Well we went in circles for the rest of the trip trying to figure out what option is the best for us and finally it comes down to the Westin Aruba or the Aruba Marriott. For us this decision is incredibly difficult. Really, we want the wedding and reception at the Westin and want to stay at the Marriott but that’s not practical because the hotels are on opposite ends of Palm Beach. Also, we felt like we’d be able to negotiate a better deal if we kept all of our business in one place.

For the wedding itself, we felt like both resorts were pretty even. The Marriott is the hotel furthest north on Palm Beach and the Westin is almost the last one on the south Palm Beach so we didn’t feel crowds would be a problem on either. Our October date is also considered off season. Neither seemed to be a bad location (or better than the other) in terms of things to do and restaurants, though the Westin would be a little closer to the low-rise area and downtown.

For the reception, we had a lot more confidence in the Westin. We loved, loved, loved their coordinator and were excited about the food. We liked the primary reception space (the terrace) and loved the back-up space, (the ‘gallery’). Unfortunately though the Westin is nice, we didn’t really want to stay there. We wanted the brighter, better decorated rooms and lush pool with the swim-up bar.

We try to ask ourselves, which is more important – the quality of the stay of the guests or our 4 hour party? So many people told us ‘this is about you’, your wedding… guests will just be happy to be there and you need to pick what you want. Well we want our family and friends to get as much enjoyment as possible from the trip. We respect the fact that many of them don’t get to travel much and will be making sacrifices to be able to come to our wedding. And finally we asked ourselves, if we were to go back to Aruba just for vacation, where would we want to stay? That answer was the Aruba Marriott.

So, we moved on to contract negotiations. Would one present a deal that’s so much better the decision will get easier? The Westin was quick to offer a really nice package – they would give our guest all ocean view rooms with breakfast for 2 at a good price.

Initial negotiations with the Marriott were a bit slow. At first their best room price was more than the Westin, didn’t include breakfast and they couldn’t offer ocean view rooms. The difference amounted to around $60 per night. Given that we are paying all expenses for probably a dozen people, that would really add up. Finally, a destination wedding travel agent got involved (this woman is awesome!) She got them to match the breakfast for two and lower the room price to within $10 of the Westin. Room type could not be guaranteed though. We would be offered island, garden or ocean view. Guests would be offered the ‘best available upon checkin’. Given that its off-season in October the manager insisted our guests would be very happy with their rooms.

Sealing the deal was still difficult though. We were still torn between the two. Finally we asked ourselves, if it weren’t for the sales coordinator we met at the Westin – if she weren’t there anymore – would the Westin still be a contender? That answer was finally no. That it was this fantastic woman we were attached to, not the property. There was also the nagging concern about the Westin being at the windiest part of the beach. The independent wedding planner strongly advised against their beach for the ceremony telling us we’d be much happier with an Eagle Beach wedding ceremony. Honestly, I don’t remember it being any windier than anywhere else, but know that’s a complaint I’ve read other places as well. Since we weren’t planning on having videography we just dismissed this during our visit but wondered again about it later.

And don’t get me wrong – the reception locations at the Marriott aren’t BAD. The property is beautiful and they have several options – the beach, a paved patio, the lawn, poolside, the sandy volleyball area… We just wanted something a little more intimate – semi-private. And it was just dinner we were worried about. We liked the beach ceremony area we’d also use for cocktail hour and loved the idea of dancing poolside but wanted dinner to be a bit cozier. Hopefully we can accomplish this with the canopy we have in mind.