During our stay in Aruba, the hubby & I enjoyed so many great meals with our friends!  Let me just start by saying that Aruba really knows food, good food at that!  We visited Aqua Grill, El Gaucho, Gostoso, Madame Jeanette, & Hostaria Da Vittorio, just to name a few.
     Disclaimer:  I hope you've eaten before you read this, because these pictures will make your mouth water and your tummy growl!

Gostosos:  Above is the Creole "sushi roll" which I think was the best thing ever, I think I'm craving it just looking at the picture!  It had seafood (salmon or shrimp-you pick), cream cheese, & plantains! 
     Below is the Espetada a la Marinera, its a hanging kebab made with bacon wrapped grouper.  This is probably the coolest presentation I've seen at a restaurant.  The hubby loved it so much, I think he's fav fish is grouper now!

     After our dinner was devoured, the waitstaiff came and brought the hubby & I dessert and sang to us!  The plate read "Pabien (means congratulations in papiamento) Newlyweds."   It was super sweet (the singing & the gesture) and the cake was scrumptious too!

     Did I mention that I have a sweet tooth?  We ended up ordering 3 desserts:  tiramisu, tres leches, & cheesecake (I think).  All yummy!

    Below is from Madame Janette's.  We loved the atmosphere of the restaurant (outdoor seating, candle lit dinner, & delish drink menu).  This is their Jumbo Shrimp "Coco di Rasta."  A friend had it for his dinner and raved about it!  I had their Sea Bass (no picture), which was very good, but I left the restaurant way too full!  You can notice how big their portions are, so you either have leftovers to enjoy the next day or you need to share with a loved one!  Or if you're me... you'll need a wheel barrel to carry yourself out of there!

     Next is Hostaria Da Vittorio, an Italian Restaurant located next to the Aqua Grill (all within walking distance from The Westin).  This place was so yummy and the service was excellent.  Below the hubby's food is pictured, some type of seafood linguine and I had ravioli, as you can see there is no picture (sometimes the food is gone that fast, even before the picture is taken)!  Sorry people, I'm a heffer! 

Here's their "bread" (more like a pita) they serve before dinner.  It was really different, but yummy dipped in olive oil.

     If you are a steak lover, El Gaucho is the place to go!  This by far was the hubby's favorite restaurant in Aruba.  Him and a couple of are friends say that this steak is the best they ever had!  The waiter even told us that the meat comes all the way from Argentina, so it's really authentic!

     If you've been keeping up with my blog, you'll know we had our Welcome Dinner at Aqua Grill, which was a very succesful event.  We served Mahi Mahi with jumbo shrimp & polenta or Asian Grilled Chicken with stir fried veggies & rice.  I must say that the food for our Welcome Dinner was excellent as well! You can read more about our event here.

     A lot of friends visited Le Petite Cafe for breakfast daily because of their great breakfast prices, while the hubby & I enjoyed the breakfast buffet at The Westin's Bon Bini Cafe.  Some of our other guests did visit Le Petite for dinner as well.  This was their dinner entree (seafood platter) which was served on a 600 degree volcanic stone.   

     Last but not least, our favorite:  the KitKat Mcflurry!  The one thing that a lot of us won't be able to forget is visiting Aruba's McDonald's asking for a KitKat Mcflurry and getting vanilla soft serve with bits of KitKat pieces on top!  Aruba doesn't have a Mcflurry machine so this is what we ended up with!  We later joked with one another and said it was false advertising!  But the "Mcflurry" was still good nonetheless!

     Every restaurant we ate at was so worth the money and the weight gain!  I don't think that any of our friends and family were ever disappointed with the places they dined with. 
     So even if you hear that a lot of the places are over priced, (what do you expect, you're on vacation) just enjoy it 'cause Aruba only happens once in a while!  SO EAT UP!!

     Our last event of our wedding extravaganza was our Farewell Breakfast hosted by my wonderful parents.  The breakfast was supposed to take place in the Westin's Pago Pago Restaurant, but Patrick informed me just 2 days before the event that there was another event taking place that might overlap our Farewell Party.  It's a good thing I don't have bridezilla tendencies, because I could have easily flipped, but something about being in Aruba and under the care of the Westin, that just relaxed me!
     I know that Patrick was trying to look out for our best interest and he truly did!  He knew that we wanted our breakfast to be a private affair, so I thank him for always having our back!  Thanks again Patrick for your perfect party planning!

     Because Pago Pago Restaurant was being occupied by that other party, Patrick suggested we move our event into the Westin's Lobby Gallery!  They really turned the venue into something beautiful!  After seeing the setup, I was kind of glad that our party was moved!

     The majority of our guests were leaving on Sunday, 2 days after our wedding day, so to send them off with full bellies and say our final thank yous & goodbyes, we held the event early Sunday morning.  Some guests did leave prior to the breakfast (some were worried about getting through customs because of the busy holiday weekend), but we still enjoyed the last time we'd see the rest of our friends and family in Aruba! 

     The gallery was setup with 4 tables of 10 and a buffet style breakfast filled with fresh fruit, yogurts, cereals, pastries, breakfast burritos, scrambled eggs, ham, sausage, country potatoes, and even an omelette station!

     Omelettes made to order are always a must have at any breakfast event!  Well its the line I always hit up first and our guests had the same idea.  Because the line was getting long, they brought out another burner to get the line moving!  I love how The Westin always worked out every problem with a great solution (and quickly, I might add)!  

     I must say that the Breakfast event was bittersweet!  I got a tear or two saying bye to everyone!  Our trip to Aruba was unbelievably the best vacation I've ever had!  Nothing beats sharing those special moments with all your loved ones!  Our decision to have a destination wedding was probably the best decision the hubby & I made together and we would do it 10x over again if it means sharing it with our friends and family in paradise AGAIN!! 

     Because we are so grateful for our friends and family that came to celebrate in our joy, we wanted to treat them to a little piece of Aruba.  And what better way to do that than take them on a sailing and snorkeling trip!  We left this part as a surprise and announced it to everyone during our welcome dinner at The Aqua Grill. 
     The look on the faces of all our loved ones was priceless, and for that reaction alone, it was worth the money!  Besides, we knew everyone would have a blast (and we were right)!  All our guests were so excited and couldn't wait!
    

      We chose to private charter a boat through Mi Dushi, because of the great reviews and also because of the pier's location (which was right next to the Westin).  We chose the Sundown Safari package, which included up to 40 guests (with a max of 60-just pay individual prices exceeding the 40 guests), open bar, snacks, 2 snorkeling locations, and 3 hours of sailing!

     The crew was great!  They were so friendly and really showed us a fun time!  There were 3 crew members along for the ride, the captain, snorkeling expert Victor, & the bartender (I'm bad with names-sorry!). 
    

     Victor demonstrates the dos & don'ts of snokeling!  He made everyone laugh with his comedic personality!

Everyone from every age range came along for the fun, but the older ones had a harder time enjoying it just as much as the younger ones.  Lets just say I wish I added Dramamine (or barf bags) to our Welcome Bags! 

     While the husband pretended to man the boat it was  time for me to get in the water!  The first snorkeling location we stopped at, the water was a little choppy and murky, so needless to say, wasn't that great for seeing life under water.  But the second stop, was AMAZING!! (I'm sorry I can't remember the name of the shipwreck area).  There was so much underwater life:  gorgeous fish, unbelievable shipwreck, and even sea turtles!  Another friend even saw an eel (scary, but cool at the same time)!!  Snorkeling this shipwreck area was probably the most memorable part of my vacation to Aruba (besides the wedding itself)! 

     After snorkeling was done, we all enjoyed the rest of the sailing trip and watched the beautiful Aruba sunset! 

And once the boat was anchored near shore, some of the guests left on the water taxi (the older ones who got motion sickness), while the young ones stayed in anticipation to use the rope swing!

     After the whole excursion came to an end, we all walked back to the Westin from the De Palm Pier and took the opportunity to take some amazing shots with the sunset!  Here's all my girls & I taking that big leap for the cameras!  So beautiful!

     The whole day was amazing!  I'm glad the hubby & I chose to do this sailing & snorkeling excursion for everyone!  It's the least we could do for them since they came to Aruba for our wedding!  It was such a wonderful time and will forever be lasting memories.

     Jeff & I had a surprise in store for our guests, no one, not even our parents knew our secret!  For our first dance, Jeff and I did a choreographed foxtrot to Harry Connick Jr.'s "It Had to be You"!      
     We had secretly taken lessons at Rigsby Jig Dance Studio.  We took a total of five lessons, which started 2 months prior to our wedding day.  It was our little date night and it's something that we'll remember we did together, so not only was it pure entertainment for our guests but it was quality QT for the fiance and I!  And not to mention an unforgettable first dance as husband and wife! 

     Because the Sirrocco Lounge had a max of 50, we needed to get the most from our dance floor.  We couldn't have pulled this off without Patrick's help.  Ok I lied there was another person who knew, Patrick knew about our dance only cause he was trying to help us out.  We wanted as much dance floor space that the area could allow, not only for our first dance, but because I knew we had a group full of dancers!  So with Patrick's help, he tweaked the floor plan and our dance was executed perfectly!

     I can say now that the one regret I do have is not having a videographer, purely for this reason!  The darling husband and I opted not to have one thinking that we would never watch the video, but I wish I could see how we did during our first dance.  From what our guests have told us, it was great, but I guess we'll never know! 
     My father in law did get a partial video of it, but then scanned the room for people's reactions (all good by the way), but we didn't get a complete video.  Hopefully our photographers got great shots of our dance number!

     I remember my mom shouting, "That's my daughter!"  She was so proud of us, she'd like to believe that I got this talent from her!  Thanks mom for passing down the genes.

     We are so glad that we planned our first dance!  It'll be something we'll both never forget!  All the memories from our wedding night come rushing to my mind when I hear "It Had to be You!"  And sometimes I still try to get the husband to do it with me in our living room!  Truly unforgettable moments!

     Do you and your hubby-to-be plan on doing a choreographed dance or a traditional slow dance?

     Once cocktail hour came to an end, all our guests were escorted to our reception at the Westin's Sirocco Lounge, an outdoor reception area full of beautifully decorated tables and two lounge seating areas.  The maximum for this reception is about 50, which we reached to its full capacity (and then some).

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     Let's get this party started so on with the introductions already!  Here the hubby and I patiently wait for the DJ to introduce our wedding party and then introduce, MR. & MRS. MADRIDEJOS!!

     Let's just say that every time that Justin Bieber song, "Baby baby" comes on, all our guests will be reminded of our wedding!  It was our wedding entourage's intro song, look at them getting down!  They certainly helped get the party started for sure!

     Next up, the newlyweds!!  If you read some of my posts, Jeff & I partied in DC the first night we met, so we always joked and said that Flo Rida's song, "Low" is our song!  So of course it would only be right, if that's what song was playing while introduced as the Mr. & Mrs.

     After the fun intros, it was time to get our eat on!  For those couples getting married at the Westin, we totally recommend the plated dinner #1, our guests are still talking about it!  The entrees were Grilled Iron Steak & Chilean Sea Bass!  The bass was to die for and the steak was cooked to perfection.  But before the entrees were served,  a tomato mozzarella salad was presented for starters. 

     Here's a picture of the Flat Iron Steak courtesy of a guest, but unfortunately I don't have a picture of the Sea Bass (it was eaten up before the picture was thought of)!

     Desserts are always the best part of the dinner, right?  Our dinner selection included chocolate macadamia pie, but unfortunately I didn't get to indulge in it, I was too busy having fun!  It's true when they say that brides will hardly eat on their wedding day, there's to much going on (but in a good way)!

     After dinner was through, the FUN really began with lots of dancing, drinking, and partying with a little paparazzi moments mixed in!  Our DJs did a really great job (Cool Pro DJs), they kept the music flowing and our guests on their feet! 

Even our server, Judith, had a great time at our wedding!  I have to give Judith a shout out, she was the sweetest person ever and I'm so glad we had the privilege of having her at two of our events, the wedding reception and our farewell brunch.

     Even after they played the last song, our guests kept chanting "ONE MORE SONG, ONE MORE SONG..." and the DJs granted our wish and guess what the song was!?  "Baby, baby, baby, oohhh, like baby baby baby...!"  Can you see why I totally have Beiber Fever now!?  Haha!
     Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention, it was so much fun that we had wedding crashers during the last song!  No worries though, it just made me think that our wedding was a party not to be missed!

     I also have to give Patrick, our wedding coordinator a huge THANK YOU for pulling it off even with a power outage!  He stayed with us until the end of the night and he went above and beyond his call of duty, to even go to the store and get citronella candles and mosquito repellent (the mosquitos were out that night, but it was the only night we noticed them, not sure if it was due to having no power), but that couldn't even ruin our night of fun!  Our big day will forever be embedded as one of my best days ever, after all it was in gorgeous Aruba surrounded by loving family and friends, and of course my LOVE! 
     What do you remember most about your big day?  What kind of challenges did you come across during your big day?