How Much Does A Destination Wedding Really Cost?

Does this sound familiar? You’re excited about the idea of having a destination wedding,

and you have been putting in hours trying to figure out what everything is going to cost.

Your eyes are hurting from the amount of scrolling you’ve had to do searching out prices

for resort wedding locations & venues. And you’ve read enough mixed reviews for every

resort venue you are interested in to make your head spin. You need to have a

well-rounded breakdown of how much your destination wedding will actually cost you!

Knowing this can save you a ton of wasted time looking at the wrong locations & venues

that may or may not fit your budget. Here’s a breakdown to help you know what you can

expect to pay for a typical destination wedding.

1. YOUR DESTINATION WEDDING LOCALE:

An Instagram-worthy destination wedding starts with a great location! Maybe you choose

locations that are closer to the continental U.S, such as Mexico & the Caribbean, or you may be looking for a more exotic destination wedding locale, such as Hawaii, Fiji, Bora Bora, or even Europe. Usually, the farther away & more exotic a destination is, the more expensive it can be.

Airfare Prices:

Obviously, airfare can take up a chunk of your guest's budget but only a small portion of your overall destination wedding budget. And if you’re flying during “high season” (Dec-April), Flights are going to be more expensive than low Season, (May- Nov).

With that being said, here are some current averages based on May 2023 travel:

● Depart From Midwest or East coast to the Caribbean or Mexico: $450-$1000 per

person, round trip, depending on flight itinerary & destination.

● Depart From Midwest or East coast to Hawaii: $600-$1600 per person, round trip,

depending on flight itinerary & destination.

● Depart From Midwest or East coast to the South Pacific: $2000-$2500 per person,

round trip, depending on flight itinerary & destination.

● Departing From West Coast to the Caribbean or Mexico: $500-$1000 per person,

round trip, depending on flight itinerary & destination.

● Depart From West Coast to Hawaii: $600-$1600 per person, round trip, depending

on flight itinerary & destination.

● Depart From West Coast to the South Pacific: $2000-$2500 per person, round trip,

depending on flight itinerary & destination.

PRO TIP: There will always be fluctuations in price based on the time of year and even the day of the week. If you find an unbelievable air deal, double-check the type of seat it is and the air schedule. Many really cheap tickets have incredibly harsh restrictions as well as horrible air itineraries that could get you to your resort so late that you miss all of your first day at your resort, therefore ultimately wasting money and delaying the start of your “wedcation” bliss!

2. DESTINATION WEDDING RESORT VENUE:

The room or suite you choose will impact the overall cost for you & your guest's destination

wedding stay. For example, you could love resort (A) with a base price of $1500 for 4 nights

that includes a “standard room.” But if you choose a swim-up suite for your room option. The price for your resort stay at resort (A) will now be $2,000 for 4 nights because of the

upgraded room option.

Below is an average cost you & your guests can expect to pay for different types of room stays for 4 nights based on current rates:

NOTE: Most destination wedding guests will stay 3 to 7 nights for a destination wedding, with the average being 4 days. It will really depend on how much each guest wants to spend on their stay.

Because I won’t send anyone to a resort that is average or below quality, you can assume that all of these prices are going to be 4 stars and higher in quality.

Luxury Resort: Adult Only AVERAGE RATES based on 4-night stay:

Deluxe Room: $1,500-$3,500

Suite: $4.000-$8,000

Butler: $8,000-$11,000

Highest Room Category:

Think over the water bungalows or 4 Seasons

type quality & experience: $16,000-$25,000

GOOD NEWS FOR YOU:

The good news is, that many resort wedding venues will offer you free nights and room

upgrades depending on the size of your wedding group! In many cases, you can get either part or ALL of your stay and even possibly parts of your wedding comped because you’ve earned so many free nights and extras from your wedding group.

4. ACTIVITIES & EXCURSIONS FOR YOUR GROUP:

A great way to connect with all of your wedding guests and to give them a memorable

experience during your wedding week is to do a group activity. Depending on your location,

you can do an ATV tour, visit a waterfall, bathe in hot mud baths, shopping in a local village,

zip lining, golf, rum tasting, whale watching, scuba diving, snorkeling, and swimming with the dolphins, etc. You get the idea! Due to the size of a wedding group, I recommend you book your group activity in advance

NOTE: There are MANY tour companies out there. Usually the lower the price the more sketch the company. Only go with companies that are licensed and insured, and have great

testimonies.

For a good quality tour, you can expect to pay around $120+ per person, depending on the

type of tour, and activities that are included.

ULTIMATELY IT IS UP TO YOU!

There really isn’t a better way to celebrate your new life together than with an

Instagram-worthy and memory-filled destination wedding, with all of your closest

family and friends! As I wrote above, it’s a “wedcation” that everyone will be excited

to attend. Figuring out your destination wedding costs now will enable you to properly budget for the best destination wedding experience possible. You may enjoy my article Where To Splurge When Planning Your Destination Wedding. Click here to read

If you’ve been struggling or frustrated trying to get your destination wedding all figured

out, and you’re ready for a little help, schedule a free destination wedding consultation

with me today. Click here so that you can get unstuck and moving forward on with your destination wedding planning!