*The official Aruba Brides CHAT thread*

[traceysteve]

hahaaaa...you are soooo funny!! I think I might love you!! thanks for the tips, especially with the booze, my friends will be happy to hear that. I'm so super excited, and I have also had enough of this winter, so I feel your pain....sigh, the countdown is on, this site has been both a blessing and a curse, great for ideas, but introduced all new things that I wasn't planning on...grrrrr to those super creative ladies. Obviously, everything went well for you, no crisis..thanks again, and if you think of anything, let me know. You rock!

Originally Posted by AnnCam2011 

The one thing I wanted to buy - is a knock off Coach wristlet. We found a cart/stand across the road from Sopranos piano bar. When we went back to the cart after dinner, it was closed and didnt get a chance to get back up there. If you come across it, pick me up one haha

 

[AnnCam2011]

No prob! Just let me know if you have any other questions. I started to panic about a week before we left because I felt like I was forgetting to do something. But the reason we chose a DW is so we wouldnt have to worry about details, etc. I feel the same way about this being a blessing/curse. Some girls just go way overboard with wedding stuff in general. Keep it simple, your friends and family will have a blast whether there is candles on the table or not. Trust me

 

Totally serious on the booze. Wish we would have thought of it when we landed to just buy it at the airport. Way better deal! You may even consider packing a bottle of something in with your luggage too. Soft sided cooler would have been helpful too. I was thinking way too much about the wedding than actually going on vacation. Didnt research things to do, places to eat - luckily our friends all looked into it!

 

Where/when are you getting married??

[mmcst38]

Hi ladies, I'm not getting married in Aruba but..decided to lurk over our thread because we went to Aruba last January stayed at the RIU Palace on Plam beac (right beside Westin)...OMG I love Aruba, would go back in a heart beat! Sopranos bar is so fun! Love the mexican restaurant in the little town square thing with all the shops such good food, we went on 2 excursions the snorkeling on catamaran awesome!!! and the natural pool jeep/landrover tour...defintiely an experience seriously scary though! You all picked a wonderful place to

get married congrats...Here are some pics

 

View from our room first pic

 

Riu and Westin from catamaran boat...fyi...cute jimmy buffet style bar at end of dock! Salsa calsses there at night!

!

[traceysteve]

thanks mmcst38! I love hearing the positive feedback about Aruba, makes me confident that we made the right choice, as blind as it may have been, since neither one of us has ever been there.

 

AnnCam2011, we are getting married on Aug 31, at the Westin...hopefully, waiting for the WC to get back to me with info to pay the deposit. Eeeee.....sooo excited!!

[risa1818]

Thank you AnnCam for all the great advice! I am happy to see this thread is picking up again...I feel like barely anyone posted on here earlier!

 

Tracey- When and where is your wedding? Mine is June 11th at The Manchebo. So far I am trying to book a place for our welcome/rehearsal dinner and have gotten some quotes from Pinchos, Matthew's and Yemanja Grill. Right now we are thinking of sticking with Matthew's but still not sure as of yet...

 

I have been to Aruba once before for a wedding, so please let me know if I can give you any advice or suggestions!

 

Beautiful pics mmcst! I am glad you loved Aruba

[risa1818]

Tracey I just where your wedding is...sorry, guess I didn't read that throughly! Are you excited? How many guests are you expecting?

[traceysteve]

we are super excited. right now, since we are still in early planning stages, we are making accomodations for the reception for 40. Risa, how about you? Great day, btw, my first son was born on that day..so I like it!

 

Originally Posted by risa1818 

Tracey I just where your wedding is...sorry, guess I didn't read that throughly! Are you excited? How many guests are you expecting?

 

[risa1818]

Aww thanks!! We are really excited we are just under the 2 month mark so we are getting close! It looks like we will be having around 30 people, all staying in different areas. We have a time share to use for the week but the wedding night we are most likely staying at The Bucuti.
 

Originally Posted by traceysteve 

we are super excited. right now, since we are still in early planning stages, we are making accomodations for the reception for 40. Risa, how about you? Great day, btw, my first son was born on that day..so I like it!

 

 

 

[Kathie]

Hi. I am getting married at the Westin in October. The Westin adds approximately 17% service charge to everything. My question is are you all paying a service charge at your hotel? I understand on the food, drinks, etc. but they have also booked my photographer, florist, d.j. and steel pan player. They are adding that service charge to everything. I was going to hire a woman myself for some other decor and they kind of just took over. I don't mind having them do it (less work for me) but now I will have to pay a service charge for that too. I plan on tipping all my vendors very well but I'm wondering who is getting the money that Westin is collecting on the service charge? Do the vendors get that and if not why is the Westin collecting it?

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Kathie

[traceysteve]

Kathie,

I received quotes from a couple of resorts in Aruba, and they all add a service charge. Boo! Although, I do believe that Westin was more than the Divi Aruba, but I will look through what I have and let you know.
 

Originally Posted by Kathie 

Hi. I am getting married at the Westin in October. The Westin adds approximately 17% service charge to everything. My question is are you all paying a service charge at your hotel? I understand on the food, drinks, etc. but they have also booked my photographer, florist, d.j. and steel pan player. They are adding that service charge to everything. I was going to hire a woman myself for some other decor and they kind of just took over. I don't mind having them do it (less work for me) but now I will have to pay a service charge for that too. I plan on tipping all my vendors very well but I'm wondering who is getting the money that Westin is collecting on the service charge? Do the vendors get that and if not why is the Westin collecting it?

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Kathie