Too Early To Plan

[jacquewedding]

Hello everyone I recently joined BDW and Im glad I did as this site is a great help already. My planned wedding date is April 2017. I just need some advice if I should start getting a travel agent or booking my wedding date at the resort? Is it too early?

[TinkerSofi]

I don't think it's ever too early to start doing some planning. The day after we got engaged I joined this site and started scoping around what destinations we liked the most, what a DW entailed. I found a lot of things I didn't know about. That was 2 years and a half before the wedding. 

 

About a year before the wedding we got in contact with a TA and we went from there with choosing and booking the resort. This didn't take us long because by the time we saw her we had a clear picture of our budget, what we wanted, the destination we wanted, etc. Our original resort that we mentioned to her didn't work out, but she soon made  different suggestions and it took us about a week to make up our mind.

 

I think getting in contact with a TA about a year and 3 months or a year and a half out is good enough. The booking deadline for our group was exactly a year before the wedding and I thought that was good. We still had people cancel last minute because of unforeseen circumstances, but that can happen regardless. I think if the deadline had been more than a year out, it would have been harder for people to commit because no one likes to think that far ahead and a lot of things can happen in between. I think even getting in contact with a TA a month or two before you want to book something is a good idea. Keep in mind, usually the time between your booking with the resort and the group deadline for your guests is about 3 months. That will give you a month or two working with your TA to narrow down the resort you want. 

 

The only exception I can think of is if you want to and can do some site visits. Then I would speak with a TA before, and make a shortlist of resorts you want to see based on their recommendations. This is where things got complicated for us. About a year before we were ready to book we went and visited 3 hotels in the destination we wanted. I had done the research myself and didn't go through with a TA because everyone I asked said that it was too soon, they couldn't get quotes (one of my biggest deciding factors was the price of a week at the hotel), overall they just weren't very helpful. As it turns out, none of those 3 worked out in the end, we booked somewhere else and by the time we did that (a year before the wedding) we didn't have the time or the money to go visit this new hotel. Moral of the story, if you want to visit the resort before you book, I'd say get in contact with a TA sooner rather than later so that way you can budget for your site visit as well, rather than having that plus the wedding all to pay for in a year. 

 

I hope that is clear but let me know if you have any questions

Edited July 28, 2015 by TinkerSofi

[deecol]

I agree with ladies.  Start looking around the forum, getting some ideas and reading resort reviews.  You have so much time it will be nice to get things going slowly and not have to rush towards the end.

 

Definitely contact a travel agent, they may not have prices for 2017 at the moment but they can help you narrow down your resort choices.

 

Good luck!

[TinkerSofi]

I've mentioned it on other threads, but two weeks out and I'm pretty chill right now. It's all because I had so much time to plan, it was so nice and spread out. There were a few high stress moments but usually about things I couldn't control, like people cancelling etc. However, when it came to the planning itself it was nice and relaxing because I had so much time

[rachelia160]

Outside the realm of resorts and booking things, I found that, for me, the longer I planned, the more money I spent. For example, by the time my wedding got here and I added up all the stuff I bought for my bridesmaids, I was SHOCKED! (I mean, they were worth it, but still!) I had just kept buying them presents here and there over my 1.5ish years of planning, and even forgot that I had bought some of it until I was wrapping everything up, and then realized I went overboard on spending. Just something to be aware of!

[TinkerSofi]

Outside the realm of resorts and booking things, I found that, for me, the longer I planned, the more money I spent. For example, by the time my wedding got here and I added up all the stuff I bought for my bridesmaids, I was SHOCKED! (I mean, they were worth it, but still!) I had just kept buying them presents here and there over my 1.5ish years of planning, and even forgot that I had bought some of it until I was wrapping everything up, and then realized I went overboard on spending. Just something to be aware of!

yeah, it was the same for me and decor. About 6 months before the wedding I actually got everything out and realized I didn't need anything else so I stopped buying stuff. Otherwise I would have kept spending and spending and in the end you have no way to carry all this stuff with you

[TNT2015]

If it's too early for travel agents to have prices, you could look at what it would cost between resorts for next year to get a general idea of what to expect for pricing within the month of April

[MrsCtoB]

I agree! It might be a bit early for the 2017 prices to be available but I would take advantage of the time that you have and begin to consider what the must haves are for your resort etc. If you plan to do site visits, the more time you have the better! 

[Moments That Matter]

Welcome to our forum community, jacquewedding and Congrats on your April 2017 destination wedding!!! You'll find lots of great ideas, suggestions and advice from everyone here, so well done on joining us

 

Wishing you happy research, and all the best with your plans - cheers!!! team MTM

 

.....for some added inspiration, here are some magical wedding "moments that matter" Linc captured at some recent Mayan Riviera Weddings.....from the Cover Photos Album:

 

 

[acw271011]

@jacquewedding  I'm sure you've realized now what a great group of ladies are here! They've all given you excellent advice and suggestions! I would add that a travel agent is definitely your first step, especially with still so much time. You don't mention what country you're in but travel is put together a bit differently in the US compared to Canada so that's something to consider. If you're in the US, the administrators of this site are destination wedding specialist and I'm sure they would be able to at least help you determine you wants and don't wants and the budget you want to work with for your guests. You can contact Wright Travel at http://wrighttravelagency.com/inquiry/

 

Good luck!