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Travel or Not to travel....

mrsamandalynnmrsamandalynn member
First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
in Destination Weddings Discussions
So my FH and I are from the greater philadelphia area, but it doesn't suit us very well. After I finish school and he finishes his enlistment with the Air Force, we intend on moving to either TN or KY. We just started looking at venues and are looking for something with a rustic country feel. We're pretty sure we will hold our wedding at one of two places. Gettysburg pa (3hr drive) or Sevierville tn (10hr drive). Here comes the great debate. I want a small wedding, the tn venue allows a max of 50. The pa venue requires a minimum of 75 for a Friday/Sunday and 100 for a Saturday. He comes from a very large family that isn't exactly close knit. We could easily fill a 150 person reception but just aren't looking to spend that kind of money. We rather have something more intimate and treat our guest extremely well. At the same time we're afraid the tn venue may be financially out of reach for some of the attendants and guests. Anyone out there have some words of wisdom out of personal experience?
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Re: Travel or Not to travel....

  • LwaryjasLwaryjas member
    5 Love Its First Answer First Comment
    You've got to do what makes sense for you, within the parameters of what you can afford.  The last thing you want is to be debt from your wedding.  With that said you need to do what you want to do.  Everyone was telling me to have a wedding at home so everyone can celebrate with me, but after I thought about it for a while I knew that wasn't truly going to make me happy.  I wanted to get married somewhere tropical so that's what I did.  We at first were just going to invite our parents and our bridal party but then wanted to invite close family and friends so we are expecting about 50 people (we invited about 90 or so), but we know off the bat some people will not make the trip. 

    Anyone who has gotten married understands your situation and the cost of the wedding.  If you don't invite them just try to be fair (ex. if your mom has three siblings dont only invite 1, it should be all or nothing).  That way its a little more clear how to draw the line.  The other thing to consider is doing a wedding during the week or on Friday if you do want to have a larger wedding as you have more room to negotiate with the vendor.  Also look at the slower season to potentially have your wedding that way you may be able to lower the FB minimum or get a free upgrade or two. 

    Hope that helps! Good Luck :)
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  • mrsamandalynnmrsamandalynn member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    My mother flat out told me she just wants me to do what would make me happy. My FH's mother agrees that the venue (Flower Mountain weddings) is beautiful but mentioned that it was quite far away. My main thought is for for what the Gettysburg venue (the lodges at Gettysburg) costs to invite twice as many people as I'd like to, I could instead help offset the costs for my bridal party's travel expenses. I could even possibly rent a house to house my family members that are coming for the weekend.
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  • wrigleyvillewrigleyville member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
    That sounds very generous of you. We did a similar thing in paying for my parents' flight and hotel; otherwise, they couldn't have come.

    I would talk to your VIPs and figure out which option works best for everyone. Personally, I wouldn't have had my wedding in Vegas if either set of parents, our siblings, or the WP couldn't have made the trip. We ran it by them, and once we had the okay from everyone, we started planning.
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