Brand new, just engaged, no idea where to start!

julia625 · June 2010

Hi everyone,

I just got engaged and plan to get married next spring/summer. The only decisions we have made so far is we want to get married someplace out of our hometown (want to keep it small, less then 75 guests) and want to get married outside someplace sunny. I have been exploring Mexico and the Caribbean, but feel so overwhelmed with all the choices! Help!

How do you start? How do you chose a desitation? How do you choose a location/resort? Ideas/recommendations? Where do you recommend and why?

All these questions are driving me crazy, so thanks in advance for any help/guidance anyone can offer!

fsujen18 · June 2010

Welcome and congrats!!! You'll find lots of helpful ladies and information on this board. Best thing to do is figure out a budget you and your fiance (FI) are okay with. From there you can look at different places and see what you're willing to pay. A lot of places are very accommodating for DW's. I'm a Florida bride and our honeymoon will be at Sandals Regency St. Lucia. I'm using a wedding coordinator and a travel agent for our honeymoon. It's all about personal preference and what you feel good about. Look around and we'll be here along the way!!! Look at bios as those are great places to start to gather ideas as well!!! Congrats again on the engagement!!!
Happy planning!!!

akhunter1 · June 2010

Welcome!
Where I started was the location. I would look at trip advisor for reviews of several places. I am going to throw more questions out at you in order to help you...be prepared: These are just things that you need to think about when making your choices for a location.
Do you want an all-inclusive?
Is cost a factor?
Budget?
How many people do you want to attend?
Do you have a preferance Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, FL, Napa?

I am a Jamaica bride myself. I am getting married at the Royal Caribbean in Montego Bay. I choose this b/c you can get affordable airfare, good options for our guests to stay at different price points but still all be able to go to the different resorts.

Good luck. Selecting a location is usually the hardest part! Everyone on here is so great!

aukelly · June 2010

Hi and welcome. Throw a dart at a map and see what happens! HA! I'm kidding. I am going through the same thing right now. Trying to pick a location. I think it really comes down to how much you want to spend and where you would like to go. Remember this will be your honeymoon too, right? So maybe work backwards. Like where you would go on a honeymoon. I know that probably doesn't help much.

Good Luck!

smilz4milz · June 2010

Congrats!!!

I would suggest just starting by asking yourself (and FI) what is most important...for example:
Do you want your wedding day to be your actual wedding day? Marriage laws are different for Mexico vs. other places...so you will want to look into that.

Do you want a beach wedding? Someplace with mountains too? Do you like ruins or desert or just the turquoise sea? Will you invite kids? AI or not to AI (we and all of our guests are drinkers...so we had to AI - which is "all-inclusive").

These are some very basic first steps because there are soooo many awesome, beautiful locations it is very hard. But the ladies here are also very awesome and can give you great advice & ideas! And as the Knotties welcome you, check out everyone's bios (links are usually posted under their messages if they have one)...those are most helpful too!

GL, welcome & congrats!!!

bethie122 · June 2010

Congrats and Welcome! You will find really helpful information from the ladies on the board!

I am getting married in Cancun at the Moon Palace Golf and Spa Resort in January. The location was by far the hardest decision we had to make (so far), but it's the most fun!

Good luck with all of your planning!

beckerz03 · June 2010

Welcome and congrats!! The ladies on here will be a ton of help with whatever questions you have. We've all had similar questions before, so almost anything you ask, someone here can answer.

How do you start? I just started going through different resorts and seeing where I could possibly go. Then I decided exactly what I wanted in a resort - adult only, all inclusive, etc. Also...when I had almost changed my decision from Jamaica to Riviera Maya, it quickly changed back because of the requirements for a civil marriage (blood tests, etc.). However, you can always do a symbolic marriage in Riviera Maya if you don't want to do the requirements...so don't let that sway you.

How do you chose a desitation? we chose Jamaica because we're both huge reggae fans and thought seeing the country where it all started and getting married there, would be a perfect fit. Also it is the cheapest island in the Caribbean - which didn't hurt.

How do you choose a location/resort? I researched for a good 6 months before we decided on a resort. It just fit what we wanted - adult only, all inclusive, tons of activities.

Ideas/recommendations? Research resorts yourself first...then if you feel interested in certain areas more than others, go see a TA...they will help you a lot.

Where do you recommend and why? Where ever you fall in love with. The place has to be special to you and that's all that really matters.

Carolito · June 2010

Hi, and welcome to the board! Definitely a lot of expert ladies here that will be able to help! I will just advise to breathe, and get organized. There a lot of helpful tools here in The Knot and other pages. But I do think that the date and the location should come first, along with the budget. Happy Planning!

BRITTNESS83 · June 2010

Welcome and congrats! I am a cruise bride and we are getting married in Jamaica! I figured it would probably be the most cost effective way to get ppl to go! I wanted to get married in grand cayman but the license was super expensive and whatnot so I decided on Jamaica. Good luck with everything!

KristenCR · June 2010

Hi and welcome!! I don't think I can add to any of the suggestion the girls have given so far... my only suggestion is take all the questions these ladies have given and sit down with FI and once you narrow everything down it will be a lot easier. Picking the location/hotel is the hardest part (IMO) so just remember that too, once you jump that hurtle it all gets a easier. I'm getting married at the Hilton Papagayo in Costa Rica, the location had been picked long before I was engaged, but picking the hotel was rough.
You have found a great group of girls who can not only help you with all of your DW wedding issues and decisions but who will be here when your freaking out and need some support.
Congrats on your engagement and I look forward to hearing about your planning!

kford0515 · June 2010

Congrats and welcome to the board! I cannot really offer any more advice than what the PP have said. Just sit down with your FI and talk about what's important for your wedding day. It is amazing how those discussions can automatically narrow the field of choices down. We're getting married at The Royal Cancun in Mexico because it is a special resort for the two of us (it's' where we got engaged). Good luck and happy planning!

julia625 · June 2010

First of all, just wanted to say THANK YOU! to everyone who has replied so far (and any who reply in the future!) I already feel way less overwhelmed just by reading through these responses. I feel so much more in control and based on the helpful criteria by the previous posters I have already started narrowing down the huge list of choices (for example we are definitely drinking people, so all inclusive it is, hadn't even though about that!) Keep it coming

For some reason I like the idea of Mexico, maybe because it is the only beach place we have traveled to before. But the next step will definitely be sitting down with my man and seeing what his thoughts arae (going out on a limb here, but going to assume his only criteria is "someplace I can golf"), which shouldnt be too hard!

This advice is amazing, and I always appreciate more ideas on how you picked your location/why!

Thank you for giving me back my sanity and like I said, keep the amazing ideas coming!

irishkatie80 · June 2010

Well I'm a little late to this one

But I wanted to say welcome, and congrats on your engagement! It's very exciting.

The other ladies have already given you great advice to get started with. Happy planning!!!

bean0408 · June 2010

Hi & welcome

I can't really add anything all the girls didn't hit already. It took me a while to pick a location and it came down to budget, somewhere we had never been and somewhere where it would be an easy legal ceremony (an AI was a given for us too) Just picking what is important to you and your FL will help you. Have fun!

lnbayne123 · June 2010

Is there any place that is special to either one of you or you both as a couple? Any vacation you took together that was really meaningful? My FI and I are getting married in Holden Beach, NC because his family goes there every year on vacation. It has special meaning to him and his family.....and it's a beach, so it's good for me (I'm easy to please). Congratulations and Good luck on the planning!

zsmama · June 2010

Congrats on your engagement and welcome to the board!
When we were choosing location we considered the cost and the legal requirements. Different countries have different laws and we wanted the destination ceremony to be the legal one. We chose Jamaica and will be married at the Riu Ocho Rios.
Good luck and happy planning!

MzelleRicaine · June 2010

I'm just saying welcome to the board and congratulations on your engagement! All the fabulous DW ladies have already given you the info you need to start planning. Can't wait to see your wedding take form!

*m*

nubiannqween · June 2010

Everyone has given so many awesome replies, I don't have anything to add! I just wanted to say welcome to the board and contrats! Good luck with your planning!

JessLovesTravel · June 2010

First of all, congratulations!

I know planning a wedding can be an extremely daunting task, which is why I would highly recommend you looking into a Dreams resort for your wedding.

One of my personal favorites is Dreams Villamagna. It’s a gorgeous all-inclusive resort located on Banderas Bay in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. The best thing about staying at a Dreams resort is that you don’t have to worry about a thing; everything is taken care of for you! The resort not only offers their brides amazing wedding coordinators but they also have some fantastic packages. You and your guests will have six gourmet restaurants to chose from plus gorgeous pools, a spa by Pevonia and tons of activities like snorkeling and golfing.

I think you’ll absolutely love Dreams, I hope you check it out!

Brand new, just engaged, no idea where to start!

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