Need Help! Don't know where to start!

[krsmith]

Hey Everyone!

 

I'm new to all of this, so I don't quite know where to start! My FI and I have decided we want to get married in Cancun at Moon Palace, Jan/Feb 2012. We will be booking after the holidays. Once we do that...I don't know what to do next! Anyone have any suggestions of what the next steps should be after booking your venue? I've heard some people mention something about TAs, but I have never used one, and wouldn't really know where to go for that (and do they charge?). Thanks for your help!

[schmizer]

The first thing we did was establish a budget for everything.  

 

I did a ton of research (alot on here!) as to what the possible expenses would be. I then had alot of LONG conversations about my FI and we put together a list each of what our priorities were and where we wanted to cut costs vs. where we were willing to be more spendy.

 

We also put together a tentative guest list to figure out approximate costs associated with that.  When you book anything, one of the first things they want to know is how many people are involved.

 

I then did research on locations for our ceremony and reception to find the right fits.  We also got to interview the coordinator and I got to lay out my expectations.  We have booked the resort and are putting down the deposit for the ceremony and reception this week.

 

After all that information was accumulated in a spreadsheet, I started researching how everyone was going to book the trip.  We are not going to use a TA.  I have figured out from researching and speaking to a couple of TA's that it will be cheaper for our guests to book the resort directly with the room block.  I am also looking into airline discounts for our guests who use the same airline.

 

Those would be the first few things I would tackle.  Next would be contacting vendors, wedding website and save the dates and the thing I am really looking forward to---dress shopping!

 

Hope this helps!

 

[krsmith]

Thank you!

 

This really helps! I didn't know where to start when coordinating for potentially 50+ people. Do you ask people to tentatively RSVP when you send out your STD? I did notice they always want to know how many, and its hard to say at this point!

 

Congrats to you! Where and when will you be getting married? Good luck with all your planning also! 

[schmizer]

It can be really overwhelming at the beginning!  I felt the same way:)  There are lots of great brides here that offer great advice.  Don't be afraid to ask questions!

 

We are getting married April 21, 2012 at the Royal Lahaina Resort in Kaanapali, Maui.  It looks like we will have 20-35 people.  

 

Before we made the decision to have a destination wedding, we asked the people that REALLY mattered how feasible it was for them to attend.  We explained why we were having a destination wedding and spoke about what the tentative cost would be for our guests.  The response from those conversations was the number I based our budget counts on.  I expect after it is all said and done that we will have 30 people.  I have been surprised actually at how many people were all in right from the start.  

 

[schmizer]

And you absolutely can ask for a pre-rsvp for booking purposes when sending the STD's.  There are some great threads on here for wording of such.

[krsmith]

Aw that sounds nice! I think thats a good number! I would want about that many, but I have such a large family I think it will be around 50. Still not too bad though! I've heard Maui is beautiful! I originally was thinking Hawaii, but the costs were quite a bit higher than Mexico. I'm hoping the drug war doesn't affect it too much! Thank you for the great advice!

 

Good luck with the dress shopping too! I actually got mine Nov 2009...we were scheduled to get married last Aug, but postponed because it was getting too large and out of control! The dress is definitely the best part though! Have fun and keep an open mind..I ended up with a dress I probably never would have thought I wanted!

[JPenny]

In terms of your question about a TA. I am using a TA from this website They are really great so far. She gets back to my emails immediately. I was skeptical about working with a TA over the internet at first but she has put all my fears at ease. It doesn't cost any extra money to use a TA. I am also expecting about 50 people so I decided that a TA was my best option as I didn't want to take on the large task of arranging all that travel. In terms of prices for the guests, I think everyone has a different experience. Some can get great deals on their own but sometimes TA's can arrange better deals. So it really comes down to whether or not you want to be responsible for arranging travel or leave it to the pros.

[krsmith]

I wouldn't even know where to begin with arranging everyones travel! Where do you find a TA on this website?? I guess I never thought about having to do that part...I just assumed everyone would just book what they needed to get there! I'm assuming they help with the hotel too? Haha you can probably tell I've NEVER really traveled before...I'm clueless!

[JPenny]

If you've never travelled before then I would suggest a TA for sure. I usually always arrange my own travel but for this i"m leaving it to the pros. Everyone could book seperately but then you won't get a group booking discount and with a group your size you will definitely be able to get a group discount. With a TA everyone calls them and gives them their info and they book it for them. To use the ones on this site there's a banner you can click on at the top of the site.

[schmizer]

If you are not familiar with traveling, a TA might be the better route for you.

 

You are not responsible for arranging all the travel for your guests, but the easier you can make it for them, the more likely they will be to come.

 

None of my guests have ever been to Hawaii before and because of that fact, I want them to be prepared for the costs associated before booking.  Things like needing a rental car and average flight costs.  Also the price of excursions.  I didn't want them to get there and then to be surprised by how much things cost.  Hawaii definately has the perception of being expensive, but through research I have made it really affordable.  It really is only going to end up costing our guests $1000-$1500 pp for travel, hotel and car which isn't that bad.

 

I also really enjoy the researching process.  My FI jokes that I am the planning Nazi, because I am so anal about it, but I like to have all the questions answered beforehand so that when it comes down to the actual vacation part, I can sit back and enjoy:)  I always thought that I would make a good TA....  

 

I am also really happy with the number of guests attending.  I have a really small family and so does my FI!  I really only wanted 15 people and my number has doubled, so I am hoping that I can still maintain the intimate feel that I wanted.

 

You should post pics of your dress!  We would love to see:)