European Destination Wedding for 20k or Less?

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! I’m getting married next year in Prague and my sister got married in Portugal early this year. I don’t have wedding planner recommendations in the places your are planning to have your wedding I’m afraid. But yes, definitely get a planner! My sister was initially not planning on getting one but planning without one with not being there was too difficult. Not sure where you are in the world, but just be prepared to be patient with vendors/coordinators in Europe when you don’t get immediate responses. I find them much more relaxed and chill than I like. Lol. I would also suggest you also research venues on your own as well so you get a feel of what you like. I have found a lot of great ideas based on wedding videos/photographers in the city.

I would start researching the marriage requirements in each of those countries. That helped my FH and I narrow down countries because we didn’t want to do a blood test or be there a week ahead of tune. I can’t give you recommendations for a wedding planner, but I’d definitely recommend hiring one if you’re not getting married at a resort or hotel (those venues generally provide those). I’d also recommend finding a travel agent you trust to help coordinate your guests travel arrangements and negotiate some travel rates for you.

Congratulations on your engagement Kate! Welcome to the WeddingWire community!

A European destination wedding sounds absolutely beautiful! You mentioned that you love to travel, have you been to any of the places you mentioned before? Italy is absolutely breathtaking and if you like your food, you’ll be in heaven!!

Are you interested in booking a wedding package or would you prefer to have the freedom of booking things separately?

You should definitely check out the Ideas section on WeddingWire for some ideas and inspiration! Here are a couple of articles that I found that I think you might be interested in -

How to Plan a Destination Wedding

How Much Does a Destination Wedding Cost?

We found an AirBNB in Switzerland that looks like a mansion someone turned into alts and rents them out individually. We booked a 2bd apt for less than $1200 for the week. It’s at a beautiful location overlooking the mountains and water. I think if you can find a place like that where nature provides most of the decor for you and maybe you can rent the whole building for all your guests and get a better deal on it?

Did you find a wedding planner? I’m overwhelmed and looking to get married in Italia 💜

View Quoted Comment We actually decided to not get married in Italy...it was too expensive, which meant that we could have only invited a very small number of people (and we wanted something in the 50ish range).


That being said, if price isn’t an issue for you, I would recommend Taormina Weddings/Mariangela in Sicily! We had a fantastic experience with her—she was responsive and provided very through information, and was totally understanding when we decided to go in a different direction with our wedding plans.
We are actually getting married in Portugal!! We found an amazing package at a small boutique hotel in Cascais (about 30 min by train from Lisbon) for €11,900.
EVERYTHING is included, except for bridal hair and makeup, and flowers for the ceremony (6 table centerpieces are included, however)! Rita, our planet, has been a dream.
So, if your heart isn’t set on Italy OR you’re looking for something a bit more budget-friendly, look into Senhora da Guia Cascais ♥️ Best of luck, and enjoy the process!

View Quoted Comment Thank you 🤗💜 I appreciate all of the advice and recommendations. Wishing you a wonderful wedding and if things don’t work out in Italy, I’m definitely checking out Cascasis!!