How far in advance to start booking DW

[NewBride30]

FYI I was just sent a "special" from Thomas cook regarding Jan 2013 in Punta Cana if you want more information 

[NewBride30]

 

Originally Posted by Laurelyn 

I had my wedding in Mar 2012 and I started to look for prices back in Mar 2011 and the prices were so high!  I ended up booking at the end of  June and we got a great deal and I never once saw the price go lower!  So my advice would be wait until June and hopefully then they will have the early booking deals up and you will find a much better rate. 

 

Laurenlyn,

 

When you booked in June were TA's advising against it? Both TA's I'm working with are telling me I should book right away instead of waiting due to space on plane etc. I'm not sure what to believe...

[Laurelyn]

 

Originally Posted by NewBride30 

 

 

Laurenlyn,

 

When you booked in June were TA's advising against it? Both TA's I'm working with are telling me I should book right away instead of waiting due to space on plane etc. I'm not sure what to believe...

 

Our plane never did fill up in the end but the resort was fully booked by February.  Also it was spring break for BC and ON and the newest and most popular resort in Cuba at the time.  Also its hard to say with a TA I can see their point of not wanting you to be disappointed but I really highly doubt that it would be booked up full at this time you are still 10 months away.  I would say the average person just going on holiday wouldn't even start to look until September.  Have you thought about contacting one of the lovely TA's on this site they might have a better idea and be more realistic with you. 

[lkterry]

One TA told me to wait until June to book (even thought that would only be 4 mo prior to the wedding) because prices drop every June.  But then 1-2wk later she told me we should book asap.  Didn't make sense that she changed her advice so quickly!

[shanloveslexi]

I was getting high quotes from the resort, so I contacted a travel agent. They were able to get me much lower rates ($40 per person per night cheaper!). Look into using a travel agent!

[katman]

Thanks for the tips everyone. This is something we are really struggling with. We have a lot of younger guests and people who will need notice of a date well in advance (either due to financial situation and needing ample time to save, or to work constraints), but we don't want to book too early and end up with super high prices. How do you decide :s

[Mbride]

Glad to see i'm not the only one facing this issue. I'm also planning for April 2013 in cuba. I'd really like to try for the Oceans Varadero but it doesn't even open until end of summer/early fall. Although they are booking for next april already they don't have anyone on staff to take wedding bookings yet. Since it'll be a small ceremony of about 10 people my fiance and I are considering waiting it out. Good to know prices will drop a little more in June. Then maybe another resort will sway our decision. How long before the wedding does the actual planning begin? I understand you want to book the date to make sure you get the date you want. But back and forth with the wedding planner? 6 months before the date? 3 month??

[janette34]

My best piece of advice would be work with your travel agent.  My TA secured our booking one year prior to our wedding date.  At that time our resort was advertising rates of $1850 per person but my TA got us a group booking rate of $1350 per person plus extra benefits.  Since we had booked as a group we also had a price drop gurantee, so if the price went down 45 days prior to departure we would get a one time price reduction - the rates didn't go down until about 2 weeks prior.  Also with our group booking we had enough guests travel with us so my husband and I went for free, upgraded luggage allowance and free drinks on the plane.

[Avens]

Originally Posted by janette34 

 

My best piece of advice would be work with your travel agent.  My TA secured our booking one year prior to our wedding date.  At that time our resort was advertising rates of $1850 per person but my TA got us a group booking rate of $1350 per person plus extra benefits.  Since we had booked as a group we also had a price drop gurantee, so if the price went down 45 days prior to departure we would get a one time price reduction - the rates didn't go down until about 2 weeks prior.  Also with our group booking we had enough guests travel with us so my husband and I went for free, upgraded luggage allowance and free drinks on the plane.

 

My story is the same! We booked in October 2010 (with out 10 person deposit), and we got married in January 2012. We sent out our Save the Dates around Christmas 2011 to give everyone lots of notice, then sent invitation a couple months later (so people could book ahead of time once we had all the proper info).

[Cherina]

I did 17months