We are thinking of a Destination Wedding (NEED HELP)

@Renee O -Oahu, Hawaii is where my fh and I got engaged. We hiked Diamond Head with our group, and he proposed there!

Destination weddings are so beautiful! I think I would go with what I could afford without going into debt (that's a big thing for me), and what fits your wedding plans, colors, and feel!

Thank you everyone for your suggestions, we are super excited about our wedding. We started planning our wedding orignally for here in our hometown (Philadelphia, Pa) however the venues we liked were WAY out of our price range and the ones that were in our price range it just wasnt what we really liked. Im a firm believer that if im going to spend money on something I at least want to get what I love. It is OUR WEDDING after all right? The moment we wait our whole lives for. So after some careful consideration my FH suggested a destination wedding. I was so surprised that he did because I was thinking the same thing, LOL. Funny how great minds think alike

We also found that we are willing to put out more money for a destination wedding, because we feel like they are SO WORTH IT.

Thanks again everyone! And GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU!!!!!

P.S. Please do not stop posting your comments I and still open to your suggestions, advice and stories.

Thanks again.

We actually started with an at home wedding with 100 plus guests. After a trip to Cabo last year we came home and decided that it just wasn't for us and we wanted something more intimate and family oriented.

We decided on Maui. HI is very expensive but there are a lot of ways to cut costs and you can have something very simple or a big venue.

We arrive 5 days before the wedding and party all week. We have budgeted a Welcome BBQ, Mai Tai dinner night, surf lessons and a day trip. Because we will only have 20 guests we are able to host many more activities. Our ceremony is going to be on the beach first thing in the morning followed by a brunch reception up the hill on a golf course. Later that evening we are holding another reception at a Luau. FH and I will move to a HM suite at another resort for the week after our wedding. Our budget is just under 15K and that was with paying for 7 plane tickets and bringing our photographer with us.

My wedding is in Puerto Rico! It is close to where me and FH family lives (NYC), it's less expensive for us and our guests, and passports are not needed.

First, you need to decide on a budget. Your budget will then help you decide which locations are in your price range. I would then research information about the different locations. It's important that you know what the weather is like, if there is a language-barrier.....things like that. Check venues.Not just resorts....they can be pricey. PR has resturants on the beach and historic places.

I keep seeing how DW are so expensive? For me, it was less expensive and much less stressful to plan a wedding in Hawaii!

I'm all for the simplicity of the destination wedding. No need to deal with 100 individual vendors and having to choose every last detail. The beach weddings are best understated and let the natural beauty of the carribbean speak for itself.l No bells and whistles, just sand in your toes, and wind in your hair! Easiest way to do it is to use a specialized service like www.destinationweddings.com. I felt the same overwhelming feeling when I started planning my wedding but as soon as I started dealing with them, all my stresses were erased because I really felt lilke I was dealing with a true pro. From researching and selecting a resort to arranging the best travel options for my guests, their service could not have been more convenient and stress free. All my guests were impressed at the turn around and the options they were given in their travel plans. Some of my guests even used the same agent to plan their own wedding shortly after ours! They are the best!

I'm a bit biased because I live here, but Puerto Rico is an awesome option for destination weddings. It's in the Caribbean, it's a US territory so no passports are required and it's sunny almost year round. Most venues have packages for destination weddings. I don't know what your budget is like, but you can check out Hosteria del Mar and the Courtyard by the Marriot. Both have packages (with food included) under $5,000

We are also in the Philadelphia area and doing a DW and US reception. Our DW is costing us 1/8 what our US reception is. We are getting married at an all inclusive resort. We chose the Ultimate package which includes basically everything you would ever need (even hair and make up, massage for the couple, flowers, cake, music, food, alcohol, officiant everything!) for 2999. We are having between 20 and 30 people and our staying a week. With our upgrades and everything including our rooms we are looking at about 6000, and that is with FH and I staying for a full week.

We are getting married at Secrets St James Montego Bay FYI

If you are really trying to have a DW that is not going to cost an arm and a leg for your guests, I highly recommend the same thing a previous poster did - use a service. I too used destinationweddings.com, and I am so glad I did. I never would have been able to narrow down all the places and resorts and get an idea of cost if I hadn't had someone else do it for me. I gave them my criteria, the approximate total trip cost (and how far I wanted to go) and that was it. They gave me many options. Come to find out, the US VI and Hawaii are some of the most expensive trips (I am on the east coast). Mexico turned out to be the best deal and not a 13 hour flight! I never would have found that place if it weren't for my DW Travel Consultant. You should consider talking to one of them. Plus they take care of all the travel arrangements ....

Well, a lot of people go destination as somewhere warm, but in August, you can also look at traditionally cooler locations. Colorado if you don't mind elevation can be lovely and it's the off season (also has Denver which is a major hub airport). If most of your guest list is co-located look at places which are reasonable to fly to (and remember a number of places can be fly to an airport, then drive two hours... which could be good or bad).

What are your vacation desires? Your guests? My husband and I love hiking, so NH was part of our honeymoon and all the hiking of the White Mountain National Forest. NH also has the Mount Washington which is a grand resort from the old days and a historical location. Planning so far out, if you go for less "touristy" spots, you can probably get better rates and just buy out a B&B or small charming motel for the time (or at least a decent chunk of it).

Wine country is also an option (multiple locations for that).

I do love the finger lakes wine region, and it'd be out of town, but a drivable commute (so if you want people who can't afford much more than a one or two night stay, the guests aren't having to fork out a lot). A number of wineries do whole packages and have wedding coordinators. I know a friend getting married at a winery because the whole thing is all inclusive, a reasonable trip for her family & friends, but away from everything and comes completely pre-decorated beautiful scenery!

Check out Breezes Weddings/Honeymoon Destinations.

www.breezes.com/weddings-honeymoons

They have different packages for Wedding and Honeymoons.

I'm really bias on this one but I recommend the Bahamas - http://www.bahamas-destination-wedding.com

But really you should choose some place where you both can let your personalty and style exude as it will be your very first time hosting your family and friends. So make it memorable!

Wishing you all the best...

My wedding coordinator in Hawaii at Zenju Weddings is reasonable because her vendors give her reasonable wholesale prices for her clients. I would say a wedding around 30 people, if it is an estate can range any where from 10,00 - 16,000 excluding the WC fee... I thought it was pretty reasonable for all that you get. An entire estate on the beautiful Hawaiian beaches and all seclusion... Think about it! I think I put th elink above www.zenjuweddingsnevents.com Mahalo and good luck!

Thank you everyone. I was considering going through destinations weddings, a few of you recommended it and now i feel alot better. im also going to check out the link you recommended Renee, along with a few of the others the ladies mentioned.

Ive just been so busy lately i havet had the time. but im going to check them out tonight.

We have decided on a destination wedding in Puerto Rico. When we figured out the cost (our group will be 40- 50 people) it wasn't going to leave us much for a honeymoon, so we priced it with a wedding planner in the area we wanted, and we are combining our honeymoon there also.

Puerto Rico is good because no passports are required, less hassle for the guests. I was actually shocked at how many are actually coming, I thought in the beginning it would be much less, but we are pleased !!!!!!!!

A good wedding planner is a must, or an all-inclusive resort !!!!

My wife and I had the same issues and used DestinationWeddings.com. We really cannot speak higher of them.

She found them and attended a webinar that explained everything. We worked with a coordinator to plan out the entire event. Our wedding was in Cancun, Mexico at El Dorado Maroma. Recommended to us by our coordinator - Maureen. It fit our personalities perfectly as well as the event. The biggest issue we had was a hurricane that came close to Cancun and caused us to change our dates. Maureen made that easy.

Without a doubt, we feel you should use them. They made the process SO EASY!!!

Good Luck!

We're Outer Banks, NC vendors...are we allowed to post a response here? I didn't see "vendors allowed" & don't want to break the rules....

My Husband & I decided to do a Destination wedding in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Another bride told me about the website DestationWeddings and they were amazing. Very affordable, only $50 to sign up for the website and you are assigned your own wedding specialist. They help you with choosing the right resort, what time of year is good to get married in that specific destination. They also helped us lock down a great rate for all of our family and friends. I can't say enough great things about them and how smoothly our DW went! Best of luck with all the planning, it will all be worth it