Destination wedding

For a destination wedding, assume about a 50% decline rate. If it requires international travel and/or long flights, you're likely to get even more declines. Just something to keep in mind, since you seem to want a guest list on the larger side.

I'm having a DW in March 2018 and we're having ours in Riviera Maya, Mexico at Dreams Resort and it is beautiful... We've invited about 80 people but are pretty sure it'll be about 25 to 30 people which we're ok as a DW is meant to be intimate and we're spending about 20k because we want certain things such as a light up dance floor and we have to pay for our DJ etc but we figured it's cheaper to do it overseas than to do it in the states especially when it comes to paying per plate and most Resorts have packages that start off with 20 guests and you pay for the rest of your other guests etc

Oh and the Resort is All Inclusive

We're doing everything through

DestinationWeddings.com

They are awesome no real work to be done til about 5 Months before the Wedding

Hope this helps

I'm getting married in August in Puerto Rico!

Pros: no passport necessary

No change in monetary currency, same dollar used

Simple flight, not very far

Gorgeous Caribbean beaches

I'm obviously very excited and I'd be happy to answer any questions if you end up considering this area!

No matter where you end up, beach weddings are just beautiful and romantic!

It's hard to offer suggestions without knowing where you live or where you would be leaving from...is your closest airport a small one or does it have international travel, what kind of wedding do you picture (beach, lake, ballroom etc.)

I cant help out too much without further info, but have you thought about a cruise wedding? A lot of the cruiselines have packages in their ports of call, and also on board in the US on embarkation day (this is what Im doing so people can cruise if they want or just attend and get off.... granted, I live in Florida near a port) and pretty much everythings included. I can also tell you that if the places you mentioned I really LOVED Aruba more than the others.

Thank you for your help. I live in Philadelphia, so it helps that we have a big airport. I'm really pushing for Aruba. Just realizing it's one of the more expensive resorts. Thanks again.

I'm doing a destination wedding as well! We are doing it in Miami. First, because we LOVE Miami and were engaged there. Second, it's cheaper for guests to travel within the country versus out of the country.

Food for thought -when you're considering budget and guest list, you really should budget for the number of people you invite. What if 120 people RSVP yes? Will you be able to fund the wedding? I bring this up because we are inviting 75 people, and we anticipate that very few will RSVP no. To ensure we don't go over budget, we accounted for each person saying yes. If anyone doesn't come we can use the unused money for fun extras for guests that attend

I find your best values are not at the "usual" destination wedding locations. Aruba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, these are all wonderful and close, which is why everyone goes there and why they can really jack up the rates. Do some research and find locations that are unusual. Barbadoes is an often forgotten island, but its way down there. The panhandle of Florida has great deals. You can always go to the mountains for something different. I agree with the others that 1/2 of your invited guests will show. Depending on your circle of friends it may be less than that. Don't forget cruises. They have some awesome deals. Your wedding and reception is all onboard.

Debra Easterling

Candlelight Vows

We're doing a Disney wedding in Florida, but there's no way you could do what you're asking size-wise with that budget there.

We are having a destination wedding in Punta Cana Dominican Republic at Iberostar Bavaro Suites. It is all inclusive and their total wedding package is $2900 (for the highest package), of course there is always upcharge for customization. We have a total of 60 guests (I believe, that is kind of a sore topic) and we opted for the private buffet reception which of course was extra. Total, including ceremony, cocktail hour, reception, floral, music, cake, dress, tuxes, flight and hotel room, we are looking at about $13,500.00. I have budgeted some cushion in there just in case though. Here is the website.

http://weddings.iberostar.com/en/dominican_republic-packages

If you want, I can post all of the extras that they e-mailed me here, so that you can get accurate pricing for your customizations. I know how hard it is trying to price for DW's, because all resorts treat it like a major secret. Hope this helps

ETA: O yea, this includes open bar, as well

We're going to a destination wedding on Maui in October. I think their guest list is maybe 100? But from Philadelphia it is a bit farther than the Caribbean...

Last evening, I officiated a destination beach wedding for a couple from PA.

Check out www.VisitSarasota.org

150 seems like a lot...If you're really dead set on a DW I'd go with whichever place is closest to you or has the cheapest direct plane fare routes to make it easier on your guests. (Personally I'd be a regretful no even for a close friend or family. We just don't have it in the budget). I hope most of your guests are aware and don't mind traveling.

I'm doing a cruise wedding in 4.2017. Our guest list of 150 has been shrunken to 40 and whoever else wants to come. I'm so happy to hear of another cruise bride!! I was wondering if there were any others out there!! Cruise weddings are very reasonable and will likely be under 8k.

I am doing a DW in Cancun next year. I am really hoping for no more than 40 guests! All you really need to do is save as most of the resorts have wedding packages with everything included.

I attended in St Thomas and it was such a fun week! The resort has a package. I can't

Remember the name but look for a place that specializes and it will be easier.

I'm having a DW in Mexico, in the Riviera Maya area, however, we are still in the middle of booking a resort. I don't know what the guest count is yet, but we're probably expecting 20-30 guests.

I've been researching destination weddings for a while now. Budget wise, Mexico, in the Cancun and Riviera Maya area, and also Jamaica are the cheapest to travel to with flight and hotels. I would definitely recommend an all inclusive resort with a wedding package, and that will keep you within budget.

I was in my best friend's wedding in Playa Del Carmen about 4 years ago. I still think about it because we all had the time of our lives. A DW is one that your guests will always remember, unlike a local wedding that people will forget where it was at in 10 years (such is the case with me, I don't remember with half the weddings I've been to). It's a good choice!

I'm doing a semi-DW at Hardrock Hotel Universal Studios. We're looking at around 30-40 guests. It should be a blast! ETA: Budgeted for around 10K

We're having a DW in Costa Rica in March. We invited about 110 guests but I'll be happy with about 20-25 coming - We were warned that most DW have about a 20% attendance rate. While a lot of your friends seem all gungho in the moment, when reality sets in, it's a little different - As of right now, pretty much all our friends are saying "definitely!"

Like PP said, an all inclusive was important to us because our guests are coming on vacation and I didn't want them to be concerned with paying out of pocket. Mexico, Dominican Republic and Jamaica tend to be less expensive destinations to get to/stay at and tend to have a large selection of all inclusives. Where as places like Aruba tend to be on the more expensive side, and don't have a large variety of all inclusives.

For our wedding, we went with the middle package (because they had the best decor and flowers), which like PP said, included the first 20 guests, with $160/pp after.

We are a little under ten months out and pretty much everything is done. But most of the stuff that needs to be taken care of can't be done until December/January (invites, dress fittings, OOT bags, etc.).

My FH and I are having a DW in Jamaica at the Riu Montego Bay all-inclusive resort. They have some really good ceremony packages. Our budget is $10-15k for everything. The ceremony package we picked is $3k which covers the ceremony, officiant, ceremony music, 40 guests, and a dinner. We're paying an additional $1k for a private dinner on the rooftop of their steakhouse which has a dancefloor. It's a really great deal there.