Looking for a reasonably priced elopement destination

[Deleted User]

Hi all,

My fiancé and I decided the perfect fit for us is to bring our families on a trip somewhere abroad and get married there. We would like to foot the cost for as much of the expense as possible, so we hope to find a destination on the more inexpensive side (per person.) We expect to have 12-15 people total, including the two of us. We'd love to travel outside of the country. We have flexibility for when the trip could be. 

Any ideas?

Thanks!!

lyndausvi

Reasonably priced is pretty vague.   Some people think $30K is reasonable.  For others it's under $10K.

MesmrEwe

lyndausvi said:

Reasonably priced is pretty vague.   Some people think $30K is reasonable.  For others it's under $10K.

This!  Also, not all of your guests may want to travel outside of the US for any number of reasons so that's something to factor of "to what extent are your VIP's actually VIP's".  (first words out of my FIL when we announced our engagement were that he WAS NOT going to a DW - but said the location that SIL/BIL went..)

Jells2dot0

Eloping means you are running off and getting married without the knowledge of others. So, you are planning on having a small DW.

We eloped, but prior to making our plans, we considered a small DW, with immediate family only, completely paid for by us. We then realized that most of our family, even with their trip completely paid for, would not travel. In fact, most of them would not even travel to where we were living! So, definitely check with your VIPs about your plans.

That being said, check out Jamaica, Dominican Republic, or Mexico (Riviera Maya/Cancun). Keep in mind the legal requirements, as they are a little more time consuming in Mexico. It is important to legally marry at your DW ceremony when you invite others to witness it.

artbyallie

Be sure to consider too the laws regarding getting married in your destination. Mexico, for instance, tends to have some cheaper flights/resorts/etc, but more stringent requirements for marriage including arriving a certain number of days ahead of time, blood tests, and I think also official translations of all documents that get expensive.

CMGragain

The Dominican Republic (Punta Cana) is relatively easy, and they have resorts that are willing (for a price) to help you.
For such a small guest list, you could consider a short cruise wedding in the Caribbean or Mexican coast.  Princess or Royal Caribbean ships can marry you onboard, while at sea, but you would be expected to pay all the guests' fares.  Your guests are expected to pay their own airfare to get to the cruise, though.  It sounds like this is what you plan to do, anyway.  Passports are not necessary for a cruise that begins and ends at the same USA port.  Where are you located?

http://www.vacationstogo.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=18339 (Best deal!  3 countries, 6 days for less than $100 per day per guest, and a window, too!)

http://www.vacationstogo.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=16244

http://www.vacationstogo.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=11838

Carnival Cruises are cheaper, but they perform your ceremony while docked in the harbor before the ships depart, and cannot marry you while out at sea.  This can actually be a plus, because you guests can attend your wedding without actually going on the cruise.  Any cruise ship line can arrange this for you.

Edit:  If the cruise wedding idea interests you, you should talk to a travel agent.  That first cruise I posted is offering $200 cruiseship credit to each couple (onboard spending money), and you might be able to negotiate a better price.  Your cruise passenger guests are responsible for paying their own shipboard bills (tips, bar bills, shore excursions), except for your reception drinks.

princessleia22

CMGragain said:

The Dominican Republic (Punta Cana) is relatively easy, and they have resorts that are willing (for a price) to help you.
For such a small guest list, you could consider a short cruise wedding in the Caribbean or Mexican coast.  Princess or Royal Caribbean ships can marry you onboard, while at sea, but you would be expected to pay all the guests' fares.  Your guests are expected to pay their own airfare to get to the cruise, though.  It sounds like this is what you plan to do, anyway.  Passports are not necessary for a cruise that begins and ends at the same USA port.  Where are you located?

http://www.vacationstogo.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=18339 (Best deal!  3 countries, 6 days for less than $100 per day per guest, and a window, too!)

http://www.vacationstogo.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=16244

http://www.vacationstogo.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=11838

Carnival Cruises are cheaper, but they perform your ceremony while docked in the harbor before the ships depart, and cannot marry you while out at sea.  This can actually be a plus, because you guests can attend your wedding without actually going on the cruise.  Any cruise ship line can arrange this for you.

Edit:  If the cruise wedding idea interests you, you should talk to a travel agent.  That first cruise I posted is offering $200 cruiseship credit to each couple (onboard spending money), and you might be able to negotiate a better price.  Your cruise passenger guests are responsible for paying their own shipboard bills (tips, bar bills, shore excursions), except for your reception drinks.

I actually did a cruise wedding on Carnival.  I checked with all my VIP's ahead of time to make sure they were on board with the idea.  Then I got their input on best port and cruise itinerary... I first narrowed it down to 3 options of various lengths and prices.  I got extremely lucky that all our VIP's unanimously agreed on the same cruise (7-day Western Caribbean), so that made it easy.  The wedding took place at port before departure.  All of our immediate family joined us for the cruise (14 people), but we also had 11 people that came onboard for the wedding & reception but did not go on the cruise.  My guests all loved the wedding and had a great time on the cruise.

My wedding was awesome and I am very glad that I went this route with it.  But, it's also not for everyone.  The cruise ship really takes care of all the wedding stuff, so there is not much planning needed... but there are limits to what you can customize. I loved the simplicity of it and that I didn't need to stress out planning every detail and I was okay with just accepting what they provided. And what they provided was simple, but great.

Not needing a passport for guests is a big advantage of doing the cruise wedding. It's also fairly cost effective.  The wedding packages are pretty cheap (considering all that is included) and then you can adjust cruise costs based on when you go, how early you book, and what type of cabins you get.  We had guests that chose interior cabins, balcony cabins, and suites.