Our Aruba Wedding

I mentioned in our previous post that one of the things we LOVED about our wedding photos and our photographers, was that they captured how young and adventurous we FEEL. The pics are fresh and funky. Here are a couple of our favorites from the wedding day itself. We have plenty of photos that aren’t loaded with attitude and featuring sunglasses, but they seem to be our favorites! (Thanks for indulging me!)

How cool is this!?! This totally says “Married in Aruba!”

My sister-in-law described this photo the best: “Mission Accomplished!”

Somehow we really don’t care about ’sunset photos’, but love this one!

And I just LOVE these shots — the “Moody Guy Shots”. Maybe this
one would  be better titled “Mission Accomplished”. He’ll probably say
more like “I’m in charge now” but we both know better. =)

Hello, hello! I know I haven’t posted in a while. Things have been crazy busy now that the wedding is done and it’s time to get back to everything at home that we neglected during the planning. We are still on a high after our wedding and were SO EXCITED last week when we were notified our wedding photo proofs are ready.

The day after the wedding we chose to do a “Trash the Dress” shoot. I remember the first time I heard the term Trash the Dress. I was mortified! Why on earth would someone trash their wedding dress? Why would they destroy something so special? Well the more I read I started to realized that “Trash the Dress” isn’t always what it sounds… The dress may not get trashed at all. Sometimes what’s called Trash the Dress is really just a ‘post-wedding’ photo shoot. Often these are done in an unconventional location. I have TTD links I’ve posted here in other posts. Sometimes you see an unconventional location like the couple sitting cross legged in the middle of a street. Other times you see a backdrop or setting that is often in stark contrast to the delicate beauty of a wedding dress. Graffiti walls, “ruins”, among cacti, riding bicycles (or even banana tubes!) and of course, getting in the water!

The more I looked at these photos, the more I started to love the idea. In these sessions, the couple is often much more relaxed and having fun! Gone are the pressures and distractions. Suddenly its time for the two of you to ‘play’ and really get some unique photographs. Suddenly I ‘had to have’ these pictures. Luckily, my husband also loved the idea!

After spending what’s often countless hours looking for the dress and thousands of dollars to buy her, its still hard to imagine ‘trashing’ her. Shortly before the wedding I purchased a simple white cotton strapless eyelet sundress that I was thinking I would probably use for the shoot. Even I couldn’t imagine subjecting my Romona to dirt and bricks and water.

We made it through the wedding and had our TTD shoot lined up for the next afternoon. I so loved my dress that I realized I wasn’t done making some amazing memories with her. I packed up the dress and the veil and we stopped by to pick up the photographers. We asked the hotel concierge for directions to the “Gold Mill Ruins”. Well we should have been more specific and asked for the Bushiribana Gold Mill Ruins. This is the location of some of the dramatic post-wedding photos you may have seen; large rock walls and the sea crashing in the background.

Instead we were sent to the Balashi Gold Mill Ruins. These were not at all what we expected. Not the drama of Bushiribana. We were conflicted – make the most of it, or go in search of the intended location? We decided to make the most of it and are so glad we did. We totally had the place to ourselves and still got some gorgeous photos…. Photos you probably won’t see anywhere else! That’s what’s great about having a brilliant photographer – they can make any location ‘the location’.

So I put on ‘the dress’… Romona, and we got started. I went to climb up in the window and realized it was going to be a challenge. The dress really could get damaged. I knew I was ready and up I went! It was a rush. A nook or cranny we wouldn’t have given a second glace to inspired the photographers. We had an idea the photos were going to be cool, but really had no idea just how much we were going to love them! And even better!?! We had time to hit the beach and do sunset in the water!

A few minutes away was Eagle Beach. We parked by the Bucuti and got in the water there. (Remember, there are no private beaches in Aruba.) There were very few people around. Our photographer told us to just take a stroll down the beach and back. We had fun goofing around. And they warned us — the ‘getting in the water’ part goes really quick. So how did we do it? Well we started walking… he said go ahead and walk in the water a little bit. Just maybe our feet. Then he had me lay on the sand, head toward the beach, feet toward the water. The idea was I’d be laying there and the waves would come up and envelope me. Swallow me up. I thought this would be a succession of building waves, but instead we got one big wave right off the bat! And he got the pic!!! What a surreal feeling…

After officially getting drenched, then we went ahead and went into the water to play. It was hilarious. Its amazing how heavy a wet wedding dress gets! And the waves were strong. They kept knocking me over. And the photogs had ideas of these shots they wanted – him lifting me up or carrying me out of the water… yeah, right! Took a LOT of tries with the water knocking me over again and again and him adjusting to the fact that I now weighed 20 or 30 pounds more than he is used to. It was an absolute blast.

So why trash ‘the’ dress instead of the sundress? A dress I love so much? A dress I worked so hard to find and pay for? It’s hard to explain. Part of it was wanting those photos. I’ve never felt as beautiful as I did in that dress. Part of it is saying goodbye to ‘the bride’, the single woman. Part of it was an outlet for some of the frustrations I experience during planning…

Our photographers warned us the dress was going to be smelly. We got back to the hotel and let her air out on the balcony the next three days. When I went to collected it, what a sight! Why didn’t I feel a tinge of regret, I don’t know. I’m very sentimental about the dress and just grinned as I thought about the fun we had together. My husband was the one that actually insisted we get it dry cleaned and even ‘preserved’. It was embarrassing to bring it to the cleaners. There was all kinds of sand and even driftwood in the underskirt. He sent it out and it did take longer than normal to get back. I’m still dying to open ‘the box’ and survey the damage, but the dry cleaner insists it came clean! Seriously!?! He said if it didn’t you’d see the ’sorry…’ sticker, tag, indicating there were stains they couldn’t get out. Clean? Really? I actually had a couple of photographers tell me that many of the dresses come clean just fine. Still, you have to be prepared for it to not come clean.

Now she’ll be boxed up til our 10th year anniversary when we’ll open it back up. Our joke is that if I can fit into it on our 10th anniversary I’ll get diamonds! What does he get if I don’t? I guess he gets to save a lot of money! Or maybe by then he’ll decide he gets a sports car if I don’t. Its all in fun…

In the end, these turned out to be our favorite photos! I feel really lucky that I have a husband that was willing to entertain what to many seems like such a crazy idea. And we were so lucky to have such gifted photographers that captured how young and adventurous we feel!

Oh and those photographers, no, they are not in Aruba. Though I tried and tried, I just couldn’t seem to find any that compared. Sometimes you just ‘know’. You see photos that take your breath away and know you won’t settle for less. My advice – never settle with your wedding photos!

Thank you so much to the wonderful bride that resent the ‘Ruins’ photo link I love so much. These photos are so gorgeous! The album of “Joel & Katrin” is featured in the SOTA Dzine / SOTA Weddings portfolio. Here is the album: “Aruba Wedding Photos” Here are two entries from their blog: one and two. Unfortunately, these brilliant young edgy photographers are not located in Aruba – they live here in the USA. I have not yet found an online Aruban portfolio in this sort of style. If you do know of an Aruban photographer that showcases photos like this, please let us know! Congratulations to this beautiful couple and thank you for sharing your stunning photos.

Several weeks ago, someone sent me an email that included a link to a photographers blog that featured a trash the dress shoot done in Aruba. It was amazing and I cannot find the link! There were some really cool pictures done at a site with some ruins. If you sent that link, could you please please share again!?!

When I first heard about these Trash the Dress shoots, I thought the idea sounded absurd. Why would you buy a dress that might cost thousands of dollars and then trash it? Is it supposed to be symbolic – a symbol of giving up the bride and becoming the married woman? Or is it a ‘release’ after spending months consumed by the wedding planning? Or is it just fun?

For beach weddings, the trash the dress shoot often shows the couple in the water. And I realized its not uncommon to have a second, inexpensive dress for this. (I can’t imagine trashing my Romona Keveza Couture gown!)

Anyway, the albums are often stunning! I think they are often done a day after the wedding. The couples are relaxed and just playing… the wedding is done and now its time to just have some fun! I’m starting to wonder if I’m going to regret the fact that we have not arranged one of these shoots. We have photography only for the wedding day. I’m wondering what it would take to hire someone for that shoot as well as possibly an hour or two at the welcome party? And I’m a little bummed out I won’t have great photos of getting my henna done (that will be done the night before the party). So here I am, only a few weeks left wondering if I want another photographer. Even if there is someone available, I’m wondering if I’m asking for trouble if I bring it up.

So just this morning I was exchanging an email with one of my favorite fellow brides. One of the topics was photography. Then right after that, I get yet another email asking about photographers. While I didn’t want to review specific vendors until after our wedding is done, I know it can be hard to secure the best photographer. Since I get so many emails on this, I will share with you who I think is the best photographer – In my opinion, hands down, its Victor Winklaar. First, his website is beautiful and his photo gallery is top notch. Even the “Ring Photo”, shown left, is so much more interesting than the ‘rings set on top of the bouquet’ photos we’ve seen so many times (though he has some of those too). I am super super fussy when it comes to photography. One of my best friends happens to be a brilliant fine art photographer. Having had the opportunity to kind of see the world through her eyes, I would never be able to settle for a typical, traditional wedding album I won’t want to open.

I appreciate the fact that Victor creates interest with clean composition and perfectly exposed photos, and does not rely on Photoshop effects. Given I’ve worked in Photoshop for over 10 years and still maintain my membership with the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, I feel like I can spot mediocre Photoshop work in a second and shudder at the sight of it. (Of course that helps explain why I am among other things a “Mac snob”.) I think Victor avoids the temptations and traps that less experienced photographers often fall into. So, before assuming Victor will be out of your budget, give him a shout. While for us, video was an afterthought, high quality photos were at the top of our list.

One interesting note – while you’ll find plenty of rave reviews through the Aruba.com forum, I’ve noticed that Victor is one of the photographers that does not participate in or market himself through the forum. Some photographers are fairly aggressive in their marketing and there are others that are more subtle, acting more as just part of the community offering help on all sorts of topics. I’m a fan of the ‘not marketing’ or very indirect marketing over those that try so hard. (By the way – my wedding planner also does not market herself through the forum.) You shouldn’t have to tell people how good you think you are. If you’re great at what you do I think the referrals should speak for themselves. For me, self-promotion in the forum is a real turn-off… While they aren’t allowed to blatantly self promote, at least one is clever at bending the rules.

Bryan Morris of Bryan Morris Photography has posted some gorgeous Aruba City Hall photos on his blog. These are these best pictures I have found so far. They really show hall’s charm. And, in my opinion, Bryan is one of the best photographers Aruba has to offer.

Thanks to the interest of another bride I’m posting my Hyatt site visit photos… Clicking the thumbnail takes you to a detail page and a ‘medium’ image – clicking on that image will then give you a larger image. There’s probably a better way to display photos by I’m new to blogging – before this I hated blogs. Finally I see the value. =)

Expectation: We love the idea of having our wedding on a private island. We weren’t crazy of photos we’ve seen of set-ups but hope we’ll like it better in person. We did like the idea of the privacy and the fact that we could be as loud as we want.

Finally – the fifth (and last) appointment of the day – going to see the Renaissance Island. We’re told we would see a wedding set-up and get to walk around the island. When researching the private island I found posts from those who LOVED the island and wouldn’t dream of having a wedding anywhere else. Then there were others that found the island lacking in charm – even describing it as ‘cheesy’. There were complaints of mosquitos, airplanes flying overhead and the boat ride over to the island.

We took the boat from the Marina hotel over to the island along with a few of the vendors that were going to be working the wedding. A manager from the Marina hotel joined us and was really helpful since at first there was a misunderstanding with the boat arrangement. I had wondered how you get over to the island by boat without your hair getting all messed up. While the boat is mostly open, there is a sheltered area where the bride could sit (she’d have to sit backwards at the very front). I had also heard accounts that said the ride to the island takes 17 minutes. I forgot to time it but was certain it took less than 17 minutes – felt like 10 to me. So – the whole boat ride which had me a little apprehensive was totally fine… a non-issue in our book.

The island itself was cuter than I expected. Not really paradise but nice. There are lots of palms for shade and the lagoon areas for swimming looked nice. Also, the ‘peninsulas’ with lounge chairs on them looked like a cool place to hang out during the day.

The manager first took us to the right of the dock to show us the beach where the ceremony was set up. It wasn’t bad. Not a very big area but big enough. If I remember right during the day this is the adult only “Flamingo Beach”. We didn’t love it or hate it. Then he took us to the other beach 50-100 yards away (the family friendly “Iguana Beach”). Again – not bad and they were in the process of setting up. He took us beyond that beach to show us more of the island where they have a fitness center which was ‘kind of’ cool. While we were there we watched a plane take off and never noted it being noisy so we were sure we wouldn’t be bothered by planes overhead.

Then we went back to look closer at the reception area. I could see how some people would love this set-up. Dinner with your feet in the sand and having all that privacy and being able to make as much noise as you want. Still, it didn’t sit right with me. Maybe it was just a little too informal because it felt more ‘beach barbecue’ than dream wedding. The decorations were unappealing to us, though we do have to respect that the couples taste was different than ours (and budget may be more limited). Also, just my personal preference, but I didn’t want to be in the sand for a whole night. They do have a concrete slab / dance floor under the sand in front of where the band was set up so you could at least be on solid ground for dancing. It was maybe 10-12″ square.

Overall I didn’t think the set-up and location was bad – it just wasn’t ‘us’. It felt a little more ‘nice picnic at the park’ than chic event. It would take a lot of decorating for us to be interested in this location. And as for mosquitoes – I normally have a terrible time with mosquitoes – I get bitten up like crazy, but didn’t while we were there. Of course the reviews did say they come out at dusk so we were an hour early. And we did take note of the 6 brand new cans of bug repellent sitting out on the bar.

Conclusion: Great idea but not us at all. We want something a little classier.

Expectation: We were expecting to really like but not fall in love with this property but it sounds like they will work really hard to make us happy.

In our initial research we had ruled out the Aruba Marriott. We had exchanged some emails with them, received their wedding packet and then wanted to schedule and appointment for a Saturday site visit. We were shocked when we were told their office is closed on the weekend! That there wouldn’t be anyone that could meet with us. We figured how can they be effective at running our weekend wedding when they can’t even arrange to have someone show us the place on the weekend?

Well along the way, though an acquaintance, we were referred to a destination wedding planner. This is an organization that specializes in helping you select a resort and arranging your travel. I was skeptical at first but the woman we met through the phone and via email was outstanding! She was eager to help and never applied any pressure. I told her our plan and she insisted that we reconsider the Marriott. She promised the property is gorgeous and everyone she has worked with has been wonderful. After making a call for us, she helped set up an appointment with a manager that was glad to come in and meet with us on her day off. We were really encouraged, enough so that we arranged to spend the second night of our visit on their property.

The Aruba Marriott has just finished a $50 million renovation that is fabulous! Our first impress was that we loved it – the lobby was large and open and very contemporary with a nice bar. The check-in staff was helpful and friendly. We were impressed with our room – theirs are the biggest on the island and ALL rooms have large 100sq ft balconies. They have nice beds, beautiful modern decor, flat panel TVs and brand new bathrooms with double sinks. The biggest downside to the room was that the door to the balcony is a heavy solid glass door that swings out. There isn’t a slider so that you can keep the door open letting fresh air in. On the other hand, the lack of the screen door is probably the reason their room seemed to be the brightest of any of the rooms that we saw.

We were a little early so we decided to go have lunch by the pool which was quite nice. The resort is “U” shaped with the pool nestled in the middle courtyard. While the pool isn’t terribly large, the pool area is lush with palms and tropical plants providing shade an a real tropical feel that you come to a resort for! And I was pleased to see a swim-up bar. We ordered a grouper sandwich that was great and a couple of fruity cocktails. We really enjoyed being there and had fun watching the iguanas. The only downside I saw to their pool area is that they put WAY TOO MANY lounge chairs around it. The pool wasn’t at all crowded with people and it seems they could have done just as well with half the chairs.

The woman we met with was right on time and didn’t rush us at all as we were still finishing our lunch. She pulled up a seat and told us to take our time. Then she showed us around the property. The beach was nice and didn’t seem overly crowded. (The fact that the Marriott is the northernmost hotel probably helps.) All in all, we LOVED the resort.

Unfortunately we didn’t love the reception options. You can have the reception on the beach, on the lawn, on a new outdoor ‘patio / terrace’, by the pool or in a ballroom. While the outdoor areas were nice, when we saw photos of how they are typically done up for a reception, we weren’t impressed. They looked so bland. We liked the lawn area but not the way they just stick tables on the lawn and call it good. We wanted something more intimate vs feeling like we’re having an expensive picnic on the lawn. Not only that, but for the back-up location there are ballrooms. Sounds good but we REALLY didn’t like them. They’re pretty ordinary… no windows, no terrace / balcony in front… So now the challenge is how do we personalize the space if we want to be at this resort? Of course they say they can ‘do anything’ but it will cost and the pressure is on us to be creative or hire a good decorator. (They do allow outside vendors for most things other than food and beverage.) And I cringe at that ballroom as my back-up location.

This is going to be an extremely difficult decision. We love the Westin for the wedding but aren’t feeling like we want to stay there. We love the Hyatt for the wedding but they don’t have our preferred date and may be prohibitively expensive for some of our guests. We love the Marriott as a resort but aren’t excited about their reception options…

Conclusion: We really liked the hotel! We like the lobby, pool area and love the rooms. It’s priced in between the Westin and the Hyatt. Unfortunately we are not excited about the reception site options. We especially dislike having only ballrooms as our back-up location in the case of rain. Our last appointment is back at the Renaissance to see their private island – maybe after that visit this will all be more clear.

Expectation: We were expecting to LOVE the Westin. Wherever we travel, Westin is one of our preferred hotels. The sales coordinator we had been exchanging emails with was always prompt and friendly – prior to the trip she was by far the best to work with.

Though we didn’t care for the Renaissance Ocean Suites hotel, we did get a great night sleep there. The beds were comfortable and the room was quiet. Just what we needed before our morning appointment at the Westin!

As soon as we walked into the Westin we said “Yes, we could hang out here!” Their lobby is modern and airy and we felt more at home. We met their sales coordinator for breakfast and fell in love with her. She is warm and bubbly and absolutely adorable. We had breakfast with her and could tell that she was the kind of person that would treat this wedding as if it were her own with attention to every detail. She was ready to take notes and was totally open to special requests, even getting excited about them. She seemed to treat special requests as a welcomed opportunity. You can tell she genuinely likes her job and the resort.

The biggest concerns we had with the Westin were that we had read reviews saying they are on the windiest part of the beach. The independent planner we met with Friday night warned us how busy the beaches are at all of the high-rise hotels and the wind at the Westin is especially troublesome. We were also concerned that the Westin would be way out of our budget.

Well, I can’t really speak to how much of an issue the wind is there, but we ended up not being very concerned when we visited their beach. Also, the Westin is near the beginning of the high-rise section so we also weren’t concerned about  ‘crowds’ or distracting water sports late in the afternoon.

We toured the rest of the property. The beach and spa were very nice. The pool is ‘ok’. It’s really large and there is plenty of room around it, however there wasn’t much shade and we noticed that very few people were by the pool which seemed unusual for an 80+º day. There also was no swim-up bar which was a bit of a disappointment. I can forgive a lot of things for a ‘happening’ pool.

We then moved on to the reception spaces and loved them! They have a wonderful terrace that overlooks the pool and beach. Its open air but covered and sheltered from the wind by the hotel. Its charming and has some casual seating they’ll let you use giving us the mix of functional and loungy seating that we want. It’s a nice intimate space that would not need much decor (and therefore save us money!). Next we looked at the back-up location and almost liked that more! At the moment they had it set up as a gallery and that’s exactly what the space felt like – an art gallery. Gorgeous wood floor, nice lighting, a glass wall looking into the lobby… Fantastic!

She took the time to show us three different rooms. They were ‘nice’ but not quite what we expected. They were inline with what you expect from Westin – contemporary with their famous beds but a little bland for a resort. I remember sage green drapes and beige carpet and wishing there was some cheery pop of color that says you’re in a tropical place. I was also wishing they were a little brighter as far as sunlight streaming in. Every room does have a balcony though, which we appreciated.

In working through proposals we found the Westin to be the most affordable of our top three choices (Westin, Hyatt and Marriott). We were offered a great rate on ocean view rooms for all guests and catering prices were reasonable especially considering they were going to do quite a lot to customize the menu for us (we wanted to see some Indian options).

On a side note - we went back to the Westin later that evening for dinner and it was FANTASTIC! The restaurant is called Azull and is sort of a make-shift restaurant on the beach. Just before sunset they set up dining tables with chaise lounges in front of them. You get to relax on the chaise with a glass of champagne while watching the sunset. Once the sun has set you move to your dinner table and have a fantastic ‘feet in the sand’ dinner surrounded by tiki torches. The night we went there was just us and one other couple. There were two waiters that were the cutest guys! They were having fun with us encouraging us to get up and dance to the romantic music they were playing for us. For dinner, really you get your choice of “Dinner A” or “Dinner B”. The “menu” is written on a board… We both chose grouper I think and the food was outstanding! We have a shrimp appetizer that was fantastic, the main course even better and the desert was over the top. It was just too good to pass up – by the time we were done we could barely walk out of there. And get this – toward the end of the evening it starts to get a little cool – anticipating this, the waiters brought us warm towels to wrap around our shoulders. What a luxury. We highly highly recommend Azull. (To view a larger photo, click on the thumbnail which links to their website.)

Conclusion: We LOVED the sales coordinator and wedding spaces, however did not fall in love with the resort as we had expected. It seemed the rooms and pool could be brought up a notch. Still, we left thinking that if we don’t like any of the options we had yet to see, we’d be ok with that.