Where to get married?

[Andrea J.]

folks do what they can do financially re: wedding guests, the weddings, housing.
weddings are expensive
dear hubby and i just paid for our son's wedding and one does what they have to do to make it work.

if it i a dinner at the red parrott or paparazzi at the divi/tam, then i say so what?
it is all about the wedding and destination imo

Originally Posted by luvsun

I've always found this interesting, with couples going with an all inclusive resort for their wedding. If its to have the reception there, then you don't have to pay for the dinner of your guests, i find that really "cheap". I think that if you have people that have paid for their trip you should at least treat them to a meal that basicly they aren't paying for!
We had our guests stay where they could get a good deal and we paid for there dinner and drinks at the wedding.

Just my thought!

[soxgirl]

I'm getting married in May at the Divi All Inclusive. We choose all inclusive as it fit in both our budget and our guests budget. We are having our rehearsal dinner at the hotel at the Red Parrot and I don't feel cheap about this. We are having our wedding reception at the Divi Phoenix, and we are also paying for our guests on the Kukoo Kunuku for a welcome reception. In all honesty our guests love the idea that they know what they are paying for upfront with all meals and all drinks. We have also told them no gifts. Their presence in Aruba is their present to us.

It comes down to what works best for you. For me it was having my friends and family afford to join us in beautiful Aruba!

[Arubalisa]

Originally Posted by soxgirl

I'm getting married in May at the Divi All Inclusive. We choose all inclusive as it fit in both our budget and our guests budget. We are having our rehearsal dinner at the hotel at the Red Parrot and I don't feel cheap about this. We are having our wedding reception at the Divi Phoenix, and we are also paying for our guests on the Kukoo Kunuku for a welcome reception. In all honesty our guests love the idea that they know what they are paying for upfront with all meals and all drinks. We have also told them no gifts. Their presence in Aruba is their present to us.

It comes down to what works best for you. For me it was having my friends and family afford to join us in beautiful Aruba!

Congratulations! Your guests will always remember the Kukoo Kunuku "welcome" party and Red Parrot imo is special as well.

[poodles2]

We are getting married at the Westin this summer. The staff there has been great to work with! Just another option to consider. There is another bride on here who is getting married there in May and she has nothing but great things to say about it. Good luck! It was hard to chose.

[Mr. Ratt]

Now that I see all this stuff about weddings and costs and this and that, it makes me happy that my Lady and I did it very simply. Those that wanted to come, came to Aruba, those that couldn't make it for one reason or another wished us well and waited 'til we got home.
We were fortunate in that we did our ceremony on the beach, back in '04, down by the end of the Divi property, at 11:11, full eclipse, full moon, and with the good graces of Francis and (the oft-missed) Festus at the Tamarijn, we had torches to encircle us and "light our way". Inexpensive, romantic and, from what we've been told, memorable. We still have people coming up to us and saying, "You're the couple that was married under the full eclipse, aren't ya?".

Not for everyone, but it worked for us.

It doesn't have to break the bank, it just has to be special to you....

[cindyo]

Mr. Ratt...that must have been spectacular...great great idea ! Got any pics?

[kit]

Just to clarify to some of what I think are naive comments---Looking into an all inclusive for wedding guests is for the convienence of the guests and for everybody to be together. To say that it is a cheap way out is extremely ridiculous. Actually, when having a destination wedding, the bride and groom do in fact pay to have a reception and dinner for all the guests in addition to many other additional costs which is quite expensive especially when you are having a large turnout. Therefore, having a tight budget is not the case. This may be the case for some, but not my case at all. The reason for the destination wedding is to be on a beautiful island and it be less stressful. In conclusion, some should think before they write naive comments that are offensive.

[christene]

I hear you Kit! When we were looking into all-inclusive options, it had nothing to do with trying to save us money, but with trying to be considerate of our guests. We wanted to be able to say, "this is the cost of the room but everything will be taken care of once you get there". Aruba is expensive and several of our guests love to spend the day having cocktails by the pool which really adds up. And some of them are struggling in this economy and having a hard time spending $35-40 per person for dinner. They would have made really good use of the all-inclusive. (We were also paying all expenses for 12 people so we would have liked to have had a better idea of those expenses.) Unfortunately the all-inclusive route was too expensive for guests that weren't going to indulge (which was about half our guests). So, we found a balance by negotiating breakfast for two into the room rate and we paid for a couple of functions. And Aruba has some fantastic restaurants so we ended up happy that we didn't feel tied to the hotel.

[Andrea J.]

*** a little off topic***
christene is one of the Aruba brides that posted lots of questions and concerns during her planning process.

the community forum is GLAD that christene continues to post and offer advice and talk about her experiences.

many folks make their wedding plans, ask their questions and participate on the forum and then DISAPPEAR. christene, has continued to be an active participant.

[cindyo]

Originally Posted by Andrea J.

*** a little off topic***
christene is one of the Aruba brides that posted lots of questions and concerns during her planning process.


many folks make their wedding plans, ask their questions and participate on the forum and then DISAPPEAR. christene, has continued to be an active participant.

Perhaps Christene can post her website address for all to read...