*The official Aruba Brides CHAT thread*

[Kathie]

Yes the Tara Beach Suites are the nicest they have. They're much more expensive but for your honeymoon I def think it's worth it. You also get a covered cabana on the beach if you book one of the Suites. Good luck!

[bondgirl0072010]

Aruba is such a gorgeous place. You'll love it! Perfect for a wedding. If we hadn't gotten married in Riviera Maya I think Aruba would have been our destination. I was so in love with the beautiful island that I've designed many pieces in my jewelry line that are "Aruba-inspired!" Good luck with all of your planning!!
 

Originally Posted by Gina42212 

I've heard really great things about Bucuti; we are getting married at the Manchebo October 28.  We just booked our rooms today!  I'm getting really excited to go...I've never been to Aruba either.  We moved our wedding date six months closer, so everything is going really fast now! 

Good luck with all of your planning  

 

 

 

[risa1818]

Hi Ladies!! We are back from our AMAZING wedding!! Everything was perfect and I could not be happier! I know how stressful and hard it is planning a destination wedding and waiting for days, sometimes weeks to hear anything back, but honestly I would have not done it any other way! We had 30 guests and everyone had a wonderful time. The Manchebo was excellent...the service was amazing, the pavilion was perfect and our wedding planner Lissy Lampe could not have done a better job. We were so thrilled with everything and couldn't stop talking about how happy we were with everything. The weather was HOT but we loved it and spent so much time on the beach. Friday a bunch of us went on a snorkeling cruise for the day called Mi Dushi and it was awesome! I would highly recommend it. I will do a full review for you ladies, but for now here are some of my fav pics:

 

 

 

Hope you ladies like them and if you have any questions, please ask away!!

[traceysteve]

RISA!!! Congratulations!!! I'm sooo excited, your pics are amazing, and you look absolutely BEEE-autiful!! Thanks for offering to answer some questions for us, that's so kind of you, and thanks for posting your pics right away! Happy 1 week anniversary!!

[bondgirl0072010]

Gorgeous wedding and FABULOUS dress! Congratulations!!
 

Originally Posted by risa1818 

Hi Ladies!! We are back from our AMAZING wedding!! Everything was perfect and I could not be happier! I know how stressful and hard it is planning a destination wedding and waiting for days, sometimes weeks to hear anything back, but honestly I would have not done it any other way! We had 30 guests and everyone had a wonderful time. The Manchebo was excellent...the service was amazing, the pavilion was perfect and our wedding planner Lissy Lampe could not have done a better job. We were so thrilled with everything and couldn't stop talking about how happy we were with everything. The weather was HOT but we loved it and spent so much time on the beach. Friday a bunch of us went on a snorkeling cruise for the day called Mi Dushi and it was awesome! I would highly recommend it. I will do a full review for you ladies, but for now here are some of my fav pics:

 

 

 

Hope you ladies like them and if you have any questions, please ask away!!

 

[acheung]

Hi Risa1818,

Congratulations on your wedding, the photos are absolutely beautiful, thank you for posting!  I am in Aruba right now researching beach venues for my upcoming wedding and stayed at the Manchebo last night.  The beach is pretty private, which is just perfect! I will be getting married in 2013, but not sure about the month yet.  I have a bunch of questions if you don't mind:

Did you get married in May or June? How was the weather?

Did you get ready in the standard rooms? If so, was it tight?

Who did your nails, makeup, hair?

Did you do buffet style and how did the food taste?

I love your wedding favors, where did you get them?

Did you have a back up plan for inclement weather?

How was your DJ?

I will take any advice you are able to offer.

So sorry for all the questions.

Thank you very much!

Again, congrats!

Regards,

Ang

[risa1818]

Hi Ang,

 

Thank you for the nice comments! Here are my answers to your questions:

 

Did you get married in May or June? How was the weather? - In June, and the weather was pretty hot, but since we had the ceremony and reception at night it had cooled off a bit and had some winds coming through. No rain at all, and I thought it was perfect

Did you get ready in the standard rooms? If so, was it tight? - We had a timeshare at La Cabana, but I did reserve the highest level room at The Manchebo for the wedding day/night. It was a beautiful oceanview room and was not too small. We had about 15 people in there at one time and it wasn't overly cramped. I was very happy with the room!

Who did your nails, makeup, hair? - Nails I had done before I left for Aruba, hair and make up I brought a friend's sister who is a make up artist and does lots of weddings and photo shoots. She was AMAZING and I am so happy I had her! I do know of a few brides who used some people or spas on the island though.

Did you do buffet style and how did the food taste? We did the Cuadarebo Buffet and it was pretty good. It had flank steak, fish and jerk chicken. It also had some different salads and sides and included some desserts as well. It was a ton of food for our group, and overall I was happy with it.

I love your wedding favors, where did you get them? The rum bottles are from Palmera Rum factory located on the island. I worked with Ethan who made the label for us and then delivered everything to our hotel. I would be happy to give you his contact info.

Did you have a back up plan for inclement weather? The weather is pretty much awesome 99% of the time in Aruba, so I didn't plan for a back up, but we did have the covered pavilion, so if worse came to worse we could have used that for the ceremony too. I was set on getting married on the beach though, so I probably would have made everyone wait until the weather cleared up!

How was your DJ? DJ was awesome!! We had DJ Tino who is the owner of the company and I thought he was great! I sent him a playlist ahead of time, and he played pretty much everything we wanted. He was very pleasant and professional. Everyone danced the entire time and it was fabulous!

 

I highly recommend The Manchebo. They were so professional, excellent service and I loved the venue. The beach was beautiful and private, and everyone loved the pavilion. Are you working with Lissy Lampe at all? Have you contacted any other wedding planners?

 

Let me know what else you need and happy planning!!

 

Marisa

Originally Posted by acheung 

Hi Risa1818,

Congratulations on your wedding, the photos are absolutely beautiful, thank you for posting!  I am in Aruba right now researching beach venues for my upcoming wedding and stayed at the Manchebo last night.  The beach is pretty private, which is just perfect! I will be getting married in 2013, but not sure about the month yet.  I have a bunch of questions if you don't mind:

Did you get married in May or June? How was the weather?

Did you get ready in the standard rooms? If so, was it tight?

Who did your nails, makeup, hair?

Did you do buffet style and how did the food taste?

I love your wedding favors, where did you get them?

Did you have a back up plan for inclement weather?

How was your DJ?

I will take any advice you are able to offer.

So sorry for all the questions.

Thank you very much!

Again, congrats!

Regards,

Ang

 

[risa1818]

Thank you so much Tracey!! Your big day is coming up soon too!! What do you have left to do?
 

Originally Posted by traceysteve 

RISA!!! Congratulations!!! I'm sooo excited, your pics are amazing, and you look absolutely BEEE-autiful!! Thanks for offering to answer some questions for us, that's so kind of you, and thanks for posting your pics right away! Happy 1 week anniversary!!

 

[traceysteve]

Risa, you have no idea...I'm behind in just about everything! I thought it would be a easy-peasy to plan a wedding in 6 months...WRONG! I didn't expect delays, like delays in confirming the wedding date, which in turn delayed ordering the invites, which hopefully show up tomorrow via courier. We have a postal strike going on right now, although, they should be ordered back to work sometime this week. Invites need to go out, only as a formality really, because many have already booked! I need to finish my DIY OOT bags (what was I thinking? sewing my own bags?!) I need to find a wedding band for myself. I need to think of something for our best man, and my 2 sons, gift wise.

 

What I would love to know from you is...what were you able to buy down there? I saw that you bought the mini rum from the factory...fantastic idea. Were you able to buy aloe? What time did you get married? How hot was it then? Did the guests need shade for the reception? umbrellas or fans or whatever? And finally, how relieved are you that this is finally over for you? You can sit back and laugh at all of us!?
 

Originally Posted by risa1818 

Thank you so much Tracey!! Your big day is coming up soon too!! What do you have left to do?
 

 

 

[risa1818]

Don't worry! You will get it all done...I know you feel, because I felt super overwhelmed at times too, especially around the 2 month mark kinda where you are at, but you will see it will all fall into place

 

Here are some answers for you:

 

We ended up buying the aloe here in the states because we bought mini bottles for our OOT bags and they were only a $1.00 a piece here. I did see some Aloe vendors in Aruba, but it seemed a little pricey. All the items for the OOT bags were bought here before we got there, just because I knew it would be more expensive there and I didn't know what I could get there. We did buy lots of souvenirs and stuff for our house there after the wedding.  We got married at 6:30pm, and it wasn't too hot by then. It's very windy in Aruba, so you constantly have those winds coming thru to cool you off. They did not have any shade for the ceremony since it was right on the beach, but they ceremony was only 15 mins long, so it wasn't a long time for anyone to be outside, plus the sun was going down so it wasn't right on anyone. We didn't do fans or anything like that, and everyone seemed just fine. What time is your ceremony? If it is more in the daytime, I would probably recommend a little bit of shade if you think it will run a little long.

 

Believe it or not, I miss all the planning! It was stressful at times, but so much fun! I had such a great time doing everything and I can't believe it is all over. I kinda don't know what to do with myself now...haha! Need any help with your wedding?

 

Oh btw, we stayed at The Westin our 1st night there and it was great! Some of our guests stayed there too. Very nice pool and not as crowded on the beach there.
 

Originally Posted by traceysteve 

Risa, you have no idea...I'm behind in just about everything! I thought it would be a easy-peasy to plan a wedding in 6 months...WRONG! I didn't expect delays, like delays in confirming the wedding date, which in turn delayed ordering the invites, which hopefully show up tomorrow via courier. We have a postal strike going on right now, although, they should be ordered back to work sometime this week. Invites need to go out, only as a formality really, because many have already booked! I need to finish my DIY OOT bags (what was I thinking? sewing my own bags?!) I need to find a wedding band for myself. I need to think of something for our best man, and my 2 sons, gift wise.

 

What I would love to know from you is...what were you able to buy down there? I saw that you bought the mini rum from the factory...fantastic idea. Were you able to buy aloe? What time did you get married? How hot was it then? Did the guests need shade for the reception? umbrellas or fans or whatever? And finally, how relieved are you that this is finally over for you? You can sit back and laugh at all of us!?