Belize Beginning on a Budget!

Hello there!! This is for the mommas that may be planning a wedding. Have you considered a destination wedding? TYPICALLY, destination weddings are not meant to “break the bank.” However, the moment you mention the words “destination wedding” listeners automatically assume it will be an expensive ordeal. It can be, depending on where you want your nuptials to take place and how extravagant you want your day to be, but fret not! A destination wedding does not HAVE to put you in the poor house.

I am a “different” and “difficult” being. I wanted my wedding location to be atypical. I wanted our dear family and friends to fly 1,308 miles to Belize, and then travel for 2 hours in a shuttle, down bumpy roads without stoplights or stop signs, to the small town of San Ignacio. They were then told to be ready by 10 AM so they could take yet another shuttle to the Xunantunich Mayan Ruins….:)

Yes, my dear readers, the photo below was taken at the Xunantunich Mayan Ruins in Belize. The planning process was a little stressful, but towards the end of it all, I made a few decisions that saved my sanity. These decisions will now be tips that I will pass along to future brides.

Enough Rambling…..Lets Begin……

13 Tips to an Affordable Destination Wedding

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1. Read a lot of reviews

Compare hotels in the area (with wedding packages), read the reviews on tripadvisor.com, select the most affordable option, and request a discount for your guests

We stayed at the San Ignacio Resort Hotel, and they did a FANTASTIC job! The price of the rooms were comparable to hotels in the United States. We received our room for the wedding night free of charge, and our guests received a 30% discount. The employees of San Ignacio were extremely professional, accommodating, and amazing!

2. Do without the “American” wedding planner

Although I wanted my wedding to be in a foreign country, I wanted some of those good old American features. I wanted the DJ that played the updated hits and a wedding cake that that was pulled straight from the Sex and The City 2 movie designed by…Oh what is his name??….Ron Ben-Israel….and the crazy list of requirements goes on. I foolishly believed that this could only be achieved by hiring an American wedding planner that resided in Belize. Hey…she would understand my American vision and know where to obtain these things..right?! WRONG!!!! Our original wedding planner quite frankly…was a scam artist. I discovered very late in the game that she had not done one thing. I won’t bore you with the details of that…it is all well documented on theknot.com and weddingwire.com. Learn from me, deal exclusively with the hotels wedding planner..I promise he/she will know what they are doing.

3. Compare, Compare, Compare

Compare the wedding packages and select the most affordable option. Our package included rental of the Mayan Ruin site, decor for the site, a 5 tier wedding cake, flute/guitar performance during the ceremony, the officiant, DJ services, wedding planning fee, transportation for all of our guests to the ceremony and water, reception food, alcohol, and decor for about $8500.00USD. NOW when we compare this to the average $30,000 wedding in the U.S. this is considered a steal. We were also a little more luxurious with food (we served steak and shrimp) and the alcohol budget was pretty hefty as well. The cost for you could definitely be a lot less if you decide to do without the steak and shrimp and copious amount of alcohol.

4. Speaking of alcohol….

Look, I completely understand if you have no desire to pay for everyone to get drunk. Start the bar an hour into the reception or shut it down an hour or two early. Limit the bar to a signature drink or a certain type of alcohol. For example, serving rum in the Caribbean is much more cost effective than serving imported cognac in the Caribbean.

5. Check on flights early…and sign up for Skyscanner!

Check out the previous “Cheap Flights” post to find out how my husband and I travel frugally, when we want to. We purchased our flights for the wedding 9 months in advance for $94.30 a piece. YES, we flew to Belize for $94.30 a piece.

6. Purchase your “dream” gown from another bride

This site has AMAZING wedding gowns that brides have worn once or not at all because they changed their mind!! The dress I am wearing is the Guindon by Hayley Paige, it retails for $3600.00 but it is on preownedweddingdress.com for $1400.00.

7. Get your nails done, hair done, everything did…Oh you fancy!……in the states

There is no need to go to a foreign country to do this. It is going to be more expensive. Hands down!

9. The guest list

Feel free to invite everyone you can think of because only 5% of those people will show up. Instead of paying $100 per person for 300 of your closest acquaintances, you will spend your time in paradise with the select few who honestly care about your union and love you.

10. Legalize in the States

Hubby and I legalized everything in the U.S. for a whopping $50.00. Belize required a 3-day stay before the wedding day (hmm adding to the hotel cost here) and a $300.00 fee. This is not THAT expensive, but hey, it saved something.

11. Cut costs on the cake

As previously stated, I wanted my cake to look pretty extravagant. I wanted a 5 tier cake with all of the fixings! I decided that it did not make much sense to have THAT much cake, so I asked the baker to create three artificial tiers using wood/foam and two tiers of real cake. It turned out beautifully (pic below), saved hundreds of dollars, and kept us from discarding a bunch of cake

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12. Photography…and videography

I’m sorry, but I am not going to tell you to skimp here. I am ALL about documenting memories so this is an area that I refused to pinch pennies. If you have a friend or family member who does photography/videography as a PROFESSION and is actually pretty amazing at it, then I say recruit them. Otherwise…spend the cash. This is a day that will (hopefully) never be repeated…spend the money.

13. Flexibility is key

If you are married to a certain location, type of flower, or date, you will be hard pressed to find deals. Flexibility in your wedding location will cut costs by thousands of dollars. A wedding in Paris is going to cost exponentially more than a wedding in Jamaica. Now personally, Xuanantunich Ruins was non-negotiable but I was fine with cutting costs in other areas. Local flowers are usually going to be less expensive because you won’t have to deal with import fees. The day we selected for our wedding was also less expensive than other days for the wedding. Sundays and Weekdays are usually the least expensive days to have a wedding. If you want deals, you must be flexible!

Lastly, relax and enjoy the ride!!! Until next time…..

Hugs,

Jassmin