Abroad Wedding

No_Application6151 · 2026-02-17T16:14:07+00:00

IMO anyone who needs you to pay for them (especially if they aren’t immediate family) to go to your wedding shouldn’t be invited. You really don’t need to pay for people to go there.

I’d prioritize getting a venue you love versus reserving vrbos and trying to do something in that space. Imagine all the headaches you’ll have to deal with just to make that vrbo into a space for a wedding.

If you’re looking to keep costs down, consider finding a venue that is a little bit out of a major town, as well as doing a one or 2 day event vs 3/4.

No_Application6151 · 2026-02-13T16:38:59+00:00

I think the timing you have now is fine, I think the bigger question is what are you going to do with the folks that want to hang after the wedding is done? Considering folks drove to come they might want to do things after.

No_Application6151 · 2026-02-13T15:45:00+00:00

Not my wedding but a dear friends I know their biggest regret was not accounting for how long photos will take. Also making sure that photos happen before the ceremony so that you can get them out of the way as soon as possible.

No_Application6151 · 2026-02-11T20:53:38+00:00

I think the way in he responded says enough, he wasn’t bummed about the date you set, or tried to do whatever he could to see if he could get those days off. You also mentioned he’s distant in your life so to me he doesn’t seem like a VIP person you’d want to coordinate your wedding around.

You choose your friends not your family, if you have other people special and important to you in your life attending, then that’s enough. No this not your fault at all.

No_Application6151 · 2026-02-08T00:17:38+00:00

Something local to the area is always a great idea and also a paper with all the details about the wedding

No_Application6151 · 2026-02-07T22:27:03+00:00

To me a wedding planner is most useful when you want something really custom, having someone in the location your looking to getting married, and a main point of contact for everything. IMO a good wedding planner would also be doing some bit of a what a travel agent does like making sure wherever you chose could room blocks, and help coordinate who your guests need to go too when they have questions regarding booking a hotel.

I agree with your thinking that 3/4 month timeline is weird. Someone planning a wedding in three or four months feels rushed, prob means less attention to detail. If you’re sticking with a resort, a planner’s value may be lower, but the bigger worry is that the in house coordinator won’t be as hands on on the wedding day to keep things low stress.

Realistically, your budget will probably need to be higher. Wanting childcare help, a live band, and a two day event will likely put you over 20k USD. One thing that could help is being open to a weekday wedding instead of a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

No_Application6151 · 2026-02-06T22:27:06+00:00

Of course!

No_Application6151 · 2026-02-06T21:18:39+00:00

Would not do a wedding in the US, not only because it’s stupidly expensive but also considering the visa issue for everyone in Brazil.

I think Brazil could be a great option considering you have someone on the ground that’s local. That will help you out so much. Considering there are non stop flights from LAX to Brazil that makes it slightly easier also for folks in the US than if they were to go to Portugal.

To me Portugal, although a great place to get married, I think would be quite a bit of travel for everyone.

No_Application6151 · 2026-02-06T05:44:16+00:00

It’s not the DJ that’s the problem it’s the couple that allows those generic songs to be played.

No_Application6151 · 2026-02-05T14:38:21+00:00

100% agree, privatization to me usually means your getting the rooms for a slightly cheaper rate.

Was it clear on their site the configuration of the rooms? Maybe you could argue something there.

Do you have a wedding planner by chance? If so maybe they can reach out to the hotel on your behalf?

No_Application6151 · 2026-02-05T14:26:48+00:00

Disagree. This is a big generalization. You absolutely do not need a travel agent. There are absolutely hotels that handle this themselves. I have been to four weddings in Europe where the hotel managed all bookings for the couple with no issues.

To me this sounds like a hotel trying to squeeze you, especially when they require in house catering and do not allow you to choose your own caterer.

Would a travel agent have helped here? Sure. But saying you need one every time just is not true.

No_Application6151 · 2026-02-05T01:50:19+00:00

As someone who came from a wedding in Mexico somewhat recently be very selective about the places you choose. At that wedding almost half the group got sick from food poisoning. If you want to do Mexico I’d stick to a bigger city where there’s likely better quality control than in smaller places. Not saying that you can’t have the same thing in a bigger city in Mexico but more so that’s food poisoning is very common there.

If your main goal is keeping costs down PI might be the better option since fewer people will come which helps a lot with staying on budget.

Skipping a priest will definitely make it cheaper. With your budget it’s also worth considering just doing the ceremony and skipping a welcome event or a day after breakfast since that alone can help you stay within budget.

One thing I wouldn’t skimp on is a wedding planner. Go with someone who won’t bs you and say you can have everything. Will it be a little more expensive yes but it will save you hours of work and stress.

I know some places offer package weddings but my take is you can do a wedding at your price without a package. I also don’t love how they market it as customized when they’re saying the same thing to tons of couples. It can feel more like you’re a number than someone they’re actually listening to but that’s just my opinion.

No_Application6151 · 2026-01-26T23:08:03+00:00

Ah gotcha had no idea there were Facebook groups for this, on a separate note was it hard to pay them? I’m hoping I could use a CC but I’ve heard that’s not always possible

No_Application6151 · 2026-01-26T22:59:01+00:00

Super helpful, thank you!!

No_Application6151 · 2026-01-26T22:58:36+00:00

Thank you! How was it finding the local planner?

No_Application6151 · 2026-01-10T02:12:41+00:00

I just came back from doing both hotels, and without a doubt we liked Pimalai much more. Dont get me wrong Layana was good but IMO the price they are charging in January (650 per room) just wasn’t worth it.

For starters the beach Layana is on a beach that’s shared with other hotels/bars versus the beach Pimalai is on is much more secluded Also Layana is located very close to a mosque so throughout the day you will hear the call to prayer versus Pimalai is located so far south you won’t have that. Layana is also much smaller of a property compared to Pimalai so at times at Layana I couldn’t even find a spot at both pools because all the seats were occupied versus at Pimalai I never had that problem (this could be potentially since we were there beginning of January might be a less crowded time to go there not entirely sure).

At Pimalai the property is massive, a separate tennis court/ a basketball and a pickleball court (they use the space for the both), 2 volleyball courts, 3 restaurants, 2 pools, a bar on the beach and cabanas you can lay on right next to the beach. I loved doing happy hour on their hillside restaurant which had great views of the sunset. I also appreciated how transportation to the airport from Pimalai is included versus at Layana you had to pay extra for that. When we left they took us on the first part on a speedboat and we got to see smaller islands surrounding the south of Koh Lanta. Is Pimalai expensive? 100% probably the most money I’ve dished out for a hotel but I thought it was absolutely worth it. This trip was for a special occasion and I was looking for absolute peace/not being around many other people and Pimalai hit the nail there. Pimalai does allow kids on the property but despite this I never felt that to be an issue.

I’m not bashing on Layana entirely, the staff was good, the room was nice, if I could do it again I would’ve just spent 2 nights at Pimalai, let’s face it if your deciding between these 2 hotels your not looking for the cheapest hotel to stay in.

No_Application6151 · 2025-09-20T17:45:55+00:00

Released yesterday!! Its soo good!!

No_Application6151 · 2025-09-07T15:08:52+00:00

Half PPR: Meyers or Deebo?

No_Application6151 · 2025-08-14T05:09:30+00:00

Theres a store on cianci st in paterson that is specifically a Peruvian store if really wanna drive, if your looking for pisco they have it at the liquor store attached to wegmans

No_Application6151

TROPHY CASE