Affording a destination wedding

[beachbride08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by photographerShay Cost is a major issue for me too, so my wedding is no where near what some of the girls on here are doing. Yes, some are having extravagent but very beautiful weddings....that's just not in my budget unfortunately. I may get some backlash for saying this, but I actually disagree with the advise to hire a travel agent (just my opinion). If you take the time to research and really dig using the various forums and google searches, you can find all kinds of options and determine the least expensive choice that still meets your standards. For me, Playa del Carmen was still too pricey so I started looking in other areas. I found a place in Akumal that does very low-key, laid-back beach weddings (just my type) and the hotel rates were incredible. Yes the location isn't as opulant as some of these resorts.....but it's nice.... So I guess I'd say maybe be open to the idea of making some compromises to get what you want (beach wedding with family). feel free to PM me if you'd like info on what I'm doing, but I'll post full reviews w/ pics after my wedding....

I think a TA can be really helpful, and the person that we used got us better deals than anything we or our guests found online on our own. Plus, like Morgan mentioned they had the option to just pay a deposit and the remainder of the trip balance later or set up a payment plan where if you book online your paying for everything up front.

We looked into options in the states, but it would have cost us just as much as having a wedding at home and in my opinion not as nice. In Mexico everything is included and the wedding packages are so cheap!

[rodent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by photographerShay Wow, sounds like you did great Morgan!! I'm spending $350 also and get all that you listed except champagne (but I wouldn't have wanted that anyhow so that's ok). The hotel for my guests is only $50/night, but we're not at a big resort.... of course the only people attending is our daughter and our two sets of parents. So we're having a very small, intimate, casual event. I can't wait!

Oh, with that small of a guest list a TA wouldn't be a huge help. We only had 25 people total, but over 60 that were interested. It would have been a PITA to deal with all of their questions. it was great to be abe to say, "email the TA."

a casual wedding is nice. I don't think I would have enjoyed it with many more people.

[Jessica&Adam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morgan this isn't backlash at all. but, I did the digging & found a really nice hotel that was cheap. then i hired the TA just to do the bookings. she was cheaper than what I could get online. sometimes the price matched, but it was never higher. the best part was that guests only had to put down a deposit. for me, that was the best part of having a TA. I live in NC & we thought about having it at a beach here. but, by the time you figure in flights, rental cars, hotels, meals etc. it probably would have cost about as much per person. It definitly would have been a lot more for us. our guests kept commenting on what a great value the trip was. it was also a great value for us. the wedding (ceremony, champagne, decor, officiant, music, mic..really everything we needed for the wedding) was only $340. Then we had dinner in a hotel restaurant together. the actually wedding day was super cheap. I would not have been able to pull off something like that in the states for that price. I'd check with the people who you would not want to have your wedding without & see if the price works for them. we knew our parents & siblings could make it. others couldn't because they didn't have the vacation time or budget, but we were fine with that. we wanted a small group anyway.

OMG after reading this I kind of feel like I got screwed! Our guests are paying about $145 per night, and this is not all-inclusive. I thought it was a good rate but after reading I'm not so sure anymore. And my site is way more expensive too! Its $1000 not including any flowers or decorations (that is just to use the site and officiant I think)...def does not include bubbly! Sounds like you ladies got a hell of a deal - i'm so jealous!

[KatyKo]

That was a stressful part of our decision to do a destination wedding as well. I'm sorry that you are having a hard time, but keep looking around. Have you looked at Occidental Grand Punta Cana?

 

That is where I am having my wedding. They have very reasonable wedding packages and rates...the only expensive thing for us is the flight, but that would be expensive no matter where you go these days. I believe our guests are looking at a little over $1,300 for 6 nights/7 days, all-inclusive, plus direct flight from Charlotte to PC.

 

Hope that helps...good luck!!

[TMclean]

KBurton,

 

I think you have to keep in mind of what is most important to you and your FH.

 

For me it was to get married, and we could not afford to have a wedding at home that I would be happy with, that is why we chose a destination wedding.

 

of course I wanted everyone to attend our wedding, but in the end I was not going to cancel my plans because of other people not being able to make it. you can't please everyone. for me, the most important person to make it was my FH. I know this can sound harsh, but weddings can get so stressful and I think that you should not have to go in debt for a wedding at home because people can't make it to a destination wedding.

 

so just do what you want and stop worry about other people, from my experience so far of planing, if you listen to everyone, you will brake down.

 

Good Luck.

[rodent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jessica&Adam OMG after reading this I kind of feel like I got screwed! Our guests are paying about $145 per night, and this is not all-inclusive. I thought it was a good rate but after reading I'm not so sure anymore. And my site is way more expensive too! Its $1000 not including any flowers or decorations (that is just to use the site and officiant I think)...def does not include bubbly! Sounds like you ladies got a hell of a deal - i'm so jealous!

i'm pretty sure the hilton is much fancier. our hotel wasn't fancy, but it was nicer than hotels we usually stay at on vacation. it just wasn't luxury. it ran about $85 per night per person

also, my ceremony was the renewal of vows. the legal ceremony was around 1,000 or more.

[kburton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jessica&Adam OMG after reading this I kind of feel like I got screwed! Our guests are paying about $145 per night, and this is not all-inclusive. I thought it was a good rate but after reading I'm not so sure anymore. And my site is way more expensive too! Its $1000 not including any flowers or decorations (that is just to use the site and officiant I think)...def does not include bubbly! Sounds like you ladies got a hell of a deal - i'm so jealous!

I have been working with a TA (I haven't HIRED one but one from Beach Bum Vacations). This is where I'm getting all my information and pricing. I'm not worried about a lot of people being there...mainly just my brother and his family (they are on the "MUST BE THERE" list). Sounds like some of you have some good TA's...can you recommend any to me? I would hate to hire one until I know they can get me a great deal. I'm not good at this messaging (PM) thing so either post on here or email me, please! (I'm having a hard time with this forum...I don't understand points and sometimes I can see things and other times I can't...not sure how you accumulate or use points)?!?

Thanks,
Kelly
kellyraeburton@yahoo.com

[freshislandgal]

have you tried little palm island? also look into the private beach resorts in the states?

[jamisoncollette]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kburton This is where I'm getting all my information and pricing. I'm not worried about a lot of people being there...mainly just my brother and his family (they are on the "MUST BE THERE" list). Sounds like some of you have some good TA's...can you recommend any to me? I would hate to hire one until I know they can get me a great deal. I'm not good at this messaging (PM) thing so either post on here or email me, please! (I'm having a hard time with this forum...I don't understand points and sometimes I can see things and other times I can't...not sure how you accumulate or use points)?!? Thanks, K

You earn points by posting and viewing threads. 1 point for viewing, 5 for posting a reply and 15 for a new thread. You may get points for pics too, I don't remember. The only time you really need to use points is if you are buying something like a gift, shiny name, etc. You do need points to view some things. If you need points, most members are happy to donate them to you. I just donated some so you now have 1000.

[rodent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamisoncollette You earn points by posting and viewing threads. 1 point for viewing, 5 for posting a reply and 15 for a new thread. You may get points for pics too, I don't remember. The only time you really need to use points is if you are buying something like a gift, shiny name, etc. You do need points to view some things. If you need points, most members are happy to donate them to you. I just donated some so you now have 1000.

we have actually been cutting down on point donation. downloading stuff is what uses of the forum server the most, which is the purpose of the point system. once I understood this, i stopped donating points.

the best way to earn them is to make something useful & upload it for others. then you get 50 points for everyone who downloads it. until then you can bookmark pages with something you want & download it once you have enough points.