Destination Weddings Discussions

Cost effective???

My fiance is convinced that doing a destination wedding is cheaper.  Our budget is 10k and I am having a hard time incorporating everything that he wants.  He thinks that we can do a destination for 400-500 a person.  Is this accurate? 

And should we use a travel agent or do it ourself?

Thanks!

Re: Cost effective???

  • Get a travel agent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • Our budget is 10K and we're doing a DW in FL.  We're inviting about 200 people, I know only about 20% will show, so we're having an AHR.  I think it's very possible.  We're going with a WC down in FL, so that helps a ton!  Good luck and all the ladies on this board are super helpful!
  • edited June 2010
    Hello there. A lot of times a DW is cheaper than a traditional wedding. One of the main reasons for me is that I'm not having nearly as many guests as I'd feel obligated to invite to an at home wedding. My budget is also about $10k so it's certainly possibly. We are getting married in Florida and having about 60 guests. It really depends on what the elements that you and FI want to incorporate. I don't understand about the $400-$500 per person. Do you mean that's what you think your guests will have to spend to attend, or something else? As for a travel agent, it depends on what you want and where you're doing it. I'm not using one, but a lot of the girls getting married on islands do use one.
  • Welcome to the board!! 
    Using a travel agent can help cut down a lot of the research that's involved in picking a location.  You can just give them what you want and it's up to them to find it.  I'm not working with a travel agent, but a lot of the ladies on here are, so maybe they can give you some suggestions and reviews. 
    Good luck!!

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  • Definitely depends where your DW is, how many guests and what that $400 to $500 covers? Like are you think you're paying for their travel or hotel or what?

    DWs can be cost effective but they can also get out of hand. We had a simple budget of $8000.... well we've gone over a little bit and we're not paying for anyone's travel.

    I'd get a TA. mine is www.honeymoonsam.com. She's been awesome!
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  • Welcome to the board!  A lot of the ladies here use travel agents.  I think it depends on where your destination is.  Its certainly doable without one though.  I don't really understand what you are saying about the $400-$500 person.  Are you planning on paying for your guests to attend?  Our budget is about $10-12,000.  We are right on par with it so far.  That is including a rental house for the week in North Carolina.  We are having around 50-60 guests, and everyone is paying for their own accomodations except the people who are staying in our house.
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  • Hello and welcome!  Congrats on your engagement!  :)

    Our budget is approximately $10,000...we are hoping to spend under, around $7,000 actually.  We are not paying for our guests travel expenses, so this is purely our travel, wedding package costs, and extra items like favors, etc.  So $10,000 is definately do-able!
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  • Hello! I don't have much advice to offer besides what's already been covered by the other girls! I would recommend getting a travel agent to help you. With that budget, a destination wedding is definitely do-able. Good luck & welcome to the board!
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  • All of the other girls have given you great advice, so instead of repeating I'll just say welcome to the board! :)

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  • yes welcome to the board!  all of the PP have great advice!
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  • Welcome Aboard and happy planning!

    I say get a travel agent unless you want to manage/handle everything yourself. I also have a 10K budget and I hope I stay whithin that or even less. All the girls have already giving you great advice so GL!


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  • troublejessytroublejessy member
    100 Comments
    edited June 2010
    I think it really depends what your expectations are, where you're getting married, whether it's AI, and how many guests you plan on having.  For example, I instantly regret not doing an AI resort now that I have an idea what everyone else is spending (granted, we're estimating about 75 people will attend).  I love our destination - but the costs are piling up.  I would definitely recommend getting a wedding planner and travel agent.  It can be extremely overwhelming trying to do everything yourself.  
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  • in Response to <a href="http://forums.weddings.com/Sites/Weddings/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-theme-boards_destination-weddings_cost-effective?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Theme BoardsForum:54Discussion:e230f1e3-b45b-4d33-a918-e6b20edeba57Post:86bc0cc1-7918-448c-b404-23cacde1a65a">Re: Cost effective???</a>:
    [QUOTE]All of the other girls have given you great advice, so instead of repeating I'll just say welcome to the board! :)
    Posted by irishkatie80[/QUOTE]

    ditto!
  • carrieoz_76carrieoz_76 member
    2500 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited June 2010
    We're spending the same for a DW with 28 guests as we'd have spent on a local wedding for ~100 guests.  Depends on what you mean by "cheaper", I guess.

    We didn't use a TA.  We considered it, but she couldn't get us anything better for less than what we found on our own, so we decided not to.  If you don't like planning travel, then I suppose a TA is the way to go, but we like to plan our trips, so it's not something we needed.

    ETA:  That's weird.  I just noticed that the person in my avatar is NOT ME.  It's like the Twilight Zone...  (Ok, now it's me again.  So weird.)
  • Thanks ladies!  Still in the deciding phase and my future mother in law is against it.  We shall see!
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