why did you choose a DW?

shortee426

Hello everyone.  I am considering a destination wedding, so I just wanted to get some opinions from you all.

1.  Why did you choose a DW?
2.  How many guests did you have/are you expecting?  How does that compare to if you had it in The States?
3.  How did you choose where to have it?
4.  Did you have a beach wedding? (I personally never wanted a beach wedding...would it be weird to not have a beach wedding if I do a DW?)

I appreciate all input.  Thanks ladies!

chosen175

1.  Why did you choose a DW?
We really couldn't afford a wedding at home, and if it were in our hometown, we'd be expected to invite 200+ guests. No way was I going through the hassle of cutting down the guest list and dealing with all those hurt feelings and ticked off relatives!  Plus, I've never been one to follow the crowd anyway - I don't want the same ol' boring church/banquet hall wedding everyone else has.

2.  How many guests did you have/are you expecting?  How does that compare to if you had it in The States?
We're only inviting 8 people.  So yeah, big change.  All 8 are coming.

3.  How did you choose where to have it?
We chose Savannah, Ga because we didn't want our guests to worry about passports and all that.  Plus, 2 are afraid of flying so we needed a place they could drive if they wanted.  We've visited Savannah several times and LOVE it there!  It's breathakingly beautiful and I can't imagine my wedding anywhere else.

4.  Did you have a beach wedding? (I personally never wanted a beach wedding...would it be weird to not have a beach wedding if I do a DW?)
Nope.  We're getting married in a gazebo surrounded by flowers.  You don't HAVE to do the beach thing if that's not your style.  A DW can be anything you want it to be.

drm6285

Hi and welcome!

1.  Why did you choose a DW?  FI and I had always talked about having one, so it was really a no-brainer.  We didn't want to deal with a wedding here at home with a gazillion guests and the stress of it all.
2.  How many guests did you have/are you expecting?  How does that compare to if you had it in The States?
We have 32 people booked.  We invited about 130.
If we would have has a home wedding, we'd prob be looking at a guest list of about 400!?!?!
3.  How did you choose where to have it?  We kept cost in mind for our guests and tried to find a nice all-inclusive resort that would fit both expectation and budget.  We looked at resorts in Mexico, Jamaica and PuntaCana before choosing PC.
4.  Did you have a beach wedding? (I personally never wanted a beach wedding...would it be weird to not have a beach wedding if I do a DW?)
Our resort has a beach gazebo, but they also have a garden gazebo (which is what I think we will end up using).  But I won't know for sure till we get down there.  You don't have to have a beach wedding.  There are at least two DW brides I can think of that got married in a church at their DW.

Good luck!!!

akhunter1

1.  Why did you choose a DW?  FI and I choose to have a DW b/c we are beach people and love to travel.  Also neither of us wanted a large wedding and want our guests to have a great time.
2.  How many guests did you have/are you expecting?  How does that compare to if you had it in The States? We are expecting about 50 or so people if we were to have it in the States my family and FI family would want to invite a lot more people. 
3.  How did you choose where to have it? We are having ours at Sandals Royal Caribbean b/c they have 3 different resorts at different price points so our guests have a choice for how much they want to spend.
4.  Did you have a beach wedding? (I personally never wanted a beach wedding...would it be weird to not have a beach wedding if I do a DW?) We are not getting married on the beach.  I am looking to having a "traditional" wedding.  Plus my FI is 6'3 and I am 5'3 so I need to wear heels and a big dress its what ive always dreamed of.

Good luck with your decision!

mn2italy

1.  Why did you choose a DW?
FI and I have always talked about having a DW, even before we got engaged. Neither of us wanted a big church wedding where we'd have to stand up in front of a bunch of people.

2.  How many guests did you have/are you expecting?  How does that compare to if you had it in The States?
We invited our families. Our entire immediate families are making the trip, as well as an aunt and uncle from each side. So we have 14 adults and 2 kids joining us. If we'd had the wedding at home, we would have invited around 250 people. I know this because that is the invite-everyone list we came up with for the AHR.

3.  How did you choose where to have it?
I always envisioned getting married on a cliff overlooking the ocean and there aren't any cliffs or oceans in Minnesota :-) I was thinking it would be somewhere in the Caribbean but FI suggested Italy.

4.  Did you have a beach wedding? (I personally never wanted a beach wedding...would it be weird to not have a beach wedding if I do a DW?)
We're not having a beach wedding. We're getting married on a hotel terrace that looks out over the Bay of Naples. A DW is really any wedding not in your home town. It could be in the mountains in Colorado or at the Grand Canyon, a beach doesn't have to be involved.

beachbum1285

1.  Why did you choose a DW?
I always wanted one because I never wanted the big wedding. Plus, we didn't want to spend thousands of dollars on something that lasts 4 hours.
2.  How many guests did you have/are you expecting?  How does that compare to if you had it in The States?
We are expecting 21 people at our DW. If we did it here in the states we'd have about 250 people. YUCK! LOL!
3.  How did you choose where to have it?
We chose Mexico because my fiance is hispanic and we wanted to tie in his heritage. We chose the resort because it's adults only and we have no children traveling with us so we don't have to worry about kids running around every where.
4.  Did you have a beach wedding? (I personally never wanted a beach wedding...would it be weird to not have a beach wedding if I do a DW?)
Yes we'll be having a beach wedding and no I don't think it's weird not to have a beach wedding. Do what's right for you guys!

nurse2007kb

Why did we choose a destination wedding?  Well, many reasons.  One was cost.  The main reason was the fact that we didn't want the stress of planning a big wedding.  All we have to do is pick the place (decided on Sandals Grande Ocho Rios Jamaica), pick the dress and suit, let our family and friends know booking info and we were done. 

There will probably be around 16-20 people at our wedding.  If we were doing it back here in Ohio it would have been more around 140-200.  I never really wanted that.  We are doing a reception when we get home though. 

We knew we wanted it to be in the Caribbean and somewhere we had never been.  We chose Jamaica for the cost (one of the cheapest places in the caribbean) and the pre-marriage requirements.  Some countries require fairly large lenghts of stay on the island before you can marry, blood tests done on the island and it's not always easy to transfer your marriage legally back to the US.  Jamaica only requires 24 hours residency, no blood tests and it is considered a legal marriage in the US. 

We are going to married in a reef gazebo overlooking the ocean.  It is surrounded by lush tropical gardens.  No need for additional decoration with views like that! 

Hope this helps some!  We looked all over from South America, the Caribbean, and the Mediterannean.  In the end, we are very glad with our decision and can't wait until the time comes.  If you are interested in a Sandals let me know and i can get you my travel agents name.  She has been fabulous and it costs me and my guests nothing since her contract is with Sandals and they pay her!

oohlypinon

1.  Why did you choose a DW? We chose a DW because we wanted to get away and not be as stressed as you tend to be for a home wedding.  Also a Dallas wedding is much expensive so we will just be having a reception here.

2.  How many guests did you have/are you expecting?  How does that compare to if you had it in The States? We are only expecting about 5 people, but we sent out 30 invites.  If we had it here we would be looking at 100+ people. (the AHR guest list is right at 100.)

3.  How did you choose where to have it? Fi is pretty picky and we wanted something quiet.

4.  Did you have a beach wedding? (I personally never wanted a beach wedding...would it be weird to not have a beach wedding if I do a DW?) I am having my ceremony on the beach, but several ladies have gotten married elsewhere.

HTH Good luck

CNN in 2010

1.  Why did you choose a DW?
A dw suite all of the expectations we had for our dream wedding, we wanted a fun wedding to portray our personalities, we wanted to spend quality family time, and we wanted to have an outdoor wedding with beautiful scenic views.  Have a cruise wedding meets all of our expectation.

2.  How many guests did you have/are you expecting?  How does that compare to if you had it in The States?
We are expecting to have 40-45 guests in the end.  We probably would have had over 100 if we would have had a wedding in the states.  If we had 100 guests come to our dw, we'd be fine with that though.
3.  How did you choose where to have it?
Fi and I had been talking about going on a Mexican Riviera cruise for a couple of years before we got engaged, so it seemed like the perfect choice for our wedding.
4.  Did you have a beach wedding? (I personally never wanted a beach wedding...would it be weird to not have a beach wedding if I do a DW?)
We're having a beach wedding, but I want a beach wedding. I want to be foot steps away from the ocean, and I want to smell the ocean breeze during our ceremony.  You don't have to get married on the beach though, you can get married outdoors on a grassy field or on a concrete balacony.... there are a lot of options, or you can get married indoors in a church, or a beautifully decorated room.

Beth0413

1. Why did you choose a DW?
We both wanted a DW, even before we were engaged we talked about doing it this way. There were many reasons - the cost, not wanting a big wedding, we love the idea of doing something untraditional & we didn't want to stress over planning. So for us, it just made the most sense!

2.  How many guests did you have/are you expecting?  How does that compare to if you had it in The States?
We are inviting our close friends & families. We aren't sure of a number yet but we expect 10-20.  If we'd had the wedding at home, we would have invited around 100-150.  When we get back we plan on having a small celebration BBQ, with our closest friends & family. Small & simple!

3.  How did you choose where to have it?
We wanted somewhere new, that neither of us have been. We also wanted Caribbean waters, we went with US Virgin Islands mainly because we've heard wonderful things & it's easy to legally get married there.

4.  Did you have a beach wedding? (I personally never wanted a beach wedding...would it be weird to not have a beach wedding if I do a DW?)
We're having a beach wedding but that's what i've always wanted. I love the ocean & I think weddings barefoot on the beach are amazing! You certainly don't have to have it on a beach. Anywhere away from home is considered a DW.

Hope this helped. Good luck!

tricialb02

1.  Why did you choose a DW?Well for one my FI & I have been togeather for 5 yrs this year..so we are a little non traditional in the fact that we already own a house togeather, have joint accts and cars, and have fur babies.  When we started talking weddings it was never what we wanted was a church wedding. Church weddings are stress and we wanted to avoid all that..We wanted fun- I have always dreamed of a tropical romantic wedding that was small and private. Hawaii just fit us! We love traveling, adventrues- snorkeling hiking..etc.

2.  How many guests did you have/are you expecting?  How does that compare to if you had it in The States? We sent 100 Save the dates and Hawaii Invites to the closet friends and family members. We are having a reception at home that will be close to 200. But in Hawaii we know of 25 people (mostly family).

3.  How did you choose where to have it?
My FI loved the idea of Vegas.. we considered it and with family influence it was shot down.
Then there was next tropical destinations- we wanted affordable for family. Hawaii or Mexico.. after the swine flu and that we live so close to Mexico we decided Hawaii. We are so excited with our choice.

4.  Did you have a beach wedding? (I personally never wanted a beach wedding...would it be weird to not have a beach wedding if I do a DW?)
I am having a beach wedding- but that is what we wanted! But one of my friends got married in Colorado and it is still a DW. You have to do what is true to your personalities.  FI & I have a pool in our backyard that we live in.. we got engaged in the Bahamas.. and love the ocean.. it was natural for us.

angybanez

Hi Jessica! Welcome to the board!
1.  Why did you choose a DW?
My Fi and I always wanted to do one. My sister and her husband would've wanted to do one too but his grandmother was ill and couldn't travel. We also loved to go places and try new things and my family thinks of me as the jetsetter anyway so a DW was pretty much on target :-). Another reason was to help with our budget. I'm going through doctors like crazy and fi started a Physical Therapist business. Any settlement amount I got from a personal injury accident my FI definitely doesn't want to touch and he himself went from a good salary to almost nothing starting his business. Everyone is very understanding though and those who are coming are more excited about our wedding!

2.  How many guests did you have/are you expecting?  How does that compare to if you had it in The States?
We expect to have around 60+ people. We sent out an evite as a feeler to find out who would definitely come and about 80 responded a Yes. If we were to have it in New York City, we'd be having about 300 guests. Again, not budget friendly. We are thinking of a casual brunch celebration when we return for those who couldn't make it. Hopefully we'll have a video and picture montage of our wedding/trip to show.

3.  How did you choose where to have it?
Like PP, we were mindful of our guests so we chose locaiton that would be convenient for everyone and still beautiful. Many of my friends and co-workers have been to PuntaaCana and loved it. Some have stayed at the resort where we're getting married and they enjoyed their stay. The time of year we chose seems to have cheaper flight (early November) and we have a group rate for the resort so for a 3-night stay our guests are getting a deal. We're doing our wedding through destinationweddings.com.
 
4.  Did you have a beach wedding? (I personally never wanted a beach wedding...would it be weird to not have a beach wedding if I do a DW?)
Not weird to not have a beach wedding! Whether you do it in a gazebo and have pictures by the beach (which is what we're doing) or have the reception on the beach is really up to you. We opted to not have a beach wedding since my FI knew I would really would have liked a Catholic Ceremony...Puntaa Cana is the only area (our resort and the Church anyway) that allows the wedding to take place in a garden gazebo. It can't be near the beach at all. Our priest confirmed this and he can also ensure our marriage is legally recognized in the U.S.

Have a wonderful time planning! If you have anymore questions everyone on this board is full of very useful information.

zsmama

1.  Why did you choose a DW?
We chose a DW because we both love the beach and have always wanted to travel to a tropical location.  Cost was also a factor. Our resort is all-inclusive and the wedding package includes everything we need. So its less planning stress for me and we also get a built-in honeymoon, something we probably couldn't afford after paying for an at-home wedding.
2.  How many guests did you have/are you expecting?  How does that compare to if you had it in The States?
I invited everyone I would have invited to an at-home wedding.  So far we are expecting about 10 guests. I am also having a reception at home to celebrate with everyone.
3.  How did you choose where to have it?
We knew we wanted a caribbean location.  We chose jamaica because it was reasonably priced and not too complicated as far as paperwork and marriage requirements.
4.  Did you have a beach wedding? (I personally never wanted a beach wedding...would it be weird to not have a beach wedding if I do a DW?)
We are having a beach ceremony because that is our dream.  It is definately not weird if you don't.  It's about what you want and will make your day perfect for you.

Good luck!

gabi829

These are all great questions!

1.  Why did you choose a DW?
We chose a destination wedding because we thought our wedding deserved a few-days-long celebration.  I wanted to spend quality time with each and every guest and give our friends/family a chance to get to know each other.  I wanted people to come to the wedding because they cared about us not because they could get drunk on our tab.

2.  How many guests did you have/are you expecting?  How does that compare to if you had it in The States?

We invited around 70 and are expecting around 28 (20 already booked).  If we had it in the States, we would have felt obligated to invite a lot more people.  The idea of having to invite people just to avoid hurting their feelings really didn't appeal to me.


3.  How did you choose where to have it?
We thought a cruise would be fun, and I've always wanted to go to Key West.


4.  Did you have a beach wedding? (I personally never wanted a beach wedding...would it be weird to not have a beach wedding if I do a DW?)
We are not having a beach wedding; we are getting married in a garden at a restaurant.  The beach can get quite windy and sticky!

shortee426

Thank you for sharing all you stories, ladies!  I certainly have a lot to think about.  Since you have shared pieces about your life/planning, here is a little bit about me:

FI and I live in CA, but his family is in FL and mine is in NJ.  To make it even more complicated, my parents MIGHT be moving to MD in October.  Oy.

I am that girl that has always dreamed of having a big wedding, but our budget will not allow for that.  If we get married in NJ, as is the current plan, we figure we can get about 120 people (I know some people consider that big, however for me it's just average...I could easily invite more).

I started thinking about a DW because like most of you said, it tends to be easier on the budget.  Plus, there's going to be travel involved for some guests anyway...why not make them all travel?  I do not intend to cut anyone off the invite list (I think I can actually add some friends on as many family members won't come), but I know it will be a much smaller wedding if I do it in a far off place.

So there's my thinking ladies!  I think for now I will just keep exploring all options and hopefully the perfect venue, no matter where it is, will just fall into my lap!

Oh...and I did suggest to FI that we get married out here in Cali, but he did not like that idea so there goes that destination :-(