I will be having a destination wedding in Puerto Vallarta. The guest list is close to 200 now, and we expect about 100-120 guests.
We are not paying for any of the guests' expenses, but we are providing a bit more than an at-home wedding. We will have the rehearsal dinner on Thursday night, and invite a majority of guests. That's in my fiance's mother's hands, but I am sure she'll invite a lot of the guests.
Then on Friday we are hosting a welcome reception (cocktails, open bar, appetizers) at our resort, for all guests. Then on Saturday we will get married and have a reception with cocktail hour and appetizers, seated dinner, dancing, open bar, etc.
My fiance and I chose a location for our destination wedding that was close enough for the majority of our guests, as well as affordable. Most of the guests live in California, which is a 1.5-2.5 hour flight to PV, depending on where you start. And if you book in advance, the flights can definitely be cheaper than a flight to the east coast. Our wedding hotel is Dreams Resort, and we negotiated a great rate through a wholesaler. We are actually getting married at a private villa in the hills, and we are providing transportation (private vans, etc.) from the resort to the wedding location (about 4 minute away by car).
One of my main priorities was to find a wedding hotel that was a good value and affordable for guests, and having visited Dreams, and loving it, and seeing the high quality of food and drinks and location and rooms....its a great deal for guests and I am very happy with the rates.
Our wedding budget? Well.....I was hoping to do the wedding for under $20,000 but its looking more like $25,000-$32,000. Yes, that's a LOT. And we are paying for everything ourselves (no parental or family help). So we don't have the money in a savings account or anything, but we're trying to be very budget concious and pinch pennies and stick to a budget -- even though we don't technically have a budget, since there aren't any saved funds to budget!
Anyway....we are choosing some elements that really matter to us, but we're by no means choosing the most expensive and extravegant options possible. We have a lot of guests, and that adds up quickly for the reception, welcome cocktail party, wedding ceremony, food, open bar, etc...
But then again, if we tried to have everything we can have in Mexico in the U.S., we'd pay at least $50,000. So its still a good deal. Although I truly don't believe there are weddings that happen nowadays for $5,000 or so! I wish there were!
PS: I will help defray my bridesmaids' costs, as possible. We haven't chosen a dress yet, but I'd like to pay $100 towards each dress or something like that. And of course I'll pay for hair and makeup for the wedding, if we all decide we want that, and other extras and gifts.