Koh Samui is the big "tourist" island. You could use it as a base for your travels in Thailand but I suggest that if you want something truely MAGICAL - find a tourist free island. If you want paradise void of any cement sky-high resorts the Koh Samui probably isn't the best spot. If you want TRUE paradise then you need to look for a smaller, less known island so that the waters are unspoilt by speedboats and the sand isn't full of glass.
Just my opinion of course!! I do speak from experience though..
Before our wedding we spent two weeks on the island of Paros. It was so incredibly gorgeous and we had an amazing time there. It was so quiet because we stayed away from the main port in a town called "Naoussa" which was tourist free and full of friendly locals. They would bring in their catch of the day while we ate breakfast at waterfront cafes. We hired quad bikes and zoomed around the island and visited beuatiful old villages. The beaches were unspoilt and the water was warm and clear. We didn't want to leave! We chose Paros for our first destination because it was cheap and we were able to comfortably afford more time there.
Santorini, while GORGEOUS and STUNNING, was so touristy and SO expensive!! The roads were so busy so riding a quad bike was dangerous. At 12pm every day the cruise ships would pull in and unload their passangers who would soon flood the streets of the main village, making it impossible to walk the tiny cobblestone streets without bumping into people. Our wedding was held at an exclusive resort which at least meant it was QUIET. Our actual wedding was perfect and quiet but the experience in Santorini itself was stressful.
Given my time again I would have planned the wedding on a beach in Paros!
Last edited by Aimz; November 14th, 2008 at 04:50 AM.
WOW thanks for that again Amy!
Yeah, I was looking at photos of Koh Samui and it all looked paradisey type, not building, but of course thats what they are going to show you!So thanks for the heads up.
The photo's from your wedding are absolutely gorgeous; Im jealous! You had my perfect wedding it seems.
DP and I havent started planning as of yet...BUT we have already had one huge argument (About a CAKE!)
I have sooo many questions about OS weddings but I just dont know where to start LOL.
- Pick a destination and research until you are happy with your decision (Trip Avisor .com is great for recommendations of hotels/resorts)
- Set a budget
- Pick a resort (or ceremony/reception location)
- Contact the resort's events coordinator
The rest will fall into place. The planner will likely have a questionairre which you and your DF can fill out together. It will include everything from the food, flowers, cake, decorations, ceremony etc. Once you have picked out the basics they will then go into more detail with you and before you know it - your wedding will be planned and all you have to do is show up!
Give me a yell if you have any questions - although I didn't get married in Thailand - I would say the process is the same with most destination weddings. You will need to check on the legalities of marrying in Thailand as every country has different legal and documention requirements.
I'm from Germany and DH really wanted to get married there. I thought it was fair enough as either way, some of our families wouldn't be able to make it to our wedding, my German family/friends wouldn't all be able to travel to Australia, and our Aussie family/friends wouldn't all be able to go to Germany. So, seeing hat we live here and spend time with Aussie friends and family a lot, we thought getting married there would even the score and I would get to see a lot of my family that I hadn't seen in a while and they would get to meet my husband.
Well, turns out, a lot more of our family from Australia ended up making the trip. They thought it was a great excuse to travel and visit other overseas family members. Even FIL's 2 sisters and one niece who he had a falling out with years ago and who had no contact wth FIL or DH for a few years, ended up coming and contact has been restored (we decided to invite them because DH has always liked them and it wasn't him who had had the falling out with them). They don't have much money, so they couldn't bring their whole families, but it was lovely that they were there. All in all we had 12 Australian guests, 2 more had planned to be there, but last minute had to cancel as one of them was a South African national and his visa got denied (long story). We found it interesting that some of those who had been the first to say they would make the trip, didn't end up coming, while those we really didn't expect to come, they actually made it.
They all paid their own way. We wouldn't have been able to afford to pay for anyone.
When we got back from our trip, we had a big party at our place which lasted 3 days with all our friends who couldn't come (and 2 of those who were at the actual wedding). It was nothing fancy, just a big camp out in our loungeroom (most of our friends live in Sydney), lots of German food (cooked by me) and German Beer & Schnaps.
This way we could celebrate with them although they couldn't make it to Germany.
I loved having the wedding overseas. We got to spend so much time with everybody. We all stayed at the reception venue (a big farmhouse on top of a hill at the foot hills of the alps), This way the wedding wasn't just a 1 day affair, but we had a couple of days before and after to spend with everyone. DH still raves about how great it was.
My brother is doing exactly that, getting married in Thailand.
Its fine, as long as you dont expect that everyone you want to be able to share your day with will be able to come.
We would love to go but realistically it will be me and the baby, at most, becuase we just cant afford for all of us to go there.
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