The Pros and Cons of Destination Weddings

According to The Wedding Report, the average cost of a wedding nationwide is $29,000. While wedding couples can spend a few thousand dollars on a “do it yourself” wedding in a small hall, such as a VFW, with catered food, the majority of weddings cost well over $20,000.

Add your honeymoon onto that – the average price of a honeymoon in 2009 (before airfare pricing started to spike) was $3700, according to About.com. Put them together and you could have a great down payment on a house!

A Destination Wedding can be a cost effective solution, providing you with a wedding and honeymoon for sometimes little more than the cost of a honeymoon only.

How is that? Many resorts specializing in Destinations Weddings offer free or low cost weddings based on the room category, number of days booked and sometimes the number of rooms booked by your guests. Some offer free upgrades based on this criteria also.

BUT – there are pro’s and con’s to a Destination Wedding. We’ll detail both for you, so you can determine if this type of wedding might meet your needs.

PROS

- Less expensive – you can save $15,000 and up vs. a traditional wedding

- More intimate – since only your closest family and friends usually attend, you’ll be able to enjoy your guests more with less stress.

- Easier planning – you will work with the resort wedding planner via e-mail to plan your wedding details – we do the rest for you.

- Less stress - since the bridal couple usually needs to be at the resort several days before the wedding to finalize plans, you’ll be able to wake up in a beautiful setting on your wedding day, dress and walk (or take a golf cart) to your wedding.

- It’s different! Not many bridal couples will be having their wedding in paradise, away from the hustle and bustle of every day life. It will be a memorable occasion for you and your guests – a once in a lifetime experience.

- No need to get up early after the wedding to get to the airport for your honeymoon flights – you are already there.

- A Certified Destination Wedding and Honeymoon planner can handle all details of your wedding planning, from resort recommendations to special requests.

CONS

- Sometimes causes family friction

- It is expensive for guests to attend – only your closest friends and family will attend. Take the number of people who say “Wow, great idea, I’ll be there” and cut it by two thirds – in our experience, that is how many actually book once it comes time to making deposits.

- Guests that do attend usually give smaller gifts - due to the added cost of attending.

- Resort choice may be limited- If children will be invited, you are limited to family friendly resorts, rather than adult only resorts

At Promal Vacations, we are certified Destination Wedding and Honeymoon planners and can help you plan an unforgettable wedding and honeymoon. When you book your destination wedding with us, we provide you with a private website for your guests to read about your resort and all your wedding information. In addition, we can set up a Honeymoon Registry. Then your guests can guests can purchase gifts for your wedding or honeymoon if they desire.

Stay tuned to our blog – a future entry will have more Destination Wedding information.

All Inclusive Vacation Trends

As travel agents who sell many all inclusive vacations, we follow the news and trends for this type of vacation closely.

We are seeing a tremendous growth in all inclusive travel. One reason why is that with an all inclusive vacation, you know what you will be spending when you book. In many resorts, there is not much to add on, except perhaps tips and excursions off the resort. Food and drink are included as are many activities such as scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking, etc. (depending on the resort you choose). Some resorts do not allow tipping either, unless you are in a butler or concierge category!

One trend we are seeing is people who were avid cruisers moving to all inclusive vacations. Most cruises don't include liquor, beer, wine and soda and charge for things like ice cream, specialty coffee, and more. Many of our clients who were confirmed cruisers are telling us that they end up saving money staying at an all inclusive - they've spent more on extras like liquor than they spent on their cruise and found it much more economical at an all inclusive.

Many all inclusives also work well for groups. It is important to use a travel agent if you are booking a group as many resorts are conducive to couples only and you need an experienced agent who can guide you to the right resort for your group. Some resorts don't allow children and those that cater to couples usually do not offer two beds in a room - which can make for an awkward situation with singles rooming together.

Resort pricing has remained on a par with third quarter 2010 pricing and some areas of the Caribbean, such as Mexico, offer excellent value. Air pricing is becoming an issue for any type of vacation. To get the best pricing for air, book a least six months before you are traveling. As the planes fill their seats, pricing goes up. You don't want to book your dream vacation and then find out the only flights left have two connections or a 12 hour layover in an airport.

So for your next vacation, consider an All Inclusive resort in the Caribbean - you'll have thousands to choose from.