When we went to Aruba in May, we happened to visit the Marriott on an evening when a wedding reception was going on. It was a small party of maybe 15-20 people. When we were there we saw them on the patio eating dinner. It was a beautiful night and everyone seemed to be having a nice time, however we found ourselves really distracted by the lighting. On the patio is one long table and above them shines down these spotlights! They seemed so harsh, so severe, and we knew that we absolutely do not want floodlights glaring down on us. At that moment we did not let it bother us too much. This was a small party and for all we know the couple had a modest budget to work with, so we thought maybe they chose the most affordable lighting option.

We decided early on that some more sophisticated lighting is ‘a must’. We’d like a mood, an ambiance created with the help of lighting. One of our favorite sources of inspiration is the photo shown here that shows lighting shining up through branches and casting the shadows of shapes on the top of the tent. And in our other inspiration photos you’ll see a common theme – soft indirect lighting – lighting that is ‘designed’. Another photo shows candlelight in lanterns which were the inspiration for the lanterns we purchased (and the inspiration for the ‘lounge’ area we want) and in another photo we’re intrigued by the lighting under the tables (we know we can’t have open candles on top).

Well yesterday we had a conference call with the Marriott’s wedding planner, Marriott’s lighting guy and the independent wedding planner. We were expecting some more sophisticated lighting options and were just trying to prepare ourselves for what it would cost.

So what are our options? Flood lights and tiki torches. That’s about it. They said the could do the ‘under the table’ with a yellowish light but there would be a cord running out to a plug which no one is sure is a good idea. At least they can help with the tiki torches. Tiki torches definitely help give the ‘island’ feel. I was envisioning tiki torches defining a path to the reception / dinner area, as well as helping to create a perimeter around our space. While we know we can’t have privacy with the location we’ve chosen, I feel like delineating the space with the torches will help it feel a little more like its ours. I explained this and didn’t really get a response. I can’t tell if they’re just not sure what I’m talking about or if they think its a bad idea. They did suggest adding some tiki torches to the cocktail hour though, which I think is a great idea – something I hadn’t thought of.

So now what? There is another vendor we can try to get a quote from, though he may not be available at this late date. He does do some pretty sophisticated event planning. He’s actually someone I had talked to months ago. He sent me a Power Point that had some really good photos in it. (Here is another vendor that doesn’t have a website at this time – at least not one I can find). Now the questions – is he available? What might it cost? Can we hire them direct or through the independent planner.

Marriott said they could arrange a call with the event planner. We asked though, could we make those arrangements through the independent planner? We were told, they would both be using the same company who is going to charge them the same. BUT – the big catch — the Marriott will add their 19% service charge (and 3% tax). Again – we’re still really really bothered by Marriott putting that charge on everything. I’ve mentioned before – Westin and Hyatt add a service charge to food and beverage only. However Marriott adds it to the entire bill – services they provide AND services they hire through third parties. So it was quite an awkward moment – Marriott is running the call, the independent planner is also in the room with them, and we are saying we’ve had enough of this service charge. Its not that we’re going to spend any less money, but money not spent on service charges is money that could be spent on more food and beverage. We’re not expecting to save money but get more for our money. We know its not the wedding planner’s fault – that its just a corporate policy that she can’t do anything about. I’m sure she gets tired of people nagging about that charge but it is significant.