Minimize Destination Wedding Costs

Destination weddings offer beautiful scenery, and an exciting vacation rolled into the experience of your wedding. Although destination weddings are often beautiful and unique, the cost of these weddings can be extremely prohibitive. If you want to have a destination wedding but are working with a tight budget, there are cost-cutting solutions available, such as creating a budget, choosing your destination, and inviting your guests.

Steps

Creating a Budget

1. Evaluate your finances. Sit down with your betrothed, and take a hard look at your finances. Look at your monthly expenses, the money you take in each month, and any extra you might have. You should also look at any areas you can cut costs in for a while, such as lowering your phone plan or eliminating your satellite TV service.
   • Be honest with yourselves about how much you make and how much you can save. If you cannot have the wedding of your dreams with what you make, you can always opt for a long engagement.
2. Estimate wedding costs. Wedding costs vary considerably based on decorations, clothing, travel, food, and a myriad of other factors. Discuss what you want in your wedding--your must-haves and things you can let go of--and create a clear estimate of how much your dream wedding is going to cost.
   • After you’ve created a dream wedding cost list, eliminate unnecessary expenses and create 1-3 more scenarios to keep your options open.
3. Decide how much you are willing to spend. After you’ve reviewed wedding costs, come to an agreement on how much the two of you are willing to spend. If one party wants to spend more than the other, begin whittling down (or lifting up) your respective ideal budgets and agree on a price or price range.
4. Prioritize your wants and needs. Create a list detailing your wants and needs in order from “absolutely must have” to “I can live without it.” This will be absolutely necessary when you create your budget; if you are over your budget, you can begin to whittle away the “I can live without” items and hold onto your must-haves.
   • This step can be tricky, as many couples have different priorities. Start with “must-haves” you both agree on, and move on to one-sided musts next.
5. Create a budget--and stick to it. Once you’ve created your priorities, craft your budget, taking into account any savings or cost-cutting you’ve found. Once you reach the final number you are willing to spend, stick to that number--no exceptions. Your budget is there to keep your wedding a responsible celebration of your union. It is not worth going into debt over.
   • Make sure you are realistic when running numbers. Hoping for $200 flower arrangements when you’ve only seen $500 arrangements will get you into trouble quickly.

Cutting Costs

1. Try to limit yourselves to one bag. Most airlines allow only one bag for free, and charge for any additional bags. To avoid these charges, take only a single checked bag, and do not make any large, unnecessary purchases while you are traveling, as you will have to find a way to take them home.
   • If you want to purchase gifts to bring home to loved ones, stick to small gifts such as scarves, or other small, easy-to-pack items that will not add a lot of bulk.
2. Get married during cocktail hour. Providing dinner for guests is one of the most significant expenses involved in a wedding. Instead of having a lunch or dinner, get married and have your reception during cocktail hour, and provide guests with only light finger foods.
   • For an additional festive touch, visit a local market for your wedding food. This will also keep costs low, and will lend a more authentic atmosphere to your nuptials.
3. Get married during the week. Even when traveling in the off season, wedding expenses can skyrocket if you get married on a weekend, as this is the most popular time for planning events. Opt for a mid-week wedding to avoid weekend prices.
   • Getting married mid-week can be difficult for your guests, so make sure you let your guests know as far in advance as possible, and specify the day of your wedding as well as the date.
4. Use a local officiator. While it might be nice to be familiar with your officiator, using local officiators will keep costs low. If you invite a clergyman or friend of your own choosing from home, you will likely be expected to cover the cost of traveling and a hotel for this person. Instead, contact the authorities where you are planning to wed and ask about local customs and expectations regarding marriage and officiators.
   • Some countries require a significant waiting period, so make sure you clear all of your plans with local authorities before solidifying your travel plans.
5. Complete wedding plans yourselves. Instead of enlisting the services of a wedding planner, complete as much of the planning as possible yourself. Wedding planning can get extremely expensive, while taking care of plans yourself can offer you the opportunity to negotiate prices.
   • This approach to wedding planning can also extend to decorations and invitations. Design and print your invitations yourself, take your own engagement photos, or even create your own decorations.
   • If you do not feel comfortable creating wedding items yourself, enlist the services of a friend at a discounted price.
6. Minimize decor. Destination weddings are typically chosen for their scenery, so take advantage of the natural beauty of your chosen locale, and let that beauty serve as your source of decoration. A beach wedding, for instance, needs little to create stunning photos and memories.
   • This can extend to the bridal bouquet, as well. Instead of purchasing expensive flower arrangements, pick local flowers or fauna and make a small bouquet, yourself.

Choosing the Right Destination

1. Travel in the off-season. The off-season will depend largely on the location you choose, but most places experience a higher volume of visitors in spring and summer. To cut costs, plan your wedding and travels for autumn or winter. This can save not only on airfare, but also on wedding venues and hotel booking.
   • Make sure you are aware of any inclement weather associated with the off season, such as hurricanes or blizzards, and work your calendar around weather patterns to avoid a failed wedding attempt.
2. Check flight prices first. Base your wedding date around flight prices. Before you set a date, check flights for your desired location, and choose a date that offers low prices. If you search early enough, you might even be able to travel in a higher-volume season for less money.
   • Extend this same courtesy to your guests. If you found cheap flights, get your invitations out quickly so that your guests can take advantage of lower prices, as well.
3. Compare prices. Before you settle on a wedding venue, compare prices, including hotel prices, travel costs, and ceremony expenses. Some venues will be inexpensive to use, but will cost too much to travel to, while others might have the opposite problem. Choose a destination that not only suits your wants, but also takes your budget restrictions into account.
4. Check hotel restrictions. Some hotels require you to use their vendors, their clergy, and their facilities for all parts of your wedding, while others are extremely lax in their rules and regulations. Take this into account when choosing a venue, as you might not like the facilities for both a wedding and a reception.
5. Check wedding packages. The style of wedding you want will determine what type of hotel you want to visit. If you are a more controlling personality, you might want a hotel that gives the reins to you. If you are a relaxed personality, you might like the convenience of an all-inclusive package.
   • All-inclusive packages can be more expensive, but they can also be budget-friendly, as you don’t want to find and negotiate with vendors on your own.
6. Travel close by. Destination weddings do not have to be to far-off places. You can have a destination wedding at a small beach town 5 hours away from your home. You can have a destination wedding as little as two hours away. When you decide on your venue, distance should not be the first priority. Instead, your first priority should be finding a venue you love.
   • If you met in college in another state, you can get married on your college campus. Get creative with your destination, and give yourself the freedom to be sentimental.

Inviting Your Guests

1. Create a “must-have” list. When creating your guest list, craft a list of people you absolutely want in attendance. Typically, this includes parents, siblings, and close friends. If you have a large family, you might also include aunts and uncles. Do not deviate from this specific, pared-down list when preparing your invitations.
   • Write this list according to your unique wants. If you are not close to your parents, they might not be included in your “must have” invitations.
2. Explain your plans to others. Before sending out invitations, explain your travel plans to friends, distant family, and acquaintances who might be offended by not receiving an invitation to the ceremony. Coworkers, too, might be interested to learn of your destination wedding plans, and will likely be placated by the knowledge that few people will be in attendance.
   • This step will relieve some of the discomfort of planning an intimate destination wedding. Planning a large-scale destination wedding is both stressful and expensive, so defending your choice upfront is key.
3. Invite only who you can accommodate. Although it is common to extend “courtesy” invitations to people you are certain will not be able to attend, avoid this practice. Some of your courtesy invitations might end up being able to go, which will put more financial strain on your family.
   • Your accommodate list might be slightly larger than your must have list, and could include friends and family that are not as close. If your budget does not permit more guests, however, your “must have” list and “accommodate” list can be identical.
4. Do not offer to pay for guests’ expenses. Of those you do invite, make it clear that airfare and a place to stay are not included in the wedding, and that all expenses will need to be paid from their own pocket. While providing food or drinks following the ceremony is to be expected, you cannot and should not be expected to foot the bill for every guest’s airfare and hotel.
   • While you do not have to pay for your guests, do check with the hotel you are staying at to determine whether or not they offer discounts for large parties. If they do, you can pass these savings along to your guests.
5. Host a home-based reception. Host a small reception back home for everyone who was not invited to be a part of the wedding ceremony to make them feel included while keeping your wedding costs low.
   • Your reception can be as big or small as you’d like. Traditionally, receptions such as these are more like meet-and-greets, where people come to wish you well. You do not need to go all out and provide dinner, purchase fresh attire, or do a lot of decorating.

Tips

• Be realistic when setting your budget, and stick to a number once you’ve decided on it.
• Take advantage of any connections you might have, such as a friend who works in a print shop, or a family member who works for an airline.

Warnings

• A destination wedding can be tailored to fit your budget, but by its very nature is not going to be a “cheap” wedding. Plan accordingly to avoid large-scale surprises.
• Familiarize yourself with local customs and expectations to avoid getting into trouble with local authorities or failing to officiate your wedding properly.

Sources and Citations

See also

• Save Money on Your Wedding Flowers by Doing It Yourself
• Plan a Low Budget Wedding
• Get a Lower Wedding Cake Price
• Set a Realistic Wedding Budget
• Have an Elegant Wedding on a Budget
• Plan a Wedding in Two Weeks and for Under $500
• Have an Unique, Cheap Wedding
• Get Married in Hawaii for Cheap
• Pay for Your Own Wedding
• Save Money on Your Wedding Ceremony and Reception

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