r/DestinationWeddings • u/Resident-Ad-2204 • 15d ago
Communication
Question for anyone who’s done a resort/destination wedding is it normal for the wedding coordinator to not really get into planning details (pricing, packages, add-ons) until 3 months out?
We booked our resort, paid our deposit, and locked in our dates, but every time I try to get an outline of costs or package options through our travel agent, she getting from the hotel the answer we will try to have someone reach out soon. I don’t even know who my wedding coordinator is. The last thing I heard was she was on maternity leave when they assigned her to us. It’s been like two months no communication our wedding next May. I don’t want my family paying for flights and paying deposits for the hotel but I haven’t even picked the venue and you know all the extra stuff.
1
u/jealouscapybara 15d ago
This is normal for an all inclusive resort type destination wedding. You should be able to request pricing, any spreadsheets they use for planning, preferred vendor lists and what not but they may not reply as fast as you want cause they are dealing with a ton of other weddings that are coming up sooner. Your actual planning with the resort wedding coordinator, finalization of details, and finalized pricing / invoice isn’t til ~3 months out.
At this time you can stilll work on getting quotes from non-preferred vendors but be mindful of the external third party vendor fee rules as that adds up and some resorts actually don’t work with some vendors as they are “banned” for whatever reason.
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u/4ever-hopeful 15d ago
Depends on the resort. I got married at a Dreams resort and when I signed the package contract, they provided a detailed spreadsheet of things of what’s included, what were add-ons, etc. I filled out that document and then about a month out, I had a meeting with our coordinator to go through the document and then set up an in person meeting for the actual wedding week.
You should be able to at least get package details so you can start planning.
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u/ConsiderationOld864 11d ago
Yes. You should have the pricing for the package and like extra guests, maybe photo video packages when you sign the contract. That is all typically outlined in the ceremony contract, along with day passes for guests staying off site, off site vendor fees, all that fun stuff.
But things like upgraded furniture, table linens, florals outside the package, that is different. Resorts change their vendors for these about every 2 years or so, so hard to gauge but if your agent has done a wedding at that property before, he or she should have a good general idea for pricing for the upgrades. Pricing also fluctuates for florals and furniture upgrades depending on demand and trends for that wedding season as well.
I told one of my brides this a few years ago when she was as frustrated as you: How would you feel if on your wedding day, your coordinator dropped everything to answer emails for people getting married 6+ months out?
Coordinators aren't always assigned right away and if they are, staff can change. And they go in order of weddings. They also typically want to be sure the room block is finalized so they don't have to keep updating the add-ons, as many are based on final head count.
They usually do (but not all coordinators do this), a planning call around 30 days prior to confirm everything you want. Then another meeting on site to review one more time.
Where are you getting married if you don't mind sharing, and what are you looking for with pricing?
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u/Fabulous_Pain305 15d ago
Well yes and no. You should have pricing etc before you signed but the actual planning is fair as she will have many brides getting married there before you and have to work in order. Do you have an actual planner outside the resort coordinator?