Our Aruba Wedding

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…

We now have a menu for the Welcome Party we will have at the Marriott’s La Vista Restaurant. The manager has been a HUGE help. She worked with her catering staff to try to customize the menu to include some Indian appetizers since we will feature Mehndi and bhangra music. In the end, only one of the Indian inspired selections remains on the menu but I’m thinking the food looks pretty good!

• Curried pumpkin seed crusted shrimp with papaya relish
• Seared beef medallions with pineapple relish and red thai curry
• Tandoori Chicken Kabobs
• Spinach Puffs
• Fruit & Cheese Montage & a Tropical Fruit Display with Yogurt Honey Dip
• Tamarind Margaritas
• Non-Alcoholic Mango Margaritas

They are letting us use the bar / lounge area of the restaurant. The party will be a sort of meet and greet where guests will have a chance to say hello to us and get to know each other. La Vista is kind enough to let us play our own music as background music and will be making some special arrangements for our henna artist to work – in particular, they will provide extra lighting for her. We will also be meeting with the manager when we arrive in Aruba so she can tell us about some decorating ideas she has. Also, while we will only be paying for items on the list above, guests will be able to order whatever food and drinks they want off the regular La Vista menu. Took away some of the pressure of trying to please everyone.

Just today, our “Henna Hand” personalized chocolate bars arrived! Our henna artist is going to look into bringing some bangles and bindis we didn’t get around to ordering. And best of all, my fiancé’s family brought me a lehenga from Bombay and its beautiful! I know they put a lot of work into finding it for me and can’t wait to wear it.

The main feature at our Welcome Party in Aruba will Mehndi. My fiance is Indian and I am American. Our wedding will be a western non-denominational wedding but Mehndi is one Indian tradition we look forward to incorporating. When I first started looking for a henna artist in Aruba I was having a difficult time and finally arranged to bring someone from home. However shortly after those arrangements were made I found out there is at least one (maybe more) henna artist(s) in Aruba. There is actually good sized Indian community in Aruba. In particular, there seem to be a lot of Indian jewelers. Anyway — Karina at Palais Hindu can put you in touch with a Henna Artist that works at a very reasonable rate. As of last week, Bridal hand Mehndi was quoted at $80 and feet at $65. Guests are quoted at $15 each. You can contact Karina through the Palais Hindu website. She also has wedding rentals available and can offer guidance on other Indian touches you might be looking for. She has been a huge help to me and graciously shared a lot of information.

Today I had a wonderful conference call with the Marriott’s wedding planner and the manager of the La Vista Restaurant where we will have our welcome party. These ladies are so cute and were so much fun to talked to. We talked over an hour throwing ideas around. I also learned that they are both planning their own weddings and ‘get’ my concerns.

I have found myself at times getting a little wound up and defensive as I try to assert my wishes. I’m suddenly realizing how unnecessary that was. These girls really are in this with us. I feel like they really do care about our event and enjoy their work. Early on when we were negotiating the contracts we had to deal with the “corporate” side of the Marriott. We really liked the manager that we worked with but often she’d have to get answers from her manager which could take days. And it seemed like it took a while to actually get that contract in hand to review. Also there were areas where there was no flexibility due to Marriott policies (like the fact that my guests can’t guarantee themselves an ocean view room with our ‘run of the house’ contract, even if they are willing to pay more). I think it was this feeling like we were wrestling with a big corporation that put me into a defensive mode.

Now all the ‘paperwork’ is done and we have moved on to the planning. At first I was a bit disappointed that our planner doesn’t really start working with us until three months before the wedding, but now I can see that is an appropriate starting time. Otherwise I would have driven her nuts for the last two months. Now that she is ready to work on our wedding she is really focused on us and the other near future weddings instead of being distracted by weddings that are still 6 months or more away. A month ago I was getting frustrated when it would take days to get an answer, however now that I’m inside the three month window, I can see that everything is as it should be. She follows up quickly and when she is unavailable, forwards issues to someone else that can get back to me right away. 

So, my fears of being “just another bride in a Marriott wedding production line”, are alleviated. I think we’re right on track and am confident our event will get all the attention it needs, if not more.

Planning is moving along! On Friday I spoke with the Marriott’s wedding planner regarding Welcome Party options. As of Friday morning I was down to three options: the Marriott’s “Atrium Terrace”, their “La Vista Restaurant” and the neighboring “Moomba Beach Bar”. The wedding is Saturday and most guests will be arriving Thursday afternoon so we wanted to arrange a function for us to Welcome them as well as give them an opportunity to meet each other. We’re planning our party for 8:00 pm to give our guests plenty of time to get checked in and rested up.

We also want to share one Indian tradition with our guests – Mehndi. Mehndi is where an artist draws elaborate designs on the hands and feet of the bride with henna a day or two before the wedding. This is done for beauty and is considered good luck. Following the bridal Mehndi there is usually a party where all ladies are invited to get their own henna ‘tattoos’ (they fade in a week or two). Though I am American (my fiance is Indian), this is one Indian custom I am really looking forward to sharing with my friends and family. I’m hoping this activity will be a fun ice-breaker for the two cultures.

For our modest budget ($1200, 30-35 people) we wanted to be able to have a dedicated space (preferably an outdoor or partial outdoor space), provide some appetizers and desert, non-alcoholic beverages, have music (preferably bhangra music from our iPod) and have a space for our henna artist to work comfortably. I also wanted to have a full bar nearby for guests that would like to have a cocktail and ultimately, would love to have some Indian appetizers.

Moomba Beach Bar: Moomba has a pretty affordable catering menu and is just a short walk. It is outdoors and on the beach and we were hoping they might have live entertainment. Unfortunately the lighting is low and being totally outdoors with the wind, the space might be awkward for our artist to work. Also, even though the catering menu was less expensive, it didn’t really look very interesting, and there is no live entertainment on Thursdays. I look forward to checking out Moomba’s happy hour when we go back, however it was easy for us to rule it out for our welcome party.

Marriott’s Atrium Terrace: The “Atrium Terrace” is the patio that is just outside the lobby, between the lobby and the pool. Its a nice sized space that is often used for corporate cocktail hours. We would be able to play our own music via iPod and the lobby bar is close by for those that want to purchase cocktails. The biggest downside is set-up fees. Even though we just want to provide soda and maybe iced tea and lemonade we would have to have a bar set up. (We were hoping we could just serve themselves with soda cans on ice and pitchers of tea and lemonade, but that’s not an option.) There would also be set-up fees for the iPod speakers as well as tables for catering and the henna artist. These fees could easily take up 1/3 of our budget. Catering is expensive (the same menu you make your wedding reception selections from), however they will try to provide us with some Indian options.

La Vista Restaurant: The reason it has taken so long to get some Welcome Party answers is that the manager of the La Vista Restaurant was out of the office for three weeks in July and there wasn’t someone else that could answer our questions. To be honest, that had me a little down on La Vista as an option. Well, I think its going to turn out to be worth the wait.

From what I understand, La Vista’s manager is glad to let us use their bar and lounge space (both are very cool, contemporary spaces). The menu options and prices are the same as for the Atrium Terrace (same kitchen) so they will work on some Indian food for us. There will NOT be set-up fees so we can spend our whole budget on food and beverage. And, they will let us play our own music. (We assured them we are just looking for ‘background music’, not dancing.) While we won’t be providing a full dinner, our guests will be able to order off of La Vistas menu if they want more to eat as well as order drinks from their bar. The biggest downside is that it is not outside. They do have an outdoor patio but that must remain available to those having dinner. Still, guests wanting some fresh air can just step outside and relax near the pool or take a walk out to the beach.

Right now we’re still working on the menu. So far the spicy chicken skewers sound wonderful! I’m unsure of a few options though – the vegetarian spring roll, spinach puff and mushroom touch. She said they are Indian options, however I think maybe these are items that Indians just happen to order often because they are vegetarian. They do sound yummy, but I really want to make sure there are a couple of traditional Indian items. On the wish list is samosas. They have not yet made them for a party but are looking into it. Right now what I appreciate is their willingness to explore items beyond their menu. If you have something you really want on your menu, don’t be afraid to ask. They may surprise you! (The Westin’s catering department was also wonderful about being willing to try new things.)

The Welcome Party option we ruled out fairly early on was renting out one of their Governor’s Suites. While they are huge, the usable space for the party was small. We figured we’d rent the suite and then cater in food from the local Indian restaurant but the suite doesn’t even have a wet bar or kitchenette. The huge balcony would have been awesome but there were no deals to be made on the suite rental which would have consumed over half our budget.

One function we are planning to have is a Welcome Party on the night we expect most of our guests to arrive. (Most guests will arrive around 2pm on Thursday – Wedding is Saturday.) What started as an informal, ‘Stop down to [designated space] at [time] and introduce yourself’ has turned into a real party. Our challenge is to try to do something nice enough to get the trip off to a good start, but keep our budget under control.

Our Welcome Party will have an Indian theme. I am American and my fiancé is Indian. While the wedding will be a western non-denominational wedding, we want to incorporate some Indian tradition so we will have a henna artist at the party. She will do bridal henna for me as well as henna designs for any other ladies that want to participate (even men and kids will be invited to get a henna ‘tattoo’.) We’re hoping to have some Indian music and food.

Our first approach was to try to get a good rate on their 1100+ sq ft “Governor’s Suite“. We figured we’d have to pay something for the suite, but could then cater in some Indian food from the Indian restaurant and play some Bhangra from the iPod. This suite has an awesome wrap-around balcony that would let the guests enjoy the outside and the view! Well, try as we must, the best they will offer is us 30% off the suite’s going rate even though they have 6 of them we only want to use it for a few hours. The best price we were offered was a little over $800, and our wedding travel agent’s best rate was just over $700. We were pretty disappointed at first, until I reviewed the floor plan of that suite. Turns out there pretty little ‘living space’. This suite has two full size bathrooms (weird), a bedroom and the living area, but has no kitchenette or even wet bar. So though we love the balcony, we’re glad we didn’t commit to that suite.

My next thought was going offsite to Moomba Beach Bar which is close by. I contacted them and received their catering menu. The food options look ‘ok’ but the pricing is really good. Unfortunately they do not have live entertainment on Thursday nights which would be a bonus, and they are ‘outdoor only’. So, Moomba, probably not, though I expect we may turn up there on another night for happy hour. =)

Plan C – back to the Marriott. We do plan to provide some snacks and non-alcoholic beverage. While we don’t plan to pay for alcohol, I would like it if there is a bar nearby so those that want to ‘indulge’ can do so easily. Our two best options may be the La Vista Restaurant or their ‘Atrium Terrace‘ (pictured). Unfortunately the manager of La Vista has been out of the office for a couple of weeks now and will be gone until early August, so I still have no idea what can be one at La Vista or how much it will cost.

The Atrium Terrace does sound promising though. This is an outdoor ‘patio’ off the lobby. It doesn’t have a beach view, but by 8pm the sun has long set. It does have a pool view though which I seem to remember is pretty at night. There is some seating and guests would be able to walk to the lobby bar for cocktails. We can cater some appetizers and they can set up a table for our henna artist. I was hoping that for the non-alcoholic beverages, they could set cans of soda on ice and have pitchers of iced tea and lemonade sitting out. Well they can’t do that — we have to have an actual bar set up. I’m not sure yet what those costs are. At least I think we can play music off the iPod.