Stressed Aruba "newbie"

[traceysteve]

Hi Valerie,

 

welcome to the stressed out wedding planning club! I'm planning on getting married in Aruba in August, and decided to go with a resort that is not all inclusive. I had it narrowed down to the Westin, which I love, love, love, and the Divi Aruba Phoenix, which had a fantastic dinner menu. I totally understand how you can get overwhelmed with all of the information...take advantage of your maid of honor and your bridal party, and red wine also works!

 

Good luck with everything, and hang in there. I will gladly share what info I have if you like..

 

tracey

[kfady529]

@ Tracy Congrats on your upcoming wedding !! I also am looking into the Divi Phoenix did you end up going with them? Are you working with there wedding planner, I am looking into working with Bonny from Aruba weddings by Bonny?  I am completely overwhelmed its hard making such a big decision when you cant actually be there so I am looking for all the input I can..

[traceysteve]

kfady, we were actually planning on going with the Westin, until honestly, three days ago! I was unaware of the room block business, and want nothing to do with it. I am planning on going with Divi now, just waiting for confirmation. I was actually prepared to send the Westin a deposit this week, so I'm a bit disappointed, I've spent so much time mulling over the information. But...the Divi had a fantastic dinner menu, and I especially loved the BBQ option. When are you getting married? There are definitely some great resources on this site, take advantage of them! But, let me know if you have any questions...I have a ton of info. Happy planning!

[kfady529]

At least you found out about it before you finalized it, what is the room blocking? Are you going with the Divi wedding planner? I was looking in to Aruba weddings by Bonny and she has multiple venues the Divi Phoenix happens to be one of them,  I also like the menu so much to choice from? Who did you end up going with for vendors? Hope the rest of your planning goes great.

Originally Posted by traceysteve 

kfady, we were actually planning on going with the Westin, until honestly, three days ago! I was unaware of the room block business, and want nothing to do with it. I am planning on going with Divi now, just waiting for confirmation. I was actually prepared to send the Westin a deposit this week, so I'm a bit disappointed, I've spent so much time mulling over the information. But...the Divi had a fantastic dinner menu, and I especially loved the BBQ option. When are you getting married? There are definitely some great resources on this site, take advantage of them! But, let me know if you have any questions...I have a ton of info. Happy planning!

 

 

[traceysteve]

I'm actually working directly with the resort. I had started emailing directly to the resorts early on, but it was between the westin and divi from the beginning, they were reasonably priced for our guests. The divi's menu was definitely a strong point. Room block refers to the # of rooms the resort requires you to reserve at their rate. Your guests need to book directly with the resort, so they may need to opt out of other group deals you may be able to find. It guarantees the resort a certain amount of revenue. Hope that helps.

[kfady529]

Tracysteve have you finalized anything yet?

[traceysteve]

Oooo..I haven't updated! Yes, we are finally booked to get married at the Westin. Surprisingly, our TA found us a deal to stay at the RIU, which was too good to pass up! We were looking into getting married at the RIU as well, but you have to have a certain % of your guests staying there, and we have some guests staying at timeshares, so it was too up in the air to plan. What about you? How is your planning going? I was just reading a thread about someone who got married at Manchebo and used Lissy Lampe, sounds fantastic. Fill me in, please...
 

Originally Posted by kfady529 

Tracysteve have you finalized anything yet?

 

[Ms Di]

Good luck and enjoy yourself and theplanning of your wedding. You will only have one and can never get the time back so enjoy your planning and if you do any DIY projects the ladies here will help with everything and enjoy doing your DIYs

[Gina42212]

How funny, my fiancee and I decided the exact opposite!  We were planning our wedding date to be April 22, 2012 (hence my name ), but we have moved the date to October 28...just 4 1/2 months!  I would have loved to do it in the spring, but we just want to be married and not wait anymore

We are marrying at the Manchebo, and we chose this location because of the great reviews and feedback from trip advisor, other travel sites, and from girls on this forum.  I'm super excited.  It isn't the least expensive, but we cut out all of the extras, and just went with the basic package plus a couple extras in order to make it fit in our budget.

Lissy Lampe, the wedding planner, is great, and Vivian Frank the reservations manager at the Manchebo is very sweet.

I've heard good things about the Renaissance too, and I think it may be slightly less expensive. 

I suggest taking your time looking through past threads, I know there are some amazingly helpful comments from a few brides who married there.  Thanks to these ladies, this experience has been a lot easier!

Originally Posted by monique2011 

Hi - I'm also planning my wedding in Aruba. I would like to get married October 2011 but fiancée wants to wait until spring 2012. I am thinking about the renaissance island. If anyone has any information on pricing please share. Thank you.

 

[traceysteve]

Hey, thought you would get a kick out of this. I got a response back today from Divi, following up on my wedding request. She replied to an email that I sent her, from April 22nd! I'm already booked for the Westin, probably have been since the end of April, with deposit down, menu finalized, etc. etc. Hahahaaa!! I just laughed. We're getting married in less than 3 months. Did you book with Divi?
 

Originally Posted by kfady529 

@ Tracy Congrats on your upcoming wedding !! I also am looking into the Divi Phoenix did you end up going with them? Are you working with there wedding planner, I am looking into working with Bonny from Aruba weddings by Bonny?  I am completely overwhelmed its hard making such a big decision when you cant actually be there so I am looking for all the input I can..