Destination Wedding Help! 2015/2016

keri105

Hi All,

I am recently engaged (almost a month!) and my fiancé and I haven't really nailed down any wedding plans yet as we are likely to have a longer than usual engagement (likely 1.5 to 2 years). We've had a very preliminary discussion of our desires and we are thinking about a destination wedding (Punta Cana? Anguilla? Bahamas? Aruba? Mexico?). We both have rather large families, however, we would like to keep the engagement on the smaller side (ideally 50 guests, but this seems impossible!) We live in Massachusetts and have also discussed the idea of getting married domestically, however away from Massachusetts (perhaps in Florida or South Carolina?). We do want a beachside event, so location matters greatly in my case.

Basically, we are very limited on budget (I don't even know where to begin... such as where my starting point should be! I know this relies heavily on guest list & location). On first thought, I am thinking $10k budget.. maybe $15k if we need wiggle room. Having a longer engagement will hopefully enable us to save more money as well.

I need any guidance from someone who has planned a destination wedding and to just get some advice on where to begin, suggestions, wedding packages, locations, pros & cons, etc. I know this post is pretty generic, but I am hoping to find somewhat of a starting place...

Thank you!

Keri

Latillo

Hi Keri! Welcome to the board! I am also getting married in 2015. September 4th to be exact! We are getting married in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico at the Secrets Maroma Beach Resort. We also have set a budget of 10K. (however we may also go a little over).

I would say to get started first decide where you want to get married, this will help a lot when it comes to picking a resort. We always knew we wanted to get married in Mexico so that was easy. However, we wanted Cabo originally and after looking at flights and how much they were we didn;t want to ask our guests to spend that much. So it's important to decided on your budget for your guests as well. How much are you comfortable with asking them to pay to come to your wedding?

Once we decided that Riviera Maya/Playa Del Carmen was a better price range I started looking at resorts. I narrowed it down to 3 and then contacted my travel agent. We went with TravelZap but I have heard Beach Bum Vacations is good too. They were able to get prices for me and we picked from there. Once you check out the resorts packages/prices then you can get a better ide of what you want and everything will fall into place! Good luck!!!

Latillo

Let me also add that our 10K budget is not including our trip to the resort and our flights. I am paying a little a month on our trip so that it is all paid up before we go. Our stay at the resort for 5 nights plus 2 flights is running around $3,000 so let's say 13k as a better ball park. TravelZap offers payment plans for us and our guests so if people want to pay a little at a time they can. As far as savings go we also had a long engagement. In July we will be engaged a year already. We also wanted to make sure we had enough time to save and we will be all paid up 6 months before the wedding!

shelikespink

Congratulations! That budget sounds do-able for a destination wedding. It depends on how many people will likely come and where you go of course! A lot of resorts have wedding packages that are complimentary and can accommodate a certain number of people, and then you may have to pay per head on the extra. Hope that helps!

msuprincess04

@knotporscha vendor above.

saric83

Welcome and congrats!  You can definitely do a DW on that budget.  We got married in Cancun with about 40 guests, and for absolutely everything, it was around $13K.  

I think the hardest part about the whole planning was simply picking a location.  We focused on the ceremony location as the decider for us as we wanted something private but with beautiful views of the beach, so we narrowed it down to spots with rooftop, gazebo and deck locations for ceremony.  Our TA helped us with that, and then we chose it based on price and other features.  

Once we got that narrowed down, everything else fell into place easily.  We did everything through the resort with a wedding package and a few add-ons.  It was super easy and very low stress.

keri105

Thanks for all of your input, ladies!!! I definitely agree that deciding on a location needs to happen before I can even think about anything else. I guess it's time to have a real time chat with the fiancé as we both have slightly differing opinions on the subject... he is aiming for a "destination" wedding domestically and I'd prefer an international location.  Part of the reason he wants to stay in the US is because we have our precious Yorkie puppy who we want to include... but I am not sure if that's the smartest decision!! I don't want to bring the pup across borders in case they need to quarantine him and whatnot... I'd be too nervous.

Latillo

@keri105 just keep in mind you can't do an all inclusive package in the states if that's something you both want. Good luck!

keri105

@Latillo- oh wow, didn't even think of that. Good call! Thank you!!

stephc314

Hi Keri, welcome and congrats on your engagement!

We had a tough time deciding where to get married as well and settled on Caneel Bay on St. John (we leave NEXT Friday for our wedding - AHH!).  It's a US Virgin Island so in my opinion, makes the "rules" of planning a wedding outside of the states really easy.  I should point out that we are eloping so there obviously isn't TOO much to do.  When we were considering a small destination wedding (about 20 people) this was still an affordable option.  However, if you are bringing guests, they will not need a passport which is also nice.

I would suggest emailing different venues just to get an idea on the pricing.  

I will echo what others have said - the hardest part is picking a location/venue that YOU like but then everything else falls into place.  I think the perk of a DW is that generally everything is done without having to make site visits or get involved with tastings and looking at table linens and all of that fun (stressful) stuff so it's relatively low stress and enjoyable.

Good luck!

Swecolomexicana

I would also try non-beach options! Especially in Mexico, where my family is from, there are incredible places that are affordable but elegant... though they may be more inland. Look at old haciendas, like Hacienda Sepulveda in Jalisco, or colonial towns, like San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, etc.

keri105

@stephc314 congrats and best of luck, enjoy every moment! Also, thank you for pointing out that passports are not needed for the US Virgin Islands... definitely something to think about!

Ausome13

I really struggled with picking a location. There are so many amazong beaches and resorts I wanted to visit them all! I think your budget is very doable as long as you don't go over board with the wedding extras or you componsate by staying at a more reasonable resort. I did a ton of research and Mexico and Jamaica really seem the most affordable destonations, airfare to them is much cheaper than many places in the Carribean. Lots of the resorts offer the free wedding package with the stay and then you can al a carte the items you want to make the even special. When we were looking at the Playa area I really liked El Dorado and Jamaica Couples Swept Away looked like a great experience and bonus that resort only does one wedding a day. We're going to Regency La Toc in St. Lucia and it could totally be done there for under 10k as well if you don't upsell yourself into a larger budget the way we did lol. 

tjklos

I just got married on Anna Maria Island in Florida in April!

Absolutely PERFECT. Could not be any happier!

We got married at the Sandbar Restaurant- Patti the wedding coordinator there was absolutely amazing.  It was PERFECT for my budget- and we had 70 guests make the trip.   It is a nice spot for a destination wedding- because you would be surprised how many friends make a vacation out of your weddding when visiting Florida! The sunset is breathtaking.  The staff is super friendly.  The site is beyond perfect!

Check it out!

http://sandbar.groupersandwich.com/

Also- you should check out my Etsy site- i offer alot of beach wedding decorations

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TiffanysWeddingShop

Good luck with everything! Enjoy every minute of planning!

-Tiffany

Knottie37373131

I think that your budget can be doable. It depends on how long you are staying at your location as well. You will have more room to spend if you stay for less time. Fiance and I are going to be getting married in Ocho Rios, Jamaica May 2015 and will be staying there for 7 nights. We are spending about $4000 on our room including the insurance which is a Butler suite at Sandals. Our flights will likely be around 900-1100. I think it depends on how much you are going to be putting in towards family trips.

Lwaryjas

My wedding which is a destination in Key West, has very few of our family memebers (both groom & bride) are coming (less than 15%) due to the cost and all (flights, hotels, etc).  We are expecting about 40-50 people where about 75% will be friends. 

Keep in mind, the more of a heads up you give your guests, there may be more pontial that they can save and come to share your special day, just depends what you want and what everyone's flexibility is. Good luck

Jells2dot0

Knottie04177181 said:

look at karismaresorts.com are amazing and if you go thru a member its almosr 50% off what travel agents get or if you booked online. plus the rooms are nicer and more iclusives. we became member this year because we travel a lot and love paying the lower rates there. good luck. gianna borell

@KnotPorscha‌ this member has posted the same post on several forums, all recommending membership at karisma.

Jkrolak

Hi Keri,

Congrats! I know picking the place was incredibly hard because we also had a budget.
We went all out with a 5* resort that our guests are still talking about. Everything was perfect.
We did the actual wedding offsite at a restaurant next door - WAY more personal than the converter belt of resort brides 3 times a day with tourists gawking at them. We gave our guests the cutest beach bags filled with goodies and we had photo/video for the whole thing. Best part was that our guests loved the location so much that many chose it for their next vacation...that is the best compliment. Between my husband and I we have traveled to all the usual spots of Mexico (all over), Cuba (all over), Florida (all over), Bahamas (Gran Bahama, Nassau), Barbados, Bermuda, and Dominican and this is seriously the best place where the people treat you well, the food is incredible and plentiful, the entertainment is great, the beaches are gorgeous and the price is right....

Details:

Location: Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Resort: Luxury Gran Bahia Principe Esmeralda (superior service with butler included)
Ceremony/Reception Venue: Kukua Restaurant
Photographer/video: Blue Lagoon Studio
Honeymoon: Secrets Royal Beach (30 minutes away)
Guests giftbags: magicfeather.ca - they are presented to your guests at the airport upon arrival!
We were there total 12 days with the wedding week and 5 day honeymoon and it cost us $12000 for everything.

Hope this helps you! GOOD LUCK and enjoy the planning!!!