How much should people pay?

[BillysBride]

My best advice to you is simple; keep looking.

 

There are LOTS of places that offer a beautiful setting, but are mid-range price. Depending upon what your "must haves" are, you can definitely find somewhere that will be more economical for your guests and likely meet your criteria. There's "cheap", which you want to avoid, obviously, but then theres always places that are more affordable. Just don't assume you have to go for the 5 stars, or even 4's. Especially when it comes to more family friendly resorts, the prices tend to stay lower.

 

Just keep looking. Get a list going and save it..write notes about each places pro's and con's and start a file on your pc with photos of each so you can go back and compare as you find them. And lastly, GET A TA!! They are great when they know the region better than you and you can give them your criteria. That knocks YOUR work in half having someone else on the case!

 

Good luck!

[miss di]

flight, hotel and a little bit of spending money (food, excursions, shopping, etc) that we've factored in - it's going to end up costing about $1,000 - $1,200pp. this is for 4-nights. the flight saves a lot of $$$ cuz a nonstop from san francisco and LA to puerto vallarta is only about $300 with taxes.

 

when we first started looking we were getting some outrageous figures, too...so just keep looking. my eyeballs were bright red and in so much pain from all the searching i was doing.

 

i would say determine what you want out of your DW - what kind of vibe? do you want the all-inclusive? do you want to take over a small hotel with all of your friends and family? this makes a huge difference. we are taking over 2 adjacent properties which will sleep 38ppl comfortably. we are charging ppl based on the cost of the room, so we are putting people that we know are on a budget into rooms together (again, still very comfortably) and room prices are ranging from $53pp - $117pp/per night. it works out GREAT this way, because those that are broke are getting away with about $200pp for the 4nt stay and those that can afford it are still getting a steal.

 

also - the first price is never the last price. remember that!! if you go for a smaller spot - don't be afraid to negotiate...

 

good luck on your search!

[EDRBride2009]

I went through this when I first picked my location as well. I started looking at different destinations, resorts, etc., that might have been more affordable for my guests. My first choice pick was the El Dorado Royale. I talked with my travel agent about different choices and started comparing the dollar amounts. Finally she said to me "So you are willing to let a difference of about $400 come between an ok wedding and your dream wedding". That pretty much sealed it for me. Besides, we've let everyone know far in advance. Having our immediate family there was the most important to us, and they would be there whatever the cost. And having stayed at an El Dorado resort in the past, I know they will be getting a great vacation at a great resort.

Good luck with your choice!

[ACH2009]

We ran into this same issue when we were originally looking for our resort. It was really important to us that our closest friends and family be able to make it to our wedding. We gave them a lot of time to plan and it ended up costing on average $1,000 - 1,200 per person for 5 to 6 days. I think most people were pretty comfortable in that range.

[CherylMc]

Hi JAweddings

I know what you mean - you wantto pick a nice place but are affraid its too much to ask of people - I was trying the majic number of less then $1500 - and it can be hard depending where you want to be. We are going to Jamaica at the Riu in Ocho rios next Jan and got a price of $1654 including tax -if you need to be refered to a good TA let me know

Everything will work out

[Scott-Pierre]

I am getting married in Sept at ROR. My immediate family and some of my friends are paying approx $850 - 900 for 4 nights (all inclusive) with flight included. I really wanted to keep it under $1000. I think it also depends when they book. If they procrastinate and wait until the last minute, flights are going to be more expensive. I had to realize that I can't worry too much about this. If people want to come, they are going to come. It is also a bad economy, so you have to keep that in mind as well.

[jawedding]

Thanks everybody for the advice! I really appreciate it!

 

haha CherylMC - We were set on the less than $1500 too, and now are almost postively going to the RIU Ocho Rios too! In January too! The quote we have is $1780 from Toronto (leaving on the 16th).. do you mind if i ask when you're leaving? (This also hinges for us on getting a wedding date.. we are hoping for the 21st or 22nd.. but right now the only thing that appears to be left is the 22nd at 11am! - do you know if it is likely that more dates are avialable than those that are shown on the site? ie.. because of brides requesting dates that they aren't going to use?).. maybe I should PM this to you.

[Scott-Pierre]

There is a chance that you could get the wedding date and time that you really want. Send an email to the wedding coordinator, Chandlyn, and let her know of your preference. Whenever people cancel or don't book, they reopen the dates. This happened for us.

[destination]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lgarner83 When we were deciding, we went to a TA at Sears travel (and a few other places but she always had the best deals) and we had her scout out some nice places that weren't going to be too too much $$$. We were flexible on location and she managed to get us the Riu Santa Fe in Cabo San Lucas for 7 nights for $1400 pp taxes in and including flight. It is in Sept which his considered the rainy season but we also reseasrched that and decided to take our chances since Cabo showers are apparantly brief and refreshing. If you are concerned about how much your guests would need to pay (like we were) then give your travel agent a price maximum and let her research some locations for you. Then you can have your pick! Good luck!

If you're looking to keep cost down I would def recommend some Mexican resorts over most other similar places. My TA was great and put together some stuff from other places, Hawaii, and a few caribbean islands. Hawaii is by far the most expensive for everything; however you can spend a lot no mater where you decide to go. I second the idea of giving TA a max price and let him/her see what they can do with it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malisa I also had a hard time with justifying the expense. However, I found that by looking at alternatives to resorts such as private villas and boutique hotels I was able to cut costs down to $150/room/night. With airline tickets at $350/person that totaled about $725/person plus food/beverage/ground transportation/events which usually tacked on an extra $300/person for a 5 night stay. The expense still narrowed the guest list down to about 20 people but I felt good about giving my guests a high value experience. They also enjoyed the non-resort vacation because most of them are experienced travelers and really wanted to experience our destination rather than an expensive hotel.

But you do have to consider without the AI perks people may end up spending more and not going AI also creates more work for you for finding entertainment, travel, meals, etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillysBride My best advice to you is simple; keep looking. There are LOTS of places that offer a beautiful setting, but are mid-range price. Depending upon what your "must haves" are, you can definitely find somewhere that will be more economical for your guests and likely meet your criteria. There's "cheap", which you want to avoid, obviously, but then theres always places that are more affordable. Just don't assume you have to go for the 5 stars, or even 4's. Especially when it comes to more family friendly resorts, the prices tend to stay lower. Just keep looking. Get a list going and save it..write notes about each places pro's and con's and start a file on your pc with photos of each so you can go back and compare as you find them. And lastly, GET A TA!! They are great when they know the region better than you and you can give them your criteria. That knocks YOUR work in half having someone else on the case! Good luck!

I'm getting married at a fam friendly resort which I love! My TA has been there many times and loves the WC there. The property is gorgeous and we are getting married in a big white gazebo that is so pretty. It is not a really expensive resort, but gets great reviews (often beter than the expensive ones) GOOD LUCK choosing!

[itsfinallyhere]

Since you are canadian I would look at Cuba there are really nice resorts there that are affordable. We are going and were able to get a package deal for our guests for $1100. But I do know the prices have started to climb again.