To destination wedding or to not destination wedding- that is the question...

Now that the engagement excited has quited my mind has been in overdrive thinking of ideas for our wedding. Naturally after spending 3 years employed at the best catering company in Attleboro, MA & Newport, RI my expectations for a wedding are pretty high. However not being part of the Vanderbilt, Astor, Oelrichs, and Kennedy family has posed some financial realities and as a result I have adjusted my ideas to fit our humbling budget in other words, as my mother always says " I have wine taste, with beer money". So with that beer money I will at least have a keg, thank you very much. Luckily I am very resourceful and creative so will try to squeeze as much value into ideas as possible.

At first the ideas were running through my head like crazy and it was so exciting to join The Knot and view the million and five ideas other brides had considered, watch Say Yes to the Dress on TLC like I could even afford the Klienfields experience of dresses starting at $3,000 dollars, and critique the show 4 Weddings like it would be a simple task to execute any of those weddings, but a girl can dream! I get energized at thinking, I could do that for half the price! A true DIY-er at heart and head. Exept one small detail with out the budget, we are now talking more work, sweat equity of coordination, details, decisions, decisions, decisions- AHHH!

Slowly the excitement of planning turned into a feeling of being overwhelmed at all of the decisions that would need to be made in order to pull this thing off successfully- within our budget. Just to give you perspective, I was never one of those girls who had dreamed of my wedding dress when I was 5, or had all of my bridesmaids picked out since 13, or knew exactly what my Finance would wear- even before I had the Fiance. I never got caught up in the Cinderella like hype, and the closest I have come to thinking through this stuff was working at the catering company. However it was always looked at objectively, like I love that creative idea, not I love that creative idea..for my wedding. So all of this wedding stuff  is newly thought out and I am already exhausted after only a few weeks.
When I worked for the catering company, I had been invited to a Co-workers destination wedding in Jamaica and it was wonderful! Simple, refreshing, and fun. Come to think of it, that's all I really want. Fun, family, friends and the ability to do some traditional things such as, pick out my dress with my friends, make invitations, favors, etc. all preferably without having to take out a small loan. That is when the idea of a destination wedding for our wedding popped into my head, with that option I can still do the few things I really want without all of the decisions and cost.

Destination weddings have many perks:
- Simplify planning details
- Beautiful location in a vacation like setting
- Plenty of things to do and see
- Reduce the guest list
- Keep costs of wedding low
- Guests do not have to buy you gifts

Destination weddings have some drawbacks:
- Less customization in planning (not too bad if you don't mind simple)
- Flight & Accommodation costs for guests
- Reduce guest list, some key people may not be able to come

It's a tough decision, because although it would be less expensive on Mark and I- we are talking under $6,000 for a wedding and honeymoon versus a local wedding for a minimum of $10,000 which does not include a honeymoon which most likely would be a few grand more- The math and choice seem easy. One major downside is that our guests would have to fork over money to pay for the trip, and that is assuming they will be available to travel as many have children and may have prior engagements.

Our parents were not thrilled about the idea at first but I think it is growing on them, I guess it is still somewhat nontraditional so it may take a while and I really hope they are on board because what is a wedding without your parents. After thinking through the idea, Mark & I decided that a Destination Wedding would be a fabulous way to go on vacation with our friends and family while having the opportunity to be married in such an amazing and beautiful place. A few of our closest friends have wanted to go on a trip in a few years anyhow, to celebrate our 30th birthdays and other celebrations they have had throughout the year. With proper planning, we figured we would have the wedding no earlier than a year and a half from now to allow time for people (and ourselves) to save money, gather the necessary paperwork and make arraignments for dogs and babies :) If guests are unable to attend the destination we completely understand, and will most likely have a casual backyard reception either before or after the wedding so we can all celebrate together.

Stay tuned for the location and additional details...