Today’s post is the second of three parts on budgeting for destination weddings. Our guest writer is Chezelle Rodriguez, the owner of Chezelle Dezines, an event-planning and graphic-design company in Puerto Rico. And be sure to check out Part I and Part II if you missed them.

What couples often overlook and what to expect – Part III

Beware of the small print!

Hotels and resorts usually have fees that you won’t know about until that final bill comes. Find out in advance how much tax the city or place where you will hold your venue charges. This tax will be added at the end of the bill, plus a percentage for gratuity, usually 22 percent.

Sound equipment is always overlooked! Venues will charge for this automatically knowing that their space needs it. Sometimes couples don’t need this because their DJ will set up a sound system. Let your catering manager know if you have someone setting up the system to get that fee taken off. I always advise my clients to block rooms directly with the hotel. This always brings controversy, especially when guests arrive and the rooms they are given are not the ones with the best views. When booking through such third-party companies as Expedia, Travelocity and Hotwire the hotel has made specific rooms available, which cannot be upgraded or changed. When you block a room directly with the hotel you have control of where you want your guests to stay. You can even change the rooms once you check in if you want your parents closer to your grandparents, for example. Some venues offer free nights for the couple depending on the amount of rooms they block.

Everything is Negotiable!

Are you a last-minute or spontaneous person? I have some good news for you! If your lead time is less than two months you might be able to get an incredible deal. The sooner the event, the better the savings might be. Negotiate aggressively – your wedding planner can help you with this! Venues and vendors know it’s unlikely that another last-minute event will come along, and they are often eager to do business with you.

Destination weddings are beautiful, intimate, and a great way to have a mini vacation and celebrate your wedding at the same time!

Thank you, Chezelle, for a fantastic series on planning and budgeting for destination weddings! You can read more about Chezelle’s work in her Real Weddings From LWPI Graduates post.

Today’s post is the second of three parts on budgeting for destination weddings. Our guest writer is Chezelle Rodriguez, the owner of Chezelle Dezines, an event-planning and graphic-design company in Puerto Rico. She specializes in destination weddings, and you can read more about Chezelle’s work in her Real Weddings From LWPI Graduates post.

Photo Courtesy of Saul Padua Photography

What Couples Often Overlook and What to Expect – Part II

Tips on How to Tackle that Budget Monster!

With the huge increase in the number of DIY couples who are making their own wedding invitations and favors, it’s obvious that they are looking for ways to cut down on wedding spending. There are plenty of cost-saving ideas online.

Take your scissors to the guest list early and stay firm. Some couples opt out of having children in their wedding for multiple reasons, including reducing their wedding budget. Some child meals can cost just as much as an adult dinner.

The general rule is to set aside 6 percent of a wedding budget for your gown, but you can get away with far less. When figuring the cost factor in alterations, dry cleaning (some wedding planners offer a steamer), underpinnings, veils and accessories.

Receptions:

Receptions typically take up about 40 percent of the wedding budget but can increase to 55 perecent depending on the venue and menu. Marrying in the off season helps. Timing is everything: Roughly 70 percent of weddings take place between May and October. With this said, however, event spaces and vendors are always eager for your business at other times of the year, which can help reduce your costs.

Call ahead and ask event spaces, hotels and vendors about their down time. You will be surprised to see discounts from about 40 percent off compared with peak season. This is very important when planning a destination wedding, especially since you might not be familiar with the seasonal quirks of the area. Plan your festivities to take place between Sunday and Thursday, the slow days at most resorts, and you might benefit from some considerable discounts. Saturday evening is the prime time for weddings and prices will soar! Also keep in mind that government-owned properties have the most reasonable fees and have beautiful unexpected places to marry.

BYOB!

Some venues allow you to bring your own liquor. This will save you a boatload of money, costing about $20 a person as opposed to $60 a person at a traditional venue. Negotiate bringing in the liquor or having a bar per consumption. In some cases this will save you thousands of dollars! When buying the liquor ask the store if they have a buy-back policy.

Photography:

Photography averages 7 percent to 10 percent of an overall budget. Beginning packages start at about $1,000, and an entire day’s booking is about $3,000. One quick way to cut down on that cost is to ask for a “shoot and burn” package (very popular with small weddings and elopements). What you get is a photographer for four hours and all the unedited, minimally retouched, high-resolution images on a DVD. This allows couples to share their photos with friends and family as well as on social networking Websites. I always tell my clients that if they absolutely love the style of the photographer then splurge. After the wedding is over all you have left are memories and the pictures!

Flowers and Décor:

Flowers and décor eat up about an 8 percent of your budget. Since in-season flowers will save you money, search online to see what will be available on your wedding day. Average costs of bouquets range from $100 to $500 depending on the flowers. The more types of flowers that go into the bouquet, the more expensive it will be. Spend the money on flowers where it will make more impact. A ceremony might last up to 30 minutes, while a reception will be four hours and where guests will spend the majority of their time. Alternating flowers with candles will give your reception a romantic feel that won’t weigh down your budget.

Another great way to reduce your budget is to rent Par 64 or Par 56 lights and bases. The right lighting can save you big dollars from having to transform a space with flowers and other decorations that can cost much more.

Cupcakes or Mini Cakes?

This trend is catching on fast, and I’ve seen my clients choose them instead of a traditional wedding cake. Venues often charge a cake-cutting fee ranging from $2.50 to $6 a slice.

Be sure to check out Part 1 and Part III of Chezelle’s great series!

Today’s post is the first of three parts on budgeting for destination weddings. Our guest writer is Chezelle Rodriguez, the owner of Chezelle Dezines, an event-planning and graphic-design company in Puerto Rico. She specializes in destination weddings, and you can read more about Chezelle’s work in her Real Weddings From LWPI Graduates post.

Photo Courtesy of Saul Padua Photography

What Couples Often Overlook and What to Expect

What is there to say about the hot trend of destination weddings? Most couples I’ve worked with say that if they had held their wedding in their hometown their guest list would have quickly grown. This is often the deciding factor to having a destination wedding: fewer guests and a wedding where they can enjoy being with friends and family over a long weekend rather than for just four hours.

Couples are always looking for smart ways to maximize their wedding dollars. And for good reason: The average cost of a wedding was $24,066 last year (according to The Wedding Report), a hefty price tag for an event that lasts just a few hours. Some couples are able to pull off a destination wedding that lasts days for a fraction of the cost.

When you use the word wedding as an adjective when speaking with venues and vendors, prices soar! Prioritizing is the key to maximizing your wedding dollars. Think about what is most important to you. Is it the food, décor, or the location? You should not have to go into debt to have a stylish wedding.

This three-part series is written to give you some good tips on budgeting for and planning your destination wedding.

The Benefits of Hiring a Certified Wedding and Event Planner

Having an onsite planner is key to planning a destination wedding! They can offer a lot of creative ideas and save you time, hassles, and they will be your eyes and ears on site. They also have preferred vendors that will be an asset to making your event flow seamlessly.

Couples use the Internet to do most of their wedding research, but you really need to inspect the site before booking it. A planner can show up at a site when it’s set up for an event and they will give you some insight on how the staff works and ideas that will help determine the décor.

Catering managers help you plan the logistics of your wedding but will only cover what is within the hotel walls. Destination weddings have many details that go outside of the hotel, for example, tourist excursions, dinners, transportation and much more.

Some local wedding planners have relationships with destination planners who will be on site the day of your wedding, saving you the cost of flying them in, booking their room, transportation and meals, which can go above the usual 5 percent that comes out of your wedding budget.

Be sure to check out Part II and Part III of Chezelle’s series on Destination Wedding Budgets!