We recently returned from our dream wedding and vacation at the Divi Aruba All-Inclusive and we couldn’t have ever imaged the trip would be as amazing as it was!!! I have always wanted to have a destination wedding so did not waste any time researching as soon as we got engaged. I pretty much researched every island and hotel in the Caribbean. We ended up selecting the island of Aruba based on the fact that it is a relatively small and very safe island. Most importantly for me, it hardly ever rains in Aruba which was my biggest fear – I had always dreamed of having my wedding right on the beach and rain could really hinder that. Aruba did not disappoint! It was ABSOLUTELY perfect weather the entire time we were there except the very last night, after 8pm we had rain. When it came to hotel selection, I knew we wanted to do an All-Inclusive since we were traveling with a group of 44 friends and family – I just really wanted it to be a stress-free, fun trip for all. Other all-inclusive resorts on the island I considered were the Rui and Occidental Grand. While both of these looked nice, they are in the high-rise section while the Divi is in the low-rise sections. We did visit them while were there and I was so pleased we choose the Divi in the low-rise. The high-rise section beaches are crowded and feel a bit more like South Beach in Miami compared to the HUGE, beautiful, spacious, never crowded beach at the Divi and Tam. We had an ocean front room but many of our guests had garden view and were still literally steps from the gorgeous beach and ocean. Make no mistake, this is not the Ritz Carlton - some of the rooms smell a bit musty and are in need of some renovations – which they are in the process of doing now - so if you are picky about your room, I suggest booking the Oceanfront Lanai rooms which my mom stayed in and are new and very nice. We however, spent as little time as possible in our room because we did not want to be anywhere but on that beach!!

As for the wedding day, I could write a novel but it was simply perfect! My bridesmaids and I had a nice breakfast and headed over to the salon where we all got our hair and make-up done. They did a great job and even hand-picked flowers for right outside for some of my bridesmaids up-dos. After that we had a break for lunch and met our photographers, Cassandra and Mark with Crooze Photography, at the Bunker Bar where we took such cute, islandly photos. Cassandra and Mark were AMAZING!!! We could not have asked for better photographers and everyone who sees our photos cannot believe that the back drop is even real! They are priced a bit higher than others you may find on the island but if photography is important to you, which it really was for us, please trust me that they are well worth it!! They posted 44 pictures the morning after the wedding on facebook. Typically you don’t even get to see any pictures until months after. This was great because it allowed our guest at home who couldn’t make it to feel like they were part of it.

 The ceremony was held right on the beach in front of the Sandpiper Bar and the reception followed after in the same area. It was truly perfect from start to finish. Some people worry about the wind in Aruba but we were appreciative of it because it helped with the heat. It was the most beautiful location for a ceremony I could have ever asked for. We had the reception right on the beach as well and used the Sandpiper Bar area for drinks and the buffet. For the dance floor, they patted down the sand for us. I was nervous about this but read a review from another destination wedding that said “you have the rest of your life to dance on the floor – dance on the beach.” I am so glad we did! Although it was a nice workout by the end of the night, all of our guests had a blast and it really added to the beach atmosphere. The DJ was great and listened to our requests, bartenders and servers were great and the food was excellent – the best we had all week!!! The Coconut Grouper was favored by all but there were tons of other options as well (and we choose the lowest tier of the buffet packages). Immediately after the wedding ending everyone ran into the ocean (yes, in their clothing) – it was a blast!

From the beginning of the planning until our post-wedding meeting after, we worked with Aruba Weddings for You which is on-site. I worked mostly with Alliene de Jong and also communicated with Inge during the planning and Mandy who assisted Alliene the day of the wedding. They were all fabulous!!!  Please know that these ladies are busy and you will not always get a response within the same day or even week. However, trust that the day of will be absolutely wonderful. There was nothing these ladies were not willing to do for us - including our request for Peanut Butter & Jelly cake which I truly did not expect a yes on! We brought a whole bunch of decorations with us, which Alliene and Mandy happily set up for us the day of (the setting is so beautiful you do not need much). During our pre-wedding meeting the day before we went over everything in detail and it really put me at ease that we were in good hands. We didn’t have the centerpieces figured out until the day before when Alliene went through the storage unit and found some nice vases which she cleaned for us and filled with sand and flowers. They turned out beautifully. Alliene and Mandy were also there from about 1pm on the day of the wedding, through the entire ceremony and reception, and after to clean up and store our things for us until the post wedding meeting. They truly made everything seamless and although they told me afterwards that there were a few minor hick-ups I had absolutely no idea, nor did my guests, on the day of the wedding. As I was walking down the aisle, I let Mandy and Alliene know that two people we had met on the Jolly Pirate Ship the day before (a MUST do snorkeling/rope swing excursion!!) and extended invites to had shown up and we needed two more chairs – they accommodated without hesitation!

We had the wedding at the beginning of the week and stayed at the Divi for another 5 nights after, along with most of our guests. We had the time of our lives! It is a great resort for all ages! Some reviewers discuss the dinner reservations being a problem but we never had any issues – they accommodated 40 of us one night in the Red Parrot for a pre-wedding dinner at no extra charge and other nights we made reservation of 14, 8, you name it, they accommodated us. Although this was my first all-inclusive, others in our group had traveled to Mexico, Punta Cana, and other islands and said the food was the best of all the AI’s they had stayed at. You can also drink the water straight from the tap. No horror stories of people getting sick from food or water!!

I could go on and on but this review will get even longer than it already is. Aruba weddings for you has my contact information and permission to give it to any other Bride’s who would like more information or to see more pictures from me. I found it hard to find reviews from others when planning so am happy to be a resource for future Divi brides. Please contact Aruba Weddings for You and ask them to put you in contact with me if you would like to hear more! Here are teasers from our photographers: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.547405185329210.1073741914.166676893402043&type=3

Thank you Divi Aruba! We WILL be back someday soon!