Wedding Destination wedding?

[Hudson_Hawk]

So as mentioned in recent posts, FI and I are going to scale our wedding back big time in an effort to save money. Of course the idea of a destination wedding came to mind, so I asked my mom what her thoughts were. She really liked the idea, which completely shocks me.

So now I guess a destination wedding is a possibility. Can anyone recommend a nice, moderately priced place to have one? We''ll probably invite our entire original guest list of 125 people, but I''d be surprised if even 20 of them attend.

Thanks!

HH

 

[jcrow]

what kind of place are you looking for? beach? city? seclusion?

 

[surfgirl]

HH, dont you have an elopement/DW thread from last year? I cant remember but I thought you considered this before, no?

Adding to what JCrow said, I think a DW is more meaningful when the destination has special meaning to the couple. Are there any places that hold a special place in your shared history as a couple? For example, we eloped and married in a place that has special meaning to us and now, whenever we go there, it has added meaning since we were married there. My cousin got married in Vermont, where they got engaged, and the wedding was at the place where they took a walk in the woods and he proposed. Some people like a place they summered at as children, adults, etc. Think about the places you love and then post them here so we can see what you're thinking...And welcome back girlie!

 

[Shoopy]

I am highly considering the Dominican Republic.

I''m talking to a wedding coordinator there and basically if you stay in their Ocean View room for 7 nights, the wedding package is free with upgrades available. For us to stay there for 10 nights, its $3,000 total. It''s all inclusive and the package is fabulous. The only thing is that we will pay an extra $650 so that we can have a private dinner with our guests.

The best parts of the package are a) he gets his own room the night before, b) I appear in a carriage, and c) their honeymoon package entitles us to a free spa treatment.

Here is the resort:

http://www.excellence-resorts.com/all-inclusive-resorts/caribbean/punta-cana-dominican-republic/all-inclusive-program.htm

The low season is April through September, however I don''t recommend. During April they have several religious events where they shut down the beaches and of course hurrican season starts in June. I recommend going in October because its still warm enough to get in the water, right before the holidays, its cheaper, and its right at the end of hurrican season.

 

[CDNinNYC]

We''re in the process of booking our wedding at a resort in Playa Del Carmen. The ceremony will be in town at a local Catholic Church with the reception at the resort (Royal Playa Del Carmen Resort).

We also found a ''local'' photographer, who''s photos are awesome!

If you''re interested in learning more, lemme know! I''ve done a bunch of research.

BTW, our wedding date is May 2009.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Yes, I have had these thoughts before, I''m just revisiting them. All of our special places are around where we live, so it wouldn''t be much of a destination. I think we''d like something new. And we''re beach people so that would probably be mandatory.

I thought about the DR, but FI has been married before and that''s where they went on their honeymoon. I think it might be a little gauche to get married there. But the price is fantastic!

 

[Shoopy]

Date: 7/24/2008 1:12:40 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
Yes, I have had these thoughts before, I''m just revisiting them. All of our special places are around where we live, so it wouldn''t be much of a destination. I think we''d like something new. And we''re beach people so that would probably be mandatory.

I thought about the DR, but FI has been married before and that''s where they went on their honeymoon. I think it might be a little gauche to get married there. But the price is fantastic!

Well then forget DR

LOL

 

[surfgirl]

Well do you want something tropical? Something in the mountains? What do you like?

 

[ilovethiswebsite]

We reallllllllllly wanted a destination wedding too but only in a certain city in Mexico where my parents have a condo. We go there often so we thought it would be romantic to be married there and always have a place to visit in the future. Anyway - our plans got messed up because the city (Manzanillo, Mexico) has no direct flights in the summer (the only time we could get married since my brother is away overseas during the school year). They were asking 2g alone just for flight, and probably another 2g for the room for 1 week all inclusive... Needless to say I really doubt any of our guest would pay 4 g to come down for our wedding in Mexico in June (hot hot hot time of year)....

Anyway- still kind of sad it didn''t work out. We really were looking forward to a destination wedding. I thinkt they are soooooooooo romantic and intimate. Plus you get to party with close friends and family for a week!

 

[ilovethiswebsite]

Oh and If I were American and not Canadian - I would totally do a destination wedding in Hawaii (still the USA and you don't have to worry about paper work being legit etc... like you would elsewhere internationally).

 

[CDNinNYC]

Date: 7/24/2008 1:51:10 PM
Author: ilovethiswebsite
Oh and If I were American and not Canadian - I would totally do a destination wedding in Hawaii (still the USA and you don''t have to worry about paper work being legit etc... like you would elsewhere internationally).

Hey ilovethiswebsite!

getting married in the US as a Canadian is pretty simple and straight-forward. (Believe me, I''ve checked!

)

So, if Hawaii is what you want, I would still consider it if cost isn''t an issue. Hawaii does not have any all-inclusive packages so things can get pricey for your guests, especially if they are flying from the eastern part of Canada.

 

[loverocks]

How about St. Lucia. There is a Sandles (well 3, I think) and other all-inclusives there as well. I considered it as one of my options when I briefly was thinking of a DW wedding. I have never been personally, but know many people who have vacationed, honeymooned, and one that had a DW there, and I have heard nothing but rave reviews. Maybe one to consider.

 

[marchswallowbird]

Or the Westin Resort on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. They do weddings there. The place is gorgeous.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Tropical most likely. That''s what I meant when I said we''re beach people.

 

[KCCutie]

I''m already looking into this although I don''t have that pesky ring yet.

The three most economical place are Jamaica, DR and Cancun/Rivera Maya...but that''s for me b/c I live in the midwest. If you live on either coast a few other places might be better.

I''m loving this website: here

There are lots of great reviews and pictures! Also I went to Orbitz and just played around with areas and resorts to check general pricing. I''m looking at 1000-1500 per person (for all inclusive) for my guests to come but it''s only family and they are all making a big vacation out of it. If your guests only stayed 3-5 days or you live closer to the destination you could go even cheaper. Most resorts have a free wedding offer with a week long stay and they also have other packages for a little more.

 

[ilovethiswebsite]

Date: 7/24/2008 1:56:54 PM
Author: CDNinNYC

Date: 7/24/2008 1:51:10 PM
Author: ilovethiswebsite
Oh and If I were American and not Canadian - I would totally do a destination wedding in Hawaii (still the USA and you don''t have to worry about paper work being legit etc... like you would elsewhere internationally).

Hey ilovethiswebsite!

getting married in the US as a Canadian is pretty simple and straight-forward. (Believe me, I''ve checked!

)

So, if Hawaii is what you want, I would still consider it if cost isn''t an issue. Hawaii does not have any all-inclusive packages so things can get pricey for your guests, especially if they are flying from the eastern part of Canada.

Hi hi - really? Well that''s good news. We decided to to hawaii as our honeymoon instead

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

What about Costa Rica or Belize? You have the beauty of beaches, resorts if you want them, local towns/churches if that''s your preference, and a TON of things to do (besides lying on the beach, which is ALWAYS great) if you want to stay and honeymoon there

 

[pocahontas]

HH, you’ve received a lot of great suggestions already. I think something to keep in mind is that going somewhere that offers an all inclusive package is going to make costs more affordable. To my knowledge, Belize (albeit a beautiful island with stunning cays) doesn’t offer this – airfare and hotel are always separate, plus you’d have to incur the costs of the wedding and reception. Just something to consider when deciding on a wedding location. Let us know what you decide. FI and I are in the process of planning a DW in the DR so it’s always exciting to read about others’ planning experiences.

 

[sap483]

Hi HH. So glad to see you posting here again! I had been wondering where you had been! DH and I had considered a destination wedding. We ended up not going with it because it would have been hard for his grandparents to get there- but everyone really loved the thought of a week long celebration somewhere warm! It was definitely my dream wedding to do a destination wedding. So anyway, we went to a few places to check them out. We really liked the Mandarin Oriental (Elbow Beach Resort) in Bermuda. Bermuda is fairly inexpensive to get to from the east coast, plus it''s a short trip. It''s also a gorgeous island and that beach in particular is made of beautiful pink sand. We had priced it out at about 60 people and figured it would cost us about 10-12k for everything including our transportation out there and hotel stay for the entire week and hotel stay the night of the wedding for our parents, grandparents and siblings. There are lots of other beautiful locations in Bermuda too. Best of all, they very rarely have to worry about hurricanes- so that gives you lots of options with dates.

Two other options we liked were Hilton Head Island and Jekyll Island (off the coast of GA).

Hope that helps.