Can't make up our mind!

Knottie01131954

We have been back and forth on what we actually would like to do for our wedding. If we have it at home, (meaning WA State), we want it small and not a huge to do.
But we also have been to Cancun before and loved it and are highly considering getting married there at the Le Blanc. Something simple there as well.
I think the biggest concern of mine is that we get great pictures because that will be the only thing left from that day. Well other than our marriage. lol
How have you all decided which way you wanted to go and where you wanted to get married?

Jells2dot0

The biggest things to consider are:

1) legally getting married. If you get married in Mexico, it requires some additional paperwork and time in country. Some girls choose not to do that and figure out the paperwork before or after being in Mexico. To me, it was super important to have my wedding be my real, legally binding wedding. So, if the requirements in Mexico are too much for you, then perhaps it's best to get married at home.

2) Guests. This is a HUGE one. Can your VIP guests afford to go to Cancun? Are they willing to travel for it? Are you sure you are okay with people declining that might otherwise attend in WA? Can you find something that does work within your guests budget? Does you budget allow to properly host your guests at a resort (even all inclusives charge a little extra for receptions.)

3) Are you okay with not having the option to meet with vendors? Or see the resort ahead of time? You also need to be flexible with planning. Things aren't always as timely in foreign countries. If you are at all a control freak, a DW might not be right for you.

4) Often times, DWs are less expensive than traditional weddings at home because the guest list is so much smaller. However, if your guest list at home is small already, you may find that your money will go farther at home. You can make your money go further by hosting a dinner at a local restaurant or having a cake and punch reception at a non-meal time. Doing this also eliminates a huge burden for your guests, who would otherwise be spending a thousand or two to head to Mexico.

There was never a question that we wanted a DW, but we also didn't invite anyone to our wedding. It was, however, important for my wedding to be legal when we did the ceremony, so we factored that in when we chose the destination.

msuprincess04

Knottie01131954 said:

We have been back and forth on what we actually would like to do for our wedding. If we have it at home, (meaning WA State), we want it small and not a huge to do.
But we also have been to Cancun before and loved it and are highly considering getting married there at the Le Blanc. Something simple there as well.
I think the biggest concern of mine is that we get great pictures because that will be the only thing left from that day. Well other than our marriage. lol
How have you all decided which way you wanted to go and where you wanted to get married?

PP touched on the important stuff. But good photos is not something to worry about if you want a DW. You can either bring your favorite photographer with you, or myself and a few others who were married down there can give you some great recommendations.

Jells2dot0

msuprincess04 said:

Knottie01131954 said:

We have been back and forth on what we actually would like to do for our wedding. If we have it at home, (meaning WA State), we want it small and not a huge to do.
But we also have been to Cancun before and loved it and are highly considering getting married there at the Le Blanc. Something simple there as well.
I think the biggest concern of mine is that we get great pictures because that will be the only thing left from that day. Well other than our marriage. lol
How have you all decided which way you wanted to go and where you wanted to get married?

PP touched on the important stuff. But good photos is not something to worry about if you want a DW. You can either bring your favorite photographer with you, or myself and a few others who were married down there can give you some great recommendations.

I hired an amazing photographer for my DW. She was local to the area where we married. However, if the only reason you want a DW is to have nice pictures, I'd really rethink things. DWs are not for everyone and they are certainly not convenient to your guests. As long as you hire a good photographer, your pictures will be awesome no matter where you marry. in fact, I just had a friend marry at a city hall. They had a photographer take some pictures of their very short and simple ceremony, and after, and the pics were awesome.

soinlove247

I totally understand your problem, we were having the same one. Only Sunday did we decide to have a DW knowing that everyone isn't going to be able to make it and we're fine with that. What made the choice easier was that we decided if we were going to spend roughly $18k on a wedding why not spend about half of that with our children and call it a day! Your bound to have awesome pics so I wouldn't worry so much about that. Just make sure its legit lol!!

weddingcactus

Knottie01131954 said:

We have been back and forth on what we actually would like to do for our wedding. If we have it at home, (meaning WA State), we want it small and not a huge to do.
But we also have been to Cancun before and loved it and are highly considering getting married there at the Le Blanc. Something simple there as well.
I think the biggest concern of mine is that we get great pictures because that will be the only thing left from that day. Well other than our marriage. lol
How have you all decided which way you wanted to go and where you wanted to get married?

You can have a small wedding at home or at a destination, so don't let that be your limiting factor. I think the previous posters hit the more critical questions about a destination wedding.

• Are you comfortable with the additional complexity of getting married in a foreign country? This includes marriage licenses, planning remotely and/or optionally making an additional in person visit to plan/organize/visit venues and vendors.
• Will your VIP guests be able and willing to attend a destination wedding? Do you feel comfortable asking your VIPs to fork out the money for a destination wedding?
• Will you be upset if one of your VIPs backs out? What happens if someone gets pregnant or can't find a sitter for the kids/dogs/etc? Will that devastate you?
• Do you want to spend potentially much of the time at your destination wedding with your guests rather than one day with guests and the rest of the time alone as a couple?

What about having a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Washington? I know Washington has some absolutely stunning scenery that would be a beautiful backdrop for wedding photographs. And then if you want some gorgeous beach photographs, hire a photographer for a few hours while honeymooning in Mexico! You could even bring your wedding dress if you'd like. 

Knottie56739728

There are alot of awesome photographers that you can reasearch that will travel with you. Luckily for me our wedding planner lives in Cabo so she is plugged in with all the outside vendors that do a great job. I have included the link below for the destination photographer that I am using and I personally think their work is gorgeous..

Chris and Lynn

http://www.chrispluslynn.com/index.php#mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=0&p=0