Has anyone rented a villa, castle, or similar from AirBnB?

[BlingDreams]

Something in the $1500-$2500 per night range, preferably in a country other than the US. We're exploring wedding destinations and have become enamored with the idea of renting a super nice place for a couple of days (for a great memory and amazing wedding photos) but want to hear experiences with how it's gone for others renting in another country. What pitfalls were encountered, if things were as expected, any learning experiences, etc.

We're not looking to set anything up just yet, but want to narrow down if this is even a good/feasible idea.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Not a castle but a "villa," twice, once in Bali and once in Italy. They were on the lower end of your scale (and I think the one in Bali was even less than that, it was several years ago) but both times the experience was great. The owners helped us arrange for transportation, gave us all sorts of tips, and the place in Bali came with a chef. We would put in our breakfast order the day before by making selections on a printed menu and tell them what time we wanted it the next day. In Italy there was the option of a chef, but we didn't go with that choice. Both places had immaculate housekeeping too!

ETA: The Bali property was through VRBO; I can't remember where the Italy property was through because someone else booked that.

 

[BlingDreams]

Not a castle but a "villa," twice, once in Bali and once in Italy. They were on the lower end of your scale (and I think the one in Bali was even less than that, it was several years ago) but both times the experience was great. The owners helped us arrange for transportation, gave us all sorts of tips, and the place in Bali came with a chef. We would put in our breakfast order the day before by making selections on a printed menu and tell them what time we wanted it the next day. In Italy there was the option of a chef, but we didn't go with that choice. Both places had immaculate housekeeping too!

That's good to hear! Italy is our top contender at the moment, with Greece as another possibility. We had considered France but they require a 40-day residency prior to being married there so that took it out of the equation!

 

[PintoBean]

Hey go with your dream location for the ceremony and do the legal part in the US if need be! Vegas is easy and there's also something magical of having your own private ceremony with you, your DH and Elvis! (Speaking from my own experience)!

 

[BlingDreams]

Hey go with your dream location for the ceremony and do the legal part in the US if need be! Vegas is easy and there's also something magical of having your own private ceremony with you, your DH and Elvis! (Speaking from my own experience)!

Ha!

"Come to me... my love.... to the sea... the sea of love..."

Actually, Italy is probably my dream location. It's been my Must Visit Some Day #1 for a while now and had always hoped to honeymoon there, so when he suggested wrapping in the ceremony too I was all "Hell ya!" . I think France was thrown in there because it could be very nice, but he's not particularly set on it; we would probably still swing through there and England on the honeymoon as he wants to do a big European tour. We started off by saying we'd choose 2-3 location each and then decide; it's a bit hard though when you take out beach locations like T&C, Bahamas, Aruba, etc! I came up with Italy and Greece. He had Italy and France. But we're still looking and thinking...

 

[ingenue214]

Just came across this whilst browsing the forums, and wanted to chip in! I've attended my fair share of destination weddings - just came back from one in Lake Como where the couple rented a villa - and FWIW I think it'd be easy for you to find something beautiful that sleeps 10 in that price range in South East Asia (Bali, Phuket etc), but a little more challenging to have something large enough for a wedding in Italy, especially if you want exclusive use of a property. Not that it can't happen of course, but you'd be looking probably at a large home without staff instead of 5* luxury during your stay (which is fun in itself!!).

On a personal note, I'm currently planning a wedding in Australia - I live in Hong Kong - and the best money I've spent so far was on an AMAZING events planner...so don't skimp on this if you can afford it in your budget. Trying to get anything done with time zones, different languages (which obviously would happen if you did something in Europe), and just keeping a budget/to-do list in check is a massive job in itself, and if you're as time-poor as most people are, it's just a huge weight off your mind to not have to worry about it. Not to mention it's a little harder to get follow-ups/replies to your questions - I'm used to a general level of American efficiency that doesn't exist in a lot of places!!!! - and having someone else deal with it is worth it.

Also bear in mind that getting married at a destination means that vendors available may not be to your taste/style, which may mean having to spend extra flying people/things into the space, and extra cost. As a loose example, the friend who got married in Lake Como had to bring in her makeup/hair people from Milan, and flew in her photographers from Florida.

Good luck in your hunt! If you need any recommendations - especially here in Asia - give me a shout

 

[telephone89]

We are attending a wedding soon at a gorgeous villa the couple rented in the Okanagan (Canada wine country). http://www.duralivilla.com/

Theres also this gorgeous one in mexico that a friend stayed at (and I was SO JEALOUS) https://www.vrbo.com/610178 but I'm sure there are a ton fancier ones there too.

 

[Akalahab]

My wedding was in England in a medieval Tudor manor. It was pretty stressful not being able to go into stores and look at flowers and chair sash colors etc. on top of a time zone difference. I would advise learning how to do your own makeup if multiple trials in the area aren't feasible timing wise. Different countries seem to have different concepts of what makeup looks good. I ended really stressed out about my makeup bc apart from eyeliner and mascara, I had no idea what to do with the rest of the products. I had a trial with an MUA with great reviews a few days before my wedding (but I guess in England, nobody gives bad reviews...) but didn't like what she did at all - it was nothing like the makeup that I had done at the Sephora counter.

Photos of our wedding and venue https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/winter-english-tudor-wedding.231867/

 

[Akalahab]

And we did the legal bit at the US Capitol (DC allows you to self officiate and it was a nice backdrop right around the corner from the courthouse). All we had to do was show up at the courthouse with IDs, step out of the courthouse and sign the certificates, go back and turn it all in. We also had a reception for US based friends before the English wedding. No point trying to figure out how to get married in a different country.

Also fun: prewedding photos in a unique location. (My avatar was taken at Ullswater)

 

[Resonance.Of.Life]

We just did an amazing photoshoot in Scotland over the summer and I HIGHLY recommend getting a feel for vendors prior to booking them. Start looking 6 months in advance and make sure you "jive" with them. We had an amazing film photographer and that certainly helped. We travelled extensively through the UK, France, and Italy during our 5 week vaycay so let me know if you want any pointers