Hi - Undecided confused bride to be

[Krups618]

Hi everyone!
I joined this website because people say you guys are helpful and have good resources.

 

I am thinking about having a destination wedding but do not know where, do not know when, and have no idea where to start.

 

Any suggestions/recommendations are welcome and needed lol.

 

Thanks

Vera

[Lizrmt]

Welcome to BDW! You've definitely come to the right place! I'd say the first thing to do is figure out what month you want your wedding (but be flexible on the actual date, costs can vary alot if you end up traveling on a holiday or school break). From there I started talking to key people I wanted to come (parents, siblings, best friends) to get a feel for what their budgets would allow. Next I headed to a travel agent to discuss locations and costs. Hope this helps!

[Lauren6282]

Well it's good to know I'm not the only one that doesn't know where to start.  I just recently got engaged as well (May 2012) and have always dreamed of having a destination wedding.  I have been googling all sorts of things...there is so much information out there that it is very easy to get overwhelmed.  I'm glad I came across this site so I can get advice from people that have been through and are going through the whole process

[Branya2012]

Welcome and congratulations Krups618 and Lauren6282!! The best advice I can think of is to make sure that you really, truly, deep down want a destination wedding. There will most likely be people, some very close to you, that will express their opinions about why you shouldn't have a destination wedding or do things a certain way (unless you are very lucky!!). Not to be negative, but I think it's just a really good place to start to make sure that a DW is what you and your fiancee really, really want! Then take it from there! Do you want the blue pristine ocean in the Carribbean? Or something private with Mexican flare (check out Las Caletas if this is the case...it is where my fiancee and I are geting married in December). The destination wedding world is your oyster!!

 

Good luck choosing a wedding location and happy planning! This site is the best!!

[georgiasl]

One thing that swayed my decision on where to have my destination wedding is the fact that Mexico has a lot of requirements for a legal ceremony. Some people on here have decided to have the legal marriage at the courthouse in the USA and then have a symbolic ceremony in Mexico. Most are choosing not to tell their guests out of a fear that they may not choose to attend since it isn't the "real" wedding. I don't want to have to make the choice between lying to my guests or perhaps having half of them decide not to come, so I chose to get married in Jamaica which is a bit pricier.

[dallasrdh]

Well it's good to know I'm not the only one that doesn't know where to start.  I just recently got engaged as well (May 2012) and have always dreamed of having a destination wedding.  I have been googling all sorts of things...there is so much information out there that it is very easy to get overwhelmed.  I'm glad I came across this site so I can get advice from people that have been through and are going through the whole process

I just returned from my daughter's destination wedding in Cabo San Lucas. It was amazing and we're so happy we chose Cabo! My daughter is a wedding/event planner so she knew she didn't want a big event in our hometown. We had 50 of our closest fiends and family attend and it was a week full of fun. I'm a little depressed since I spent 10 months planning and working on all the details and now it's all over. Once the main events were panned, my daughter said..."it's all yours mom " so I had a blast doing the oot bags , silk bouquets, bouts, tablescapes , etc. It was vintage beach themed using mason jars... Yes and we took it all with us. Would I do it again...absolutely. Ail post pics soon!

[Peach]

First and foremost, decide on the feel, look, mood.. whatever you want to call it. Like Branya said... When you picture your dream day, what do you see? Most brides, but not all, on here are looking at Mexico or places in the Caribbean. But you could really do ANYTHING. 

Have you and FI travelled in the past? What sort of places are you drawn to? Do you like places with history? Bustling cities? A great night life? Serene waters? Adventures? .... and on and on!

For us, we wanted to go somewhere we had never been before, and relaxation and wow factor was SUPER high on our list... for that, we are sacrificing some night life and accessibility to shopping, etc. (Not that important to us, but is to some). It is also more expensive than, say, Mexico, but we have been to Mexico before (and loved it!) and thought, if there is one time to splurge, this would be it.

 

HOWEVER, it does make travel a b**ch since it is longer, and has a stop over... 

 

BUT we do get to get married on an island with an acclaimed beach where the only thing there is our resort. 

 

So, decide what you want, prioritize, see what you are willing to give up... then google and search and flip through travel books and talk to everyone you know. And look on here! Haha!

 

Good luck and have fun!

[JayKay]

Welcome!

 

At first things can be so overwhelming.  Once you are positive you want a destination wedding you need to decide on a month.  For us it was easy choosing the month.  My parents own a business that is super busy from about March to October so we chose a month in between there.  I graduated University in December so we were left with January or February.  We chose January as its cheaper then February. 

 

Once we had a month we choose our location.  For us choosing the location and eventually the resort was the hardest part.  We first thought we wanted to get married in Mexico as its cheaper then other destinations.  However, we soon found to legally get married there (which was important for us) it takes a lot of time and money (from translating documents, blood tests etc).  We then looked at other Caribbean destinations and decided upon Jamaica.  We then made a list of what we wanted in our resort- all inclusive, not to far from airport, not too small, amenities provided on resort, etc.  We (I should say I!) then wrote down every resort on the island and made a spread sheet.  We were able to narrow it down quickly based on our criteria we were looking for (for example we eliminated all non all inclusive, ones that didn't fit the budget, and ones that were too far from airport).

 

Once we chose our resort we got in contact with the wedding coordinators at the resort and asked for a list of available dates and times.  From there we selected our wedding date.

 

Good luck with choosing.  There is tons of useful information on this site that will help guide you!

[ornxoxo]

Originally Posted by JayKay 

 

Welcome!

 

At first things can be so overwhelming.  Once you are positive you want a destination wedding you need to decide on a month.  For us it was easy choosing the month.  My parents own a business that is super busy from about March to October so we chose a month in between there.  I graduated University in December so we were left with January or February.  We chose January as its cheaper then February. 

 

Once we had a month we choose our location.  For us choosing the location and eventually the resort was the hardest part.  We first thought we wanted to get married in Mexico as its cheaper then other destinations.  However, we soon found to legally get married there (which was important for us) it takes a lot of time and money (from translating documents, blood tests etc).  We then looked at other Caribbean destinations and decided upon Jamaica.  We then made a list of what we wanted in our resort- all inclusive, not to far from airport, not too small, amenities provided on resort, etc.  We (I should say I!) then wrote down every resort on the island and made a spread sheet.  We were able to narrow it down quickly based on our criteria we were looking for (for example we eliminated all non all inclusive, ones that didn't fit the budget, and ones that were too far from airport).

 

Once we chose our resort we got in contact with the wedding coordinators at the resort and asked for a list of available dates and times.  From there we selected our wedding date.

 

Good luck with choosing.  There is tons of useful information on this site that will help guide you!

 

Thank you for sharing!  Did you contact any TA?

[jolene028]

I find it super overwhelming as well I just started my planning and have contacted a TA... I picked my location Cuba and then my month November and 3 resorts there that had everything I wanted... next I will find out the dates closest to my budget and then find out what the hotel has avaliable... I thin after all that is sorted the stress will go away and everything else will be easy! Destination wedding planning for a month and then small stuff after sure beats a year of planning for a wedding at home! Good Luck I am sure you will be happy getting married on the beach what could be better.