Newbie - Los Angeles

[-Kate-]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TAMMYM maybe us women are going about this all wrong and should leave it up to our guys...

Now don't talk crazy Tammy! Some girls may luck out if they did this but most of us would end up eating hotdogs and cutting a Twinkie for our cake.

And welcome Ed!

[NATASHA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eychoi The time kinda depends on the place. For Hawaii, November is beginning of rainy season. So, it might be sooner, like in August or early September. If Cabo, then we're a little more flexible. So, I've been trying to pin down a location, but it's been difficult. Now, I'm going back and forth over Princeville vs. Grand Hyatt, if we wanted to do in Hawaii..... or if in Maui, Four Seasons, Ritz, or if in Oahu, Kahala or Hakeluni.... As you can tell, it's difficult.

Princeville is less predictable re: rain. We're Starwood Luxury Collection whores so I considered this as well.

We decided against Hawaii because of flight costs - it was prohibitive for our guests (60 of them), but if you are planning a smaller crew - it's definitely more manageable.

A place to consider that is a bit lower in the budget is the Sheraton on the big island. We stayed there a few Christmases ago. The grounds are perfect for a wedding - they maximize the view. I remember thinking that when we were there. The rooms are fine, the hotel is fine, it would work. It's not nearly as nice as the Sheraton in Cabo, though. No contest.

[NATASHA]

OH - and since you're a planner (me too) - here are a few tips:

 

After you select and secure the dates:

1) Get a judge or officiant - they book up, who knew? You're going to want a good time (1 1/2 hours before sunset to maximize your light for pictures). If you draw the short end of the stick and can't find someone to officiate (unless you're bringing your own) you could get stuck!

 

2) Get your photographer reserved. These guys book up! I went through 8 choices before I found one that was available because I waited until 5 months before the wedding. They can book 12 months in advance (don't panic, that was a "can.")

 

3) Send an evite to your big list of guests and explain that their discounted room rate is only available until ___ date. We got the majority of our guests to book and commit by June for our November wedding. Our room block (we were on the hook) had its first cancellation fee in July. I was SWEATING bullets because we had 4 rooms that it looked like we would be on the hook for. Fortunately, we had 5 more rooms needed (so we were one over what we estimated), but WHEW! Knowing your number of guests makes all the difference on your budget. Our guests also said they appreciated the somewhat forceful heads up (my husband called everyone who didn't respond, even if they were a maybe we were fine, we just wanted to know) as it helped them plan their vacations that year.

[TammyWright]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NATASHA OH - and since you're a planner (me too) - here are a few tips: After you select and secure the dates: 1) Get a judge or officiant - they book up, who knew? You're going to want a good time (1 1/2 hours before sunset to maximize your light for pictures). If you draw the short end of the stick and can't find someone to officiate (unless you're bringing your own) you could get stuck! 2) Get your photographer reserved. These guys book up! I went through 8 choices before I found one that was available because I waited until 5 months before the wedding. They can book 12 months in advance (don't panic, that was a "can.") 3) Send an evite to your big list of guests and explain that their discounted room rate is only available until ___ date. We got the majority of our guests to book and commit by June for our November wedding. Our room block (we were on the hook) had its first cancellation fee in July. I was SWEATING bullets because we had 4 rooms that it looked like we would be on the hook for. Fortunately, we had 5 more rooms needed (so we were one over what we estimated), but WHEW! Knowing your number of guests makes all the difference on your budget. Our guests also said they appreciated the somewhat forceful heads up (my husband called everyone who didn't respond, even if they were a maybe we were fine, we just wanted to know) as it helped them plan their vacations that year.

great tips natasha...especially about photog and rooms...we also did the hard press on getting people to reserve the rooms...we were ok with folks not going BUT if they were going to go, reserve a room...my friends were good about this...his friends, not so good

[NATASHA]

Yeah - well, didn't one of his friends sleep on the beach!

[TammyWright]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NATASHA Yeah - well, didn't one of his friends sleep on the beach!

yup! i am not kidding...i thought he was joking until i was walking down the beach and saw his tent filled with canned food...

[NATASHA]

Well, there you go, Ed. It's good to get your guests organized early.

[EDYTA]

I'm late to this conversation but WELCOME ED!!!!! u sound 2 good 2 b true I wish my FI was as interested in the planning as u r...all mine evers says is "it's up 2 u" or "that's 2 much money 2 spend for one day". Well it's very nice to see a guy this interested in the wedding process.

 

It sounds like u have been looking at some amazing places for ur wedding, I'm very jealous...I wanted the One and Only but way out of our budget

 

BTW did u say World Poker Tour hmmmm I think we should talk a little more, lol...what do u do for them?

[eychoi]

Thanks again for all the useful info. My fiancee was impressed with my progress today. To answer the prior post, I'm an in-house lawyer for World Poker Tour.