Has anyone had a destination wedding? If so, how much are the usual costs and breakdown of costs?
Moe asked:
Me and my boyfriend are trying to buy a house by next year and we want to have our wedding the year after and so we only want to spend a little for our wedding since we are going to be responsible for paying monthly mortgage. My friend told me that destination weddings are cheaper than traditional weddings. How true is that and if it is, how much is the usual cost if we want to have it in Hawaii? Please help. Thanks in advance.
Me and my boyfriend are trying to buy a house by next year and we want to have our wedding the year after and so we only want to spend a little for our wedding since we are going to be responsible for paying monthly mortgage. My friend told me that destination weddings are cheaper than traditional weddings. How true is that and if it is, how much is the usual cost if we want to have it in Hawaii? Please help. Thanks in advance.
April 30th, 2009 at 6:02 am
Cheaper for who? Think real hard before you ask friends and family to not only spend a fortune on air fare and lodging but also take time off work. Think real hard about how much your parents would want to show off to a few long time friends and relatives on the very special occasion of their handsome son or lovely daughter getting married, and think about whether you really want to take their fun away from them.
Give a wedding in a way that makes your families happy, and then have a honeymoon in which you shamelessly wallow in self indulgence.
May 2nd, 2009 at 10:30 am
I’m planning a destination wedding in Vegas. Both of our parents really love going there and so do our friends. If our guests don’t have $ to come out - then we’ll miss them but respect that & understand that was a pitfall of our decision. Its off the strip at a nice place - its going to cost about 16k. Hawaii is probably more expensive since its farther to get to & airfare is usually more $ and hotels are expensive. Hotel, rental car & gas costs rack up the costs that you don’t normally spend in a regular wedding. Cabo or FL may be a cheaper beach option.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:54 am
they can be cheaper, but they can be more expensive. i’m getting married in jamaica in march and it will cost about $5000 total, which includes all meals, alcohol, the ceremony, reception for my 9 guests, 4 nights at the resort, decorations, band, photography, videography, and pretty much everything else. my advice is to find a resort that will provide everything for you for 1 price. there are wedding planning companies that will provide the minister, decor, and the basic stuff, but then you have to find somewhere to stay, someone to provide flowers, etc. and in the end it’s a hassle and just as much money.
i’ve done a lot of research on this, and if you want to know of any specific places that are nice or want any other info. feel free to email me.
oh and those who tell you that destination weddings are selfish (b/c there will be people like that, maybe even your own family) just ignore them. they’re the bitter people that we don’t want at our weddings anyways. which is another plus to having a destination wedding (ruling out those who are bitter, lol)
May 8th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
My fiance and I are planning a destination wedding. I get tired of hearing people say “think hard about your family and friends” blah blah blah. Isn’t the wedding about US, not them?! It’s only “selfish” if you really expect every person you know to drop everything (not to mention that kind of money) for you. I, however, don’t think it’s selfish at all to plan a destination wedding knowing that a lot of people (and even really important ones) won’t be able to attend. We’re inviting family and very close friends knowing many can’t go and we’re ok with that. Because this is OUR day.
But about the budget. It really depends. You figure flights alone will cost at least $1,000 - depending on where you go. From there it’s all about what you want. I’ve seen wedding packages from free (with minimum night stay usually) on up to $8,000+. Free packages usually don’t include a reception so if that’s something you want, plan to spend more money. We’re only looking into all inclusive resorts since most people will be making it a vacation. Those range anywhere from $200-700 a night. Considering our guests, we’re trying to keep it on the cheaper side. Destination weddings (like any wedding) can be as cheap or as expensive as you make it. You can fly down there for a long weekend with two friends and have a pretty cheap wedding. Or you can take the whole family, have a seated 3 course dinner reception with photos, video and entertainment. It all depends on what you want.
I’m sure that if you really assessed what’s important you could have a wedding at home too. Make your own invites, order them from ebay, have an afternoon wedding with a cake and punch only reception. These are all things that will cut down the cost of any wedding. Just decide what things are really important to you and what things you won’t even care about in five years. Then price shop like crazy. Good luck!
May 9th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
I don’t think cheaper cost is a reason to go for a destination wedding. Honestly, I think you could do a wonderful wedding anywhere on a budget by keeping it small, and keeping the food to finger foods, etc. If you had a B&B in the country somewhat nearby, that could be a wonderful spot.
Any style of wedding can be as elaborate or as simple as you make it. The only way a destination wedding would be very inexpensive would be if it were just the 2 of you, and maybe just a very few witnesses, if any at all.
I had a destination wedding which cost about $15-20,000. We took it on ourselves to cover the airfare and hotel for our immediate families, though. Besides the travel expenses, we spent about $5-7,000 on the wedding. The luncheon was about $3,000 (33 people), then there was the minister, photographer, music, flowers.
I started online and found what we wanted and went from there. I’d just try googling Hawaii weddings and see what you can get from there.
May 9th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Its cheaper cause you aren’t feeding 100 people but airfare and staying at a resort it.
Guests tend to resent it if they can or cant come. I spend $3500 5 years ago to see my best friend get married on a secluded beach and haven’t seen them since.
Those who can’t attend will feel left out.
May 11th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
check out Sandals, it has a free WeddingMoon. It will be a very small wedding, but if you just want to invite like your mom and dad that’s all it will be cheaper. You could do it for 5,000 i bet if you booked through a travel agent. I don’t know anything about Hawaii though. Sorry. It costs a good bit just for a trip to Hawaii. I live in Mississippi and for a week trip it was about 2,000 per person. I did not stay in an extravagant hotel either.