Initially when we decided on a destination wedding, we hoped to find a local travel agent to help us through the process. Whether right or wrong, we quickly came to the conclusion that a local agent wasn’t going to be of much help. They’ll block rooms and arrange flights (and charge a per person fee for their service) but don’t really want to get involved with weddings. Now there could be good local resources but our meeting was so bad we decided we’d just ‘go it alone’.

I was still feeling a little discouraged expecting Aruba to be way out of our budget. Its definitely beyond a Mexico budget. My fiancé now takes the lead and starts looking while I pout (just a little). He connects with someone at the Renaissance and it seems the Renaissance may just have potential! While Aruba is still expensive, we may be able to get more for our money at the Renaissance than we could at any of the hotels in Naples, so we set up a meeting. Actually two – one to discuss wedding options and the second to see their “Private Island”, the only private beach in Aruba. Now I get back in the game…

I start doing my research leading me to Westin. I just love Westins but assumed they’d be priced totally out of our league.  At first they were but then the room rate dropped over $100 per night and I finally took a serious look at their wedding packages and catering. While not cheap (we’re talking upscale hotel here), not nearly as bad as I expected. So, another meeting is set up…

Then we get to work trying to pick maybe two other resorts to interview. We happened upon the Marriott Aruba and Stellaris Casino… We exchange a couple of emails but ruled them out when they wouldn’t have a planner that could meet us on the weekend. (That later changed…)

So now what? The rest looked so similar to us. Also, some early advice from a friend – don’t rule out the “low-rise” / Eagle Beach locations. From what I understand, the ‘low-rise’ district has somewhat older hotels but a beautiful beach. I’m trying to research them and pick a couple of back-up locations when I finally decided its time to meet with an independent wedding planner. So – I send an email to one in particular. She replies quickly and shares a wealth of information! She is just wonderful and seems to really love her work.

With her help, I’m trying to consider more ‘practical’ and potentially less expense options on Eagle Beach (though we expected we’d book our rooms at a hotel in Palm Beach). She sent lots of pictures and ideas. The Manchebo Beach and Pavilion looked like they might have potential as well as the terrace at Tiera del Sol. I kept looking at pictures and am afraid I still wasn’t feeling it. While very nice, I wanted a more ‘upscale look’ and have started drooling over the Hyatt Regency (especially since I had just seen it featured on the travel channel as one of the 10 Best Resorts in the Caribbean). I’m expecting this will definitely be WAY out of our league, but my fiance takes the initiative and makes the call, so the following week we start getting to know the Hyatt via email.

So now – in addition to the Renaissance meetings we have a meeting to explore ‘low-rise’ / Eagle Beach options with an independent planner and three ‘high-rises’ we want to see.