Destination Weddings Discussions

Why did you pick a destination wedding?

People ask me this all the time, I just wanna see where I stand with everyone else!!!!

Re: Why did you pick a destination wedding?

  • There were a number of factors we took into consideration when choosing a DW.  The main one was the fact that all of Brian's family live in Minnesota and the majority of mine live in Hawaii.  Since our guests were going to travel no matter where we decided to get married at and after careful consideration, we decided on a 5 day cruise where everyone would be able to consider it a mini vacation.That coupled with the fact that we've both been married before, we didn't want to have a big shin ding!  We're going to do that with both of the AHR's though!  :)
  • We started planning a huge home wedding and were miserable. We felt like our day was getting out of control and we were making decisions based on what other people wanted. One night we were fighting about something stupid and realized that this isn't what we wanted. So the next day we called every vendor and cancelled - and booked a little chapel on the beach in Maui! There are several people who won't be there that we will miss - but this was the right decision for us. We just wanted to be relaxed and start our life together in paradise! haha kind of sappy but its the truth! :-)
  • We chose Cabo for several reasons. Its somewhere I've been a few times so I feel like I know the area and I feel safe there. Its not crazy expensive . And its easy to get to from Seattle, only a four hour plane ride. It was important for us to pick a destination that our best friends could afford to go to without breaking the bank. Also its a place that people can easily come for three days or a week. Plus, its a great excuse to go to cabo for anniversaries!
  • Also, true story: When I was thirteen I was in cabo with my parents. My dad and I were sitting at the swim up bar. We started talking to this couple next to us that were on their honeymoon. The woman looked me straight in the eye and told me to skip the big wedding. It wasn't worth it. Just go away and get married. I thought she was crazy at the time, but I never forgot what she told me. And here I am, doing exactly that. Lol
  • Actually I'm proud to say that it was FI's idea. He asked me how I felt about getting marry on the beach and I was in shock, he wanted something small and intimate. Then I was over it and decided to get marry in the country I was born at, my native land Dominican Republic. Everything was great, but then I started realizing that I wouldn't have the reception that I always dreamed of because I knew our family wasn't going to agree with us and go to DR (especially his). But as word got around everyone said that they'll join us, even though I'm not counting on everyone, but I'll be happy with at least 30. And honestly with our immediate family and the bridal party we have 25-30 and that's just what I wanted so I couldn't be happier. Needless to say that my dad's mom lives in DR and since my dad passed away 10yrs ago what better gift than to have her attend my wedding without having her flying to the US.  Everytime I talk about it I get so excited.. Yaaayyyy! :-))

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  • Our decision was a combo of cost and emotional factors...  I've been married before and had a big wedding; FI has been through all the wedding planning but the actual vows portion (called off).  We wanted low key and away, but easy enough for our families to join us - even if they were on a budget.  We also wanted an excuse to keep the guest list short and spend our money wisely :)
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  • FI & I decided on a DW even before we got engaged. It was the one thing that FI would say, even though he refused to talk about marriage at all otherwise! (Let me tell you, our engagement was a total shock! LOL)As others have said, a lot of things went into our decision. 1st was, I didn't want a big traditional wedding and neither did he. I don't like to be the center of attention in large groups of people, nor did I want to spend my entire day thanking everyone for coming and not being able to enjoy it! We both just aren't into the "traditional" deal at all....we feel that a lot of the things that are done at weddings are kinda corny & a waste of $$ & time (no offense to those of you who enjoy these things). Also, I feel like a lot of traditional weddings are all for the "show". Again, no offense to anyone who is having or likes traditional weddings, it's just not us.We LOVE to travel. Especially to Aruba (further story in bio). So after we got engaged in Aruba, it seemed only appropriate to get married there too. Aruba is close to our hearts for many reasons.I also like the idea that my wedding is going to be different. rememberable. Something people will talk about for awhile. I want people to say "that was the best vacation & the best wedding I've ever been to" ya know?Not to mention, this way we can keep the # of guests down & the costs!
  • alison- ok, your answer is exactly how we feel. I think some people really dont understand how you could not want a big traditional wedding. I stood up in 3 weddings like that already, and I was just so nervous and uncomfortable, and I wasnt even the BRIDE! We both dont like to be the center of attention, we are more "fly under the radar" types, as FI put it! We also dont like the traditional things at weddings, the toasts, entrance line/annoucements, etc. Well Im glad I got some reassurance on this. Thanks!
  • It was FI's idea for the most part.I've been married before with the whole big wedding and I said that if I ever gor married again I would have a very small wedding. No more then 15 guests.FI's never been married and we wanted to go away, just the two of us, somewhere awesome in Europe and then come back and have an AHR. I was leaning towards doing what he wanted because not only I love the idea, but also because it's his first wedding, but our families live in 2 different places and we will have to have 2 AHRs...too much work and money.We ended up with a good compromise by doing what he wanted, but inviting immediate family only (no more than 15 guests) and not having AHRs.
  • I didn't have a chance to read the other girls responses because I'm getting ready for work, but for Barry and I it was because we wanted it to be relaxed and about "us". Not the big, huge "event" of a day with 175 people looking at us. All of my girlfriends that had big weddings have all told me that they regretted it. They said it was overwhelming and they don't remember much about the day. I have one friend that did a dw to the Caymen Islands and she said that she can look back and remember every word of her vows. That sold me on it.
  • I had always told my FI that I didn't want a big wedding, just to fly off to the beach with him and say our vows. We both have divorced parents and our families are A LOT of drama. Nothing is ever about me or FI, its about our parents fighting, my brother getting into trouble, his sister having a new baby, etc. I wanted this one day to be about just US! When we got engaged, his family was a little PO'd about the situation. So I said they could go. But, I had always wanted to go to Hawaii and also my mom won't fly. So I changed my mind and said we could get married in Florida. Then everyone wanted me to wait a year so they could plan their vacations accordingly. We got engaged in June, and I didn't want to wait til next summer. So THEN, I said we would just have a regular wedding in January and everyone could come. I was miserable planning a wedding. When people would say, What are your colors? Id be like who gives a crap about colors? I didn't want to pick a bridal party and I didn't want to make seating arrangements. After being engaged two months, I told FI that I was going to find a cruise to go on and book it without telling anyone (except my dad, who was paying for the reservations). So I found a cruise, decided to get married on our first stop to St. Thomas, all alone, and I have never been more excited. His family is still a little irritated at my decision, but we are going to have an AHR when we get back so they feel a little involved!! Pretty much every person I have told about my wedding plans tells me that if they did the big wedding, they wish they had just run off....
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