Destination wedding tips for a large group on a budget

Re: Destination wedding tips for a large group on a budget

• Knottie60347605 member

  

  January 2015

  I forgot to add that all inclusive would be best! We don't really mind where, just somewhere that is inexpensive and has a lot to do (zip lining, caves, night life, really anything that is adventuresome!) thanks!

  
  

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• Knottie56612621 member

  

  January 2015

  Puerto Vallarta is cheaper than the Caribbean side and has everything that you are looking for! Tours, shopping, night life and more! I'm looking at resorts in that area for my wedding. Good luck and Happy hunting!

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• Esther Morales member

  

  January 2015

  Also look into the Dominican Republic and Antigua, which offer all inclusive packages.

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• Knottie60347605 member

  

  January 2015

  Thank you! Do you guys have recomendations on resorts?

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• weddingcactus member

  

  January 2015

  Knottie60347605 said:

  Hello! I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions, tips or ideas for a destination wedding. We have a very large group of family and friends who we really want to include, but our finances are limited so a destination wedding is looking like the best option for us. Some of the people we really want there have limited funds as well. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

  Why does a destination wedding seem like the most affordable option to you? Admittedly I have not looked at all-inclusive places, but if you're not limiting the number of guests, I can't imagine a destination wedding is going to be any more affordable. We opted for a destination wedding partly to allow us to have a very small guest list. If we invited a large guest list, the costs would be even higher than if we had a wedding and reception at home with the large guest list. 

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• Jells2dot0 mod

  

  January 2015

  @weddingcactus is right. Destination Weddings are usually only less expensive because you will end up with a smaller guest list (because a lot of people won't travel) and it also pushes a lot of cost onto your guests. 

  
  

  For a limited budget, knotties recommend having a smaller local wedding at a non-meal time and hosting cake and punch for your guests as the reception. 

   

  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

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• rosevincent39 member

  

  January 2015

  How much is a limited budget? Is this amount specifically for the wedding and not including travel? I think it will give us a better idea of what is feasible if you provide a guesstimate on what you're looking to spend.

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• Knottie60347605 member

  

  January 2015

  If we were to do both the wedding and reception here, it would be outrageous because everyone would be able to make it. We are very social and outgoing people who really want to include everyone so if we went away, we can actually do that, knowing everyone invited won't make it. We will have a party when we come back where we won't serve dinner. I am unsure of the amount.. Thinking $4-8,000 for everything. We are giving at least 1 1/2 year notice so everyone can start saving, and we totally understand if people can't make it. It will just be easier on us unless we can find a place to hold a humongous amount of people and can bring our own food/alcohol, which doesn't look promising. 

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• saric83 member

  

  January 2015

  Depending on how many people you plan to have there, $4-$8K might not be feasible.  

  
  

  We had everything at an AI in Cancun with about 40 guests.  Including absolutely everything (our hotel, air, save-the-dates, invites, ceremony, reception, wedding party gifts, furniture rental, mariachi band, etc.), we paid about $12K. We could certainly have saved a bit on things here and there, but bottom line, with more people, the costs definitely skyrocket.  

  
  

  Also, one other random cost to keep in mind is that if you're at an AI, and you have guests who stay somewhere else, you'll likely have a "guest pass" charge to allow them onsite for the day of the wedding, and from everywhere we looked, it was $70-$150 per person.  

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• princessleia22 member

  

  January 2015

  We got married on a cruise ship and it was fairly affordable.  We had embarkation wedding, so some guests could come to wedding without going on the cruise and without incurring huge expenses. But, our immediate family joined us on the 7-day cruise and we had a few days of cruising, swimming with dolphins in Cozumel, ziplining and cave tubing in Belize, and sunbathing in Honduras.  Generally they max out the non-sailing wedding guest list at around 50 people, so there may be some limitations on guest list size.  To really cut costs, you can find some fairly cheap cruises if you do a 3-4 day cruise, and depending on cruise line, time of year, and departure port. 

  But, if you are really wanting a destination wedding to spare people's feelings and invite them with the hope they don't come, that's probably not the best reason.  Sometimes you just need to suck it up and not invite people. That's a common problem with wedding planning and everyone hates that part. Set your list of must have guests and just tell everyone else that you had to limit your guest list size.  We wanted to keep our wedding small, so we didn't invite any of my cousins and very few of our friends.  Yes, we had people question not getting invited and we just told them we wanted a small, intimate wedding and had to limit the guest list.  Most were understanding.  You don't need to do a destination wedding to do this.  And there are people who have had more than expected attend destination weddings. We had a few people come that we didn't think would be able to afford it.  If you do it to try and cut you attending guest list, without cutting the invited guest list, you could be asking for trouble.  If you are trying to do so to cut costs and invite 100 people, expecting only 50 to come and only being able to afford 50 people, what happens when 80 people show up because they thought it would make a great excuse for a vacation?  It happens. You still can only invite the number of people you can afford, whether you think they will come or not.

   

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• [Deleted User] member

  

  January 2015

  For a large group, I would suggest Palace Resorts, specifically Moon Palace in Cancun. I have to clock out, but I can comment more when Im home

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