I have been pulling my hair out for the last month trying to find the perfect holiday/wedding destination. We would like to get married April/May 2015 and we have decided on a weddimoon as we didn't want to spend soo much money just for one day. Also we would have to invite Aunt Lil and Uncle Bill who we never speak to but it's the proper thing to do etc... We put the feelers out to close friends and family and they have all pretty much agreed that if we find a 'reasonably' priced holiday then they would come. This leads to my next dilemma. It's our wedding and we will only be doing it once. We have 3 children between us and plenty more nieces and nephews that we need to cater for (as well as some very young in the head brothers of mine)
Question is... Where and when is the best place top go that is the best value for money, entertainment, fun, wedding venue, flight time and everything else.
If I can't find anything soon... Barry Island has a beach... I'll just have to wear a white snow suit instead and get married there. Surely it shouldn't be this stressful, I just want to marry the man of my dreams for Pete's sake!!
Any way... Absolutely any advice or past knowledge will be a godsend to me. Thanks very muchly!!!! Amy
CommentAuthorlala "mod" bunni
you need to first of all things about the following things to narrow it down
how long do we want to fly for
what is our max budget
do we want beach / hotel this will help you to narrow down your options
also search on here as there are lots of threads that will help you .. try putting in wedding abroad in the the search function
Hi AmyP5. Looking at your post was a total flashback for me as even before we got engaged we said we didn't want to marry in uk. Central Park in NY was my dream but quickly ruled out due to costs.
I found looking at destinations quite stressful but I think the first thing you should do is look at the legal requirements of getting married in certain countries as this ruled out a lot of places for us I.e I think it was France you had to be a resident for about 40 days. Next have a look at the weather for the countries you have narrowed it down to, that might rule out a couple of other places depending on when you want to get married. It's also worthwhile to go into a travel agents with your budget and requirements and let them do some leg work for you. I know Cyprus is beautiful, very popular for a wedding and some of the hotels do fantastic wedding packages. This might be suitable for the kids too. There is also Italy, which is stunning, and again lots of places do wedding packages but maybe not as child friendly. We also looked at Gibraltar which is close, has some beautiful locations and easy to get too.
The other main factor is of course your budget but your family and friends too, be useful to understand their idea of reasonably priced compared to yours before you start your research. I hope you don't think I'm rude when I say this and I don't mean any offence to anyone but consider if you will have any alone time with you new husband when your family and friends are with you.
For us, they were just too many factors against us going abroad so we are getting married in uk and having an amazing honeymoon.
If you have any questions I'll be happy to try and help.
Good luck!!!
CommentAuthorRachelE118
Now come on Amy nothing wrong with Barry Island!!! Or you could go upmarket and look at hiya butt/packamac bay? Xx
Haha!! Nothing wrong with Barry Rach... Just wasn't considering having to wear thermals on the big day... Ya know :) I'd love to know what they sensors lol!
Budget - overall budget including everything I thought would be 6k... As some lil birdy told us it would be cheaper to go abroad but it's not looking that way ATM.
I think our guests would be willing to pay up to £700 per person for maybe 10 days all inclusive... That's the average we have heard off people.
May 2015 was my original target but now I'm getting complaints that I'm not giving people enough time!!
I don't know what to do for the best... Pick the best of the best for our little group and don't worry about anyone else as we will be having a party when we get home anyway... Or do I scour the internet trying to find the cheap best of everything that hopefully will squeeze in a wedding somewhere.
Joanne - lots of family = lots of baby sitters :) I think that would be the main plus for us... More eyes watching the children. I agree though... I think we need to do a pros and cons list... Would you mind sharing why and how you came to the decision that going abroad for the wedding wasn't for you?
Thanks all x
CommentAuthorJoanneM469
Hi Amy
Of course. We were approaching being engaged for 10 months and no further forward in terms of making a decision which was really stressful and creating tension between me and husband to be and us and the family. I was on the internet and looking through brochures every day, my specialist subject would be names of hotels in different countries and what wedding packages they offer lol but it really was stressing me out and getting me really down at what is supposed to be one of the most enjoyable times of your life and it had me in tears at several points.
Your location is heavily dependant on what your family can afford and whilst you appreciate you are asking a lot of people you need to balance that with the fact that it is your only wedding day so has to be special. For us we couldn't find that compromise. We also quickly realised that it might not be as cheap as you first think plus you also need to consider if you would have a party once you are back home for those family and friends that couldn't make it, this is also extra costs in terms of venue, food, any décor, your hair and make up (effectively another wedding day). You also need to consider not being as "hands on" and there will be a lot of elements you might not have as much control over, don't get me wrong this might not be a bad thing.
Anyway one day I just realised that the thing that matters most to me is marrying my financee and the start of our married lives together so would a wedding in the UK be really that bad? Believe me all the reasons you put above about not wanting to marry in UK were the exact same reasons as me but now that it's booked I honestly can't wait. I have put some ground rules in place like keeping the ceremony really small and just having our close family and friends and then having a few extra people coming at night which seems to be keeping the costs under control (so far)
If there is anything else I can help you with just let me know.
Good Luck!
CommentAuthor*KelBel*
Hi I work at Thomson, for a wedding package they vary from about £795-1000 roughly,then u engage with the wedding planner on everything you want then there may be the cost of flowers etc on top depending on where u have it,some include a meal after,some don't,same applies with cakes. Then your hotels will probs cost around £4-5k for family of 4 all inclusive normally if u stay at the hotel where the wedding will be as it's normally the 4* 5* hotels that host weddings! but again u still want a bit of luxury on your wedding day. You can pick a day u want to get married but then it depends on the local registrar,u normally find out your official wedding day anytime from 6 weeks of booking it to 6 weeks before you go. You need to check the residency at the destination with your travel agent, sometimes it's 3 days(not including the weekend) sometimes it's 7 so that could factor in your decision of destination. Still gonna be cheaper than the £16 k I'm paying to have mine here x
Velcro...my wedding day twinny! The Two Kel's!
Got engaged 14/10/12 in Central Park NYC!
Became Mrs Macdonald 13th September 2014
Mummy to 4 girlies and baby blue boy Due 10/05/2016
CommentAuthorAprilS61
I can't go into as much detail as the others but I can say I went to a wedding in Cyprus last August. It was lovely. We were there for two weeks and the wedding was the second week so had time for a tan for the photos! I'm not sure exactly what was included in their package (and I didn't want to ask with it being OHs cousin) but I do know there was a free hair and makeup trial for the bride, choice of wedding on the promenade above the hotel or a beach wedding, sit down wedding breakfast or beach BBQ, cake included I think, a champagne breakfast the morning after the wedding and a private meal for 2 on the beach any night of their choice. Like I say, not sure what else was included with me only being a guest! But they had their Helmand stag night in Ayia Napa! We also saw about 6 weddings in our hotel together so was a popular choice. We stayed in Nissi Beach Hotel x
