Renaissance Island Wedding - Lots of questions!

[superyooch]

Hello! I am actually in the middle of planning my wedding at Renaissance Island and was wondering how your experience was. Did you go there a couple of days before the event to make sure everything was in place?

Any mosquito issues? Any advice or something you would've done differently? How was your experience with the group room rate discount (should I be aware of any "fine print"?)

Sorry for so many questions but any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Andrea J.]

definately mosquito issues at renaissance island............at sunset there are at times many many flying biting bugs.


lots of bug spray is necessary

[cindyo]

Originally Posted by superyooch

Hello! I am actually in the middle of planning my wedding at Renaissance Island and was wondering how your experience was. Did you go there a couple of days before the event to make sure everything was in place?

Any mosquito issues? Any advice or something you would've done differently? How was your experience with the group room rate discount (should I be aware of any "fine print"?)

Sorry for so many questions but any help would be greatly appreciated!

I have posted some pictures of wedding setups on the island, take a look.
Knowing the island as well as I do I will throw a few thougths your way;
1. Wear low shoes, or flip flops
2. have the buffet, guests like to get up and walk around in the sand vs being served. The setting is way to pretty to sit and be waited on
3. There is a dance floor under the sand, get a DJ or band
4. Use the family side of the island vs. the adult side. Family side is wider and that is where the dance floor is
5. I have never experienced misquitos, that doesn't mean they aren't there, but in 13 yrs of going I have yet to see/feel one
6. Sunset is perfect on the island. Try to plan cocktail time/photos around that
7. The adult side has the flamingos, while they are fun to look at, they can become very annoying especially during your special event
8. I have only heard wonderful things about Juney, so I believe you are in very good hands.
FYI...TImbaland had his wedding there last year...we got a copy of the menu from our dear friend who is a waitress there....
Any more ? ask away..best wishes, cindy

[superyooch]

Thank you Cindyo. You are so helpful! iIs there anyway you can provide me with a copy of Timbaland's menu? I cannot PM yet on this forum since I am a newbie so if you can PM me, I would greatly appreciate it!

You read my mind! I am definitely doing a buffet style bbq for my dinner and getting a DJ. Juney mentioned that the sun sets around 6:50 in August so I am planning on starting the ceremony at 6pm. That should definitely make for some wonderful sunset photos.

Is it a long walk from the family side to adult side?

[arubamark]

As a friend of CindyO I have to agree with her input. I too have been going to the Ren island for 13 trips now. I have never been bit by a bug there but I have heard of an issue in the past in which I think the problem was resolved, not 100% sure. I know they treat for the insects there and it sounds like they have beeen keeping up with the treatments.

As far as the walk from the family to adult beach it depends. If its to just take a look, not a long walk at all, after a big meal it's a perfect walk, after an open bar it might feel like an eternity. All kidding aside it's not a long walk at all.

Good luck with your planning!

[cindyo]

Originally Posted by superyooch

Thank you Cindyo. You are so helpful! iIs there anyway you can provide me with a copy of Timbaland's menu?
Is it a long walk from the family side to adult side?

The menu is buried, and I mean buried, in my teen daughters room..where it is is beyond me.

The walk to the adult beach to the family beach is short, however, you would be walking on the dock. Its a wooden dock, not heel friendly. Great location for photos .

[Flamingo78]

Hi superyooch… Congratulations! You will not be disappointed. We had our wedding on Ren Island last June (I posted a lot of advice, etc in this forum). Our wedding was on a Friday, and we arrived to the island on Sunday night just to get everything in order – but that was a preference, not a requirement. We had a lot of guests coming so we wanted to feel relaxed and enjoy everyone’s arrival and not feel stressed and worried about everything. Yes – I am sorry to confirm that there was a mosquito attack right at sunset after the ceremony while we were taking our pictures, but it only lasted about 10 minutes and the staff was prepared with many cans of repellent for us and our guests to use. It was such a minor part of our event, it definitely did not ruin the occasion. We had our ceremony on “flamingo beach” and our cocktail hour & reception on “iguana beach”. That way, everything was pre-setup so no waiting for the space to be flipped. They are a very short walk from one to the other, and I agree with the others who recommended wearing flat shoes (as everyone will be on beach sand). Although, guests can easily kick off their shoes while on the sand and put them on to dance if they want. Our ceremony started at about 6pm, which was perfectly timed to have the sun setting at the end. Our coordinator, Juney Jones, was fabulous and easy to work with. We also did a buffet with specialty stations, and the food was awesome. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any help.


As far as the contracts go, they are fair and Annie was fantastic to work with. Just don’t sign anything until everything is exactly correct (spelling, agreed upon rates, etc). We went back and forth a lot of times before it was finalized. There is room for negotiation, but ultimately you will get a great deal for you and your guests so don’t worry. Oh – I don’t know where you have registered, but after some research I added the Marriott honeymoon registry as an option. Our friends and family could gift us things like "1-night stay" or "breakfast in bed", to use on our honeymoon which was great! You actually get one gift card with the value of all the gifts on it and when you check out at the end of your trip, you can use the card to pay towards your final bill. Just an idea! (https://www.marriottregistry.com/)


We were lucky enough to return to Aruba just 2 weeks ago and stayed at the Ren again and I saw them set up for 2 different weddings on the private island while I was there and I posted a few pics in the gallery. Enjoy & have fun planning your special day!!

[superyooch]

Wow, thanks everyone. This is great information! We are planning on having our wedding on a Monday and arriving to the island on Thursday. Hopefully this will give us enough time before the bulk of our guests arrive on Friday.

I have been in contact with Annie and going back and forth with the spelling and missing information. My biggest fear is being charged for rooms we blocked but we could not fill!

I am planning on providing my guests with some insect repellent in their overnight bags and asked Juney to spray me.

Cindyo - No worries about the menu. I was just curious to see!

Flamingo - I will send you a private message!

[~Amy~®]

We went to a wedding (ceremony and reception) on Ren Island in Sept. The only downside to Ren Island was being attacked by mosquitoes at dusk. The ceremony was great as the sun was going down but as soon as the sun went down.....they were all over us (and everyone at the wedding sprayed with Off prior to the ceremony - they had several cans for us.) So we re-sprayed again....helped a little. It wasn't just one or two mosquitoes that would land on you...it was like a small army. As the father of the bride said to me half jokingly "This was NOT in the brochure". LOL!! After enduring about a half hour of this and wondering how we could all get a boat back to shore, it was dark and they went away (or they were "full" - not sure which - LOL!) We then all relaxed, had drinks, had a wonderful dinner (food was amazing), more drinks, a ton of different desserts to pick from, and then....alot of dancing (and more drinking.) Maybe the drinking helped us stop from itching! LOL!! Actually, it was very pretty ceremony and the reception was beautiful...it was just that one half hour that we had to get through (and it was NOT fun!) When we got back to our hotel we all jumped in the pool at about midnight...felt so refreshing from the bites and the Off.

The bride at the wedding we attended also used Juney's services and he was great!

Just be sure to tell people to spray ALOT (and I mean all over and ALOT) with OFF prior to heading over to Ren Island.

[rob o]

Have never had a mosquito bite on Renaissance Island.....but have never been there later than 5 or 10 minutes before sundown.