We chose to have our Welcome Party at Marriott’s La Vista restaurant. We had briefly considered Moomba Beach Bar, down the beach as well as renting out one of the Marriott’s “Governor’s Suites”, but La Vista won. Moomba is still a little bit of a walk and while the catering menu is less expensive, it didn’t look very interesting. They also only have outdoor facilities – no indoor back-up. The Governor’s suite just isn’t large enough or properly equipped for a party. It has the same tiny fridge as the rest of the rooms and a small sink, but no other kitchenette amenities. There also isn’t enough seating for 20, let alone 40+. One other location we considered is the Marriott’s Atrium Terrace, an outdoor space outside the lobby bar, but were warned that area can get really hot. Also, if we used the Atrium Terrace we’d have had to pay set-up fees. In the end we decided we’d rather save our money for food and drinks!

We had a couple of conference calls with Desireé, the Marriott’s wedding planner, and Eveline, the manager of La Vista. I’ve mentioned before that I had a lot of fun talking to these ladies! They both have really cute personalities and genuinely seem so happy to help. They make it fun. Given they are both planning weddings I felt like I could relate to them and that they ‘got’ where I was coming from.

Eveline worked with her crew to help us create an appetizer menu which included items that are not on their regular menu. She seemed to enjoy the challenge. One of our favorite items was a Tamarind Margarita as well as a colorful non-alcoholic mango margarita. She also worked with us help figure out how to best use our budget.

The Tasting – Drinks: When we arrived Wednesday, we did a tasting with Eveline, Desireé, the bartender and Corrine, a trainee who is visiting from the Netherlands. The bartender (who we’re told happens to be one of the best on the island – I’ll get his name), started off by offering us the tamarind margarita which was beautifully garnished with this little yellow fruit (can’t remember the name of it) and a lime and served in a martini glass which we loved. As far as I am concerned, the first one was perfect! Nice and tart like a margarita should be. The bartender then suggested trying it a little sweeter which my husband-to-be liked even better! We thought those might go down a little too good though, so we finally settled on one that was in the middle. The mango margarita we loved as is and it was so pretty with its swirl of raspberry puree.

The Tasting – Food: After drinks we moved on to food. The Tandoori Chicken Kabobs with a tangy chili sauce were amazing and made just for us. We think they need to add these to their catering menu! We could have made a meal of them – tender and juicy and the sauce was yummy! And we both really liked the Curried Pumpkin Seed Crusted Shrimp with papaya relish. The Spinach Puffs were not my favorite but he was really happy with them and we’re told they are really popular at Indian functions. They were good but just didn’t have the “wow” the others had. (I have a feeling the marinated vegetable skewers they were going to make special for us would have been better. The chicken kabobs that weren’t on the menu ended up being our favorite item!) The Seared Beef Medallions with pineapple relish and red thai curry were good but we decided instead to switch to the Mini Thai Marinated Beef Kebabs with teriyaki sauce which ended up being a huge hit!

Party Planning: Finally we moved on to planning the party itself. We would be taking over the La Vista bar and were offered the lounge as well. Eveline showed us some great candles she could bring out to add ambiance and asked us if we would like furniture moved. Aside from adding tables for the fruit and cheese displays, we thought the La Vista bar was perfect as is. And while I normally don’t like ‘flameless candles’ the ones Eveline has are beautiful.

Mehndi: The big round table in the corner was great for the henna artist to work. They brought in some extra lighting that let her work comfortable without being intrusive. People were able to gather around that table and sit with Dipti as she was working. Our guests loved Dipti and her henna artistry. Almost everyone got in on the action, even my uncle who had a ‘henna ring’ drawn around his finger and one of my other male friends who had his girlfriends name ‘tatooed’ on is shoulder. Dipti was a real delight and her husband was also a huge help. You could tell he is so proud of her talent.

Running Late: Unfortunately, we were running really late but Eveline kept the party moving. She played the bhangra music we had given her, and not so subtly – the music was really rockin’ when we arrived! She would call to confirm it was ok to move on to serving drinks, starting the music, sending out the food.. We had been delayed because we were assembling the welcome bags that we didn’t get to put together the night before. We wanted the bags waiting in our guests rooms when they returned from the party. (Too many times my husband-to-be was pulled away to attend to his family – he’d run down to do one errand and then get pull in different directions. And the bellman that needed to pick up the bags arrived on ‘Aruba time’.) Luckily, when we arrived everyone seemed to be in really good spirits and having fun! And we think the delay was worth it because they loved the bags!

Things to do differently? The only thing I’m unsure of is the Welcome Party timing. We had planned it from 8:00-10:00pm. We figured guests would have had very little sleep and would be wanting a nap when they got there. We knew they would arrive at the hotel between 3:00-4:00pm. We also weren’t prepared to offer a full meal and wanted them to have time for dinner. Because of the late time a few retired before we were able to get there. Probably 80% hung in til the end though. Should we have had it earlier – 7:00-9:00pm? Maybe. Also, we had ordered personalized chocolate bars for the party and forgot to give them to Eveline when we gave her the bangles and bindis that would be passed out. That wasn’t all bad because we later caught up with guests to give them the bars in person, however some guests were missed. We also ordered extra bars to pass out at work and to send home with his parents so they could pass them out to friends in India.

Why choose La Vista Restaurant for your Welcome Party or Rehearsal Dinner?

1. The people! Eveline and her crew do an outstanding job. They really listen to you and want to make it your party!
2. The food is outstanding! If you want something that isn’t on their menu, just ask – I think you’ll be surprised at what they are willing and able to do.
3. The space – we love the contemporary decor and the vibe of the space. While it is a bar, its non-smoking and has ambience without being too dark and doesn’t need ‘decorating’
4. Cost control - since there are little (if any) set-up charges and no decorating necessary, you get to spend your money on food and drinks!  You determine your budget and decide what you want to serve, yet there is a full bar still available for those that want to order food or drinks on their own tab. We chose to offer a pre-determined amount of margaritas (alcoholic and non), 4 different appetizers, a fruit display, cheese montage and some veggies. Also, the left-over fruit, cheese and veggies were packaged up and held for us to take on our sailing excursion the next day.

Thank you so much to Eveline and the La Vista crew for getting our event off to a great start!

Photos to follow, probably in a separate post…