*The official Aruba Brides CHAT thread*

[Bryan Morris]

Do you want to buy this and have them ship it over fr you? I'm sorry to break to you but that won't happen. This is island. I wish I know exactly what you were talking about and I could go down and get it for you and mail it or Fedex it to you. Can you by any chance take a picture of what you're referring to and then I can go out and see if I can find it or something similar.

 

Peace,

 

Bryan Morris
 

Originally Posted by Mmack 

Thanks Bryan for responding. Last September when I was in Aruba I bought 2 ornaments from a souveneir shop at the Market Place at the Renaissance Hotel. Something like a palm tree, someone under it, etc. Something cute I guess. Any idea where I could get those??

[babigirl21]

I've been on the site now for about two months and this has been such a helpful site.  We have heard nothing but great reviews about Aruba and wanted to have our wedding somewhere different.  We are looking at August 2011 (the month we met and began dating) and we had the whole hurricane season in mind when we decided that Aruba would be a nice fit.  Initially we thought the RIU would be nice but after our recent stay at the RIU Montego Bay we decided that their beds are way too hard, they do not offer real premium alcohol (we are drinkers), the food was just average, and their wedding locations are not private at all.  

 

Reading this thread has been really helpful in narrowing down our choice to the Renaissance for our wedding and ceremony.  It would be a truly unique experience for all.  Now we just have to get a price quote for rooms and see if it is feasible to have our guests stay there.  The great thing is that we do not have to necessarily stay there to have our wedding there so our guest can have options if they chose to stay at different resorts.  I'm hoping to at least get solid rates from the Ren which includes breakfast daily for guest that way they can venture out for lunch and dinner to experience Aruba.

 

For all the Renaissance brides, generally what price did you pay for the ceremony/reception side based on your guest number?  I see there are packages but they are mainly for the ceremony and maybe a cocktail hour.  I'm trying to get an idea of how much it would cost for the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception for under 60 people.  I would like to keep my wedding budget at under $10,000 (not including our travel).  Also, did anyone receive the free honeymoon deal? 

 

[Mmack]

Hey Sherr! any pictures to share?? who was your photographer?

[hat0112]

Hi everybody! This thread hasn't been too active lately, but I had a question for those of you who had travel to Aruba and brought food/snacks with you.

 

We leave in 22 days and we are bringing all of the OOT bag items with us and checking it at the airport. We are bringing mini alcohol bottles, chips, mints, and chocolate among other things. If you total all the alcohol bottles it doesn't exceed the customs regulations, but what about food? Will we have an issue bringing it in? I can't find any regulations on it.

 

Thanks!

 

 

babigirl21 - Sorry I am getting married at the Westin. And there was no free honeymoon deal.

[AnnCam2011]

 

 

Originally Posted by babigirl21 

 

I've been on the site now for about two months and this has been such a helpful site.  We have heard nothing but great reviews about Aruba and wanted to have our wedding somewhere different.  We are looking at August 2011 (the month we met and began dating) and we had the whole hurricane season in mind when we decided that Aruba would be a nice fit.  Initially we thought the RIU would be nice but after our recent stay at the RIU Montego Bay we decided that their beds are way too hard, they do not offer real premium alcohol (we are drinkers), the food was just average, and their wedding locations are not private at all.  

 

Reading this thread has been really helpful in narrowing down our choice to the Renaissance for our wedding and ceremony.  It would be a truly unique experience for all.  Now we just have to get a price quote for rooms and see if it is feasible to have our guests stay there.  The great thing is that we do not have to necessarily stay there to have our wedding there so our guest can have options if they chose to stay at different resorts.  I'm hoping to at least get solid rates from the Ren which includes breakfast daily for guest that way they can venture out for lunch and dinner to experience Aruba.

 

For all the Renaissance brides, generally what price did you pay for the ceremony/reception side based on your guest number?  I see there are packages but they are mainly for the ceremony and maybe a cocktail hour.  I'm trying to get an idea of how much it would cost for the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception for under 60 people.  I would like to keep my wedding budget at under $10,000 (not including our travel).  Also, did anyone receive the free honeymoon deal? 

 

We are strongly considering the Renaissance for our March 2011 wedding. I am about ready to fax in the request form, just need to know a few more details before we are ready. We are inviting around 60 people and are trying to keep our budget as low as possible since we are paying for everything ourselves. Our good friend is a wedding photographer and he did a wedding at the Ren a few years ago. I told him we had considered it and his opinion was that you can't find a better location to have a wedding than on the private island. Nice to hear this from a seasoned traveler and wedding photographer! I told him we were considering not paying the extra cost to be able to stay out on the island till 11pm, and maybe hold the reception back on the mainland. He said it is worth the money to have the reception on the island, that no one will have ever been to a wedding (and maybe never again go to one) where everything was as private and secluded. I like that aspect of it, just time to crunch numbers to be sure it can happen!

 

[VA_Bride]

OK, I have a question.  My fiance is Dutch and is a pretty hard negotiator.  What is the expectation in Aruba regarding this and wedding planning?  I agree that some of the fees are pretty hefty for our small group (set up fee is set even though we only have a small number of people) but overall I am very pleased with the coordinator and the resort.  I don't want to be a pain in the butt or offend them, but is it the norm to expect some negotiating room?

 

Thanks for your thoughts!

[Sheree10]

Whooo Hooo! I know you must be excited!!!

 

I brought snacks for our oots bags and had no problems getting them down there.  I gave my mother some to carry and put some in my luggage.

I took the smaller snacks out of boxes and placed in large ziploc bags to make it easier to pack and sort.

 

 

Originally Posted by hat0112 

Hi everybody! This thread hasn't been too active lately, but I had a question for those of you who had travel to Aruba and brought food/snacks with you.

 

We leave in 22 days and we are bringing all of the OOT bag items with us and checking it at the airport. We are bringing mini alcohol bottles, chips, mints, and chocolate among other things. If you total all the alcohol bottles it doesn't exceed the customs regulations, but what about food? Will we have an issue bringing it in? I can't find any regulations on it.

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

babigirl21 - Sorry I am getting married at the Westin. And there was no free honeymoon deal.

[Sheree10]

 

Originally Posted by Mmack 

Hey Sherr! any pictures to share?? who was your photographer?

I have a few pictures in my profile.  Still no pro pics yet

 

We had a wonderful photographer, Victor Winklaar.

 

How is the planning coming along? Are you definately getting married at the Ren.? when?

[hat0112]

I am! I'm almost in shock that I leave in 3 weeks.

 

Thanks for responding! If you brought enough snacks for 60 people and were ok, then I should be find with what I am bring for my 10!

 

Originally Posted by Sheree10 

Whooo Hooo! I know you must be excited!!!

 

I brought snacks for our oots bags and had no problems getting them down there.  I gave my mother some to carry and put some in my luggage.

I took the smaller snacks out of boxes and placed in large ziploc bags to make it easier to pack and sort.
 

[AnnCam2011]

Hat0112: are you getting married at the Renaissance??