katie2012

Here is one of those threads http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/30580/how-much-is-your-wedding-costing-you Good luck!

Hi AshleyBrooke, We're getting married at the Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort. In the off season, studios are in the 200-250/night range. It works for us because there are 1 and 2 bedroom options for 4-6 people per room. The most expensive part of the trip should be the flight. Fortunately, there are frequent direct flights from NY/NJ, where most of his immediate family lives. We're having a small group (inviting 60, expecting 22 to actually make it). There are larger resorts on Palm beach that can cater to larger crowds and get $$$. Like Carly said, you can get married anywhere! Check out some of the threads on here about how much people are spending on their weddings and look at their locations. PM me if you want any of my research...

Congratulations on your engagement! If you already have an idea of the season/month of your wedding, that can help you narrow locations down. We picked July 2012 then I made a list of all locations we would consider (domestic and international). It was easy to eliminate a lot due to hurricane season. Some locations have residency restrictions that wouldn't work for us. http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-planning/destination-weddings/articles/best-caribbean-destination-wedding-spots.aspx We picked Aruba because of weather, lots of direct flights from the east coast, fairly easy customs (on your return trip you clear them before you get on the plane which makes getting home a little less painful), uses dollars currency, and we've been there before. Once we picked the island, I went through a similar process thinking about which resort felt right. I'm working with a travel agent, but I would not recommend her.... Good luck!

Thanks for sharing all your experiences. I was on the fence about video, but now I'm sure about having it for an hour at the beach ceremony. Reading about your would/wouldn'ts is helpful for planning a wedding in 7 months!

I stayed at the Ren last may and we had so many delicious dinners while we were there. I would highly recommend Que Pasa (a short walk from the back of your hotel) http://www.quepasaaruba.com/. It's the only place we went back to for two dinners, the food was THAT good. On our last night we ate at Pinchos (short cab ride from hotel) http://www.arubarestaurants.com/international/pinchos-grill-bar/. AMAZING view of sunset. For a more casual gathering, Wednesday nights were all-you-can-eat ribs at the paddock. http://www.paddock-aruba.com/ All are on my list for possible group dinners when we are there in July.

kat2012 I love your dress! MichCraw You look fantastic!

Thanks Carly. It's also good for just general special occasion stuff.... and we all have special occasions

I don't really know where this belongs on this website, but I wanted to let you know about a groupon/living social website for wedding stuff called dressrush. When they have a special deal, if you tweet it, you get it for free. So far I've tweeted for about $100 worth of free wedding related stuff. Not a lot of their physical stuff appeals to me, but I got a huge discount on my wedding website. And free earrings. Here's the link: http://dressrush.com/?referer=katiewrigley%40Yahoo.com Happy shopping!

I'm using wedding window because in addition to easy formatting, it has security features. And I had $25 from dressrush to spend...

It's great to hear that the team at Amsterdam is amazing. They took 2 weeks to get back to me, but I suppose that the holidays were in the mist of that. I would love to have it at Bucuti, but we want to be able to just hang out with his young neice and nephew. There are some great pics of weddings at Manchebo on here. I made a list of all the resorts and we just went down the line looking at everyone's rooms and wedding packages. It was tedious, but I feel comfortable that we are truly down to the best few for us. Being across the street from the beach as opposed to on the beach is weighing heavily on my mind, but having the option of a two-bedroom suite would be nice for some of his family. For every PRO there is a CON. We are deciding before we leave my parent's house on Tuesday. Oh, and to add to the stress of picking a resort (which inevitably someone will think is too inconvenient, too small, too expensive, etc.) I'm going to try on dresses for the first time tomorrow with my mother.... I hope you found a place for the date you wanted! Are you doing the civil ceremony there too?

Thanks! We are looking at either Amsterdam Manor or Manchebo in Aruba. We went there and had a great time in May last year. The big up side for us is that there are plenty of direct flights from NJ/NY/Philly and hardly ever any rain! Congrats on your engagement too!

I'm a little behind the planning compared to some of you, but SO looking forward to 2012. We're deciding between the final two hotels this weekend. And finalizing the date (July 27,2012), and going dress shopping for the first time. We got engaged Dec 2nd and this will be the first time seeing my parents... I hope whenever your wedding is in 2012, that it is a wonderful day.

I'm thinking of a wedding at Manchebo.... If you are still checking this website I'd appreciate all the advice you could give, as information is a little brief on their website. Did you have the civic ceremony in Aruba? What would you change about your stay there? Did you work with a TA (if so, who)? I saw some beautiful pictures on their website and here from ceremonies/receptions. We are so excited at the prospect of having a beach ceremony there, but some of the details are stressing me out.

Congratulations! When I tell my coworkers that I'm planning a destination wedding they all think it's a great idea, and that if they could do their wedding over again they would have a destination wedding.... If you find a good TA for Aruba please let me know ([email protected])! The ones I have been talking to only do max 5 weddings there a year, and all at the mega resorts. We are more interested in a smaller more cozy site with a more intimate crowd. Initially I thought of Sandals as a great option, but we're planning for hurricane season and that scares me. Good luck with your planning!

Hi Kellyu, I'm looking at Amsterdam Manor and Bucuti too. What did you think when you visited? I stayed at Ren Marina in May 2011 (not AI). We liked it because there were a ton of places to just walk around and see downtown (some great restaurants I reviewed in my tripadvisor review of the hotel). However, we are not thinking of having our wedding there because we want a more beachy relaxed vibe. I'm also looking at Manchebo, which I love some pictures on this website of weddings there. If anyone can help me narrow it down I'm all ears!

@Mmack and @JENBRAND, I'm in the middle of deciding this too. We are leaning toward doing the official stuff there. What did you find out about getting it made legit here?

Hi Pam. Congrats! I have just started narrowing down resorts for July 2012. It's quite a daunting task, and I feel like we have to decide soon so people can make travel arrangements. I made a word doc of all the resorts possibly in our geographic area of interest (Aruba) and then went through all the websites with my FI. With two of us on the couch with laptops looking at the hotel websites and Trip Advisor we managed to narrow it down to 3 top choices in one night (being organized helped maintain his focus). I don't know much about Riviera Maya, but good luck! Katie

Hi! I just wanted to introduce myself.... I'm recently engaged and we are thinking of having our wedding in Aruba in July 2012. Since we are a little short on time to plan, we narrowed it down to Bucuti, Manchebo, and Amsterdam Mannor. Any advice on picking between the three would be greatly appreciated! If you had your wedding at one of these places, what did you like? I also would like to say thank you. Once I found this website a whole lot of stress about planning went away just knowing there were other destination brides out there! Katie