What have I learned from planning a destination wedding?

[KK2013]

Originally Posted by zeman321 

 

What a great thread! I am at the beginning of helping my daughter plan her DW and we are already running into a lot of crap! I told her to forget it and do what she wants....Her dad and I will be there and so will his. Her best friend will be there and so will his...doesn't really matter who else shows up. It will be beautiful and we will have a great time no matter what!

 

What a great mom!  Good advice!

[EVKnowsitall]

Originally Posted by NJBride2014 

 

Wow some people know no boundaries can't believe that your fiances cousin called another travel agent.  You were nice enough to even change your venue which is a big sacrifice because I'm sure you loved the one you picked in the first place that's why you picked it.  I'm getting comments about the prices too but I'm not moving to another resort because then they will find something wrong with that one. Sometimes you need to tune the comments out and just do whats right for you and your fiance.  You can compromise a little bit but if you change everything to accomdate people who probably wont' come no matter what then your wedding is no longer your wedding.  Good luck to you and you are right this is stressful but in the end it'll be great and you will be married.   

Wow- I went through similar things. And I always thought I was the only one. I thought "I know people have drama but they cannot have it this bad" guess I was wrong. My MOH dropped 2 months before my wedding but only after I paid for her dress. And then she had the nerve to text me a month before saying we needed to talk. She also slept with a groomsmen who was already dating one of my bridesmaids. Then he ended up dropping because he got a DUI and his court date was near our wedding. Oy. But everyone complained about the price at our resort. My own sisters hesitated to attend and only booked about 2 months before. I thought I should have had it somewhere cheaper but why? To convenience everyone else and sacrifice what we wanted? You know what would have happened if we booked it somewhere cheaper? The quality would have been compromised and people would have said "it wasn't worth it" or "I came to DR for this?" lol. You will never win unless you please yourself!

[EVKnowsitall]

Originally Posted by 1Pris 

 

Thank you for the advice!!!!! This thread is sooo helpful! It has helped me realize not to worry so much about decorations. I was already stressing out about centerpieces but you are completely right, no one will care of even miss them. I mean we are in a beautiful place already! Do you have pictures or a video clip of your wedding?

 Surely ; ) We didn't get a trailer because it was more money so this is the full length clip. Feel free to skip around to the parts you want to see like the actual reception lol I think the entire church sermon is on here.

 

http://vimeo.com/70292354

[EVKnowsitall]

Originally Posted by RNtoBe 

 

I just got married in May in Cabo! I can honestly say I would have no been able to plan my wedding without this site! Being able to talk to past brides of the Riu Palace helped tremendously and helped put my mind at ease with all the of uncertainty of planning a destination wedding. What I learned about planning a DW:

 

• Expect the unexpected from family and friends. The people who you think will support you the most might be the ones to give you the hardest time and put you through the ringer!
• Everyone else will try to make your wedding about themselves and everyone will have an opinion. Just remember- It is YOUR wedding, not theirs.
• Spend the extra money for a good photographer! At the end of the day, all you have are photos and I wanted to love them. We flew our photographer from Calgary to Mexico. Look into local photographers as some offer destination discounts! Here is a link to her blog on our wedding http://www.cassiescamera.com/2013/06/09/dayna-ray-just-married-calgary-destination-wedding-photographer/
• In the beginning I had a hard time justifyng the cost of a videographer. After finding a great one Cabo I knew I would regret not having one. Our wedding video: 
   The cost of the photographer & videographer took up a majority of our budget and I wouldn't have changed anything- they were both worth every penny!
• Don't stress, enjoy being engaged and planning your wedding!! 

 

I love all the audio overlays. I wish my videographer had done something cool like that. It's nice to hear the things you said to each other and your officiant was hysterical. I loved what he said! Beautiful wedding, congrats.

[1Pris]

Originally Posted by EVKnowsitall 

 

 Surely ; ) We didn't get a trailer because it was more money so this is the full length clip. Feel free to skip around to the parts you want to see like the actual reception lol I think the entire church sermon is on here.

 

http://vimeo.com/70292354

Thanks! I am going with Arrecife as well and its good to know what the final product is like. Great video! You looked amazing! Congrats to you guys. Where did you get your veil?

[EVKnowsitall]

Originally Posted by 1Pris 

 

Thanks! I am going with Arrecife as well and its good to know what the final product is like. Great video! You looked amazing! Congrats to you guys. Where did you get your veil?

Thanks! Although I loved my veil I do regret what I spent on it. I bought it at the same place I got my dress- a store called Bridal Reflections in NY. The veil was $625 : ( It was a bad splurge but I was caught in the moment haha. I am certain you can find a similar veil for much less. I only had it on for the ceremony and a few pics on the beach. After that, it was too breezy to control so I took it off. Also- the beach was too windy for the parasols I got my girls. They aren't in any pics, I was disappointed about that. 

 

The videographer was not present when I got ready because I did a first look with my photographer and they only cover an hour an a half prior to the actual wedding. I got ready at 10:00 am and the wedding was at 5. In retrospect, I wish I had offered to pay extra to have him there for longer. He missed our first look as well. I have the pictures of it, but not the video. I didn't think to ask at the time though. It's because we got ready off-site. Had we gotten married at the resort, we would have gotten ready later, not done a first look, taken our pictures after (most brides leave a gap between ceremony and cocktail hour for pictures) and then it all would have been on video. It is what it is though- no regrets. I was the one who was hellbent on having a Catholic church ceremony. My husband didnt really care either way.

[RNtoBe]

Originally Posted by Jeanetta H 

 

This is a great thread! I am in the process of planning a DW and we have changed our resort due to comments on price from people. We are still getting negative comments. My fiances cousin even went so far as to call another travel agent and try to arrange for a cheaper trip and then proceeded to tell other people that she can get the trip cheaper. I just cannot get over some peoples behaviour. We are still waiting on people to book.....including people in our wedding party! Its stressing me out. I told my bridesmaids to chose a dress they felt great in as long as it is in the color i want and knee length and flowy. Not one of them have a dress yet. And when I send group messages about dress shopping or how everyone is comin along finding a dress I either dont hear back or they havent found anything. So frustrating. I could have picked one and said they had to buy it but I was trying to be nice. I am so happy we have this forum to vent. I dont want to complain too much to other people because I dont want to be a bridezilla. I have also found that everyone was soo excited about the engagment and wedding....now nobody talks to me about it or asks how the planning is coming along. I thought this was supposed to be a memorable and exciting experience. Honestly I feel like other people will always ruin it for you so make it about yourself!!!

It's ridiculous how some people act when it comes to DW! My aunt did the exact same thing, she contacted a different travel agent after she had just agreed to our group rate that I received from a TA. I know it's easier said than done but don't stress about other people, it's not worth it! If they come, they come and if they don't well thats their loss. 

[RNtoBe]

Originally Posted by EVKnowsitall 

 

 

I love all the audio overlays. I wish my videographer had done something cool like that. It's nice to hear the things you said to each other and your officiant was hysterical. I loved what he said! Beautiful wedding, congrats.

Thank you! I love it and so happy with it! I cannot wait to receive the rest of the footage. 

[RNtoBe]

Originally Posted by lorcas 

 

Your video is amazing!! Congrats!

Thank you, so happy we ended up getting a videographer! 

[1Pris]

Originally Posted by EVKnowsitall 

 

Thanks! Although I loved my veil I do regret what I spent on it. I bought it at the same place I got my dress- a store called Bridal Reflections in NY. The veil was $625 : ( It was a bad splurge but I was caught in the moment haha. I am certain you can find a similar veil for much less. I only had it on for the ceremony and a few pics on the beach. After that, it was too breezy to control so I took it off. Also- the beach was too windy for the parasols I got my girls. They aren't in any pics, I was disappointed about that. 

 

The videographer was not present when I got ready because I did a first look with my photographer and they only cover an hour an a half prior to the actual wedding. I got ready at 10:00 am and the wedding was at 5. In retrospect, I wish I had offered to pay extra to have him there for longer. He missed our first look as well. I have the pictures of it, but not the video. I didn't think to ask at the time though. It's because we got ready off-site. Had we gotten married at the resort, we would have gotten ready later, not done a first look, taken our pictures after (most brides leave a gap between ceremony and cocktail hour for pictures) and then it all would have been on video. It is what it is though- no regrets. I was the one who was hellbent on having a Catholic church ceremony. My husband didnt really care either way.

I bought a veil already but I am in love with the cathedral length. I will be having a beach ceremony and love the way the breeze makes it sway So yeah, I think I might invest in another veil. 

What is first look? Now I'm kind of worried for the parasols. I am thinking about getting some also.