Bryan Morris

I work with all hotels on the island so I would not be able to openly give you my opinion on one or the other resort. If you be so kind to PM me I will gladly give you my take. Regards, Bryan Morris

Hi Danielle, any specific Q's on RIU Palace Aruba? I live here and have documented many weddings at this particular location so you may bombs away with your questions.

You're most highly welcome.

Westin has a magic show nightly from 9 pm -10 pm for $35 p/p that's all the shows they have. Bryan Morris

Do you want to buy this and have them ship it over fr you? I'm sorry to break to you but that won't happen. This is island. I wish I know exactly what you were talking about and I could go down and get it for you and mail it or Fedex it to you. Can you by any chance take a picture of what you're referring to and then I can go out and see if I can find it or something similar. Â Peace, Â Bryan Morris Â

 Online you would not find anything like that. Is there something in particular you're looking for? As there is not really such thing as Aruban Christmas Ornaments. A few local arts and craft people just might have something but it's not a trademark thing of Aruba t have these.  Bryan Morris Â

A warm Arubian welcome. Any questions you have, especially concerning weddings in Aruba, don't hesitate to get in contact with me. Â Bryan Morris

I don't know about pricing but here you're looking at anything but the Bucuti as I'm assuming you want to be with your guests and you want the wedding to be at the location you're staying at. Â Besides pricing do you have any other requirement? Total Privacy, somewhat private to not private with a few onlookers. Outdoor reception or indoors. Â I know of a great DJ, I can recommend you. Â How may guest are you expecting? I need his info t know what I can get out of the WP's. Â Bryan Morris

Hi Congratulations and welcome. What are you looking for as pertaining to location? Price, ambience, service what's your criteria?

This is his direct number. This should ring right at his desk. 011 297 5236406 You should be able to get him if he's in office at least. Bryan Morris

Do you care to express your concern? I might be able to answer some of your questions. And if I get the details of the ones that I can't answer I can do as much as give the WP a call and try and get him to respond or answer to me and I'll pass it on to you. Regards, Bryan Morris

Quote: Originally Posted by AnnCam2011 Good to keep those dates in mind - I appreciate it. I did send a request to the resort via the website a few days ago, and haven't heard back. Hopefully in the next few days we hear something since I think this is the best place I've seen during all my research! Any other suggestions you have for other resorts as well would be great. Thanks!! This might sound bias but in all honesty it is not. I will not spare it if I have to say it. So here we go, all locations and resorts on the island are top shelf. It will all depend on what is important to you. For some transportation might be a factor, for others privacy and yet for others accessibility to downtown and surroundings so these are a few examples that will help you make a decision in location. Renaissance -Total Privacy, non but your guests and vendors accessible. Bucuti, Divi Hotels, Manchebo, Amsterdam Manor - Beautiful Beach, awesome adult only resort. Very few if any bystanders. Hyatt, Westin, Phoenix, Riu, Radisson, Occidental, Marriott - Walking distance or very short cab ride if your guests are all not staying at the same resort. Most bystanders, however manageable of all the three locations. Now, any details you would like of any of these specific hotels you may launch specific questions and I will be able to respond. Bryan Morris

Quote: Originally Posted by Mmack Does anyone have any nice pictures of cakes, any ideas from bridemaids dresses or good bachelorette party ideas?? Thanks! For cakes you may visit my blog and see a few examples. There's a link a few posts above yours. You might find bridesmaids dresses as well but not many as my brides generally don't have bridesmaids. A bacholerette party idea that I've seen is this Aradia Fitness | Pole Dancing and Sensual Fitness for Women and even if you will not be in Canda or the US you should be able to get a DVD and follw the instructions. A quick search came up with this Bachelorette Party Ideas and Bachelorette Party Planning

Quote: Originally Posted by AnnCam2011 Thanks Bryan! It looks perfect and am getting butterflies thinking about it all. We are trying to make this as simple and as dummy-proof as possible. I've talked to a TA who told me the Renaissance is adults-only, however the website suggests they do allow children. We have nieces and nephews who will be invited along and want to make sure our location will be kid-friendly. Do you know if this really is adults-only resort? I sent them an initial email request for more information and am hoping to hear back in the next few days. We are aiming for a March/April wedding, so hopefully we are allowing enough time to plan Hi Ann, Renaissance is actually two resorts. The Ocean suites is kids friendly, this is the one closest to the ocean, hence the name. I guess. Then across the street you have the Marina Towers, now this is the adults only section. Keep in mind as you plan that March 18, April 22, 25 and 30th are all national holidays. If you're doing the civil section you should keep these dates in mind. The hotels usually treat these as regular working days so you should be fine with your blessing on the beach. Anything else you need to know feel free. If you have any specific questions to the WP, I work with them close and they're just a call away. It might be quicker than email. They have to deal with quite a few inquiries constantly and they're responded to in the order that it was received and besides they still have weddings to prepare for so it can take some time with responses. Bryan Morris

Quote: Originally Posted by AnnCam2011 Hi All - I have heard nothing but good things about the Renaissance resort in Aruba - a friend of a friend got married there, but I am looking for photos of a wedding there to get a better idea of what to expect as far as options go. Does anyone have pitcs online that I can see?? Thanks a mil!! Here You go: http://bryanmorrisphotography.com/bl...uba-wedding-i/ http://bryanmorrisphotography.com/bl...ba-wedding-ii/ http://bryanmorrisphotography.com/bl...y-and-brendan/ Any detailed questions you have concerning this venue and or any other venue, don't hesitate to ask. I'm right here to help. Bryan Morris

Quote: Originally Posted by unki hullo! after finding this site, I have finally decided on aruba for our DW...now i need to narrow it down to which hotel/resort....hurts my head when i try to decide...lol.... can anyone tell me if there's any difference between renaissance, westin, or bucuti in terms of getting to restaurants, shopping, etc.? i'm trying to think of our guests and the ease of accessing these things... OK, to answer your question, not really. Renaissance is in the heart of downtown but Bucuti is 8 minutes to downtown by cab and Westin is about 11 min from downtown. Anything else you need to know just feel free I'll be glad to help you. Bryan Morris

Quote: Originally Posted by VA_Bride The biggest question I still have is whether to go with the steel pan player or do an iPod music selection. I would prefer the steel pan, but the fiance would much prefer the iPod. Since the iPod will be hugely cheaper that is most likely what we will end up with. I also worry a little bit about how busy it can be on the beach where the weddings take place. There was a family football game there one evening when we were visiting and it wouldn't have set the right atmosphere. Then again, most likely if they saw a wedding getting set up they probably wouldn't still throw the football back and forth in front of the minister. Hopefully. I would say go the Steelpan route, I'll however must caution you to request either one of the Connor Brothers to play steelpan for you as they are he authentic steelpan players on the island. Either request Nico or LE Connor. They have a family history of steelpan on the island. It all started with their dad here on the island it's been given down to the third generation. ery nice story. No problems on the beach, people respect your ceremony, besides there won't be any families in the beginning of November. That is more like a honeymoon season than families so no worries there. Bryan Morris

Quote: Originally Posted by DelightfulDani I have been looking into the RUI as well and based on their pictures it seems that having a beach side wedding(which is what i am looking for) is directly in the middle of where people are lounging and swimming. Even though the beach is public it does not seem to have any way of roping off the area to keep the noise/people from disturbing the wedding. On trip advisors it said that one bride was heckled while walking down the aisle. That must've been one isolated case. I wasn't there so I don't know, however a coin has both sides. We can never tell what happened before we hear both stories. The beach at the RIU is nice and people ussually keep a distance, if they don't I go up to them and/or give them a sign that they're in my shot and they're ussually cooperative. Now if you want something more private Bucuti will be the way to go, the beach there is vast and very little to no bystanders. Bryan Morris

Hey Leah, Good to see you here. Bryan Morris

Congratulations and welcome to the forum. Any questions about Aruba just bring it on. Regards, Bryan Morris

Quote: Originally Posted by kellywinter1 Hi! Welcome to the forum!!!! I think Aruba would be an amazing place to have a wedding!!!! Me and my husband visited Aruba in May 2007 and we loved it!!! We would have loved to have our DW there but it was just to costly for us. When we visited we chose May because as you said the summer is the islands off season so prices were lower and there were not a lot of tourist. If you do choose to have your wedding in Aruba or just plan a visit I recommend the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino. That is where we stayed and it was amazing!!!! The resort is located in Oranjestad. It is right in the middle of the city so it is the perfect locations for shopping, activities and food. But the resort has a private island that guest get ferried to by boat!!! The private island is where Timberland hosted his wedding and reception. Not only was the resort fabulous but the island itself was beautiful! The island isn't very big which I liked because it gave us an opportunity to explore the whole thing. We visited the lighthouse, the dunes and the natural bridges. We did this all on a 4-wheeler we rented for a couple hours. And the weather was nice. It was humid but the constant breeze makes it comfortable. We also enjoyed visiting the shopping area in town and in the new resort area. We found one of our favorite places to eat was in the newer resort area. The name of it slips my mind right now but I will find it out for you. The food at this restaurant was delicious and the service was second to none. There is so much to do in Aruba you will never get bored! I could go on and on about Aruba but I'll stop now. But again I would totally recommend the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino. When we initially were planning our DW wedding I contact the wedding department at the resort and they were very quick to respond to my request for information and help me in any way they could. I am sure that if you contacted them you would have the same prompt response and not be disapointed in their service. I also believe they have an additional resort at the opposite end of the island where the newer resorts are located. That one also looked very nice. If you like to talk more about Aruba or have any questions I would be happy to help you if I can. I also have lots of pictures that I could post of the island if you would like. Just let me know! And good luck!!! I couldn't have said it better myself! All I need to add is "Welcome to the forum" Bryan Morris

Quote: Originally Posted by jmastr05 Hi all, I'm new to this forum. Obviously, I, too, am considering a wedding in Aruba! I've done a lot of research, and will hopefully be able to take a trip down there Novemeber 2009. It looks like you're all considering a variety of resorts. My top choice is/are the Divi/Tamarijn All-Inclusive. I have seen some bad pictures of the rooms and bathrooms on the internet, but I believe there have also been rennovations since then. Has anyone been there to be able to confirm this? I also really like the Manchebo and Amerstadam Manor. Amsterdam Manor is actually my personal favorite, but the more offerings of the Divi/Tam seem to work better for the varied tastes of my guests. All opinions/information is welcome! I'm excited to have this forum to share experiences! All the hotels mentioned that you might be interested in are very different. Divi/Tam is AI so this will be great for your guest, it is a very young resort, referring to the crowd. Yes they've since renovated so the rooms are nothing like you've seen on Trip Advisor. For a wedding the beach is also great and the wedding planner's certainly know how to make your day stress free. Manchebo is on a vast piece of beach the best on the island for weddings to my opinion. Very little crowd. It's been a while that I've been in a room there. However the Bucuti next door is what I would call a boutique of hotels, small, private, adult only thus romantic and it is Manchebo's neighbour. The wedding planner is the envy of the business. It's awesome for your wedding. It will not be appropriate however for your guests to stay there. Amsterdam Manor, I would say would probably come closest to Bucuti in style but Bucuti's beach is still much better for the privacy for your honeymoon as well as your ceremony. This reference is not done with pricing in mind, I don't have a clue what will be most economical as I haven't studied that and besides I'm not that type, If I like it I'll go for it even if I have to save harder. I really prefer to save hard and get what I want than to settle for less. There are a few other options that are great also RIU is AI and you have the superb for a ceremony and reception, the Renaissance Island. If you have any questions feel free and ask away either open on the forum or by PM. BTW, congratulations and welcome to the forum. Bryan Morris

Quote: Originally Posted by KLaBate54 Is anyone planning to get married here...or has anyone looked into this? I'm considering this is a possible location, but haven't read much on here about it on here...I also haven't seen anyone else with this as their location. Yes, the RIU was having some issues, If heard since that they've cleaned up their act and has taken measures so they should be fine. Bryan Morris

Hi JessK116, Welcome and congratulations on your engagement. If you have any specific questions about Aruba feel free to contact me. Bryan Morris

Quote: Originally Posted by barefootbride09 I was looking into getting married in Aruba but I cant figure something out. Do you have to get married at their courthouse in order for it to be legal? I was looking at the Occidental but they didnt reply to my question. You can get married (Legally) at home (where ever that may be for you) and have a beach blessing here. Any more questions I'll be glad to help. Bryan Morris