The Destination Decision: Part I

The Destination Decision: Part I

February 3rd, 2009 @ 2:29 pm by Mrs. Kitten

I have a confession to make. Mr. Kitten and I weren’t always going to have a destination wedding. We actually flip-flopped on the issue for quite some time. I was never the little girl who dreamt of my wedding day, and I always had the feeling that I might want to have a small destination wedding on the beach (or even elope!). Mr. Kitten is an Army brat and I moved around a lot growing up, so our families are scattered throughout the country. If most of our wedding guests will have to travel anyway, why not have them go somewhere fabulous?

When we shared our tentative destination wedding plans early in our engagement, our friends and family had a lot of opinions about our decision.

And not all of them were excited about it. Many had never attended a destination wedding and feared it would be a complicated, expensive venture for everyone involved.

Unsure about what to do, we scouted both local (Austin, San Antonio, and Houston) and destination (via the internet) venues. After some research I found a popular local venue, the Southwest School of Art and Craft (SSAAC). This is what Frommer’s has to say about the SSAAC:

A stroll along the River Walk to the northern corner of downtown will lead you into another world: a rare French-designed cloister where contemporary crafts are now being created. An exhibition gallery and artist studios-cum-classrooms (not open to visitors) occupy the garden-filled grounds of the first girls’ school in San Antonio, established by the Ursuline order in the mid-19th century.

I loved the SSAAC—the limestone chapel with stained glass windows, the gardens overlooking San Antonio’s River Walk—it exuded old-world charm. But I still hadn’t ruled out the destination wedding. I was too busy with school to make a final decision on the matter, so last March I plunked down 50% of the facilities fee as a deposit at the SSAAC (it is a popular venue that fills up quickly, and I was afraid our date would get booked) and put the matter behind me for a while.

How did you decide on your wedding venue? For destination brides, how did you make the “destination decision”?

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8 Responses to “The Destination Decision: Part I”

Bee

Miss Bruschetta (message) 5,553 posts, Bee Keeper

Ahhh! I remember the SSAAC from when I was in San Antonio for a conference. It’s got a lot of personality!

Oh, and I also sympathize on the opinionated guest front — we’ve got people voicing their thoughts on everything from our music choice to the (absurd!) notion that, at 12 miles, our church is too far from our reception site.

Curious about the next part of your decision…

2/3/09 @ 2:53 pm (reply)

Member

tmarie (message) 184 posts, Blushing bee

Well my destination wedding came from wanting to be stress free. For us it was a major cultural difference in how weddings are done him being Armenian. They have very large, loud, late, lavish (borderline gaudy) weddings and I was on the simple, small garden style train….
The compromises were causing arguments that the destination wedding solved. Church wedding and dinner at a restrauant…done, easy no stress now lets sightsee, relax and be Mr. and Mrs that’s the plan!
As for opiniated guests or family…..um don’t come then, selfish I know but you can always pull out the “It’s my day!” hehehe

2/3/09 @ 3:29 pm (reply)

Member

JaymeLyn (message) 95 posts, Worker bee

i heart the riverwalk!

2/3/09 @ 3:31 pm (reply)

Member

mrstye (message) 75 posts, Worker bee

My DW was IN Austin. DH went to law school there, and absolutely loves it, althought we live in DC now. We went round and round on where to hold the wedding, and could not find a place that was affordable for us and our guests (esp factoring airfare), but that we were confident in as vendors. Added to that was then-FI’s insistence that the cost was way more than necessary. He kept comparing it to his sister’s wedding in Austin, saying “I’m sure she didn’t spend that much.” So I said let’s just do it in Austin, then!

It ended up great. We did the wedding on a Sunday (since everyone would’ve had to take at least one day off, anyway) and all went to a UT football game on Saturday, then to a Texas barbecue place for the RD. We also held the RD at the same place that his sis had, which was sweet.

And PS — ended up spending about $10K more than I think we would have in the Carribean. Which, I could’ve told DH in the first place ….

2/3/09 @ 4:38 pm (reply)

Guest

Alex

I personally LOVE the idea of destination weddings, but I think more stress & planning goes into them (and eloping) than a lot of brides anticipate. If you want helping tips on destination weddings, check out blog.weddzilla.com

2/3/09 @ 5:46 pm (reply)

Bee

Mrs. Sea Breeze (message) 913 posts, Busy bee

We chose a DW because like you, almost everyone was going to have to fly anyways. Plus it gave our friends and family a chance to get to know each other since they’re scattered all over. As to how we chose the destination itself… ugh, I don’t want to relive that memory. It was hellish! Toughest decision ever.

2/3/09 @ 9:08 pm (reply)

Member

cj2009 (message) 306 posts, Helper bee

that venue is beautiful! If we had more time to plan, I think I would do a DW.

2/3/09 @ 11:06 pm (reply)

Guest

Jennifer

You made a beautiful choice.. The SW School is the first place I recommend for anyone wanting a wedding here in San Antonio and wanting something on the Riverwalk. The possibilities are endless and there is a built in rain plan in the event of bad weather.

2/4/09 @ 10:06 am (reply)