fun, professional, very knowledgable, and you can count on her to do the things she promises. Planning a wedding from so far away can be nerve-wracking, and Charline was one of the few people who actually made you feel confident that you would get what you asked for, and things would be taken care of properly. Thanks to Charline, the ceremony, and cocktail hour afterwards, went off without a hitch.
Being an interfaith couple it was important to us to find someone that could combine both jewish and christian elements. Stephen has a lot of experience in this area, and is one of the only people on the island who can officiate a jewish wedding. He was very responsive and helpful, and was also very warm, personable, and fun to work with. Our families and the guests came to love him as well even for the short time they had with him. He was a pleasure to work with and we'd definitely recommend him.
The flowers were gorgeous and overall I'd recommend them. The only reason I gave them 3 stars is because the colors came in a little differently than they were supposed to, which resulted in them having to re-do the bouquets.. which then resulted in us having to take some of the critical pictures without our flowers because we were running out of time before the ceremony. Despite having gone over the color scheme extensively on several occasions, they brought in purple instead of reds (when purple was never discussed) and it resulted in a last minute scramble to try and 'fix' them. Ultimately my bouquet was mostly fixed, but there was not enough time to fix all the bridesmaids' bouquets sufficiently. Aside from the bouquets though, the flowers and table settings at the reception were GORGEOUS, and styled just how we wanted them and so I would definitely recommend them. It was just the unfortunate issue of color in the bouquets, and the domino effect that caused on the photos, that was disappointing.
I cannot say enough positive things about CaribbeanJourney and the company's owner, Laura Sangster. Laura is a Caribbean travel expert with years of experience and helped plan our wedding from the very beginning choosing the location up until the end of our honeymoon. She helped plan and coordinate all of our guests' travel, she helped negotiate terms with the hotels and other planners, and she gave frequent advice and recommendations based on years of expertise that made all the difference in our event. Laura served as our guide in this unchartered journey and she always did it in a responsive, professional, and friendly manner. She is amazing and I would recommend anyone considering an event in the Caribbean to contact her right from the start.