PG

Well, there was a sense of inevitability about the whole getting married thing but it has come to a head recently.
I am allocated leave each year and 'the wife' (being a teacher) is limited to the school hols. This coming year our hols fall together...commence talk of weddings
All joking aside I am very much looking forward to it and had kind of set my mind (and heart) on a wedding abroad. This appealed to both of us as we get a holiday out of it (I haven't had a holiday in 7 years) and we wouldn't have to deal with invites and the whole family politics thing. Having done a bit of number crunching 'the wife' has put it to me that it may well work out more cost effective getting married here.
There are a few family members that do really want us to get wed here but on the other side of the coin both our parents think it's a great idea to go off abroad. Bearing this in mind we have no one to please but ourselves and a decision to marry here would be based more on financial reasons and would allow us so concentrate efforts on the house and perhaps something towards a new car.
That said I can't help but think getting married here would lead to parents getting too involved and I can see the hidden costs running away from us (ending up costing nigh on the same as the other option) and all for a day that will have ended up being a based around pleasing others when the alternative is us in a tropical paradise pleasing ourselves.
Any recommendations on foreign venues? We don't want a conveyor belt wedding on a beach with obese tourist in a thong in the back of the wedding photo and would ideally like to keep it below the £4k mark all in. Is this too much to ask ?

Paul.

SJ_Skyline

Before I got married we considered this for about 2 minutes.

Imagine the wedding dress or any other items going missing en-route? How many of your friends and extended family will be able (and willing) to afford to travel to the location?

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

£4k all in?

Its got to be abroad, thats not going to get you much at UK prices.

How many guests if in the UK? A professional photographer will charge at least 20% of your budget for example

RichB

"and we wouldn't have to deal with invites and the whole family politics thing"

>How many of your friends and extended family will be able (and willing) to afford to travel to the location?

I'm guessing that's exactly the point!

We're getting married next year but not doing an abroad wedding, her parents are coming from Japan anyway...
Some other friends of ours were talking about Carribbean wedding but soon realised that people don't want to spend 000s going to a wedding plus do you really want loads of people you know around you on what should be your honeymoon?

PG

We aren't looking to have anyone there!
We will have a large party when we arrive back.

PG

The church is a matter of metres from the house. I know a good photographer. I know a good few hotel owners in the area. My cousins hubby is an award winning chef. ect ect. My contacts would allow me to do a good wedding here for decent money but I don't really want to! If £4k would get a good location abroad then thats what we're looking for.

ozzy

I quite fancied a Castle in the Czech Republic with just my close family there .... but I'm still waking up in a cold sweat during with that nightmare image.

Stefan (still running)

lightning101

Get a local DJ (charelle carol), a generator and a bouncy castle, do it the back garden - classy

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

You talk a good game

But if you haven't had a hol for years then surely you'd want a honeymoon? Is that part of the UK budget or were you planning on not having one? No wonder you prefer abroad!

john_s

iTrader: (1)

I've heard of a few cases where friends / friends of friends have got married abroad, then had a party to celebrate back in the UK, and they said it worked out loads cheaper than doing the "traditional wedding" thing over here.

John.

Big Daz

Speak to Scoobylav,
He signed his life away abroad 2 years ago,

I went through the same thing as you, weighed up both ideas, but ended up with a civil ceremony here (chose an unusual place with max capacity of 16) and then fled the country for a good few weeks.
Had the obligitory party on our return. Mrs Daz thought this was best as she got to wear the dress twice.
It was not cheap, but less a "standard" wedding seems to cost these days.

Daz

Jerome

Do some research on the rules for getting a marriage licence etc before finally deciding on the country.

In Barbados for instance, you need to be there a week (IIRC) before you can get married. No big deal, but it would be like getting married in the middle of your honeymoon.

This may not apply to you guys, but Canada (Ontario at least) has strict rules (which make it very difficult) for people who were divorced outside of Canada getting married there.

PG

Charelle has a speach therapist appointment that day
The garden thing isn't out of the question as I have a contact for marquees and I could throw one up in the garden. I'd rather that for a party though not the wedding.

Big Daz

I dont get this at all !!! We were quoted approx £1300 from one well known local company and as low as £250 from another. In the end we went with reputation and how we felt when speaking to them (no, not the £1300 one either LOL)

Daz

PG

You better believe it
I did say the church was close....


TBH I don't know what she's been looking at. I'm just trying to do my bit too.
Caring, sharing hubby and all that

PG

Aye! And look at the poor b'stard now !
I was intending on emailing him. We spoke to them a few days after they got back and they (as most who do it) raved about the experience.

sti-04!!

Go for it

I wouldnt though

PG

If you saw 'the wife' and how well I'm looked after you would
Oh, and I'm looking for ward to the whole 'Kept Man' thing when she goes for promotion.

scoobylav

You know my feelings on the subject buddy.

If I had to do it again I would not think twice about going abroad again. Defo much cheaper also you dont need to worry about who to invite who not to invite who should sit with who and all that ballcocks.

Depending where you go you are also guaranteed good weather LJ will be happy.

Tis true that some places you need to be there for a few days before the ceremony. We got married in St Lucia and I think we had to be there 3 days maybe 4 can't remember now !!

Was a cracking holiday all in, no hassle, no stress, no drama, no guests we didn't like and way way cheaper.

Convinced yet ? If not pop round and look at the photos they are amazing (obviously thats because I am stunningly handsome)

Seriously if you want to know anything let me know . . . .

Edited to say Congratulations too BTW

AudiLover

no honeymoon?

SiPie

Do what we did, **** off to New Zealand and stuff the family

It's your day and families just can't help themselves getting involved

PG

The time there isn't an issue in fact the longer we can hve there the better. I can have up to a month off and she has the school hols...that's about 25 weeks or so is it not ?
We may well come round to have a look at the pics but if you could filter them down to Karen on her own and any of her sun bathing (topless or bikini is acceptable) then that would be preferable
We know what we want can it be done within the budget is the question?

Big Daz

Its amazing how much you have aged in just 2 years

PG

Yes there has to be a honeymoon !!

scoobylav

the being there is the honeymoon . . . . . . .

For £4k you could defo do it. I think if it had been just the 2 of us we would have been around £3.5 k for everything including photos, horse drawn carriage etc.

I will get the personal photos out