wedding bookings

[aussietraveler]

Hi
What is a ball park figure for a fully catered wedding for say 100 guests
in Aruba?
Including celebrant, drinks and food for 100 guests, venue hire etc?
Just a rough estimate of an average wedding although I do realise
that weddings are very personal and get get very expensive.

Do many famous people get married in Aruba?

[Arubalisa]

There is a full page on information regarding weddings (and honeymoons) in Aruba at http://www.aruba.com/SpecializedVacations/Weddings_and_Honeymoons.aspx
A little further than 3/4 of the way down the page there is a listing of wedding planners. I would contact them for pricing. Your question is way to vague for anyone except one of them to give even a ball park price. There are just too many variables: type of ceremony, length of reception, amount of alcohol, food served: hors 'd oeuvres, sit down dinner or buffet. ...

You can also google Aruba weddings and there are many resorts who offer wedding packages and having pricing in their brochures.

[christene]

Hi AussieTraveler --

Like Arubalisa says, its really variable. Depends on the type of wedding, reception and location you are looking for. We wanted something upscale and chose the Palm Beach / High Rise area. We got proposals from Hyatt, Westin and Marriott. For the kind of package we were looking for, Hyatt was most expensive, Westin the least expensive and Marriott was in the middle. I later also wondered if I should have considered the Radisson, but I didn't get proposals from them. (Bucuti and Renaissance Island are two of the locations we considered outside of Palm Beach. I believe they were both slightly less expensive.)

We got married in October 2009 (which is off-season so I don't know if that makes a difference). We chose to have a simple beach ceremony, had a cocktail hour and then and went 'all out' for the reception: professional lighting, premium bar, some expensive rentals and we spent too much on flowers. While we had only 43 people, if I did an estimate for 100 for a wedding similar to ours, I think it would work out at a little over $200 per person. You don't need to go nearly that far to have a beautiful wedding though. You could probably do something nice for half that, and of course you can find ways to spend more. =)

When looking at our proposals, I would guess the Hyatt might have cost us 10-15% more, Westin, 15-20% less. My per person estimates don't include photography, favors, welcome party and welcome bags though. (Instead of favors, we privately chartered a boat and took our guests on a sailing / snorkeling excursion the day before and we hosted a welcome party the day they arrived.)

I'm sure famous people get married in Aruba, however the only one I know of is Timbaland who got married on Ren Island. I found some photos online once and would expect that was a six figure wedding. Quite a spectacle.

In Aruba you can have a beautiful wedding no matter how generous or modest your budget is.

Good luck and have fun planning!

[aussietraveler]

Hi Christine
Thanks for the very detailed reply. You have certainly created a great overview
of planning a wedding in Aruba and have given some great ideas. A great
overview of the main resorts/hotels there too. I love the private charter you
did for your guests the day before. That sounds brilliant and we can look to
add something like that too.

[christene]

That excursion was one of the best things we did! For those few hours, you get to just relax and have fun with your guests. We had guests ranging in age from 9 to 81 and they had such a blast. There are lots of different options and I don't think I heard a bad word about any of the companies I considered (like 6 of them). Most will include snacks and an open bar too.

Originally Posted by aussietraveler

Hi Christine
Thanks for the very detailed reply. You have certainly created a great overview
of planning a wedding in Aruba and have given some great ideas. A great
overview of the main resorts/hotels there too. I love the private charter you
did for your guests the day before. That sounds brilliant and we can look to
add something like that too.

[VA_Bride]

Sorry to go slightly off topic, but Christene, do you mind telling me what boat you chartered/rented? We have been thinking of doing something similar.

Thanks!

[christene]

Hi VA Bride --

Here's a post I wrote on our excursion:
Sunset Sail for Family and Friends

PM me if you want more info. Otherwise, you could ask more questions via the above thread. =)

Originally Posted by VA_Bride

Sorry to go slightly off topic, but Christene, do you mind telling me what boat you chartered/rented? We have been thinking of doing something similar.

Thanks!