traceysteve

Love, love, love the Westin!! Darienne was amazing, she took care of everything. If you have any questions, PM me. Have fun, excellent choice!!

We actually changed to an AI resort, but since I was already in the process of planning with the Westin, we stayed at the RIU and had the wedding at the Westin. We ended up getting such a great deal, it worked out less than if we didn't go AI.

I agree!! Make the best of it. Aruba was amazing, the weather was perfect, food fantastic, and the people helpful. Island time is special, but I found I adapted once we landed. Was really not bothered by much, even when my cake almost took a header...meh...whatever, I'm married now, was pretty much all I was thinking. All of the things I thought would piss me off, didn't...shocking really, because I was so irritable before we left! Please PM me if you guys have any questions. There were little things I didn't think about until the week before, like place card holders...duh! You need them in Aruba to hold the place cards down...literally.Try not to get stressed out, have fun, get married!

I agree! Prepare for the indifference!! People didn't care that I was carrying a wedding dress, and travelling with a group of 45. Plus, keep in mind, there may be other brides on your flight as well. My little tip for you, tape the straps to the hanger, that was almost the death of me, every time I picked up my dress, it was pooled at the bottom of the garment bag.

hahaaa!! thanks! It was fantassssstic! wouldn't change a thing! For the music though, I rented the sound system that they had available, it was $250, but I can't remember if it was flat or $250/hour...more than likely by the hour. It was great. Someone on another thread was talking about this app called my wedding dj, and I actually bought an ipod touch just to take advantage of this $5 app. Let the resort provide the dock though, it is well worth the money in the end, not having to worry about it. If there is anything I can help you with, PM me, obviously, no need to be on this site much anymore....am having withdrawal though

we went with ipod and hook up, and it worked out better than I thought it would. our guest were able to go up and skip a song if they liked, and i didn't care because I had at least an extra hour of music.

I told the wc at the westin that I would steam it myself, she gladly brought the steamer up for me

I loved this so much, I found it all useful, here is mine: THINGS I WOULDN'T CHANGE - 6 month engagement - OOT bags, as much as I got caught up in buying stuff for the bags (actually obsessed) everybody loved them, the Bubbas were handy, nobody at the resort had them, and in Aruba, it's soo windy that everyone's plastic cups kept blowing into the pool. The extra sunscreen definitely came in handy. - we delivered most of the bags the week before we left, very impromptu drop ins, this alleviated the stress of me trying to figure out how I was going to transport things. - staying at the RIU, and having the wedding at the Westin...I love the Westin. - not upgrading my room, ours was fantastic, and because I have 2 boys from a previous marriage, we were on the ground floor, close to the pool. - I decided last minute to have my hair done and I wanted it off of my face, it was sprayed and super sprayed, did not budge in the wind. - opted against the veil, especially for aruba. - parasols and sandlewood fans were amazing, the pics with the parasols look sooooo good. - we bought post cards and used those as a guest book, my original intent was to self address them and stamp them and ask our guests to mail them, but I forgot my address labels. The Westin provided a plain white wooden box and had the postcards in a tray with some pens, and everyone knew to sign and put them in the box. We grabbed them and read them the next morning. - having the wedding at the Westin, meant having more control because we were paying for everything, pretty much anything we wanted, they made happen. Dinner was great, best steak of my life, and the dessert was to die for. - I loved my Kate Spade MR & MRS cake knife and server that I had personalized...it looked fantastic. - I tied the rings together with some purple ribbon that I had so that they wouldn't get lost (more so mine wouldn't get lost, it's tiny) the photographer loved it took pics of it. - glad I didn't get too involved with DIY projects, because the last 2 weeks before we left was so ridiculously crazy busy, that I barely found time to pack. - I used the urban decay eye primer and make up setter...make up stayed put all night, and I have super greasy eyelids so that is THE primer to use. - the Burberry tie, as expensive as it was, looked so great. - small wedding party, having only a best man and maid of honor, and my two boys at the altar, great, easy to organize. - getting married a couple of days after being there ensured that I had a great tan going on, made sure to wear strapless bikinis until after the wedding to avoid tan lines, and sunscreened myself, especially my face, to avoid burning. - once we arrived, was not stressed about annnnyyything, didn't care if at all, was all zen. - didn't plan any excursions for ourselves, but managed to send the kids off on one.It was so great hanging out on the beach or by the pool, I didn't want to do anything, I didn't even want to shop! - paid for the sound system to hook up my ipod. - finally figured out how to use the wedding dj app..duhhhh - we only used the bottom layer of the cake, but there are 9 of us that are 40 this year, so we had a little birthday party with the top. THINGS I WOULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY - duh. forgot to pack myself a OOT bag, which meant the extra sunscreen would have been handy for us as well, but I had put mini bath and bodyworks candles in them, they would have come in handy in the room, it was just a bit musty in that climate. - not have dinner on the beach..too windy, sand was everywhere, stuck to you, in your drinks, food, etc. nice thought though. - wish I had done a basket with flip flops for some of the guests, wouldn't have done for everyone, but some of the women showed up in heels, thought I told everyone that flip flops were mandatory, maybe I would have even put that on the invite. - forgot my thank you cards that I was going to use for the wedding planner, etc. - actually pretty much forgot all of the stuff I had ordered from Vistaprint really early on. - last of all....wish I didn't have to come back

I flew with WestJet, and going, they didn't care, were not helpful...all I kept thinking was that I'll have to steam it the day of anyways. I was getting frustrated because it kept falling off of the hanger, coming home, I taped the ribbon hanging thingys to the hanger, and that was much better, and they offered to store my dress for me. Just be prepared for nobody caring that you're getting married, I was kinda surprised.

these are mine

Aruba is AMAZING!! I can't rave enough about it. The majority of our group stayed at the RIU, but we had the wedding at the Westin, which is right next door. The Westin is awesome...they treated us like gold. They arranged for transportation for us to and from the airport. We did see 2 weddings at the RIU, they were small, but nice. It was definitely worth the money.

Thanks Manda!! It's already pretty far on the list, so I'm not worried And Torilynn...I KNOW!!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKK! We keep telling everyone, we have a couple of days to get out of our drunken stupor before it all goes down hill!!!!

Torilynn, I don't even know what I would do without you on here!!! You are my online BFF!!!

Awwww....thanks so much Nikadawn. This looks like the biggest crisis, so I'm not really that worried. I did think of a back up plan though, someone gave me a little blue shoe charm when my youngest son was born with his name and birthday on it. I'm soo exhausted and have very low tolerance for people right now, so this was the tipping point for sure! Meh, whatever isn't done, isn't done. Who cares at this point, right? That was the whole point of going away!!! I may go over to Victorias secret on my lunch though, just to see.

Annie, if you're going to the states, I noticed, while I was in line at walmart (or target) that they sell 2 packs of advil (shoot, or was it tylenol..i'm really sorry, I can't remember) of the 10 cts for $3.97, don't stress about finding them here, you'll get them in the states for sure. As well as, in dollartree they had boxes of 3 pack (2 ct) advil and tylenol for $1

Brenners, I've got it going...woo hoo!! And yes, the thought did cross my mind, I have two sons, 10 and 12, and they are very into computer geekery! Once you download the app, you need to create your playlists in itunes, then sync your ipod, that's where you move it into the app...duhhhh...now that i've figured out, I really do think I'm mentally challenged, but, I am absolutely sleep deprived, so that's almost the same thing!! Only one more work day...PM me if you have trouble with it.

Thanks Torilynn, you rock, great idea. I was just so pissed, I didn't want anybody else to fall victim. I can't believe we're leaving this sunday!! Eeeekkk! I'm sure I'll have some tips for you guys when I get back.

ETSY BEWARE!!! DO NOT ORDER THIS FROM JESSICA RAE JEWELLERY! I emailed her before ordering and she said there would be no problem I should receive this by the week of Aug 21st. I paid via paypal on July 6th, have sent 3 emails, no response...and now, I don't have something blue I leave on sunday, and am way too busy to find something.

Pucca, I think I may love you, but it depends on me getting this stupid app to work! I have even been emailing their support - not that supportive grrrr...I'm only 9 days away...eeek! And 6 days before I leave...double eeeekkkk!! But, good luck on your dissertation...wowza!! You are crazy! And, I don't have a Mac laptop either, so maybe that's what is contributing to my retardedness? Brenners, thanks for the love! I swear if I get this thing going, I will help you when I get back!! If I don't stab myself in the eye first!

We decided on Michael Kors watches for our MOH and BM, very small wedding party

Let's see if I can remember: we did a buffalo trip on the weekend and found bubbas in the clearance section, so all of the guys got the big ones 52 oz, and the girls got 32 oz, kids over 7 got 18 oz bath and bodyworks hand sanitizer body wash sunscreen kleenex first aid kits pen mints aloe gel - avon mini candles - bath and body works little face cloths for the kids, that you put in water and they expand or something equally silly from dollar tree dive toys for kids - 3 pk/$1 notepads for the kids little bags for the kids from the children's place - very cute it's crazy, and honestly if I wasn't leaving on Sunday, there probably would have been more stuff, it's taken all of my energy not to try to think of everything, but now I don't care as much! Hahaa!

Ha! We shoulda planned a meeting! Can you imagine? Our FI's would have lost it!!

Ha! I was there on friday, at the one near Walden Galleria, I think that's Walden Ave. They had the 18 oz ones in the camping section...oh yeah, forgot to mention that! I did check in one of the TJ maxx's, they didn't have any.

Ladies...have to share!! If anyone is planning a trip to the states, do it soon. I was planning on getting a couple of bubbas for our families because they've never travelled AI, so they wouldn't know to bring their own travel mugs...bubba's were 1/2 price! The large ones, 52 oz, I think, were $5, the med 32 oz $4 and the small 18 oz, were $3!! Crazy!! Needless to say we cleaned out one of the Walmart's in Buffalo, bought 38 in total. We even found another Walmart, drove all the way there, and couldn't find them anywhere, so do your google research before you go...definitely worthwhile. As a result, we will be running around all week delivering our bags, because there is no way I can fit 38 bubbas into my luggage! What actually worked out really well, is that I have 6 boys coming with us between the ages of 8-13, so I didn't want to do anything too babyishe for them, I fit their stuff right into the bubba and wrote their names on the tag. It broke my heart, because somehow I miscounted and had to grab 2 more today from crappy tire...BOO!! They were the 20 oz size, $13!! but, a bit different than the walmart ones.

Pucca!! I bought the Wedding DJ app a while ago, but my wedding seems to be sneaking up on me, I can't figure out how to use it!! You can answer honestly....am I retarded? I can't open the app on my laptop, and I can't do anything with it on my ipod. Is there a secret? Please help!!! Man, I need to drink more!!