Weddings OS any one?

[tannedangel]

Hey
DP and I were just talking about having our wedding in Thailand
BUT my only draw back is guests...

Would WE have to pay for them, or would we have to expect them to pay?
I just know that my parents wouldnt be able to afford it all (Flights, Accomodations, Food) there is 4 of them, if they pay for my brother too.

But then again there is a slight chance we would be able to help them out a bit...

My question is, how did those of you who had a OS wedding go about this? Or how would you?

Thanks

[Nai]

I went to a wedding in Thailand recently and we paid our own way, however the bride asked for no gifts as we had already spent enough.

I think it depends on what people can afford so if you can help them out then you can offer to put in for some of the cost.

I found that booking via Thai Airways directly through the online system saved us money on the airfares. We also used the HotelTravel dot com website to get really cheap accommodation which saved us a lot of money.

[Isadora]

I think its fine to expect people to pay their own way, those that cant afford it wont come. As for your parents, of course you would want them there so if they need help you probably would have to contribute a bit towards their fares/accomodation. I wouldnt be expecting gifts though, in fact you could even look into providing a welcoming gift in guests hotel rooms as a thankyou for coming sort of thing.

I also agree that booking your flights & accomodation via the net is much cheaper than going through an agent. However as for the wedding, many of the hotels have wedding planners so that could be handy for you.

How exciting, hope it all comes together for you & you have a Thailand wedding.

[Aimz]

*puts hand up* Me! Me! I did it!

DH and I decided that we wanted to get married overseas. We chose Santorini in the Greek Islands. It took two years to plan and originally we only had 12 guests which was parents, siblings and best friends. Everyone was told that they had two years to save for their airfare and accommodation and they had to organise their own travel plans around our wedding date. My parents contibuted $1000 to each of my bridesmaids.

It turns out SO many people thought it was a great excuse for a holiday! We ended up with 31 guests! They all flew in at different times while we were in the islands, some stayed with us and some on their own and everyone just did their own thing. It was the best holiday because there were so many of us there!! Everyone was happy to pay for themselves because it was their holiday too - the wedding was just the excuse! My parents went all out on the wedding day though and paid for a delicious meal and grog on the night. It was pure magic.

We organised the whole thing with a Santorini-based wedding planner who was an absolute angel. She organised absolutely everything so my wedding day was mostly stress free. You will find most of the bigger resorts in Thailand will have a wedding/events planner on staff.

Here is a little album to get you in the wedding mood!!

Our Wedding

[tannedangel]

Thanks so much! Some really good ideas there.
I was just thinking, things are relatively cheap in Thailand, right? Kind of like Bali? Or have I got that wrong? And airfares are also relatively cheap too, no?
Im guessing, if I have my facts right, then it wont be all that bad.

ETA: WOW Amy, that really does sound magical. Greek Islands would be my absolute dream..its gorgeous there! But I think its pushing too far, especially because we want to get married pretty soon, not supre soon, but relatively soon. But maybe if we just elope then my dream could come true!

[Aimz]

Thailand is cheap!! Flights are only a few hundred dollars are there are SOOO many places to stay! I am sure you will find something perfect! Try and find a location that isn't in any of the more "popular" places. They are always the best because they are quiet and tourist free!

Our wedding in the Greek Islands ended up costing LESS than what a wedding would have cost here for 100 people. That is if you take out the airfares and accomm etc. The actual day was very reasonably priced.

[queenbee]

BabyDesigner, we too want to go overseas to get married down the track. Will keep an eye on this thread!!! We are not into the big wedding thing

[Isadora]

Especially if you book through the cheaper airlines, like Air Asia.

WOW love the pics amysarah, gorgeous!!!!!

[tannedangel]

Yeah we arent either. Direct family and close friends only. Dont really care for extended family and friends of parents etc to come..

[luna moth]

Thailand is cheap!! Flights are only a few hundred dollars are there are SOOO many places to stay! I am sure you will find something perfect! Try and find a location that isn't in any of the more "popular" places. They are always the best because they are quiet and tourist free!

Koh Lanta Koh Lanta Koh Lanta!
I don't want to be a broken record, but it's the BEST spot! It's really cheap, and quiet and there is so much to do there. DH proposed to me there, we got back to our resort, and one of the staff took him aside and said "So, do you want us to set something up here for you? We could do it tomorrow, or later in the week, if you like?"
(we didn't, and got married here about a year later.)

Go for it. No matter where it is. The shared holiday thing, there's nothing like it.

[tannedangel]

DP was talking Koh Samui (sp?)

Im getting so excited even thinking about it now.

[Aimz]

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!

[tannedangel]

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.

[Aimz]

The best place to start is to..

- 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.

[sunshine_sieben]

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.

Saša

[Pandora]

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.