Wedding Favor/Gift for Guests

[Bride2Be]

Soon enough you should have enough posts to PM, I would think. Until then, sorry to everyone else in advance for our June Hyatt Aruba wedding talk

I can't believe you are getting married the day after us -- that is awesome that we were able to connect. We will have to meet when we are down in Aruba How many people are you estimating?

I have already booked our photographer and videographer. We are using Victor Winklaar, he is the photographer that took our engagement photos while we were in Aruba in September making all the arrangements for our wedding. He did an amazing job and his responsiveness and follow-up was wonderful! We are using George Jacobs for the videographer. He was recommended by the hotel and based on his web site and things I have read online people are happy with him.

Are you doing a DJ or band? We booked Crystal Breeze band so I am hoping we made a good decision.

I have LOTS more planning to do. I still need to decide on flowers and cake, although the wedding planner said we have up until 15 days before the event to make the final decisions. Have you made any plans on either of those things yet?

What is your wedding color? Ours is aqua blue. Both times we have traveled to Aruba I am overwhelmed by the beautiful blue ocean color so we decided to incorporate it into our wedding. It makes it a little more challenging with flowers because not many come in blue. But we will probably do white and use blue ribbon or something.

As for wedding favors and gifts, I am hoping to have a better idea of our final number in the next month or two. We just sent out our formal invites and asked for a response by 5/15. I have found tons of cute web sites for favors for the welcome bags. Are you doing those?

OK, I think that is enough questions to start Hope to "talk" to you soon! Anxious to hear how your planning is coming as well!

[jammie7979]

Could you get cheap flip flops for the guest? That way they can wear it during the reception after all the dancing they'll do! :-)

[christene]

Hi Bride2Be. My fiance and I are also (tentatively) planning on getting married in Aruba at the end of October. Next month is our scouting trip to interview resorts. Can you tell me why you chose the Hyatt? We're trying to select which hotels to interview. I think the Hyatt looks gorgeous, (I love the modern renovations!), but I'm worried it may be prohibitively expensive for some of our guests. Right now the best rate I can find is around $300 per night. Its kind of frustrating because I was expecting a better rate given our 'off-season' wedding date (and the bad economy). I wonder if the rates drop as time passes and they still have a lot of vacancies?

Did you interview any other hotels? We are planning a stop by Bucuti, though it looks like its adults only, so we're thinking of that for a mini-honeymoon after the wedding. We're also meeting with Renaissance. We love the idea of the private island (and less gawkers in the background) and their reception costs seem to be the most reasonable. On the downside I'm discouraged that the beach isn't right there. I can get over the beach if the pool rocks, however I can't say I'm excited about the rooms or location. Pics of their 'renovated rooms' still look dated...

We also have a meeting set up with the Westin. I've been communicating with someone there via email that seems great, but I'm concerned about posts that say its in the windiest part of the beach.

Finally, we're going to try to drop in on the Marriott Stellaris, though I'm discouraged they don't have any wedding planners available on the weekends to meet with you. Kind of a big deal since our planning trips would be on weekend.

Must be great to be at the point where you have most of it figured out... we're JUST getting started. We were planning on Puerto Vallarta til the violence got worse and two weekends ago, met with some resorts in Naples, Florida that we just couldn't get excited about. I know this destination wedding idea will be great when it comes together but right now its just overwhelming.

[Arubalisa]

christene, in reading your posts, a thought did occur to me. An independent wedding planner may be an excellent option for you. There are a few who are members of this forum. They work with some of the resorts and they also know perfect spots for say a beach ceremony. All beaches in Aruba are public.

You can book any resort you wish to stay at if your guests could not all afford the Hyatt, some could book a few doors down at the much less expensive Holiday Inn. The Hyatt in the 14 years since we have been traveling to Aruba has ALWAYS been the most expensive resort. If all of the other resorts are down to $99 a night, the Hyatt will be a $100.

[christene]

Thanks Arubalisa. Yes, those have been a couple of my concerns... the expense of Aruba and lack of privacy for the ceremony if its outdoors. In late October though, it seems that Aruba is the safest choice in the Caribbean - the least likely to be affected by hurricanes.

For us its difficult because we are paying all expenses for I think 13 people (and want the trip to be affordable for those paying their own way). We've been setting up more and more appointments with resorts for our May visit, but after looking through the forum, it looks like time may be better spent with a wedding planner.

My fiance is most interested in the Renaissance. I have to say I wasn't too excited about it, but reading through the forum has helped peak my interest. We have a meeting planned with Juney and it looks like others say wonderful things about him. I have to say our communication with him to date, via email, has been outstanding. For a high-rise hotel wedding though, it looks like a non-hotel planner is the way to go. While I love modern and chic hotels (like Westin and Hyatt), I have to consider what makes sense for the party as a whole.

For now I'm going to work on making one hotel affordable (hopefully we can 'subsidise' the room cost), but am glad to know there are more cost-effective options nearby. I'll definitely post an alternate hotel for guests.

[Bride2Be]

Hi there. We chose the Hyatt because we loved the hotel, the location, lobby, casino, spa, rooms, views, wedding sites, beach, pool, etc. were all amazing. We visited last September and after meeting with the wedding planner, whose services are included, it was an easy decision. They will negotiate a discounted rate for your guest rooms, so it is not as expensive as a rate as you will see online but it is still a little bit up there compared to other hotels. One other thing to mention, is the food - it is outstanding. Also, I did a bit of research and everyone I asked about the Hyatt had nothing but wonderful things to say. We did look at Bucuti, but we nixed that idea since it is adults only and my nieces wouldn't be able to come. Anyway, if you have any other questions about the Hyatt, feel free to PM me. Take care and good luck in your search!

[Arubalisa]

We did look at Bucuti, but we nixed that idea since it is adults only and my nieces wouldn't be able to come.

The Bucuti does not ban children entirely.

http://www.bucuti.com/en/contact/faq.php#families
"Is Bucuti Beach Resort a good place to bring children/families?
No, Bucuti does not have any facilities for children and we do not recommend our resort for families. Primarily our services are geared for couples on romantic getaways or those looking for peace and quiet. Because we are Aruba's smallest resort on the 14 acres of beach, our atmosphere is very peaceful and you can enjoy a good deal of private space. All resorts in Aruba except Bucuti have programs and facilities for children. Therefore we have maintained an adults only atmosphere in our Tara Beach Suites and we have restricted our Bucuti Wing guests to one child per reservation for accommodation in our double queen bedded rooms only (limited inventory) with a maximum of three persons per room. We understand that some of our repeat guests prefer our resort regardless of the fact that we have no children's facilities or benefits and we politely ask that all our guests with or without children observe of our desire to provide peace and serenity for all our guests who have chosen us for this atmosphere."

[christene]

Thanks! Funny thing -- a few minutes ago I turned on the Travel Channel. What's on? Top 10 Caribbean Beach Resorts. Sure enough - they featured the Hyatt Regency and it looks amazing -- so much to do. Sounds like at worst we might have to move to the Hyatt for the honeymoon. Bucuti still looks great for a quiet weekend getaway for two (someday). Thanks again!

[Bride2Be]

I saw that on the Bucuti web site too, about the one child per room. But that doesn't work for us because I have two nieces that would be on the same reservation. There is no way I could get married without them and don't think it would be that great to have them in a different hotel (although I know for some this is perfectly fine). Once we visited the Hyatt we were hooked anyway. There was a lot for both adults and kids, and at a destination wedding, you really want everyone to be able to be together if possible - at least that is our opinion. The cost has been a bit of a factor though, especially in this economy so not everyone can come that would have liked to. My fiance and I are also holding an at-home reception in August so that everyone who isn't able to travel to Aruba in June can still share in the celebration with us, and we will plan to have all of our video and photos there. Good luck with your planning, this forum has been a lot of help for me and has been a great introduction to other Aruba brides that are in the same position you are in, which is very reassuring. Take care!

[JNDEP]

Hi, we are getting married May2nd 2009 at the Westin. and for our favors we are having a photographer take professioanal sunset pictures of each quest or couple with the aruba sunset. then we have them putting them in acrylic frames that have a insrciption on the bottom that say our wedding date and names. they are actually printing them on site at the westin and the quests will have them that night.