Jamie613

To anyone who is looking at Curacao - I can't say enough wonderful things. We got married at the Avila Hotel yesterday and it was perfect- couldn't have been more beautiful. If anyone is ever considering coming here for their wedding, I would highly recommend it!!!

This is helpful - thank you! I know I'm not really a poster - generally not something I'm super comfortable with. But we leave tomorrow for Curacao, and I wanted to say thank you to all the ladies here and congrats! Reading this board has both kept me sane and helped me keep track of some of the details. Good luck to those who are just getting ready to leave, and congrats to the ladies who have already returned!

We started off by meeting with a few travel agents to see what resorts/islands they knew about, and to see if there were any suggestions/unknown gems out there. The first agent we spoke with told us to think about Curacao, and while we're going there, we got better deals from another agent. They can be really helpful when you're needing some starting points, plus it also helps give you an idea of prices for the resorts and travel fees.

We decided against Sunscape because of the craziness with the turn over, their lack of communication and I was not impressed with the wedding locations on site. We're staying and getting married at Avila, and I couldn't be more excited. Price wise, our travel agent has found some really good deals on rooms, so while it's not all inclusive, it's doable (our prices have been much better than listed on their website). The resort is beautiful and so far everyone has been really great to work with.

We're going to be doing our rehearsal dinner the night before at an Ostrich farm on the island - going to do farm tours, see the animals (fun, especially for the kids), then dinner right there. What I'm struggling with is exactly what to call it. We're inviting everyone (~30 people, don't feel like leaving any out), and I'm not sure yet we can have the rehearsal that day since it's a Sunday (wedding on Monday). Any suggestions other than "rehearsal dinner" for an event the night before the big day?

Mine is going to be at 5. The sun sets at 7, and the ceremony is supposed to last an hour, so that gives us a good hour of light afterwards for pictures and such.

I sent out my STD's about 2 weeks ago. I'm not too concerned about the invites, but once I get all of the details nailed down such as rehearsal dinner (we're hosting everyone since it's a pretty small group) and menu choices, I'll probably start worrying about them. I feel like it's more of a formality in terms of the invite and more of a way to get information to everyone about what's going on when. We will do an RSVP, but the big thing is that we're having a plated dinner and we need to get people's choices before they get out there. As we talk to people, we're getting a sense of when they can start booking (unfortunately, everyone needs to put down the full flight when they book, not just a deposit, and it's not as easy to get that kind of $ free around the holidays for everyone). I want to start OOT bags so badly, but I'm holding back until I know how many I'll need. I don't want to overbuy or have to go back and try to get more.

I'm still stuck for flowers myself,. I briefly thought about silk flowers (a friend of mine did that for her wedding and they were beautiful), but I would like them not only for the girls to hold but for some decorations as well - and the idea of transporting that all down there is too overwhelming for me. I'm trying to find pictures of bouquets I like and am going to send them to my coordinator, asking what is practical in terms of what is easily obtainable on the island and what is hard to get (and therefore expensive).

June 24, 2013 - Avila Hotel in Curacao!

Has anyone else here had to provide a document stating that you and your fiance are both single in order for you to get married? We are looking to do our legal ceremony in Curacao and need to provide this documentation along with our birth certificates and copies of our passports to get permission to get married. This doesn't seem like it would be that hard, but marriages are only recorded by county and I can't seem to find an office that will do a search over the US to state that we are single. I will need to take this document, get it notarized, and then bring it along with our birth certificates to the secretary of state's office to get the Apostille seal. Everyone tells us that it's easier to get married legally here first then do the symbolic ceremony elsewhere, but we're really hoping to avoid this. Any help would be Greatly appreciated!

Wow - I also thought I was ahead of the game till I came on here. I just bought my dress yesterday which has put me in a total high. Other than that we're just in the middle of all of the legal paperwork to get married out of the country. We have the birth certificates, passport renewals have been sent. We're just getting stuck on the documentation that we're both single. Has anyone else had to do this? We're stuck on trying to figure out how to prove this.

I'm also looking at getting married in Curacao in June 2013. We're in the process of trying to choose a resort. I'm really excited and nervous at the same time.