Written by Bonny Stanley of Aruba Weddings by Bonny
Valentine’s Day is about celebrating love and affection between lovers and in many cases includes a proposal of marriage. For wedding planners that’s music to our ears, because literally from the next day on my inbox gets flooded with requests for wedding arrangements. As the old saying goes there are two things in life that are guaranteed – death and taxes. A pretty close second would be weddings and babies. So if you were proposed to on Valentine’s Day, or on any day for that matter, probably your next thought is: when and where am I going to have my wedding? Over the last decade destination weddings have become a popular choice for many couples and Aruba has enjoyed unprecedented growth in the beach weddings market. So once you have decided on a destination wedding venue like Aruba, here are ten important factors to consider:
1. Choose between a resort wedding planner or an independent planner. Most resorts in Aruba and elsewhere have their own planner on staff. The main advantage to having your wedding at the hotel is one of convenience. An independent planner, however, can offer you more venue choices to host your wedding because they are not bound to a particular location. This makes a difference, particularly in high season when hotel beaches get very busy. If you don’t mind sharing your venue with others then a hotel wedding can be a good choice. An independent planner will look for venues that are less busy and in many cases have the feel of a private venue. Remember, all beaches are public in Aruba so independent planners can access any beach for your wedding and there are plenty of gorgeous beaches outside of the hotels.
2. If a planner does not respond to you within 48 hours, you may want to look elsewhere for another planner. A hotel planner is just another revenue stream for a resort and in most cases not always part of their core business. Approximately 25% of my business is derived from clients who got frustrated and annoyed waiting for resort planners to respond to them. For more than ten years I worked as a wedding planner for one of the major resorts in Aruba, and I have been an independent wedding planner for the past three years. Aside from delivering memorable events for my clients, I have learned a valuable lesson that is true of any service business: Timely communication is critical. In particular, I pride myself in responding to my clients within twenty four hours no matter how busy I get. I want to give my client’s piece of mind that I value their business because their wedding is my business.
3. Research is critical and very possible with today’s technology. Go to the forums on websites like www.visitaruba.com, or read reviews on www.tripadvisor.com and see what the destination has to offer and review comments by previous clients.
4. Ask your planner if Aruba and the hotel are busy during the time of year you want to have your wedding. Aruba’s peak season is from Christmas to the end of April. That’s not to say you should not have your wedding during those months, it’s just more likely the hotel beach areas will be busier which could be intrusive to your ceremony.
5. The most popular time of day to have the ceremony is during sunset. The views are spectacular in Aruba as the sun goes down plus it’s a cooler time of the day. Remember to ask your planner the exact times the sun sets as it differs from the winter and summer months. Even though sunsets are the cooler part of the day, Aruba is only twelve degrees north of the equator and still warm, so wear light, loose fitting clothing.
6. Ask the hotel planner if there is another event or wedding planned at the resort. During the busy months many resorts have large groups in-house which have beach parties, etc. on a daily basis. There is nothing worse than having unwelcome music from a band or DJ during your romantic ceremony.
7. If you choose to do your wedding off the hotel property and want to have dinner after the ceremony, it is always a good idea to have the planner arrange for the reception near the wedding venue. There are plenty of good dining options in Aruba.
8. The photographer the planner uses is critical because your photos are part of your lasting memories. Ask the planner to show you some of the photographer’s work from previous ceremonies.
9. Destination weddings are not cheap. A basic package for a beach ceremony and photographer will cost you approximately $1,000 for two people. A group of approximately fifty persons would cost about $10,000 for ceremony, decoration, a reception with DJ and photographer.
10. And finally, ask the planner if he or she will be present during your ceremony. If the answer is “no” my advice is to find a planner that will supervise the setup and be there for the entire ceremony. You want someone there to handle anything that comes up so you can relax and enjoy your ceremony.
So if your response to the big question on Valentine’s Day will be “yes”, congratulations, and let the planning begin!
