considering a wedding in Germany

thecatcharmer76 · October 2013

I'm thinking about having a wedding in the Rhine region of Germany. I have a location in mind for a castle wedding. I'm getting married legally in the U.S. before I go to my destination for the "wedding ceremony". Any suggestions on events co. for planning a reception & a "symbolic ceremony" with a person to perform the ceremony? And approx cost?

pbi9994 · October 2013

Congrats and welcome! Your wedding plans sound amazing!

Have you been to www.flyawaybride.com? It will definitely give you some inspiration with planning, and they usually give a shout out to their vendors and planners.

Another route is to google wedding planners Rhine region which could work, but sine you are set on a particular venue, I'd suggest doing it backwards - look up reviews of the castle, and see if they mention wedding planners. That's how we found a lot of our vendors for our castle wedding in Florence, and it's working out great so far.

One note on the symbolic ceremony: Be careful where you mention this on The Knot. Some commenters can get kind of touchy about it. They call it a PPD. Truth is, it's actually a very European thing to do, and many venues insist on it so that they don't have to pay taxes. The DW board is very open minded and friendly, so I don't think you will have those problems here.

pbi9994 · October 2013

It sounds like you are on the right track. I've found with the Italians that they find it odd that I don't have an idea of the exact number of guests six months ahead of time. I don't know if you will run into the same problem with the Rhine area, but if you do, just try to give them your best estimate and explain that this kind of travel could mean you don't know until about a month ahead of time what the exact numbers will be.

On that note, your wedding sounds like a dream vacation for all invited, so I have to give you this piece of advice: It's very possible that everyone you invite will do their best to make it, so if you want a small wedding, keep your invite list small. We thought we would get a high percentage of declines, and now it looks like it might be double what we had hoped for because Florence is just one of those destinations. People want to go.

pbi9994 · October 2013

Wow! @missmo14 That's a lot and really early. Did you get all of that info from the STD? Or did you send invites early? We think we might send invites really early because booking less than four months out for May in Florence is madness, and a lot of guests have already completely booked up our hotel and apartment blocks.

pbi9994 · October 2013

Well, if that's the case, and you are a little more open, definitely do research on planners. They can stay in your budget and actually save you some money. No joke - I told my planner I had $X, and she has kept me way under that including her fee, just in case of any last minute surprises.

Since you are open to new locations in the Rhine area, I would look for planners, find their reviews, and inquire with them as to what you can spend and what you are looking for. Don't give up on Germany if you really want it there. It's totally doable - just takes research. Good luck!

thecatcharmer76 · October 2013

Wow! thx for the heads up....so that's what a PPD is. I've seen that on here but wasn't sure what it meant. You say this is quite common in Europe? I was really curious about that some of the red tape involved with legalities for a destination wedding. Especially considering I don't reside there. Also thx for the suggestions, I definitely will see if they mention any planners. I emailed the castle website. they were very helpful & informative as to how they can accomodate a reception. They do weddings but needed more info from me (date, no. of guests, etc). to give more info from there, so I'm still working on that part.

missmo14 · October 2013

I couldn't agree more with your advice @icecreamcono we thought our Vegas wedding was going to be a maximum of 20 guests but we already have 26 guests booked and are expecting about 50 at the reception!!! And thats travelling from Australia, Europe and Africa! So definitely keep that in mind when putting together your guest list.

Congratulations and welcome to the board.

thecatcharmer76 · October 2013

Thx ladies...I do plan to limit my guest list. Both sides of my family are rather large & that's math I don't even wanna think about. I want a small intimate ceremony, I would rather invest in a beautiful/memorable ceremony than have a large uncomfortable day with a lot of people that I see maybe once a year (No offense to those that are into large weddings). Although I have hit a snag with my research, the castle I was interested in are very limited in where they allow for a "ceremony" on the property. I would prefer to have it in that area of Germany so I guess it's back to the drawing board with checking out other castles in the area...there's no shortage of them. However, I actually stayed at this site while on vacation. So this may involve either enlisting a planner (budget permitting) or making a trip after a selection in made. I have an alternate locale in mind in the Carribbean, however, the heat/humidity are a concern with the Versailles Gardens (GORGEOUS LOCATION!!!) & melting in my dress, hair & makeup on my big day....Decisions, Decisions.

considering a wedding in Germany

Best Answers

Re: considering a wedding in Germany

Choose Another Board

Search Boards