When we first decided we wanted a destination wedding we were overwhelmed by the choices and didn’t really know where to start. Here are some things that might help you decide that Aruba is a good location for you…

Aruba might be a great choice for you if:

• You want a beautiful beach wedding.
• You want to get married in the Caribbean, but you have a late summer / fall date. Why? Well that’s hurricane season for most of the Caribbean. While Aruba is not immune to hurricanes they are quite rare. Of course there are also many other fantastic months to get married in Aruba – spring is really popular.
• You don’t want to deal with language barriers: While the official language is Dutch and the native language is called Papamiento, many Arubans speak fluent English – in our time there I don’t think we met anyone that didn’t speak excellent english.
• You don’t want to worry about “Montezuma’s Revenge”: the drinking water in Aruba is clean and safe!
• You don’t want to worry about crime: While you want to take precautions anywhere you travel, Aruba has a lot less crime than many other destinations. They have a fairly high standard of living and low unemployment. You don’t see the intense poverty you often see on other Caribbean islands and in Mexico
• You can relax and ‘go with the flow’. Things seem to happen on “Island Time”. People will get back to you but it could take a few days. And securing your hotel could take weeks before you have that signed contract in hand. While things sometimes seem to take a while, on the other side, there is no pressure – no one trying to rush you into commitments
• You want a location that’s easy to get to and in the same time zone (Eastern time zone)! Aruba is only a 4 hour flight from Atlanta
• You want to get married on a “Private Island“: Its surprisingly affordable to get married on Renaissance Island if a private island is your dream
• You want to work with people that really seem to care about you and your event and will go above and beyond for you

Aruba might not be a great choice for you if:

• You want only one wedding and want to get married in a church! All legal Aruban weddings need to take place in their town hall. I know this has been a deal breaker for some. No legal weddings can happen on the beach or in a church. Beach ceremonies are symbolic, often following a town hall wedding or a legal wedding at home. Before deciding you have to have the legal and all the symbolic in one ceremony at least take a moment to learn a little more. This could be a touch that helps make your wedding unique – Bryan Morris (of Bryan Morris photography) has a couple impressive blog posts about the town hall. Here is an interview with “Betto” Christiaans about the hall, and here are some  gorgeous photos that shows you the hall’s charm.
• You need to have the latest / greatest trendy decor for your wedding. Importing goods to Aruba is extremely expensive so local vendors are less likely to follow every trend. They will have what they know works.
• You need instant answers to every question – the answers will come, though sometimes on “Aruba Time”.

Of course one of your big questions is probably cost! When it comes to a budget – an Aruba wedding can really be as affordable or as extravagant as you want. When we started talking to potential vendors we presented them with a very modest budget and guest list which they were glad to work with. No one ever gave us the impression that Aruba or their venue was ‘out of our league’. While our budget and guest list have grown significantly they were never the ones that made us feel like our initial budget goals were inadequate. No pressure or “upselling” – we were the ones that would come to them and say “Ok – we think we have a little more money to spend – where might be the best place to use it?”