Suggestions on Locations??

[SonyandRob2008]

Hi girls-

I am ready to yank my hair out because I have no idea where to have our wedding. First of all, for those of you that are closer to your wedding day, what were the pros and cons that steered you to, or directed you away from Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, etc. Also, I have just recently found that for the most part, unless guests are staying at the same location, they will have to pay to visit friends/family members who are staying at other resorts...yikes! So...another question is, where are you staying/getting married (as far as resorts go) and what does it run per night Any help would be greatly appreciated, I cannot afford to lose my hair before the wedding!

Sunamita

[LCBride2007]

first of all - don't worry, you're not alone - i was ready to give up on the DW thing altogether because i didn't know how to choose a location!

 

here is why I chose my location (Las Caletas/Puerto Vallarta)

1) we knew we were honeymooning in Hawaii - so we wanted that side of the world, we looked at western Mexico (Cabo, PV, etc.) and S. California

 

2) i didn't want to get married at a big resort where everyone could be watching and walking by, i wanted more private

 

3) we wanted a ceremony and reception on the beach

 

4) PV is a little cheaper than Cabo

 

5) as for where to stay (Dreams PV) - we wanted an all-inclusive, just to make the planning a tad easier, and have everyone in one place (other than a few guests)

 

6) Dreams prices ($106-129/night/person) weren't bad in comparision to other resorts for what you get and they have a great reputation

 

... i'm sure there's more ...

[SonyandRob2008]

I don't know about why all of you chose to have a destination wedding, but for us, we thought it would be romantic, and less expensive since not a whole lot of people would be able to make it. However it is turning out to be quite a pricey ordeal? Do you guys have a wedding budget? Are you meeting it? If so, do you mind sharing? I am wondering if it will be possible and my fiance and I are seriously considering just running off and getting married just the two of us.

[CourtneyV]

For us, a destination wedding will be less expensive. When I think about having at wedding at home I think about all the additional people I'd have to invite, with a DW less people really will be going. You can easily cut costs on decorations because really, with that backdrop you don't need anything if you don't want it! The only thing really blowing the bank for me is the photographer - which I'm more than happy to fork over big bucks for. Our wedding budget will land around $20k including our travel and accomodations (for 3+), about $6k for a photographer and the entire wedding itself. When you look at the cost for food, it's pretty good! I think at dreams it's around 22 or 24 pp, which is incredibly good! My friend is paying $68pp at her reception! Yowza!! And if you and your FI end up running off just the two of you, that'd be great too! It's about you and your FI and your relationship with him. Its your marriage! Sometimes I feel jealous over the small weddings or the brides that just run off and elope with their FIs! Sounds nice and stress free!

[LCBride2007]

here are some great threads to read to get an idea of budgets!

 

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t1495

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t933

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t2448

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t2105

[SonyandRob2008]

We wanted to do a DW because we knew it would be more intimate and less expensive, however it seems that every person we tell where we're getting married wants to come. We really want to buy a house and would rather have some money to put towards that than be in debt because of our wedding (since we're paying for it ourselves), so we started throwing around ideas and I think what we might end up doing is having a party in San Diego and Kansas City for friends and relatives (other than immediate family like parents and siblings) and then we'll have a wedding for only immediate family in Mexico...then we can actually splurge on a photographer which is all we truly interested in spending a lot of money on. Hmmm...yeah, I think that is sounding pretty good right about now.

[LCBride2007]

we didn't set a budget beforehand, but i honestly had no idea what to expect! we're paying for this ourselves as well, and really are "simple" people, but somehow i'm at about $22K - but that includes dress, rings, travel, etc. yikes.

[LCBride2007]

eek - just went back and looked. make that $25K. (crying now)

[RaydensMama]

Have you looked into the Dreams resorts? I really wanted to go to the one in Cancun, but we are no longer having a DW. We may honeymoon there though!

And BTW our at home wedding is going to cost about the same as our DW would have. I think it just depends on how elaborate you want your wedding to be.

[A10CalGal]

DOH Ann!

 

Our total ended up being $16,500 - and that includes everything: my dress, his clothing, travel, accomodations, rings, etc. And we only had 20 guests. But, I did splurge on some things like a spa day for the ladies and steak & lobster for our reception. If I would have kept those things off the list, I would have been right at $15K.