Advice from those getting married abroad

rubysmummy_2

Hi everyone, im trying to help out a friend plan her wedding - shes not very good on the internet so ive said ill have a look for her. anyway they originally wanted to get married in birmingham but all the venues are looking too expensive (she only has 3k budget for everything). can someone please let me know whether a wedding abroad could be done for this, also if anyone has any links or websites that they found helpful so i can have a look for her. She is coming round for tea so i said i would try and get as much info as i can.

i know a few of you have your weddings planned or have had your weddings abroad and would be grateful if you could give me a rough idea of how much it cost and for how many.

Thank you for reading xx

joho

Hi Rubysmummy. I'd say the £3k is perfectly do-able for a wedding abroad. But it depends whether that includes the holiday element of the wedding, how many guests, kids etc. etc. - all the usual things that affect a budget.

We got married in Lindos, Rhodes using a planner, Lindos Weddings, who were very good and who I couldn't have done it without. They do packages ranging in price depending what you want them to do. If you can afford a planner I'd say have one - unless you speak the language of your chosen location and know florists and cake-makers etc - pretty unlikely I'd say.

Without knowing your friends requirements I can't really offer anymore advice. Fawny and Twirlypinky are also Lindian brides and may well pop in if they see this thread.

Lindos is lovely and is very popular for weddings. Just google St Pauls Chapel! Gorgeous.
Cyprus is also a popular place and would easily come within that budget with the right hotel and package. And Gibraltar too, though I don't know anything about prices there.

Good luck and enjoy planning. If I can help again - just ask.
Jo x

ETA: meant to add, if its possible to visit the chosen location before making any decisions, its a good idea - to get a feel for restaurants, hotels, even the weather at the time of year you want to go!

elliebobs

To echo above; it is certainly doable; the only issue is how 'big' your friend wants the wedding to be.

Following the cancellation, owing to the venue going bust, of our reception venue we toyed with the idea of legging it to NYC or even Vegas. Was ridiculously cheap and we would of had a holiday at the same time.

We however have no children so were not constrained by school holidays so flights and accomm were v reasonable. We were only having a small wedding anyway so if some couldn't make it, it wasn't the end of the world and they accepted that.

In the end, we've re booked somewhere in the UK, not far from the original venue but if this one goes bust then we're on the first plane out of here!

fawny

Hi Rubysmummy,

As Joho said i'm getting married in Lindos in September this year, we too are using Lindos Weddings http://www.lindosweddings.co.uk/ & they are amazing certainly would not be without them. I would say 3k is do able but as already said it does depend a lot on if they are including the cost of the holiday etc in with that. You can have a lovely simple wedding with a bbq by the beach or a more expensive affair in a rooftop tavern but even that is a lot cheaper than this country. I'd say ours is costing about 5K BUT we are paying for a boat trip with champagne & drinks on a beach bar before we go onto our reception which obviously adds in extra costs. There is no need for this if your friend is happy for it to be simple, you can get married late afternoon when it's a bit cooler say 6pm & then head straight to a restraunt for a meal.

I'd say things to remember when your going abroad is that it's not a traditional wedding so you can have a much simpler dress, a normal wedding dress you will be too hot in. I'm having a destination dress made but BHS, Debenhan, House of Fraser all have lovely bridal dresses that would suit. You don't have to have all the things you do in this country, we are not having a cake or evening entertainment just sitting in the travern chatting & soaking up the atmoshere will be enough for us.

Fawny

rubysmummy_2

Thanks guys, ill have a look at the website now, she just wanted a simple affair, she has been and got some brochures from the travel agents but was worried as the packages only said a meal was included and she was worried what people would do later on in the evening re reception. I dont think a lot of people will be attending - maybe 20-30 so it wouldnt be a big wedding.

74jax

I think 30 people abroad is a big wedding? I could be wrong but I have heard of only a handful of people going.

I think wedding brochure packages through a travel agent are VERY expensive. It is easy to sort yourself with a local coordinator and you then discuss your ideas directly with them.

fawny

30 people abroad is a big number imho. As numbers stand there will be 15 of us, we have another 6 who maybe coming but unsure yet & then that is it. It's expensive for people to come abroad with you & even if you say as we have to people it's their holiday for the week etc it may not be where they want to go on holiday or when they want to go so may not be prepare to pay out & you have to respect that. You need to make sure you will not get upset by the number of people who may refuse you invite. We had some shocks in that people/family who we though would come have said no & other who we said no way because of money etc have said yes & saved up & booked.

Regarding evening entertainment it depends, I know some people still have disco's or greek dances(if in greece obviously:D) or move to bar bar where they have a room & have music but you don't have to. As I said with ours by the time the meal is over it will be around 10.30pm so we are not having entertainment, there will be other people in the travern as we are not having it exculsivly as we can't fill it so there will be a good buzz about the place & we will just sit & relax with a drink & chat to our guests - well thats the plan:D

If your friend chats to a wedding planner they can arrange all sorts of things & will be able to give her ideas of what will work. I found when looking the the travel agent packages were very set in stone & expensive & included things we didn't want. Doing what we have done we have made it ours & tailored it to our budget.

rubysmummy_2

im only saying 30 as thats the amount of her and her h2b's family including kids etc, they both have pretty big families, step families etc which is why they are looking into doin it abroad as if they do it here they will always be upsetting someone. Can i ask any recommendations into hotels etc.

Thanks for all your help guys, i havent got a clue when it comes to weddings overseas.

picklepick

I know you're asking about weddings abroad, but just thought I'd ask if your friend had looked at Rowheath Pavilion in Brum? She could get friends and family to help with catering etc, and I would think it's easily do-able on £3000. They have their own minister or you can have a registrar come out.
Just thought I'd mention it.

Good luck with it all.

74jax

or take a 2012 package for £2012 which many hotels are doing for 50 day guests and 80 evening.

LEJC

for a budget of £3000 its perfectly possible to marry abroad...and the 2 of you can probably get a very nice honeymoon included too....

However to then say you want 20 or 30 close relations and friends to attend also puts alot of pressure on them to fund the trip to see the wedding!

for a budget of £3000 you could stay at a caribbean all inclusive property with the wedding included...but that budget will only cover the bride and groom so its possibly a much bigger ask to expect family and friends to join you at their own expense....even flights to greece and cyprus or even florida ar'nt that cheap to expect that number of guests to attend IMO