How We Said “I Do” in Aruba on Standby
Our last-minute decision to elope in Aruba turned into the intimate beach ceremony of our dreams—complete with stunning sunsets, Segway beach service, and the perfect marriage of spontaneity and romance.
The Decision That Changed Everything
My husband’s mom worked for United Airlines for 42 years, and as the two primary friends of this retired United employee, this is our story of how our Aruba elopement went off without a hitch.
You might be wondering how in the heck a bride could pull this off without losing her mind. Well, let me tell you—I already knew what I was getting into. My now-husband and I had dated for 7+ years before we were engaged, and our elopement was nearly a year after that. We got engaged at Baha Mar in 2019 and started thinking about a date, what we wanted to do, how many people would be there, etc. We weren’t planning an elopement, but while our friends’ venues and dates kept falling through, we wanted to move on with the rest of our lives sooner rather than later and decided to elope on standby! I know, crazy!
What is Flying Standby?
When you, a family member, or even a friend works for the airlines, you get benefits, including standby travel. These are tax-only tickets you get for free when there are open seats on the plane. With an employee login, you can see how many seats are open and in which class of the plane. My MIL, having 42 years of service, has a very high seniority, and this means she gets priority on the standby list. That’s right, you’re not just competing with paid passenger tickets but other employee passes as well!
How Did We Choose an Aruba Elopement?
My husband has been flying standby his whole life. No, seriously, since they had to use paper vouchers, LOL! (We’re not even that old…) Meaning, he knows a thing or two about predicting how many open seats will be on a plane. He’s so good at this, he often narrows down his choices simply by looking at the weather at the destination.
So, as the months turned into weeks turned into days, we had narrowed it down to Bora Bora (hello overwater bungalow) or Aruba (just like the Beach Boys!). We had checked the weather, and it’s always a little difficult to tell at a beach vacation if “rain” means torrential downpour or, you know, the 5 AM drizzle then a full day of sun. Alas, Bora Bora was expecting rain every. single. day. So, Aruba it was!
The Day of Departure: Murphy’s Law in Action
Now we just had to hope and pray we got on the flight. But of course, nothing about this elopement was going to be simple!
Oh, the weather! Houston happened to be our connecting airport, and they were experiencing a hurricane the day we decided to fly out. Oh, and my dress also hadn’t arrived yet. Did I mention it was the height of COVID? Yeah, not stressful at all.
Spoiler alert: we did make it! AND my dress showed up about 20 minutes before we left for the airport by some miracle. Talk about cutting it close—but honestly, that’s just how we roll.
Hyatt Regency Aruba Lobby
Ritz-Carlton Aruba Pool Overlook
Mid-Flight Planning: The Ultimate Multitasking
As the plane door closed, we started checking our points and hotels. My BFF works for Hyatt, and we did catch a friends and family discount at the Hyatt Regency for a couple of extra nights beyond what our points covered at the Ritz-Carlton. I would say both hotels were comparable and equal in experience, aside from one minor detail I will note later!
But here’s where things get really interesting—as we were literally in the air, I started researching photographers. I wanted an elopement, and I wanted wedding photos! My hack for finding the best photographer is to search Instagram! Search “[destination] wedding photographer”. If you want more hacks, check out my family photos post. I found such an amazing couple who was actually available that week (and a few who were not!) I reached out to a few in the DMs about shooting that week and based our elopement on that day.
So there I was, 30,000 feet in the air, sliding into photographers’ DMs to plan my wedding. If that’s not modern romance, I don’t know what is!
The Ring Drama (Because Of Course, There Was Ring Drama)
This may come as no surprise if you’ve made it this far, but we hadn’t found my husband a ring. Ha! We had been searching for the perfect wedding band, but thinking back on it maybe he wanted it to be more memorable than a plain band from the mall?
The Ritz did actually have a jewelry store in it, but nothing that was in his size. They had different metal than he was searching for and said they could resize it on the spot. So, he went for it! While I was putting my dress on (that I had literally never tried on before), they were working on the ring. The timing was absolutely wild—here I am getting ready for my wedding in a dress I’d never even seen, while downstairs they’re literally crafting my husband’s wedding band. Talk about the Aruba elopement story, we will tell our grandchildren someday.
Our Aruba Elopement Magic
Once I was ready, we did a private first look and headed out to the photographer’s hired car for photos. My fiancé grabbed a bag in the lobby and surprised me with the ring! The whole moment felt so perfectly us—a little chaotic, completely last-minute, but absolutely perfect.
We took our photos on the beach as the sun was setting, (Shout out to Demian Gibbs Photography) and let me tell you, Aruba is just as stunning in person. Fun fact: The island has a special climate and wind pattern that makes mosquitoes non-existent, so no bug spray needed for those sunset beach photos! We both had wedding jitters, but the photos turned out amazing, and I felt soooo lucky our photographer came through.
After the photo session, we did our vows privately. Just the two of us, the sound of the waves, and the most incredible sunset you can imagine. It was exactly what we both needed.
The Legal Side (Or How We Got Around It)
We snuck around international marriage laws by legally getting married in Texas by a close friend who got ordained just for the cause. The cherry on top—we had our big reception a couple of years later at the same restaurant where we got married. In Texas, a marriage license is required, and the ceremony must be conducted by an authorized officiant within 90 days of obtaining the license. Look into your state’s laws using Google—in Colorado, you can marry yourself!
Our Honeymoon Week in Paradise
The week after our Aruba elopement was also our honeymoon! We went on a snorkel tour, drove around the island in a topless Jeep, went deep sea fishing, and experienced the island’s diverse food offerings: Hello German, Italian, and of course, Dutch! I spent some of our beach time finalizing my vows—because yes, I was still writing them just days before!
We explored the entire island! I would say the most memorable piece of the Ritz was the Segway beach service. It’s something I had never seen before, and haven’t seen since! But, overall, I wouldn’t say the Ritz was any more special than the Hyatt Regency.
We were lucky to be able to travel when the island’s occupancy was about 30%, so there was never a challenge to get a beach chair or dinner reservation. It felt like we had our own private island paradise.
The Perfect Start to Our Marriage
I laugh so much about this experience now because it really did set the tone for our marriage—we do everything last-minute! But you know what that also means? My husband always comes through. Whether it’s getting the ring resized while I’m getting ready, or making sure we actually make it onto that standby flight, he’s got this incredible ability to make magic happen when it matters most.
Have you ever pulled off something completely last-minute that turned out perfectly? Or maybe you’re considering eloping yourself? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments!
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