Have you or anyone you know had a destination wedding?
We are planning a wedding and are having troubles deciding where to have it. We were thinking a destination or a cruise. Anyone have any experiences or know anyone I can exchange email addresses with to ask questions. Or anyone want to share personal experiences as in where you went, what site you found to help you decide, and how much you spent. We are just going with maybe 6 other people as guests.
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I’m getting married in my backyard.
haha
My Fi’s friend had a destination wedding in the Caribbean. We were invited, but we were unable to attend. It was a much larger expense than our regular vacation budget and they decided on the location and date very quickly. We literally found out 2 months before and we tried to go, but couldn’t. It was at a Sandals resort and I called the resort and tried to find a reasonable price and I even called a travel agent to see if we could get an affordable package deal that included our accommodations and flights. In total, it was going to be about $3,000 for two of us for about 5 days. Not too bad considering that was $1,500 a person including airfare, our room and all our food.
But, in the end, we just didn’t have enough time to save. If we knew 6-12 months in advance, we probably would have been able to go. If you’re going to invite people, you need to give them about 12 months notice.
I’m having a destination wedding, sort of. I’m doing a Carnival cruise wedding out of Florida, which is where about half of the guests live, mostly my fiance’s extended family and older relatives. We live in Texas, and will be going to FL. I am spending less than $8k on the event, including everything except photos, for about 45 guests. The wedding will be at port and then the non-sailing guests will leave and we will sail off to Cozumel and Grand Cayman. I used cruisecritic.com to help me see what other people had done, photos of the shipboard wedding, etc. Theknot.com also has destination wedding articles and community comment boards, also a sweet budget tool.
My cousin had a destination wedding and invited only her sorority sisters and parents. Most people were pretty offended because she didn’t invite them (myself included). She did have a party afterwards outdoors in a public park (cheap) and her invite said “Come to our After the Fact Party.” Not cool. So consider carefully who you leave out.
I will be having a destination wedding to Vegas. I expect only my sister and BIL and a couple of my guy’s relatives to attend. My family isn’t particularly supportive and we avoid family drama on his side by going away.
The advantage of Vegas is that they have affordable packages both for your stay and for weddings and all these great shows. None of us are gamblers, so that issue isn’t a problem. Our honeymoon will be spent going through a bunch of state and national parks that lead out from Vegas, so it’s convenient as well. We just have to decide on a rough date and then make sure that shows we want to see aren’t closed that week.
Everybody has to pay their way, but we will pay for tickets for Cirque du Soleil as well as reception dinner. Which brings up a tip- make sure that your guests know what you are paying for so you don’t get trapped with paying what you can’t afford or your guest is angry making assumptions.