Our Aruba Wedding

Ok, you know you have a great party going when you get party crashers! According to Desiree, in her years of doing weddings for the Marriott, she has never had to deal with wedding crashers. And this for a party where we weren’t even sure we’d have anyone that would dance!

We met with Mark Benson (of Cool Pro DJs and Elite Productions) and DJ Randolph the night we got into town. At first we didn’t know what to make of DJ Randolph – he seemed so ’serious’ and kind of quiet, but when he asked questions we knew he was really paying attention and ‘getting’ what we wanted. He wanted to know the age ranges of the people, genres of music we preferred, what kinds of songs we did not want to hear, etc.

This reminds me of an insecurity I had in planning — for some reason I had a feeling we would be hiring them to just ‘do what they do’ and would be left ‘hoping for the best’. That is not the case all. They do have real talent and did care about our event. They were so glad to meet with us and find out what WE wanted – make sure they helped share our personalities with our guests.

One of our most important requests was to have some bhangra music incorporated, which we would give him on a CD. We told him we wanted it well represented, along with some other music our guests are less likely to hear at home like reggaetone and caribbean music. As far a ratio? How much top 40? bhangra? etc, we told him to just feel out the crowd – see what they are responding to.

After the ceremony and family photos we ran upstairs and changed, and then had a quick cocktail in the lobby. (Marriott’s lobby bar makes a great Orange Mojito! Luckily for my husband I only had time for one!) We walked in and did our first dance which Randolph perfectly faded out at the right spot (around two and a half minutes into the song). We cut the cake and then Mark announced we would open the buffet. (Both Mark and Randolph were present the entire time, Mark acting as emcee and Randolph playing music.)

Dinner music I don’t remember much because we were trying to visit with people but I know it was nice. I do remember hearing some jazz… Then all of a sudden the party music started and a lot of people hit the dance floor! Even I was out there and I normally need several drinks to even think about it! As the song was ending I wanted to go to the ladies room but then another great song came on and another and I think 20 minutes later I was finally able to break away. DJ Randolph did a GREAT job of keeping the party moving (we didn’t want any ’slow songs’) and expertly worked in the bhangra music he had just received the day before! My husband is convinced its the bhangra that drew in those party crashers. We felt ‘the more the merrier’ and just asked that the bartender to try to keep track of who was part of our party and who wasn’t.

The did forget to do the champagne toast which we had also wanted to do right after the cake cutting and first dance. Desiree asked if we wanted to still do it and we chose to heed some of Mark and Randolph’s advice – don’t interrupt the flow of party! If its going great, let it keep going – don’t break the rhythm with ‘formalities’ since you may not get it back. They hadn’t opened the bottles yet so instead just got credit for them. We were a little late getting to the ceremony so we were glad to skip another formality and give our guests the party!

One of the best decisions we made was pushing to have a ‘lounge space’ that featured comfortable seating and a nice ambiance created with our lanterns. Those that didn’t want to dance could comfortably watch the activity on the dance floor. We could also take moments to sit with those guests without being too far from the dancing.

And when we asked for something ‘local’, something ‘unique’, Mark had an idea for us. Randolph kind of laughed at him (or maybe it was the other way around, Randolph’s idea) because it sounds a little cheesy – they have a local song and dance called something like ‘the Wiper’. Years ago they had unprecedented rain during Carnival – so much so that they created a song and dance about using the ‘wipers’ (something you rarely have to use in Aruba). So as we’re getting ready to wrap up the party the second to last song they play the Wiper. They got ALL our guests on the dance floor, and Mark is showed them how to do this dance. It was hilarious!!! Even those that sat to the side all night got out there and then remained for one last rockin’ bhangra track! (And yes, that is a napkin on my husband’s head!)

At the end of the night, we couldn’t have been happier with the entertainment! They all made us look like we knew how to throw a party! And of course it proved to be another example of where I should have just listened to Desiree! Her first choice was to hire Mark Benson but I got all wound up when I couldn’t find much information about Cool Pro DJs on the web. I couldn’t find comprehensive reviews, a good website, etc, so I doubted them and wondered if we should hire someone else.

Thank goodness I came back to them! However I do still think this could have been easier for all of us if I could have been pointed to a good website with DJ bios, some music playlists and videos and pictures of parties they’ve played. Its so important to have confidence in your entertainment and so hard to leave their hiring to another person you have communicated with only via email. Hopefully this review at least will give more confidence to the next couple that want to hire them. We give them an A+! And that’s even considering the one ‘problem’ – we were warned they ‘prounounce everyone’s name wrong’. Sure enough – when we were introduced he pronounced our last name wrong. With the way he rocked the party though, he can call us whatever he wants!

Here is my first pass at creating a CD label for the CDs I plan to put in the guests’ welcome bags. My idea is to include music that will help them remember the trip. In particular it will include some bhangra music many won’t be familiar with. I’m also hoping to include some “Island” music. I’m still waiting for the DJ to get me a list of music he’s likely to play – music the guests are not likely to hear on the radio at home. I’m looking for some latin / caribbean / reggaetone, etc. (He did send me one list, but it was mostly typical Top 40 we’re hearing on the radio right now.) If I am unable to get a list from the DJ, I know the Mi Dushi has a CD they sell. Maybe I’ll be able to get a list of songs from it. Too bad I don’t have time to have the CD mailed to me, because that might be even better – memories of the reception and memories of the sail.

For the moment, I’m using the famous divi divi tree and our wedding color – pink. I also found a starfish to overlay. Really, I’m thinking I should have some sort of Indian element on there but I’m not sure what it should be. The text right now is just ‘lorum ipsum’ since I’m still working on the design. Not sure its what I want yet, but at least its ’something’! I have a tendency to want to come up with the ‘perfect’ design and end up with nothing, so at least I have a start.

Woo-hoo! We finally have a “First Dance” song we can both be happy with. We’re selecting Van Morrison’s Someone Like You. In a moment of desperation I made a plea for ideas on Facebook and sure enough my girlfriend chimed in within 5 minutes with the perfect song. The pressure has been on because we went ahead and made an appointment for this Saturday with someone to help us with choreography. I’m ‘over’ the classics I’ve heard over and over (and over). My fiancé has actually been the one that likes the super slow sappy songs that make me gang (did he really recommend Shania!?!?). I’ve been insisting I want something with some ‘movement’ so we don’t torture everyone with three lame minutes of spinning in circles. Well we finally decided we don’t need to do the whole song – we’re actually going to do half of a meaningful ‘romantic’ song and then break into half of a ‘fun’ song. We want to share both sides of our personalities and both cultures. So, I guess we’re halfway there with the romantic song selected.

You may have read a bit about my quest to have some Bhangra music at our reception. If you’re not familiar with it, we often think of it as “Bollywood” music. My fiance is Punjabi and has grown up with this music. I’ve loved it for a long time but don’t really ‘know’ it that well. I hear compilations here and there but couldn’t begin to tell you who sings what. Anyway the music is super lively and fun!  Though I’ve never really watched “Dancing with the Stars”, when I mention Bollywood music people bring it up and said the Bollywood show was one of their best ever! We also have a couple of these tracks in our Zumba class which are so fun! Some of my favs so far: Aaj Ki Raat (from Slumdog Millionaire), Mauja Hi Mauja (From Jab We Met) and Aaj Ki Raat (from Zumba class), Beware of the Boys (Mundian to Bach Ke) (from my personal tiny collection).

In addition to the Mehndi at the Welcome Party, the other Indian element we want to bring into our weekend is some bhangra music rockin’ the reception! (Punjabi people LOVE their parties and love to dance – from 3 years to 80 they are all on the dance floor!) Our Marriott wedding planner was able to find us a DJ. He has this music but we found out that he plays “only Indian functions”. This isn’t really what we are going for – our guests will be mostly Americans that are unfamiliar with the music. We don’t really want an “Indian DJ”, but an awesome DJ that plays a variety of music and can mix some of this other music in since we’d also like to have some latin, Caribbean and dance music. I also went to the Aruba.com forum and asked if anyone has heard of this DJ and still no replies in over 2 weeks! (normally you have valuable input by the end of the first day).

Well the other DJ the Marriott wedding planner wants to hire doesn’t have any bhangra music. It seems the wedding planner really really likes these guys so I’m looking in to it. Since they don’t have the music I would provide a playlist and they will see if they can get it, or what I will probably do is send them a couple of CDs. My hope is that they would review the CDs before the reception and figure out how to weave the music in with the rest. I talked with the owner of the DJ company directly and he gave me three names of DJs that might be available. First thing I did (of course) — search the forum to see if I can find anything out about any of them. No luck! So I’m a little disappointed I’m not being offered a DJ that I can find even one review on. And I cannot find a website for the company that I was hoping would have bios and maybe reviews, testimonials and/or playlist samples. Am I the only one that expects to be able to at least see a professional website for vendors I’m looking to hire? I hate this feeling of having to trust a wedding planner I barely know.

The other option is to see what DJs our independent wedding planner works with. (A few weeks ago she had recommended someone that gets rave reviews on the forum.) This week the Marriott’s planner reminded me we’ll have to pay a ‘facility fee’ if we bring in our own entertainment! I was like what the heck? When we visited in May that’s one thing that caught our attention – we were told no facility fees (not ‘no facility fees unless you hire your own DJ’). I was irritated because it seemed so petty given the money we are spending there. (She also insisted we’re welcome to use our own vendor – that all the Marriott really cares about is the food and beverage. They don’t even require your guests to stay there like many hotels do. That was a big selling point for us — the flexibility and not being held hostage by a small list of ‘hotel approved vendors’.)

We’re definitely exceeding the initial proposals in room and catering costs and decided to have the welcome party there. The fee is nominal but I was really annoyed. Its not my fault they are not offering me anyone I can find reviews on. Not only that – but I would need the DJ for 3.5 hours and I am told I will have to pay for 4! (They will only book in full hour increments.) So, if I hire their DJ I have to pay for time I don’t need and have to put in a lot of work collecting music / playlist for this person. I had told the independent planner that I would be having Marriott handling all the entertainment, but now I don’t know…

By the way — that ‘facility fee’ IS in their wedding package brochure. I didn’t think to look because we were told no facility fees. They say its to cover items like electricity. Really, I’d like to keep it simple and stick with Marriott for the entertainment. I’ve posted a new message on the forum to see if anyone has heard of the three guys the company may have available.

Anyone else going through the ‘wedding planning mood swings’? Getting totally excited about stupid things and getting way too upset about even dumber things?