Destination weddings

I had a destination wedding in Vegas. It has it's pros and cons..I was glad I couldn't OCD-out on a venue close to home, but I also couldn't afford a trip to visit (and had never been before) so I planned everything online which was incredibly stressful. My best advice is to find vendors that you trust (I didn't do an all-inclusive -- but you will probably have more options like that in Mexico).

We got some negative feedback at first from family who all wanted us to get married right next to them (family in New York, Pennsylvania, Boston, Louisiana, Houston, and we're in Austin) which wasn't possible, but they all have now thanked me for picking an affordable vacation place cause they all had such a good time. The friends were all on board from the beginning The acquaintances all stayed at home!

We wound up inviting ~ 130 and having 65 guests - half family and half friends. No at-home reception. All worth it and fantastic -- so many cool memories with family and close friends!

I am getting married in Montego Bay, Jamaica on Aug 11th. I think the most stressful part came from our guests. We have 40 people flying to jamaica. But planning it was pretty easy. The resort we decided on is absolutely beautiful and i love it. Everyone is willing to help with any questions we had and made the process easy. However, we can only "pre-plan". The actual planning does not take place until we get there which means we have to plan our entire wedding in 4 days! Yikes! Are you having a lot of guests? If you were getting married in Jamaica, I could give you tons of help!

We actually live IN Vegas! I totally understand the OCD' ing part. That was part of the reason we decided to to a destination wedding that offered a "package", kind of like a one stop shop. I was getting completely overwhelmed trying to organize/pick vendors we liked and stay within a budget. We just came to the conclusion if we were gonna spend that kinda money, we'd rather spend it on a great vaca with family and friends:-) thanks for the input. In regards to your total # of guests, how far in advance did you expect them or need them to RSVP? And did you have a hotel block off a certain amount of rooms at a group rate? Just trying to plan for "the last minute booker".

Ebony W.

We are shooting for Puerto Vallarta. Yikes!!!! 4 days! We are sending out about 110 save the dates. I couldn't even pretend to guess how many people will actually come, i have a feeling some people will surprise us (pleasantly) and come. The resort offers a wedding package and a wedding coordinator. But I am a little confused about how the actual booking will go. The resort offers a group rate but do we have to block off a certain amount of rooms and what if they book up before all my guest are able to book and pay???? If my wedding guests don't stay at the resort, I'll have to buy a day pass form them so they can attend the wedding. Should I have an expectation of an earlier RSVP date????

I usually tell people to go to Tripadvisor if they want to know what others think about a certain property. Being that you are having a destination wedding, it is extremely important for you to get objective views.

Here is a review by someone who got married there

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g154267-d154718-r127625476-Vallarta_Palace-Nuevo_Vallarta_Pacific_Coast.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT

I know one couple that got married there and they absolutely loved it there. the staff was very professional, and the wedding coordinator knew what she was doing. She even got free rooms (around 6 or 7) because she had 25 rooms for four nights.

The service is impeccable, there is lots of choices for food, and they have great reviews. In sort, go for it.

John,

Get Group Rates For Hotels Without Making A Phone Call At http://GroupTravel.org

I am having a DW in St. Thomas USVI and the planning has been a breeze! Our guests have actually been super cool about everything too. Mostly because our families are big on vacations and take 2-3 vacations every year anyways. We currently have 35 people booked for our wedding and we invited 50.

I just wanted to say I absolutely love Puerto Vallarta! I've been a few times & stayed at the Dreams Resort there. Its so gorgeous and there is TONS of things to do. Your guests will have an awesome time!

@Bree -- well since I didn't "require" that anyone stay at the hotel we got married at, I didn't worry about RSVPs ahead of the timeframe I needed to have final headcount to the hotel in for catering (3 days). The hotel held the block of rooms until the week before cause they were AWESOME - even though technically they didn't have to. But I also got married in the offseason...I would imagine there's a much better chance of everything booking up earlier with a wedding in May. Have you booked everything now so that people can start booking when they get the STD? Do you have any minimums you have to hit? You will have last minute bookers - they're inevitable, but I just let everyone figure things out for themselves (but we didn't have any rooms we would have had to pay for and our F&B min was reasonable)...

That resort looks amazing btw

Hi Bree,

Congrats on your decision to have a destination wedding! Unfortunately, Palace Vallarta is currently closed. Don't worry though, through our connections at Palace Resorts, we've been informed that Palace Vallarta will be re-opening this summer as Hard Rock Vallarta, still part of Palace Resorts.

We at DestinationWeddings.com have helped thousands of engaged couples plan their dream destination weddings all over, including Puerto Vallarta, and what a treat you're in for! For more information regarding destination weddings, please visit us at www.DestinationWeddings.com or shoot us an e-mail at ***********@*******************.*** We would be honored to be a part of your planning process for your big day.

We had a DW in VT. It was challenging. My venue was an inn that we visit each August, but they had never hosted a wedding. It was all unchartered territory. I should have hired a wedding planner. I am a serious micro manager so I had some issues w/ planning from afar. It was also a pain transporting all DIY projects. We had to rent a van.

We travel to all inclusives each year & have witnessed many weddings. My best advice is, if you are doing it at an all inclusive property, find out who will offer you the best freebies and packages. Many resorts offer free annivery nights. Choose a resort that has a given track record with weddings, but not one that is a wedding factory. Get all of the information about your countries requirements for a marriage license. Many brides choose to do a civil ceremony at home and just do a mock ceremony at the resort.

(Cont'd)

Make sureyou keep a hard copy all of your correspondence with the resort's wedding planner and bring the correspondence with you. If you can, take a pre-trip to your resort to check out everything. Sometimes the language barrier can become a problem. Find out if htere are any restrictions on photographers. Book with a reputable travel agent who has a great relationship with the resort you are getting married. A high selling travel agent usually has a good rapport with management at the resort and can pull off freebies and upgrades. Send out your STDs ASAP. Instruct your guests to buy Cancel for Any Reason travel insurance. You are getting married during shoulder season, so rates are good and the chance of bad weather is slim, but you can never be too safe.

Good luck!

Bree,

Our guests are paying for their own day pass. The resort we're getting married at offers a package as well, we're just doing tons of add ons to make it special. Our guests are not staying at the resort we're getting married at, but I did require a RSVP 4 months in advance. Blocking of the rooms vary by resort. I used a travel agent and she was truly amazing. She coordinated with all of my guests so I didn't have to as well as booked them. She didn't charge a fee. She's super experienced with Jamaica and Mexico. She was a God Send!

We are doing a DW. I am really excited.

We are in Phoenix and having our wedding on the Beach in San Diego... I know only 7 hours away.

Issues:

-Getting people to RSVP so you can have a final headcount

-It's really hard to plan from afar when you can't even sample your wedding cake ahead of time

-Notifying friends and family they have to "pay their way" to get there

-Know that a lot of people wont come because of the expenses involved for them

Positives:

-It's pretty affordable

-Some of the package deals are awesome

-Smaller wedding so it's a little less stress

-Beautiful location

-Can plan honeymoon in same location and save some $$$

Random things we did:

-Made ALL of the information available on our website www.081712.com

-Didn't reserve a hotel block so family could choose a cheaper option and so we could have a hotel to ourselves the night of aka first night together

We just had a DW in san juan. Definitely added stress planning from afar - but after 14months of. Planning it was everything we wanted. The best part was the week of activities and events we hosted, so everyone really bonded and had agreat vacation with us. Congratulations!

We are having our destination wedding July 4th in Barbados. Just the two of us! I was worried about not having my mom there, but after she gave me her blessing, we decided to pull the trigger. I'm looking forward to having a STRESS FREE wedding.

Just curious...if no one is invited, is it customary to still send out some kind of notification? We're not eloping so I don't want our wedding to be a secret. I'd like our families to hear the news from us and not word of mouth.

We specialize in destination weddings are are always happy to provide you with advice whether you work with us or not. In Mexico, there are some great resorts for destination weddings. Our favorite is El Dorado (for adults only) and Azul (for family friendly). I have booked weddings with many properties and they consistently beat their expectations in service, food and amenities. Secrets also offers some beautiful resorts however some clients have some difficulty getting the wedding planners to respond to their emails. Dominican Republic is another great destination for a wedding. Both areas offer some great all-inclusive resorts and a good agent can get you some nice value-adds for your wedding....

Destination- Lake Arrowhead! We love destination weddings maybe it is the vacation feel of it all for the guests and the bride and groom!

If you are looking to keep your wedding inexpensive, Mexico is the way to go. My husband and I got married in Riviera Maya, at The Azul Fives. It was an unbelievable experience. Azul Fives is a boutique hotel that will pamper you and your guests for your stay. We booked our wedding by using Destinationweddings and they were able to get us the best rates possible. If you are looking for luxury without the cost, look at Mexico and Destinationweddings.

Congrats on making the final decision, that is half the battle! We did a destination wedding in Rivieria Maya, Mexico last September and loved every minute of it. If you are looking to use a travel agency to help with the planning & getting a great rate at the resort I would suggest using destionationweddings.com! They were such a huge help to my fiance & I during our wedding planning process. It's $50 to join and you get a personal wedding planner via email who will help you in choosing the right date, location, flowers, cake, etc. Anything you can think of, our planners name was Brittany and she was phenomenal! Best of luck with the wedding planning, and seriously check out the website

I agree with jkroliko, I also used destinationweddings.com (they are a very respected and popular choice) and what I appreciated most about their service was their knowledge of the different resorts, amenities, services and most importantly wedding departments. I worked with Joan Twohie and she was amazing for both me and all my guests. She was so impressive that some of my guests have worked with her since to plan their destination weddings. Without a doubt having a destination wedding was the best decision I ever made and all the time I wish i could go back ad relive the day over and over again. My husband and I definitiely plan to return to our wedding resort with our baby to be next year...So, reach out to them and get their feedback on the Palace resorts, they are truly experts and will probably be able to get you upgrades perks and the best price based on their great relationship with all the tip luxury resorts.

Good luck, you will be thrilled if you rely on them!

Hi Bree,

If you are looking for a photographer for your wedding, I'd be more than grateful to photograph your wedding day. I offer destination wedding packages for $3,500 (USA) and $5,000 (Overseas). With the investment, you will not have to worry about my accommodations (travel, hotel, or food fees). You will get the pictures in high resolution and edited on a flash drive. A usage license also comes with the package so you can print and use the photos however they like. If you want to know more, you can find my site @ http://ben-nash.com and feel free to email me at ***@********.***.

Kindest regards,

-Ben