MajikDreams

Hi everyone! Been a long time since I've been here. My BFF just got engaged and decided she wants to have a DW in Aruba. She's been looking into the Renaissance, but isn't finding too many reviews on it. I did a search and all I'm finding here is pretty outdated. I'm trying to navigate around the boards, but it looks really different from when I was here last - nearly 5 years ago. Can someone link me to some current information available or hook my up with some brides also considering Renaissance Aruba? Thanks so much and happy planning!

Hey everyone (and Sascha!) This was my shoot and let me tell you, it was amazing! Sascha was absolutely awesome to work with - he made it so easy for us. There was no rigid directions or forced shots, it was all very natural. He made sure we were completely comfortable and played off our abilities. Sascha came to meet us the night before the wedding to discuss all the little details and the day of went exactly as planned. He was on time and knew exactly the shots I wanted/needed without me having to say a word. His assistant was shooting with Peter for his "getting ready" shots and we are equally as pleased with his work. I cannot say enough wonderful things about Sascha. We knew our pictures had to be smashing, and they absolutely were =) I've said this before and I will say it again... Hiring Sascha was probably the best wedding-related decision we made because those pictures will be ours for a lifetime. -Cristina Jacqueline

Quote: Originally Posted by SunBride Great! Some people post it in this thread, but it can be hard to find later (even if I provide the link, sometimes it just links to the first page). It's better if you start a new thread (also, then other from not from DT can see it too). Start a new thread in this sub-forum Wedding Reviews - Best Destination Wedding Forum You can call it "Denise L's Dreams Tulum review - April 2009" or something like that. Sunbride - can I just copy and paste from my Word doc? I'm almost finished with my review. Also, how do I post pictures and where should I post them? With the review? Sorry for the questions... and look! I think I have a siggy ! =)

guess what I'm doing right now at work.... writing my review

Quote: Originally Posted by Denise L It really was an AWESOME day. I really did like the makeup...it was just under my eye where it looked too cakey and on my nose that had already started to peel...woops! We watched so many weddings it's crazy! Where was yours What were your colours? Everyone was really happy with their hair...they did an awesome job considering two of by BM have shorter hair. Did you come home right after the wedding? Wasn't the food and everything amazing! I can't say enougth about it and the staff! Haha - I started to peel too!! My wedding was the next day and my girls wore long pink dresses. My dress was a big glitsy pouf =) We had the reception in the convention center, cocktail hour on the terrace by the chapel and ceremony of course on the beach. As for our hair experience, we all wound up LOVING our hair HOWEVER, we had to teach the Trinidad what we wanted. We wanted BIG hair and we all have superlong hair and she just didn't know wear to start. The first 'do was my MOH and all she did was basically put it in a side pony and curled the bottom. We were like 'oh, helllll no!' and made her do it over again. By the time she got to my hair, she had the idea. We're boufant (sp?) kinda girls When we were done, Carlos, the spa manager took 900000 pictures of us =) We just came home on Saturday - we stayed a week after the wedding. The place was absolutely amazing and not just because we got married there. We honestly can't stop talking about how freakin' awesome it was. The staff at that hotel should win nobel peace prizes. And now we all keep saying "It's my pleasure." hhehhee For photography, we used Sascha Gluck. He was friggin' amazing - we loved him and our pictures are phenominal. Once I get the DVD I'll post them, for now I just have teasers on my home Mac.

Quote: Originally Posted by Denise L Hey!! Yes we were running a bit late! Too bad we couldn't have met there! So crazy how many weddings there was! Yep that was definitley me at the disco....my dress was filthy but I refused to take it off!!! That's so funny - you looked beautiful. Your mom actually warned me that you weren't 100% thrilled by the way they did your makeup, so we actually taught Trinidad how to do it when it was time for mine the next day. My MOH and I are both cosmetology teachers =) You looked beautiful - loved your dress =) You probably saw us too!

Quote: Originally Posted by Denise L That's exactly what we did...had a playlist and the guy just showed Kirk how to work it and left it for us. It was really easy and in reality we had it playing from 6:30 until 10:30 and the battery was fine.....I don't think the battery charges when it is plugged into the system but you're battery won't go dead in that short of time. Hey Denise - I think I saw your wedding =) And I'm pretty sure I met your mom in the salon day of (if she was running late, it was her). I was married the day after you. We're you partying with your girls on stage after your wedding at the club?

Quote: Originally Posted by christie_danielle This might sound like a silly question, but I'm just wondering...drinks are complimentary at the reception, right? (Being that DT is an all-inclusive resort). How does it work exactly? Is there an open bar set up at the reception or do guests need to go out to one of the hotel bars to get drinks? Thanks! Christina Not a silly question.... easy answer though. During your reception, where ever you decide to have it, there will be plenty of waiters ready to serve you at any time. They will be the bar runners - your guests simply order.

Quote: Originally Posted by rachelannmartin Well ladies we finally received our wedding video from the resort and I cried...it was AWEFUL! Not only can you NOT hear what anyone is saying because the music is SO LOUD....but they didn't even record MY vows?!? Only my husbands, what is up with that? So ladies, words of advice ensure you talk to the videographer (Fabio) prior to him leaving. I have emailed him twice and also sent Natalia an email. I have no problem paying for another DVD but seriously, wanna hear my vows on my wedding video...is that soooo much to ask for? Grrrrr.... I completely understand - ours' isn't horrible, but it's definitely not good either. It's recorded in wide-screen and EVERYONE looks like they're 1000000 lbs. The only thing I can say is that it is pretty funny - it's definitely something to laugh about. My MOH is in the background of a close up of 1/2 my face and all you see is her mouthing "What the F*ck" It's hysterical and so blatent. ADVICE TO FUTURE BRIDES: DO NOT USE RESORT VIDEOGRAPHER or PHOTOGRAPHER - we used an outside vendor for our photog and he was amazing. We used to resort photog for our Welcome dinner pics, because we did buy Ultimate Wedding Package and figured what the hell. They are ok, but not great.

Quote: Originally Posted by angruck im still on the fence about where i want the reception----has anyone had the reception in the ballrooms? I just want to make sure everyone will be comfortable. It feels more romantic on the beach but I want to let everyone have a chance to dance. Anyone else have these thoughts? HI! I just got home last night and I'm going to write a full review, but i just wanted to answer your question really quickly. We had the reception in the convention center (42 guests total). It was FRIGGIN awesome. I mean, REALLY awesome. We had the DJ set up on stage, the BIG room was cut in 1/2 and it was perfect for the amount of people we had. The convention center is beautiful, but very plain inside. My only advice is if you're doing it in there, bring decorations, because there aren't really any. Not even paintings on the wall. Once I get all my info together, I'll post a youtube video of it. We are VERY happy we had it there for a number of reasons. #1, the wind on the beach is unpredictable. #2, we had a big fat greek wedding, so if we had it near the pool, one of our guests would have definitely wound up in it #3, we wanted to be able to be loud and party like animals (which we did). #4 we wanted our party to run late if people we movin and grovin, which EVERYONE was =) It was friggin awesome. Hope that helped.

Hey Gina - I'll be there!! I'm leaving today - my wedding is on Saturday =)

I just want to say Eeek!!! I'm leaving Wednesday!! Woohoo!!

Sorry to post 3 in a row, but I was just wondering - what does DT do if it rains on your wedding day?? Forecast calls for rain on my day and we're going to have too many people for the chapel...

Oh My! That's so annoying - that happened to us to, so I feel ya! (AND, the person who just booked last week, JUST cancelled yesterday!!! HOW FRUSTRATING!)

Beautiful!