Money Matters: Part 2 – Understanding Destination Wedding Packages and Budgeting

Whether you want to keep your destination wedding under budget or throw a decadent budget-free bash complete with fireworks and a tiara flown in from the Tower of London, even a wedding where the sky is the limit has a limit, and you’ll have to make decisions about how you want to spend your hard-earned money. 
 
One of the most frequently asked destination wedding questions that we hear is “how much does a destination wedding cost?” and unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this question, and the ones that are floating around there on well-meaning blogs, forums, and web pages, are all over the board.

With over a decade of Destination Wedding planning experience for couples all across America, and as a past destination wedding bride myself, I just want to give you an honest and fair expectation of what to look for – and expect – as you start considering your destination wedding budget.  

While country, time of year, and resort, can increase your destination wedding cost considerably, you’ll also need to have a basic-as-a-pumpkin-spice-latte understanding of how resort wedding packages work. Just like resorts themselves, not all wedding packages are created equal and some of them have fine print that is easy to miss, but could end up forcing you to pay more than what you initially expected.  

*The info below is based on all-inclusive resort weddings, and varies based on resort brand. This is to provide you a general idea only, and is subject to change as resorts revamp their packages each year.

Wedding Packages and How They are Structured:
  
1.  Complimentary Package – Ceremony Only  
Most resort offer a complimentary no-frills wedding package that you can take advantage of. These free wedding packages are quite limited, but couples who are having a very small destination wedding may find that they can make this work.  

Complimentary Wedding Packages usually includes:  

• Wedding Coordinator  
• Symbolic Ceremony  
• Simple decor set-up, typically white folding chairs, white fabric for alter, and maybe a runner.
• One or Two-tier Wedding Cake (for the couple only OR up to 10 guests)  

• Sparkling Wine Toast after ceremony (for couple only OR up to 10 guests)  
• Simple bridal bouquet and Boutonniere  
• Late Check-out based on availability (upon request)  
  
  

While that sounds reasonable, it’s important to note all of the elements that are not included, and to understand that complimentary packages do not usually include more than 10 guests. If you take this option, keep in mind that music, signing table, décor, flowers, colored fabrics for chair or alter, chair sashes, and so on, will be “additional add-ons” paid for a la carte – and if you plan on upgrading a lot, those a la carte costs can add up quickly!  

For these reasons, the most affordable destination wedding packages that couples select are usually a mid-range to luxury package that includes a few more people and a wedding reception.  ​

2. Mid-Range Packages 
These tend to range from $3000-$4000 and are usually the best bang for your buck when it comes to intimate destination weddings where couples expect to entertain 20-30 guests.  

Mid-Range Wedding Packages Usually Include:  
(in addition to the services provided in the comp package)  

• Sound-system for ceremony  
• Hairstyling and makeup for one  
• Cocktail hour with appetizers after ceremony (15-25 guests)  

• Cake and Sparkling Wine Toast for included guests  
• Romantic Turn-down service day of wedding  
• Plain seating for ceremony  
• Signing table  
• Reception Dinner (private or semi-private depending on resort) 
  
  

As you can see, the mid-range packages provide enough for a basic wedding for family and a few close friends – there will often be a little more cost once you add some detail to personalize your big day and bring your vision to life, but that is up to the couple to manage based on their budget and desires. ​

3. Top-tier Packages
The next, and honestly, my personal favorite, are the most inclusive packages that can be the best value if you don’t want to indulge with additional add-ons on the other packages, which can end up costing about the same or more later.

These packages tend to start around $4000 - $8000, and traditionally include 20-30 guests. It is relevant to also mention that there are a couple resort brands where you can earn many of these wedding components for free (not including décor items), based on how many rooms you book under your group room block. This is not standard at most resort brands, so won't go into detail, but worth notating to discuss with your travel advisor for more details.
 
Top-tier Inclusive Wedding Packages Usually Include:  
(in addition to the services provided in the above packages) 

• Rehearsal Dinner for wedding party (max # guests included vary by resort)
• Basic ceremony décor; chairs with covers, table, aisle runner  

• Minister for ceremony 
• Choice of live music for ceremony (such as guitarist or saxophonist)
• Edited video of ceremony  
• Photo package; limited amount of ceremony photos and wedding album  
• Private dinner reception (or semi-private depending on resort)

• Floral centerpiece for reception table  
• Romantic private dinner on beach for couple during stay  
• Perks for couple such as: breakfast in bed with mimosas, couples massage, discount on spa treatments, free anniversary nights for return visit, etc..  
  ​

While this is just a general overview, inclusions and prices vary from resort to resort. The above are essentially what you’re going to find as you begin looking at the different options available.

You may have noticed that most packages only include 10-25 people – but what if you’re planning on having 40-80 guests?  Which seems to be a standard size of most destination wedding groups traveling overseas. 

Destination wedding popularity is on the rise and more guests than ever are accepting the invite – why not make a mini-vacay out of seeing their friend or family get married after all?  With that in mind, this is where you need to be careful about who and how many people you invite, as there is an additional "per head" cost that you will pay over the guest count of 20-30 included in the package. 

I’ve worked with clients who invited 100-200 people to “be nice” but only anticipated and budgeted for about 30-50 guests that they thought would actually attend. When 70-90 guests signed up saying how happy and excited they were to attend the perfect wedding in paradise, my clients ended up paying an additional $10-13,000 that they were not anticipating.  

While they were all happy to be surrounded by so many who wanted to join them, my cautionary tale above is just to highlight how important it is that you are aware of the pricing and ways that you could end up paying unforeseen costs - in case you do have a strict wedding budget and want to avoid that destination wedding pitfall.

​Additional Costs You Might Expect to Pay:  

• Extra guest costs (range $25-$95 per person) + local tax + service gratuities  
  
  
• Bringing your own makeup artist, photographer and/or videographer
  Most resorts will charge a “vendor fee” if you bring your own and the fee can be quite high. Most properties waive this fee if the vendor stays on property for the minimum amount of nights.  
  
  

• You do not have the required percentage of guests staying on property
  It will likely happen that some guests will tell you that they found a better deal at a different nearby property or that they prefer to rent a condo instead – the reason that this could effect you financially is that most resort wedding packages require a percentage of your guests to stay on property (often at least 80%). If you do not meet the requirement, you may end up not having some guests at your wedding, or may be ineligible for your wedding package and be forced to pay for everything a la carte.  
  
  
• Day Passes
  Piggybacking off of the above required guest amount staying on property – any guest not staying on property, you will be required to purchase a wedding day pass to attend your wedding (at a cost of around $80-$150 per person). The day pass has strict limitations too, and are not available if the hotel is already at capacity or if they have sold all available day passes for that day already.  
  
  
• Décor
  Whether you purchase more through the resort or want to bring your own*, you may incur extra fees.  
  *Important notes about bringing your own décor. You do need to confirm first with the resort what you can and can't bring. There are many local laws that may prevent you from using certain items, such as fake florals since they are not biodegradable. Also, you should confirm if the property can store it prior to you arriving if you plan on mailing anything, and if so, what fees to expect. You will want to figure out what other additional fees can you expect for bringing your own items, such as for the staff to put up anything you bring, including how much mailing may cost OR how much extra suitcases are to bring your items. There is nothing worse than spending your time and money on DIY wedding projects, only to find out when you arrive, after lugging it down there, that it can't be used or will be so much extra to set-up. 
  
  
• Rehearsal or group dinners/meals
  I will go into more detail about this in a future article (schedule a consult with me here if you don't want to wait) however it’s important to note that even at all-inclusive resorts a group larger than 8-10 will not be able to enjoy “group” dinners together for “free” as part of the all-inclusive experience. This is often a surprise to couples, so I like to make this clear so that you don’t get any nasty surprises once it’s too late!  
  
  
• Wedding Insurance
  Becoming more popular is “wedding insurance” which is determined based on the total cost of your wedding and could range anywhere from hundreds to even thousands!

Vacation Package Not Included
Lastly, don’t forget that you will still need to pay for your own air, accommodation and transportation, as well as, trip insurance. The travel cost is going to be determined by country, resort, time of travel, season, trip length, room category selected and so on. Many couples tend to spend an additional $4000-$6000 for a week stay in an Ocean Front room category just to give you a general idea.  However, most group room blocks allow you to earn complimentary nights you can apply toward your room cost. 

I hope you found some valuable insight to help you understand how much a destination wedding costs. If you feel overwhelmed or would like assistance to narrow down the perfect destination or resort, we are here for you!  
​ 
We spend most of our vacation time touring resorts, meeting with the wedding coordinators and training for destination weddings, so we can make it very simple for you. We save you time by filtering out all the bad advice and countless options for you. Let us take the guesswork out and match-make you to the destination and resorts that fit your style, vision and budget the best. 
 
​Together we will find your most perfect wedding resort and we take care of the logistics after that. All you have to do is the fun wedding planning and creating an unforgettable event your friend and family will remember for a lifetime!  Schedule your free consultation to see how we can assist and learn more about our services!

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