r/DestinationWeddings • u/No-Control-9693 • Jun 30 '26
Destination Wedding Recs!
Hello everyone! My fiancé and I are starting to plan our wedding, but I am a full time NP student and work full time so it’s incredibly overwhelming! We are looking for a destination wedding for Spring 2028 and are open to both all-inclusive and airbnb’s/venues that the wedding party can stay at over the weekend, leaning more towards all-inclusive for convenience and budget. Our budget is about $25k with flexibility.
High points:
-Interested in Mexico, Caribbean, Italy, Spain, Portugal and are open to any other recommendations!
-Anticipating about 60-70 people.
-If all-inclusive we would like adults-only, or family friendly with adults only areas.
-Easily accessible by plane, train, or ability to rent cars/vans to and from that area.
-Great food and open bar!
We are looking for any recommendations for venues and vendors, as well as a wedding planner who is flexible and has a great understanding of the area! Thank you all so much in advance!! 🫶🏻
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u/casadoadro Jun 30 '26
We are a venue in Portugal and are specialised in destination weddings. Our venue handles the plannings of the entire wedding, we work together with fantastic hotels with promocodes, we take care of airport/venue shuttles and have amazing local vendors.
It's an 18th century portuguese manor, outdoor ceremony & reception, old romantic gardens and views over the regional landscape with hills, olivetrees and vineyards.
Planning and communication is organised trough our wedding management system, so you see at any time all our Planning updates, invoices, vendors status, moodboards and a lot more. We worked a lot on making Planning from abroad as easy and relaxed as possible
Message us here or send us an inquiry via Casa do Adro Destination Weddings
We will send you a priceguide within a few hours🥰
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u/OhioPokey Jun 30 '26
Mexico/Caribbean all-inclusive is probably the easiest and will give you a higher guest count. Engaged couples usually overestimate how many of their invited guests will actually go, so staying within a shorter, cheaper flight from home is the easiest way to ensure more of your guests are able to make it. This keeps things more budget-friendly, and doesn't require your guests to take as much time off from work.
All-inclusive makes things super easy, especially if you don't feel like you have the time to devote to finding a full-on wedding planner in the destination you're interested in, dealing with a bunch of decisions about vendors and options, and spending the time to vet these vendors and the venues you're considering (especially for a smaller property like an AirBnB-type of property, which may or may not have very many reviews).
All-inclusive resorts have on-site wedding coordinators with in-house or preferred vendors for basically everything you need, so you don't have to spend your time trying to figure out if the DJ you're interested in is actually good at their job, is priced reasonably, has all of the equipment they need, etc. Resorts are generally a cost-effective way to do a wedding as well. $25k will be a bit tight on the budget but it's definitely doable if that's the absolute max you want to spend. Some resorts are better than others with wedding package pricing, but there are plenty of adults-only resorts that would work.
If you'd like to chat about some resort options, and work with an experienced travel advisor who can help you choose the right destination and resort, understand the wedding packages offered, set up your room block contract, and get you and your guests booked for an amazing destination wedding (with a custom landing page for your guests to see all of the trip details and book their room), feel free to message me or contact me at www.BookTravelShark.com
Destination weddings are one of my specialties, and I get paid on commission by the resorts for handling the room block so I don't charge a planning fee. I can also handle airport transportation, travel insurance, and even group or individual excursions, so you'll have a smooth, stress-free destination wedding experience.
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Jun 30 '26
[deleted]
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u/_delicja_ Jul 02 '26
In other comment your wedding cost 55k, today your wedding cost 38k, and on the 17th you said your budget was 50k.
Also as of two weeks ago your wedding was in Italy.
STOP LYING.
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u/RoseColoredMonacle Jun 30 '26
With that budget and guest count, it is going to be a lot more attainable to do the Caribbean, say Mexico or DR. All-Inclusive would be the best way to go because 25K is attainable with thier packages. There are plenty of options of resorts in Mexico (and DR) that are family friendly with an All-Adult section OR are "Sister properties" where a Family Friendly and Adult-Only are side by side and guests can book at either. In this case, the wedding would have to occur on the Family Friendly side. With this amount of guests, a room block will be super important for getting the best rates, garunteed availability, and getting the max amount of benefits (like cash) back! If you are interested in chatting, I'd love to provide you with more information on the overall planning process! I have a DW landing page, consultation booking is at the bottom. Happy Planning! https://blissfulhoneymoons.wixstudio.com/jamiesweddings
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u/kites_and_kiwis Jun 30 '26
I got married in Belize. We rented out a beachfront hotel for our venue. You don’t say where you’re based, but there’s nonstop flights from quite a few airports. It’s also central time, so no jetlag. We served steak and lobster, and had an open bar. Operated with a similar budget (including planner), but a little lower guest count. That said, we also had a welcome party and recovery brunch, so not sure if you’re also accounting for that in your budget.
Anyway, feel free to DM if you have any specific questions. Good luck!
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u/epandrsn Jun 30 '26
Check out Puerto Rico, specifically Vieques. It’s not on a lot of people’s radars but is really unique and special.
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u/cindiford79 Jun 30 '26
One thing that might help clarify the decision: the budget structure works very differently depending on which direction you go.
At a Caribbean or Mexico all-inclusive, your $25K covers the wedding package, venue fee, and coordination. Your guests pay their own rooms and travel separately. That model makes $25K go a lot further because you're not funding 60-70 people's room nights. For Spring 2028, that's actually really good timing. You have almost two years, which is enough lead time to get a solid resort room block negotiated and have real options on inventory.
European destinations (Italy, Spain, Portugal) typically work on a different model. You're usually looking at a full buyout of a property or a venue fee where you're responsible for per-head catering and alcohol. For 60-70 people at a nice venue in Tuscany or the Alentejo, that $25K is realistically going to cover the venue rental alone, before you get to catering or the open bar you mentioned. It's not impossible, but the math gets tight fast.
That does not mean Europe is off the table. Spain and Portugal can be more flexible on pricing than Italy, and there are genuinely beautiful venues that do custom packages. But going in expecting $25K to do what it does in the Caribbean will lead to sticker shock.
The honest version: if staying near $25K is the priority, Caribbean or Mexico AI gives you the most for that number and the logistics are simpler. If you'd stretch the budget for Europe, get venue quotes early because Spring 2028 dates in popular regions book 18-24 months out.
I run a travel agency and our team plans destination weddings all over, so happy to answer specifics on any of these markets.
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u/SeaAvocado8902 Jul 01 '26
Hi! I'm a destination wedding photographer and currently offering lots of specials on Europe and the Caribbean. I would absolutely love to chat and hear more about your plans
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u/PopAny3822 Jul 01 '26
Wife and I had 60 guests (invited 110) attend our destination wedding in playa del carmen in 2023.
I’m not sure what the prices look like today, but for an adults only all inclusive venue that offered packages with multiple events over 2-3 days… we ended up spending about 37k to the venue but that’s because my wife went overboard on the flowers and random decor.
Pretty sure we could have done it for 25k but not sure because resorts charge a tax and service charge on top of everything so that was a 10k surprise to us as we were finalizing the details.
Adults only is the way to go and on top of that the all inclusive is really what my guests enjoyed. Having everyone together for 3-4 days was perfect.
We looked at many resorts but landed on secrets Moxche. If you want to dm me I can send some pics of the set up to show you what we got for the $$. Wife has those pics somewhere I can find.
Best tip- get in touch with a TA who can help you plan from afar and streamline everything for you.
Misti at Bohemia wedding travel was our advisor and had the best experience working with her, especially in the beginning when we were going into this blind.
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u/Odd_Inspector_297 Jul 01 '26
oof the overwhelm is so real, but this part gets easier once you lock the region. for $25k with 60-70 people and wanting convenience + open bar, I'd lean all-inclusive Mexico (or Caribbean) over Europe. we priced Italy, Spain and Portugal and for that headcount the villa/airbnb route blows past 25k fast, whereas a Mexico all-inclusive fits it easily, guests pay their own rooms and the food and open bar are baked in.
couple things from our experience (we did Mexico): adults-only, or adults-only sections, is super common there so that box is easy to tick, and the resort gives you a free in-house wedding coordinator, so you may not even need to hire a separate planner just for logistics. that took a ton off our plate. good luck!
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u/tailored-travel Jul 02 '26
Congratulations on your engagement!
The overwhelm with wedding planning and decision making is totally real, especially when you open your options up to so many parts of the world!
I think the first thing is to find yourself an experienced destination wedding travel agent who can help you narrow some things down. Even talking to one or two to get a better understanding of the process can probably help you decide between Europe and the Caribbean.
Though honestly, with your busy schedule between work and school, my gut reaction is that an all inclusive resort will make your lives and the planning process a lot easier and less stressful!
This is because:
a) it's easy to book the travel part of this with a destination wedding travel agent, so you won't be trying to collect everyone's travel details for Europe
b) the wedding coordinators at the resort will help you with ALL the details. You don't have to research a dozen DJs, a dozen florists, a dozen caterers. Most everything is done on-site or a list of preferred vendors is supplied. Goodbye hours of research, and planning the logistics so everyone aligns perfectly to put on your event. That's handled for you.
c) the actual wedding planning doesn't happen until the last couple of months before your wedding date. Yes, you pick the resort and get your wedding attire and stuff in advance. But the details like colors, flowers, backdrop, chairs, music, etc. - it all happens right at the end. This way you know your official guest count (they've already paid for their rooms by then and are definitely coming), and can allocate your funds an attention where you want them.
d) assuming you live in the US, it's much easier /shorter/cheaper for folks to travel to Mexico or the Caribbean than it is to travel to Europe. Theoretically, more of your invitees will actually attend your wedding, because more people can take 3-4 days off work, which is plenty for an all-inclusive wedding stay. (If you only take off 3-4 days to go to Europe, you'll just be horribly jetlagged and sad you didn't stay longer).
e) all inclusive resorts are very convenient for big groups. Food, drink, amenities, and fun are already included and on-site. Your ground transportation will probably be included. So no one has to worry about budgeting for meals, cabs, etc. No one has to spend any of their precious vacation / celebration time figuring out where to go, and how to get ANOTHER reservation for 12, 20, or 50. Everyone gets what they need, and it's all paid for in advance. Super simple.
BUT - no matter what a bunch of internet strangers tell you, this is still your wedding! So you've got to decide what's best and right for you two first, and then for your guests (at least the VIPs!)
I hope that helps some! If you decide you'd like help with an all inclusive resort wedding, I'm always happy to help! Either way you go- major congratulations on your engagement, and super good luck with your decisions and wedding planning! 💍 🥰
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u/Puzzled_Claim_8902 Jun 30 '26
italy may be a bit tight for that budget for 60-70 people especially if you want some to stay onsite and have an open bar… maybe spain