Frustrated Newbie!!

[marleydog]

Hi,

 

We're getting married in at Sandals, Antigua which is all inclusive so not sure whether it would help or not but my guests are paying £1500.00 per person. This includes their flights from the UK & 7 days in Antigua.  We only have 4 guests coming & we discussed it with them prior to booking.  Thankfully they were happy to pay.  

 

We did negotiate this price though & managed to get them to reduce it by Â£500 per person as we booked very early in January & were able to push for 2010 pricing. 

 

Not sure if this is at all helpful but please feel free to ask any other questions you may have.

[royalbride610]

I concur with the other posters, discuss it with a TA who is EXPERIENCED with destination weddings...  Also, I recommend doing your own search because some travel agents may attempt to steer you towards a resort that they receive a benefit from.  I know my TA (love her) but she tried to hard to get me to go with El Dorado resorts because of the incentives she would receive, but the cost was just ridiculous to me, especially because of the $800 outside vendor fee! 

 

First, think about what location you might really want to have your wedding.  Think about what you really want in a resort, large or intimate, if you have any preferences for the room (mine was the in-suite jacuzzi and the shower), look at restaurant choices, if you want to be at a resort with children/or if you will leave right after your wedding to go to a different resort for your honeymoon, and definitely look at the options for wedding packages and think about how you envision your wedding being.

 

You may be able to get resort prices for next April, just not air, and that could give you a pretty good estimate for guests.  But most likely, 9 months before your wedding is when you'll be able to make your reservations for air & resort so I would jump on it at that point because prices do flucuate quite often.

 

ummm, I can't think of anything else right now, but if you have a question feel free to ask.

 

 

[meeshie77]

Thank you for the advice.  I will definitely do just that.  I've had some super great advice...now I just need to find a good TA.  The 3 I've worked with so far are not listening to my needs/priorities..hence my frustration!  I'll keep you posted.

 

Congrats on booking your day...not long now

Originally Posted by royalbride610 

I concur with the other posters, discuss it with a TA who is EXPERIENCED with destination weddings...  Also, I recommend doing your own search because some travel agents may attempt to steer you towards a resort that they receive a benefit from.  I know my TA (love her) but she tried to hard to get me to go with El Dorado resorts because of the incentives she would receive, but the cost was just ridiculous to me, especially because of the $800 outside vendor fee! 

 

First, think about what location you might really want to have your wedding.  Think about what you really want in a resort, large or intimate, if you have any preferences for the room (mine was the in-suite jacuzzi and the shower), look at restaurant choices, if you want to be at a resort with children/or if you will leave right after your wedding to go to a different resort for your honeymoon, and definitely look at the options for wedding packages and think about how you envision your wedding being.

 

You may be able to get resort prices for next April, just not air, and that could give you a pretty good estimate for guests.  But most likely, 9 months before your wedding is when you'll be able to make your reservations for air & resort so I would jump on it at that point because prices do flucuate quite often.

 

ummm, I can't think of anything else right now, but if you have a question feel free to ask.

 

 

 

[lmarie]

Other people being able to afford my wedding was a major factor in deciding where we were going to get married as well. It was stressful making the decision, especially when your wedding day is supposed to be about you and your fiancee, but I couldnt help but consider everybody else who we wanted to attend as well. So trying to make it affordable was on the top of my list.  We decided on the Gran Bahia Principe in Runaway Bay Jamacia. Our price for our guests, all inclusive, taxes and everything included, was around $1450 from Toronto. For 7 nights. Good luck making your decison and happy planning! Once we made the decision, it felt great!

[merrylee]

Doing your own research is key.  These ladies and the information available is key as well.  That is when I realized my first TA was bad bad.  So I found a new one, we are getting married April 17, 2012 at the Moon Palace.  I had the same goal for my guests price wise as you do, but airfare is always the stinker so we found a TA that would allow us to book those separately.

 

I love all the options available through the Palace Resorts, and it was important to find my own paradise that would fit in the budget I had for my guests.  

 

 

[mochamakes3]

meeshie - Another option you might consider is checking the rates to fly out of Buffalo, since I notice you are from Hamilton. The taxes are a lot lower flying from a U.S. airport so sometimes that can be a cost savings. The downfall is the lack of direct flights from Buffalo.

[Marlena]

We knew we wanted to get married in Jamaica, then we had to decide on resorts. I didn't want to go over the $1800/per person mark. We debated between the Bahia in Runaway Bay and the Iberostar Rose Hall Beach Resort, and eventually booked with Air Canada for $1867 for the week. The bonus of Air Canada was an early booking bonus to pay in full by a certain date was $250, so we paid 1617. Once you pick a destination, then you have to pick the resort! Trip advisor is a great place to look at what other travellers think about the resorts.

[lmarie]

They are the same two resorts that I was having a hard time deciding between too!
 

Originally Posted by Marlena 

We knew we wanted to get married in Jamaica, then we had to decide on resorts. I didn't want to go over the $1800/per person mark. We debated between the Bahia in Runaway Bay and the Iberostar Rose Hall Beach Resort, and eventually booked with Air Canada for $1867 for the week. The bonus of Air Canada was an early booking bonus to pay in full by a certain date was $250, so we paid 1617. Once you pick a destination, then you have to pick the resort! Trip advisor is a great place to look at what other travellers think about the resorts.

 

[snanderson]

I hope that your frustration comes to an end soon.....at least you can count on this forum to ease some of the stress from the other planning issues. GOOD LUCK!!!

[harkatea]

Good luck with the planning.  Picking the destination always feels like the hardest part.  It only gets easier