To think I can plan a destination wedding for under 15K? Advice/ tips needed.

[tigerlilt]

Looking to get married in summer 2028, currently my top choices are greek islands, mallorca but would be open to other suggestions! As long as it’s warm, pretty and feels like a holiday i’m in! Set on a destination wedding as prices in the UK are EXTORTIONATE, want a higher guarantee of sun and it means we don’t have to invite anyone we don’t want to!
Would probably be about 50 guests and we have a budget of £15,000.

Am I delusional or is it possible to plan a beautiful wedding abroad for this price? I’m thinking we could save money by starting at around 4pm and therefore only having to serve food once?! DP only request is that there is an open bar for a portion of the night.

So I ask, has anyone had a wedding abroad and if so, what did it cost? where was it? any tips or tricks?! and any suggestions for specific destinations such as planners/ photographers/ music ect?!

I’ve seen packages such as Ionian weddings but i’m just not sure this is the most cost effective way of doing it!

Any advice welcome, thankyou.

no we are currently awaiting his arrival! started my maternity leave hence the free time and wanting to start planning!

Good luck and I hope it all goes well.

I had a wedding abroad for less than 15k ten years ago for just over 100 guests. We chose Spain as flights were very frequent so people could even fly over for the day if needed. We hired a local wedding planner to handle the language barrier and legalities.

The wedding venue was stunning, sit down meal, open bar, entertainment and we also put on a bbq the following day.

No regrets, everyone still raves about it. Feel free to PM me if you’ve any questions :)

I got married abroad as it was too costly to do it here, I still spent just shy of £20,000. Every penny really adds up. All of your documents will have to be translated which you have to pay for, every, single, little, thing so don’t think it’s a cheaper option as it isn’t always sadly.

Then take it as yes you need to increase your budget - a lot!

We got married abroad but it was just the two of us.

Had a big party in the UK for family and friends on our return - not mentioning the word ‘wedding’ keeps costs down rather a lot.

Our friends got married in Rhodes in 2022. It was under 10k

Sorry- that was with 30 guests

I decline 'destination' weddings as a rule, awful cost to put onto your guests.

Its basically a convoluted "go fund me" for people to do their weddings on the cheap.

Gross practice.

For the love of all that is holy please if one of these close friends or family declines then just accept it gracefully.

In my experience couples say "totally your choice" and perhaps they want to mean what they say, but deep down they mean the exact opposite: be there or else the friendship will be irrevocably changed forever.

Have a look at jet2weddings, they have all inclusive packages eg photography, flowers etc..
was originally going to get married in Cyprus but unfortunately that fell through.
We’re still getting married though 😂

We went to Kefalonia on holiday, there was a part of the island we visited near the end of the afternoon one day. It was beautiful. Someone was getting married there/having the party there at a taverna type place . It was like a small village with an attached sort of island? The sun was starting to set.

We had a destination wedding in a tropical setting (£8k for about 30 guests) but I said to my husband if we hadn’t done it there I would have planned it there! It was so nice. I can’t remember the name but I’m sure you could find it.

That's a great idea. Ask some of your potential guests whose similar weddings you have been to. They know your family and friends and will be able to suggest what would will work for you, and help cost it.

If you're having a destination wedding, you need to be paying for flights and accommodation for anyone that you really want to come. Otherwise you're just selfishly dumping costs onto your guests.

Doesn’t France have some kind of annoying residency requirements though for getting married there? I’m sure I came across that before.

I agree with choosing an easy to get to destination. I have read so many threads on here from disgruntled mumsnetters who are being guilt tripped into attending difficult to get to overseas weddings.

Also, choose somewhere with lots of hotel options to suit different budgets.

We stayed at a hotel in Kos, with TUI, where they did weddings. They had their own little chapel and then they’d have a meal in the gardens after, with fireworks to end the night. The ceremony always started late afternoon because it was sweltering despite being September. We were there for 2 weeks, and it seemed there was. wedding every other day.

During Covid we stayed at a different hotel, also in Kos with Tui, where they did weddings on the beach. There wasn’t any when we were there though, probably because no one knew if it was definitely going to go ahead.

The hotels were All Inclusive, but would be less intimate than a villa or Air BnB.

We got married on the beach in Turkey at sunset. It was amazing and just what we wanted! The wedding planner was included as part of the package with TUI and organised everything - I was in the pool at lunchtime on the day of the ceremony! We went with 5 including us that we paid for and had a big party back at home for everyone else, but others getting married there that week had big receptions too.

Do you really think 50 people will come? Each person who attends your destination wedding will be forking out around £600-£1000 more than attending a UK wedding would cost them. Maybe you are amazingly popular and have very wealthy friends and family but if not, assume the actual attendees will be nearer to 20. Nothing says "I don't really want you at my wedding" more loud and clear than holding it in a place that costs hundreds of pounds to get to. On the plus side, yes that is then perfectly affordable within your budget.

I love a destination wedding! A holiday in a beautiful place with close friends and family.
@tigerlilt I think your start time is fine unless you want your guests to be sweating. If you want the cheaper option, I would book everything myself. If you want the stress free option then up the budget and pay a planner who will take care of everything. If you do it all yourself then I’d advise joining local Facebook groups to find local hair stylists, make up etc. Decide on where you want your wedding and work from that; do you want a beach or church or hotel? For 50 people you could have it on the beach with food at a seafront restaurant (can you tell I love the beach?). So many ways to do it, you can definitely do it for £15k.

Have a look at the real wedding section of antibride.com website.

Many of the real weddings are destination weddings (Tuscany seems very popular) and there are links to their providers planners etc.

So many killjoys on this thread.

I absolutely LOVE destination weddings! Very common in my social circle. No one moans about the cost, or having to use a couple of days’ annual leave (WTF - who wouldn’t do this for a close friend?). People typically make a holiday of the trip and go travelling before/after the wedding.

Best of luck, OP.

Those saying “destination weddings are common in my circle”, including the OP - is that a circle that mostly doesn’t have kids yet?

Because IME a destination wedding when you are young and child free is great fun (if you have enough money and leave) but a destination wedding with a baby or toddler, or both, is a total PITA. You feel kind of obliged to go but it’s more of a baby management exercise (will it be too hot, is there a car seat, how do we keep them quiet in the ceremony, what will they eat at the wedding, will there be anywhere to change nappies, ok who’s on baby duty and who can catch up with friends, etc etc) than an enjoyable trip.

And since OP is expecting her first baby now and planning a 2028 wedding I bet lots of her friends have babies or are going to be having babies in that period.

It’s a mix. Every destination wedding I’ve been to had plenty of guests who weren’t child-free, particularly members of the bride’s and groom’s respective families.

I think some people make everything ‘hard work’ and find reasons not to do things, and some people have a can-do attitude and make things work, regardless of parental status, and in any context, not just weddings.