What would your line in the sand be with regards to Cyprus wedding?

[DuchessDeuce]

Ots my destination dream wedding to Cyprus in mid July.

Adopting a watch and wait approach for the moment, but when would you think about pulling the plug and going with a British contingency plan instead?

Are you from Cyprus? Its a lot to ask for friends and family to travel there from another country, a huge financial drain for most working class people. Not just flights but health insurance, accommodation, pet sitters etc.

You're talking about the missiles. Yes, I'd do a local wedding in this country. Scrap the Cyprus plan.

Scrap Cyprus. Not fair to ask guests to take the risk.

That's a different argument from it being a possible war zone though.

BTW I do agree with you. It seems much more practical and considerate for people to get married here and honeymoon abroad instead.

Since you are using the term “destination wedding”, I presume you do not have family in Cyprus. If that is the case, I think you have already reached the point to cancel.

It's besides the point, but I went to a destination wedding in Cyprus, and Cyprus is famed for its generous portions. Well not in the wedding industry it isn't. The bride kept bragging about how her utterly shite wedding cost 10k less than the UK - and if they'd spent a mere fifty quid of the money saved on a round of chips for everyone, maybe it would be worth it.

As it is, cancel. I've heard lots of similar stories about Cypriot weddings, whereas when I visited on holiday you were stuffed from a mere starter.

It’s your day, so absolutely your call. As a guest, I think I’d appreciate the certainty of cancellation now, rather than weeks or more of not knowing/delaying the probably inevitable. That said, I would equally respect a decision to wait and see.

Do what you wish but make sure to tell people that given the situation there is no obligation on them to attend

I’d cancel, everyone else will be waiting on you and might not feel comfortable going

Id cancel too ... I wouldn't take my family there too risky.

If it were just your own family holiday then fair enough to wait it out but you can't realistically expect family and friends to want to travel in this uncertainty.

Have you sounded out your guests? The ones who will be honest.

It depends - have people booked hotels / flights etc? Will they get their money back?

July is a long way away at the moment, but it depends on insurance etc for me.

I'd want to make sure the Americans have updated their maps first ....

Not the same situation but we had a wedding booked in the USA for the end of 2020, COVID lockdowns happened March 2020…. We kept hanging on hoping the world would change, flights would re-open, travel would stabilise etc, and although it did eventually happen it took far longer than anticipated & we lost a lot of money through re-scheduling etc, on reflection I really wish we would have cancelled & booked a UK wedding.

Again I understand this is not the same situation, but if you want peace of mind, less stress, less constantly contacting people just cancel and plan an UK wedding.

Sorry but this remark has proper made me laugh!

I know of someone who is getting married in Cyprus in a couple of weeks. I don’t know them well enough to have been invited but I sure as hell wouldn’t be going if I was.

I said cancel only because having a wedding abroad is an expensive pita for guests.

When would you think about pulling the plug and going with a British contingency plan instead?

Right about now!

@DuchessDeucereally sorry to hear this. What a shitty situation you’ve found yourself in. But I can completely understand your concern - there’s not a lot of rational thinking on display by the invading countries right now so very hard to predict.

We had a wedding in Cyprus cancelled for other reasons and it was financially a nightmare as we couldn't get a refund on anything so we and many of the other guests who had booked had to go anyway or lose out. Be prepared for this to be the situation for your guests who may have already booked flights and hotels.

If people have already booked non refundable flights and hotels I would not cancel at the moment, it isn’t fair - they will not get a refund unless the foreign office says no travel which they aren’t. If none of you friends and family have booked yet then yes, have a uk based wedding in a venue you can afford - remember reception venues that do not have a wedding licence tend to be a lot cheaper, but you’ll need to marry in a registry office or church

If you're getting married in July (this July I presume) then you need to make a decision smartish. You can't keep your guests hanging by a thread. Destination weddings are already a nightmare for those attending in terms of cost, time off work etc and it isn't going to help when that destination is caught up in a war zone.

How many guests have confirmed and how many have booked trips they can't cancel or get refunded? If its a samll, family event I would speak to those attending.

Personally, I would be throughly pissed off if I'd booked a trip that I couldn't get refunded and the couple then changed plans.

I’m normally a it’s your day so have the wedding you want type person but I think in this situation if you have lots of guests travelling it might be better to cancel now or at least give your guests the choice so they don’t lose money nearer the time.

Have other people already booked flights? If so then I’d probably go ahead.

Will your guests be able to get some of their money back if you cancel now? If so then I would.