RosieAngel
10-15-2008, 03:34 PM
Since I am a newlywed who had a DW, I thought I would share my experiences with mine! Maybe other DW brides can add to it?
The Good:
We lived together for nearly 5 years before marriage, and this was a way to turn the wedding into an exciting milestone.
It was a sure-fire way to keep the guest list small with only people who really wanted to be there in attendance. A small guest list meant we could splurge on the nice stuff: open bar, delicious food, amazing cake. It was also an intimate and friendly environment. Many of our guests who had never met before were exchanging phone numbers and email addresses to keep in touch at the end of the weekend!
The location (Catalina Island) was GORGEOUS, and there was lots for our guests and us to enjoy! We went on adventure tours, on the glass-bottom boats, hiking, kayaking, scuba-diving, swimming in the ocean, sunning, shopping, getting massages at spas, karaokeing at clubs... I'm sure I'm forgetting some things.
Our officiant/family friend rented this awesome vacation rental home, which guests could stay at for around $40 a night and cook their own meals in. This kept things super-cheap for nearly everyone! We chipped in for a couple of our especially poor guests (shh, it's a secret)! Our wealthier guests enjoyed some of the beautiful hotels on the island, and our wedding suite? WAS AMAZING. It was big enough to allow guests to come and hang out.
The Bad:
Drama from family who would have had to travel anyway. Our families were scattered over the world, and we were hard-pressed to think of any one location where they were clustered. We thought it would be a good idea to just pick a nice place for all to enjoy, but nobody except my father and a couple of his English family seemed to like our solution. Many of them thought it would be cute to boycott our wedding because of it. But you know? Nobody missed them. :D
The dress. If you're planning an island destination wedding, please reconsider choosing a princess dress with all of the trimmings, like I did. Everyone told me to wear a light, airy destination wedding dress, but I wanted to look like a PRINCESS on my day and I refused to listen to anyone. I looked great, but I was a hot, sweaty, disgusting mess under that heavy skirt nearly all night long. Totally gross.
Family in paradise. While this was kind of a pro, since it was great seeing everyone and having fun, DH and I had no time to ourselves. We took one, 45 minute walk up to Lover's Cove, only to be called by his Mum telling us that she got us a reservation at the cutest Italian restaurant, and could we be back in half an hour? The
The UGLY:
Babysitting people into making proper travel arrangements. 90% of my wedding planning and stress involved coordinating rooming, finding people hotel/house buddies, rearranging said house buddies when they decided that they wanted to stay with other people, and making sure they jumped on the right ferries. The flower-girl's mom did NOT plan ahead like I asked her to, so she ended up staying with my father in his room. One of my guests was adamant about camping on the beach and was setting up a sleeping bag while we were walking back to the hotel room (we talked her out of it and offered her crash space on the floor of the vacation rental home). One of my BMs missed their ferry, and another guest got the one going to the port on the opposite side of the island, and called me, hysterical. FMIL, who was supposed to stay with Great Auntie and Old Family Friend of DH's, changed her travel plans to stay with English Cousins and FORGOT TO TELL THEM THIS UNTIL THEY WERE ON THE ISLAND AND DIDN'T HAVE A ROOM. We had to scramble to find them a place that wasn't already booked clean through, as there was a Blues Festival going on that weekend. I used to think my friends and family were cool, mature adults. Now I think that everyone except MOH is a big baby.
The Good:
We lived together for nearly 5 years before marriage, and this was a way to turn the wedding into an exciting milestone.
It was a sure-fire way to keep the guest list small with only people who really wanted to be there in attendance. A small guest list meant we could splurge on the nice stuff: open bar, delicious food, amazing cake. It was also an intimate and friendly environment. Many of our guests who had never met before were exchanging phone numbers and email addresses to keep in touch at the end of the weekend!
The location (Catalina Island) was GORGEOUS, and there was lots for our guests and us to enjoy! We went on adventure tours, on the glass-bottom boats, hiking, kayaking, scuba-diving, swimming in the ocean, sunning, shopping, getting massages at spas, karaokeing at clubs... I'm sure I'm forgetting some things.
Our officiant/family friend rented this awesome vacation rental home, which guests could stay at for around $40 a night and cook their own meals in. This kept things super-cheap for nearly everyone! We chipped in for a couple of our especially poor guests (shh, it's a secret)! Our wealthier guests enjoyed some of the beautiful hotels on the island, and our wedding suite? WAS AMAZING. It was big enough to allow guests to come and hang out.
The Bad:
Drama from family who would have had to travel anyway. Our families were scattered over the world, and we were hard-pressed to think of any one location where they were clustered. We thought it would be a good idea to just pick a nice place for all to enjoy, but nobody except my father and a couple of his English family seemed to like our solution. Many of them thought it would be cute to boycott our wedding because of it. But you know? Nobody missed them. :D
The dress. If you're planning an island destination wedding, please reconsider choosing a princess dress with all of the trimmings, like I did. Everyone told me to wear a light, airy destination wedding dress, but I wanted to look like a PRINCESS on my day and I refused to listen to anyone. I looked great, but I was a hot, sweaty, disgusting mess under that heavy skirt nearly all night long. Totally gross.
Family in paradise. While this was kind of a pro, since it was great seeing everyone and having fun, DH and I had no time to ourselves. We took one, 45 minute walk up to Lover's Cove, only to be called by his Mum telling us that she got us a reservation at the cutest Italian restaurant, and could we be back in half an hour? The
The UGLY:
Babysitting people into making proper travel arrangements. 90% of my wedding planning and stress involved coordinating rooming, finding people hotel/house buddies, rearranging said house buddies when they decided that they wanted to stay with other people, and making sure they jumped on the right ferries. The flower-girl's mom did NOT plan ahead like I asked her to, so she ended up staying with my father in his room. One of my guests was adamant about camping on the beach and was setting up a sleeping bag while we were walking back to the hotel room (we talked her out of it and offered her crash space on the floor of the vacation rental home). One of my BMs missed their ferry, and another guest got the one going to the port on the opposite side of the island, and called me, hysterical. FMIL, who was supposed to stay with Great Auntie and Old Family Friend of DH's, changed her travel plans to stay with English Cousins and FORGOT TO TELL THEM THIS UNTIL THEY WERE ON THE ISLAND AND DIDN'T HAVE A ROOM. We had to scramble to find them a place that wasn't already booked clean through, as there was a Blues Festival going on that weekend. I used to think my friends and family were cool, mature adults. Now I think that everyone except MOH is a big baby.