How to Save Money on a Destination Wedding
Meet Samyrah, who’s happily engaged to Josh and feeling the pressure to start planning. Since her incredible trip to Mexico a few years ago, she’s dreamed of having a beautiful destination wedding on the beach. They’ve been saving, but as she starts crunching numbers and shopping around, things are starting to look pretty expensive.
The destination wedding is truly important to both of them, and they’re going to make it happen. But they’ve realized that they’re going to have to find ways to save money.
This is something that comes up during our consultations quite frequently. Our clients ask us all the time: How can we save money on our destination wedding?
Pro Tips on Saving Money on a Destination Wedding
Book Your Destination Wedding Early
From past experience traveling, Samyrah knows that booking things earlier is always better. From plane tickets and resorts, to the all-inclusive destination wedding packages she’s considering, looking far ahead at dates and booking early are the first parts of her money saving plan.
Working with an experienced destination wedding travel agent (and some tips from Josh’s friend), the couple booked rooms, vendors, and most of their flights almost an entire year in advance – resulting in significant savings.
Decide What You Can Do Without
Everyone’s destination wedding is a little different. Samyrah’s coworker for example had two parties, a shower, and nearly 150 guests at her reception. Samyrah and Josh, however, had a much different approach in mind.
Instead of an expensive engagement party, they had a home cooked meal and cocktails with a few friends and family members. Samyrah’s “shower” was similar – no gifts or decorations, just a few people going out to lunch and sharing some laughs.
They decided to forego monogrammed gifts for guests and use only in-season, local flowers. Looking through the available packages at destination wedding resorts, they kept their choices modest (or at least reasonable), and wherever possible, decided that some “nice-to-have” things, like Josh’s idea to release doves, weren’t necessary to have an amazing destination wedding.
Invite a Smaller Group
While Josh and Samyrah have many friends and acquaintances, they’ve both always kept a pretty small circle. Compiling a list of who they’d want at their destination wedding, and considering who would be willing to travel, they were able to narrow it all the way down to a group of eight, including Josh’s college roommate and Samyrah’s favorite aunt.
Not only does a smaller group mean spending less on food and beverages, it also means saving on activities, fewer rooms, and making their money gofurther all around.
Even if their list expands as they talk to more friends and family, the focus on keeping things small and intimate will help them spend less – and allow for a more connected experience.
Off-Season Destination Weddings
This one’s simple. With only a few of her closest friends and family members attending, Samyrah didn’t mind setting the wedding date in mid-May. This is after the peak wedding season in Mexico during the winter months, but before the highest heat of the summer (and hurricane season) begins.
With lower demand during this stretch of spring, prices for the resort, vendors, and travel can be significantly lower!
Working With a Travel Agent Saves Money Too!
By thinking ahead and staying budget-conscious during the destination wedding planning, Josh and Samyrah were able to spend a few beautiful days with their loved ones at a Mexican resort, and stay on for their honeymoon too. They focused on all-inclusive packages, worked with an experienced travel agent, and kept their group small, allowing them to have their dream destination wedding for far less money than they expected.
To start planning your destination wedding – and learn about ways to make it more affordable – contact Sunset Travel and Cruise today!