What I would and wouldn't do again...

[SKing24]

Thank you for all the advice! As a newbie this helps so much. I've been reading this all day (dont tell my boss) and got some great ideas.

[bettie]

Thanks for all of the great advice! So so so helpful.

[giraffexx]

great thread, so helpful!

[mexico102]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KittenHeart Holy cow! Sorry for the novel ladies!

not at all----awesome thanks!

[hockeymom97]

This was one of the first threads that I read ALL the way thru when I first found this forum and it's still one of my favorites!

[natalie1987]

thanks for all the great reviews

[cheshire_moon]

I'm seeing this thread after my wedding - but oh well, it's great to see what worked and didn't work for others!

[sweetluna]

I'm so glad that I found this post. Thank you so much. It's so helpful to learn from people who have been through it already. Your advice is very helpful. Thank you.

[MDLady]

I actually loved having the cake and so did everyone else. We ordered dessert as well for those who did not want cake so some people were surprised that we had both. But I'm of the mind to give guests more options than less. It was also fun to have people over in our room for the next couple of nights for some cake and coffee The cake was very good and actually got better after being in the fridge for a couple of days.

 

There isn't a lot that I would change as things that I was not happy with were the fault of the resort. I cannot think of a single thing that I could have done to ensure that those mistakes were not made. With weddings, you are at the mercy of the vendors and there is only so much you can do to ensure great delivery..

 

What I would do again:

 

1. Picked Aruba as our destination. What a beautiful island with a wide variety of activities for all of our guests (gorgeous beaches, extremely safe, water sports, cruises, horse back riding, ATV rides, great shopping and restaurants). Everyone had the biggest smile on their face the whole time we were there.

 

2. Allowed my MOH/BM to pick their dresses with me just choosing the color (David's Bridal). The color looked gorgeous on them all but each chose a style most flattering to them and they each loved their dress.

 

3. Prepared OOT bags for the guests which included a welcome booklet w/ the schedule of events as well as some goodies. Everyone really appreciated the items and used them quite a bit. I purposely did not include sunblock due to so many varying needs but instead I included Aruba Aloe After Sun Lotion which everyone loved.

 

4. I am VERY happy that I included fans for the beach ceremony. Aruba is known for being breezy so I had doubts if it was necessary. Turns out that on our wedding day we had NO wind and 90F weather which is highly unusual for Aruba. 90% of the guests had their fans out. Originally I was gonna get them for the ladies only and get smth else for the men but I'm so glad that I got 1 per person. The men were using them just as much since it was pretty hot.

 

5. Had my hair and make-up people come to the room for the whole bridal party. I knew that I was not going to do my own hair/make-up but I made the option available to my bridal party and paid for their hair/make-up for those who wanted it. They really appreciated it and felt beautiful and pampered.

 

6. Organized a Welcome Dinner the evening before the wedding. My husband's family is from South America so most of the members of our families have not met yet. This was a great chance for people to meet or at least lay eyes on each other before the wedding.

 

7. I'm very glad that I did not buy a super expensive gown (a little over $1,000 w/ alterations). And I'm glad that I chose a bridal gown rather than a beachy dress since it made the wedding day that much more beautiful and I felt gorgeous! I also bought a 2nd inexpensive gown just in case mine got ruined during travel or smth. I got a little paranoid but it was comforting to know that it was there in case something did happen (luckily I didn't need it).

 

8. Prepared a special first dance with a surprise tango after a slow dance. It really made the guests excited and impressed. Even though I forgot 1/2 of the steps since I was so nervous. But it actually looked good.

 

9. I'm definitely happy to have had a videographer. I watched the video last night and loved it. I will enjoy having it for a long time and it was definitely worth the $!

 

10. Took our photographer's offer to do the island photo tour. With all the wedding craziness and so many guests coming/going, we have not gotten the chance to even do the island tour ourselves. So going with our photographer around the island allowed us not only to have great pictures, but also was a tour in itself. And we have 2 CDs worth of pictures to show for it!

 

11. I made it a point to hire a photographer who agreed to give us the digital images. Many did not want to do that and we would have had to shell out $$ to order extras. This way we can get whatever pictures we want printed at any time.

 

12. I'm VERY glad that we came to the island 4 days prior to the wedding. I was stressed out with all the meetings and last minute planning but I would have been completely freaking out if it all had to be done within 1 day! Our guests arrived over those 4 days which gave us time to spend with them before the big day. I was able to go to breakfast and lunch with my girlfriends which helped a lot to relax and be happy

 

13. Went to get a massage the day before the wedding. It helped SO much to get me relaxed as I was getting really stressed out.

 

What I would not do again

 

1. I would not do my own Ceremony Programs and Welcome Booklets. It was such a pain to sort through all of them and tie them up. I wish I just ordered them somewhere!

 

2. I would not leave the steaming of the bridal gown for the wedding day. I was under the impression that when the resort told me that "the steamer will be sent to your room" that they meant a PERSON who will steam the dress. Nope. It was an actual steamer that I had to use myself. A little scary when it comes to the wedding dress!!! I wish I hired someone to get it steamed instead of me and my BMs trying to make the steamer work and me being all stressed out the morning of the wedding!

 

What I wish I would have done

 

1. I gave the guestbook to the wedding planner and they ended up placing it on a table in the corner where nobody saw it! I did not realize it at the time of the wedding but afterwards was very sad that only 5 or so people signed it. Nobody else knew that it was even there! I wish I remembered to pass it around or put it in a better place.

 

2. Took the time to sit down and eat a good meal before the wedding. Everyone told me that I will not be eating much and my BMs ordered room service and literally fed me food while my hair was being done. I had almost nothing to eat at the reception (and was told that the food was amazing so DOH!!!) so I was so grateful for having even a little bit of food in my stomach prior to the ceremony.

[hat0112]

Thank you MDLady! I believe you are the first one to do a review for Aruba!