Anybody visiting your site(s) ahead of time?

cass_k20 · January 2012

FI and I were talking about this tonight...

We are planning to rent a large vacation house with our immediate family and my godparents on Kauai; make the wedding into a family vacation sort of thing as well to make it worth our $$$. So we're also going to try to have the wedding at the vacay house or on the beachfront.

Anyway... we are both really uncomfortable with forking over thousands of dollars over the internet for something we've only seen in pictures. YES people do it all the time before they take a vacation.. but this is a wee bit more important than just a vacation. I'm afraid our house will be everything I dreamed online for our wedding... and when we get there the week of the wedding, it will be my worst nightmare.

Same with tasting vendors' food beforehand, making sure the vacay house is in a safe area (hawaii has some rough parts; FI is from Oahu), making sure vendors/photographers are reliable and non-flaky.. and basically reducing a lot of anxiety before the trip.

It's obviously an extra expense, and a risk you take when planning something from afar. But is anyone doing this.... visiting Hawaii before the week of the wedding? Or am I just spending a few thousand dollars extra for nothing? I have literally been having nightmares about how our wedding is going to go wrong and it's WELL over a year away!

Ugh.

Tanq&Tonic · January 2012

We did a scouting trip. It wasn't too expensive since we only stayed 4 or 5 nights, and we found a great condo deal online for about $100. It was really helpful to meet our vendors in person, have our tasting meals, and the biggest thing for me was being torn between a couple of wedding locations. The second we saw the sites in person, the decision for us was obvious.

I would say this -- if you can afford a scouting trip, take one. It's definitely helpful, especially if you're likely to fret & obsess over details (which, from your post, sounds like you might

). However, I don't think it's critical, and almost every wedding on this board has been a huge success even without a scouting trip. The gals here will not lead you astray, and well, when it comes down to it, it's a wedding. In Hawaii. It can't be THAT bad.

But yeah, if you can afford one, I don't know anyone that has regretted it. Just make sure you pencil in plenty of relaxation time with the FI since you're in Hawaii after all.

Finally, if you do choose to rent a condo or house, be sure you have the owners' approval to hold a wedding there. Many of those contracts ban weddings and other events on premise by default.

kimmykupcakes · January 2012

We are leaving for our planning trip in 2 weeks. Woohoo!!! We kept going back and forth on if we should do the trip or not. Now that it's two weeks away we are more than excited that we decided to do it. We really wanted to meet all the vendors, do tastings and check a few places out before we completely decided on everything. I'd say go for it.

AKWinterBride · January 2012

We did not visit our site before our wedding. Actually, I didn't see our site until the day before our wedding!

I think that is one of the hardest things about being a DW bride is that you do have to place some trust in the vendors that you work with. We did everything from Alaska with the help of internet and our wedding coordinator. I also met other brides who had used my same vendors and relied on their experiences a lot for what to expect.

If you can afford to visit, I would cause it's Hawaii and who doesn't love a Hawaiian vacation but it is totally unnecessary for wedding planning. Network and meet some other girls who have used your vendors and if you have a wedding coordinator - trust them. They are there to help and will only suggest great vendors because it puts their good name at risk too.

carrieoz_76 · January 2012

We couldn't afford the expense of plane tickets (among other items) just for a scouting trip, but I found it super helpful to have a reliable WC on-island to help us make the best choices for our taste and budget. And some bakers will ship cake flavors in cupcakes for the cost of shipping - so you can still have some form of a tasting!

dianalynm · January 2012

Luckily my FI was smart to propose before our planned trip to Maui, so we used our Maui trip as a scouting trip to visit our wedding site and meet with vendors. We did cake tastings, met with DJs, met with our day-of coordinator, went to the hotel where we have a room block. It was definitely worthwhile and gave me peace of mind because I like to know what's going on and I would hate going in blind! If you can afford it, I say do it, but I agree with Tanq that you should make a vacation out of it, as well! I didn't think we'd have much relaxation time, BUT. I squeezed everything in the first couple days and we had 4 days to enjoy the island. Do it only if you can, but I say if you're like me and will obsess over it, definitely try...

cass_k20 · January 2012

Neat.... Thanks all!! Sounds like we're going to be taking our trip.... FI's dad might have some United Airlines freq.flyer miles we can cash in on! score

breaness · January 2012

We had never even been to Hawaii until 2 days before the wedding. I swear to you, we had the perfect day. Not a single thing went wrong

MaiTaiMajik · January 2012

This might be a little late, but I'm going to put in my 2 cents anyway!

We had booked a large beach house for our wedding on VRBO for our wedding as well for the same purpose, wedding on the beach, reception in the back yard. The house looked beautiful in pictures as did the yard.
We went on our scouting trip in December and went to see the house (thank god) because when we did I had a panic attack! LOL. The house IS beautful, but the yard is too sloped to set up tables and the house is in a sketchy area...things we would not have known without visiting.
Luckily, we were able to get our deposit back and we ended up booking a different estate while we were still on the island (AFTER seeing it!!).
So my advice, take the trip! It'll be worth it (vacay!) and it'll give you peace of mind. Have fun!!

Anybody visiting your site(s) ahead of time?

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