My Renaissance Island Aruba Wedding Review

[Marcia313]

Hi everyone --

 

I got married on March 13 on Renaissance Island, and it was great. It's been a while, but I'm finally getting around to writing a review. We had about 30 guests, and everyone had a great time. I wouldn't have changed a thing -- getting married in Aruba was a great decision.

 

The island: I loved the private island. We had the place all to ourselves; it was so private. We didn't have any random people in our pictures, it was just us. The decorations were great: My mother brought a lot of stuff with her, and the tables looked really pretty. The transformation from day to night was incredible. When we went over for our rehearsal on Friday, the beaches were full of people and beach chairs. When we came back for the wedding, it was beautiful and private -- perfect.

 

Ceremony: My grandmother did the ceremony, and it was really nice. Some things weren't perfect: I don't think she had done a wedding before, so she forgot to tell us to put the rings on, some flamingos ran behind her fighting and a plane went by overhead during the ceremony. But it was really cute, and it made it unforgettable.

 

The food: it was great. We got the buffet, and it was wonderful. Our only regret was that we didn't go back for seconds; we really should have. (I'm not really a foodie, but if anyone has specific questions, I'm happy to answer.)

 

Photography: Our photographer, Elnathan Hijmering, was fantastic. He did a great job with our pictures, and I love them. I had thought about getting a destination wedding photographer, but I'm so glad we didn't. He was very friendly, and we were completely comfortable with him. We also did a trash the dress session, and I loved that.

 

Wedding planner: Juney did a great job. My mom did most of the interfacing with him, because I had never been to Aruba before and I work a lot, and together they made our wedding perfect. Juney was always available and responsive, and he is very dedicated to his work. He was very, very helpful and pleasant to work with.

 

Reception: Tons of fun. The DJ was great (I don't know his name, it's whoever Juney generally works with, I assume), the waiters and bartenders were friendly, the cake was beautiful, and everyone had a wonderful time.

 

I can't think of anything else specifically, but I want to reiterate how great it all was. We kept on hearing from everyone how happy they were that they came to Aruba, how beautiful the wedding was and how they had never seen anything like it. I highly, highly recommend it. We're definitely going to renew our vows in Aruba after the wonderful wedding experience we had; I had such a great time, I know I want to do a vow renewal as well.

 

I don't have the first clue how to upload pictures to the post, so here is a link to a snapfish album -- I hope it works! Snapfish: Share:Registration

 

Again, feel free to contact me with any questions. It was a wonderful experience, and I'm happy to help if I can.

 

--Marcia

[weddinggirl72]

Great pictures! Looks like a fun wedding!!!!

[wendyjd]

Great pics. I'd love to see a pic of the flamingos fighting during your ceremony. That would be priceless.

 

Sounds like a terrific wedding. Congrats!!

[ahollo02]

Thank you so much for the review!

[Sheree10]

Congrats Marcia!! I sooo appreciate your review and I'm glad that it all turned out beautifully. It all puts me at ease because my wedding on Renaissance Island is a little over three months away. My fiance and I(along with 98% of our guests) have never been to Aruba so it should be an adventure. I've heard such great things about Juney and glad we made the choice to work with him.

 

I enjoyed looking at your pictures- you two make such a lovely couple. I especially love the TTD pics!

 

Thanks for sharing

[Jen_S]

Congrats that is a nice touch that your grandmother did the ceremony!!

[jesmcan]

I love your cake!! the blues and whites look incredible together. Congrats on having such a wonderful wedding.

[Marcia313]

Thanks everyone! Hopefully it's helpful, I know when I was looking it was hard to find Aruba wedding reviews.

[kate&devon]

Sounds like you had a great time. Congrats!

[valdawg20]

Congrats!  I was considering the Renaissance but the TA from DestinationWeddings.com stated that he did not think it was great for weddings.  That's why I like this website since I can hear from actual brides who went through the flow of things.  What was the deciding factor that made you choose the Renaissance?  I am trying to stay within a tight budget.  Thanks!!!!  -Valerie