Out-of-Town
Weddings: Common Misconceptions by
Maraya Bien
You've
read hundreds of bridal magazines. You've scanned the web
pages of Kasal.com. You've asked for advice from all your
married female friends and relatives. You know everything
you need to know about planning an out of town wedding. Or
do you?
Here
are some common misconceptions about planning an out of town
wedding:
•
Holding your wedding out-of-town will save you money.
Not
really. An out of town wedding will most probably
be cheaper than a city wedding if you hire local suppliers,
but if you plan to bring in your suppliers from Metro
Manila, well, that's a different story.
Couples
have to shoulder the food, transportation and accommodation
expenses of their suppliers. Also, because servicing
out of town weddings would take up a large chunk of
their
Tips
from the Expert
When it comes to choosing your wedding suppliers,
try not to base your decision solely on
who can provide the cheapest package. Remember
that when you sacrifice the quality of your
supplies just so you can save a few pesos,
it is your wedding that ultimately suffers.
their
time and require additional, most suppliers charge, on the average,
an extra 20-30% for them.
Aside from these, you also have to
spend money for pre-wedding ocular inspections of the
area, which, unless you don't mind finding out the day
before the wedding that the reception are you chose
is a two-hour drive away from your wedding venue, is
a must.
•
An out-of-town wedding is harder to organize.
According
to Ms. Bing Pascual of The
Banquet Specialty Shoppe Inc., planning an out-of-town
wedding is not any more difficult than planning a wedding
in Manila. She further adds that coordinating an out
of town wedding is "as easy as orchestrating an
event in Manila," it is just a matter of planning.
•
All your guests would be thrilled with the prospect
of travelling out-of-town for your wedding.
You
found a beautiful church in Ilocos that would be perfect
for your Filipiniana-themed wedding. After announcing
to your friends and family that you're wedding will
be held there, you hear groans instead of enthusiastic
cheer. Why?
We
know that you are willing to travel to the ends of the
world if it means that you'll get the perfect wedding,
but you can't expect your entourage and guests to make
the same sacrifice as you. You
Tips
from the Expert
If you can, "shoulder all costs, including
airfares and board and lodging (for your
guests.)" This will ensure that you
won't end up "losing half of your attending
guests."
You
have to keep in mind that your guests are busy people; they
can't just pack up and leave their jobs and families behind
for two days. Besides travelling is not cheap; unless you
shoulder their travelling and accommodation expenses, most
of your guests would hesitate to spend good money to just
attend your wedding.
•
In choosing the wedding venue for your out-of-town wedding,
your decision begins and ends with selecting the prettiest
wedding venue.
We
know, we know. One of the reasons you chose to hold
your wedding outside the city is because you want a
very picturesque backdrop for your ceremony. But how
great it looks should not be your only concern in choosing
your wedding venue. You should also think about other
factors like the availability of parking space, size
of the venue, accessibility and the comfort of your
guests. The
place
may look beautiful in your pictures afterwards, but how great
would the pictures really be if your guests are all frowning
and grumpy-looking in them?
•
Out-of-town weddings are more stressful.
It
isn't. For one, the beautiful locale would
definitely relax your nerves and lessen your wedding
jitters. Also, you can actually take advantage of the
situation and make the event an enjoyable one. Spend
an extra day or two in the area and turn the whole event
into a mini-vacation for you and your family. While
there, you can hit the tourist spots, check out the
local restaurants, go to the spa and spend time really
getting to know each other's family and friends.
The
smaller number of guests (the whole point of having
an out-of-town wedding is because you want an intimate
and private affair, and you can't have that with 500
guests) will also mean less work entertaining for you.
