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Location Location Location..

anchoredtoadamanchoredtoadam
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in Wedding Vows & Ceremony Discussions

My fiance & I have been engaged for around a month & we are having the hardest time finding a place and/or a wedding package that accomidates a little over 150 guests. Now, obviously we completely understand that NO wedding package is going to do anything more than catering & seating for 150 people but i have heard of some that will accomidate the bridal party, but I still have yet to find these packages. We reside in Tempe, Arizona but have NO desire to get married here, in fact, we wanted the cliche but romantic beach wedding. We were thinking Hawaii but like I said, the number of attendes is a huge problem.

I am simply hoping that someone on here has some sort of advice or maybe a possible location or suggestion. At this point, I am open for anything.

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Re: Location Location Location..

  • artbyallieartbyallie mod
    Moderator Eighth Anniversary 5000 Comments 500 Love Its
    Please change your font to black so we can read your post. Thanks.
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  • blueobsidianblueobsidian member
    250 Love Its 100 Comments Second Anniversary First Answer
    The first thing I would point out is that, the further your guests have to travel, the more likely all 150 of them will not make it.  In fact, if you are thinking about Hawaii, I'm guessing far les than that would fly out.  It is an expensive trip that also requires taking time off work.  Have you talked to the people who are most important to have there to see what they think about a destination wedding?

    If you are settled on Hawaii, have you checked out all the major hotes?  Many of them are beachfront so they can accomodate a beach ceremony and ballroom reception.  You may also want to seriously consider a wedding coordinator at the destination.  They can give you suggestions as to vendors that would work for what you want.
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  • nextrightthingnextrightthing member
    500 Comments Second Anniversary 25 Love Its Name Dropper

    I think most people who have a destination wedding shorten their guest list.

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  • RebeccaB88RebeccaB88 member
    2500 Comments Fifth Anniversary 500 Love Its 5 Answers
    I just googled Hawaii Destination Weddings and came up with pages upon pages of locations.  You can find places you like the idea of, then read reviews on Yelp or TripAdvisor to get a better idea of what you might get. I'd also plan a trip there just the two of you to look at places and decide what you want, meet with the hotel planners, put down deposits, etc.  You are also closer to Mexico, so that might be a less expensive option for you to get your beach wedding.  There are also some really beautiful resorts in Scottsdale if you need to stay local (but I'm sure you already know that).

    You CAN invite all 150 people on your list, but I'd expect a very small turnout.  That's not a cheap trip, and people may already have plans for their vacation time.  If you go this route, you can't get upset when important people can't be there because of the cost or distance.  You would also have to be OK with the fact that it's possible that NO ONE would be able to be there other than the two of you.  It could happen.

    Make sure your VIPs will be able to make the trip before you commit to anything.  If it's top-of-the-list important that your elderly grandmother be there, but she can't physically make the trip or afford it, then you have a decision to make.  Is the destination more important to you, or your grandmother's attendance?  How would SHE feel if you purposely had a wedding knowing there was no way she'd be able to travel there?   Only you can make this decision, and you may not be able to have both.  There is no 'if they really love us they'll find a way'.  Sometimes it's just impossible. Could you live with that?

    Talk with the important guests involved, then make your decision. 
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  • anchoredtoadamanchoredtoadam
    First Comment
    Thank you guys. I have considered the possibilities that very little to no people would be able to attend & I have come up with other options. I have talked with a lot of people about having a wedding at any beach & they haven't had any obvious objections so I am 'assuming' that there is no issues with airfare. I would hope if there was a problem, then they would hint at it or raise their voice so that we could fix the problem. My fiance & I are prepared to pay for hotel rooms (we would have to regardless of where we had the wedding, most of our family is out of state) & any other amenities that might be needed to make everyone feel at home. We have even offered to help pay for airfare for those whom might not be finacially stable to pay for it on their own. We are not by any means trying to be selfish about this & would really hope that all 150 (give or take a few) people would be able to make it if helped financially or in anyway really.

    It's just the group size that seems to be the biggest issue. I would feel like such a horrible person if I had to tell someone that they could no longer attend because they are that one extra person & the wedding on the beach can only accomidate 149 people.

    I will definitely keep searching though. I'm sure I will find something, it'll just take more work.
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