Hey all! I know I've been absent these last few months....but we're expecting a baby boy December 24th and travel has been limited :-( So we're moving on to the next step...marriage. But we NEED HELP!!!

Having a traditional wedding would be breaking our current streak, so we've already decided the wedding must take place outside the U.S. While we're both well-traveled, we're needing some ideas for a location. There's a few guidelines:

1) Can't be Africa/Middle East/Asia (most of our family/friends won't go that far from the US)...plus most of them are GREEN when it comes to travelling (though they are adventurous).

2) Must have a beach (ocean or BIG LAKE)

3) Mountains somewhere within a 3-4 hour drive or some kind of forested area

4) Lots of diverse activities

5) Warm weather

6) Not too pricey

7) Not too tourisy

8) Can't be Costa Rica (we already attended a wedding there)

We're going to have our friends/family there for a week and then take off ourselves (with baby) for an additional week of exploring.

Help a girl out! We're planning on getting hitched next Fall/Winter.

Thanks!

Well, I had something in mind until I read "next Fall/Winter"! When hubby & I eloped in 2003, we researched places in Europe that made getting married easy, and the two countries that rose to the top were Scotland & Switzerland. We chose Scotland, and absolutely had an amazing time, but it wasn't exactly warm - even in April! So then I was thinking I'd recommend Switzerland, which has some lovely lakes, is easy to travel in, lots of English speaking, very clean and the weather's great in the summer... But not necessarily in the fall or winter!! I guess it depends on when precisely you're looking at - in September, Switzerland would still be quite nice.

In 2001-2002 when I started researching the whole thing, I swear there was a website I went to that told me what countries made it easy... And now I can't find it. Every time I "weddings Europe" or "destination weddings" I'm getting the websites of specific companies who arrange weddings overseas. In some countries, you'd probably need that kind of in-country help (Italy comes to mind - the country that practically invented red tape), but in others it's so painfully easy you wouldn't want to bother paying someone else to do what you can do yourself.

I also swear that there was a book I read about a couple who got married in a bunch of places around the world - they talked about the various things that were harder or easier about each place, and the pluses & minuses of each... And I can't find that book, either. Drat...

I'm assuming you're counting Turkey in "Middle East," otherwise it would probably meet all of your requirements to be perfect for an early fall wedding, after the main tourism season ends, but before it gets chilly.

So that said, maybe try Malta. It's a beautiful country, and although we skipped the beach, the beaches at Comino's (the smallest of the three islands that make up the country) blue lagoon are supposed to be amazing. And I know weddings from there are recognized (one of my sister's friends, who married a US serviceman based in Italy had to have the wedding in Malta, as opposed to Italy, so that it would be recognized here in Canada - not sure if that was necessary for US recognition or not.)

It's not exactly mountainous unto itself, but it's a short hydrofoil ride to Sicilly, where there are more mountains and forests. It's decently priced, and there's lots to see and do packed into a small area...you can cross the whole country within a few hours. Avoid Sliema, though...the harbour cruise touts there were the only major annoyance we encountered.

Organizing a wedding in Switzerland will seriously drain yours and your guests wallet.

As for your list, sounds like New Zealand to me. But I'm not sure if that would be cheap.

Belize is a nice tropical country that speaks English, with tourists, true, but its not super-touristed.

For Fall/winter, you want to be somewhere warm, I assume.

The dominican republic has jungles, beaches, and mountains.

So does Cuba.

Malta, sure...

Venezuela fits the bill as well. Its not super touristed, espeically if you go to small beaches like Puerto Columbia, or Choroni as they call it. Its busy on weekends, but on weekdays you practically have the small and cozy beach to yourself.

Wow, invite me.. nah. I work winters. Darn it!!!

this will come of more harshly than i mean it, but i am speaking as someone who has been to a LOT of weddings in the past 2 years
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omg! be careful! sometimes when people are getting married they think everybody has to plan their lives around the event which usually lasts about 21 minutes or so. i noticed ou have a lot of stipulations for where it can happen...i would just do something that is in a place conveninet to everybody and then continue w/the travels or spend the honeymoon in a place fitting all of those stipulations. when my pals have decided to do it in hard-to-get-to places that would cost me more than the typical $400-$500 it seems to cost to fly/hotel/get nice dress then i assume that either they really dont want people to attend and that they are kinda self-cenetered for making it a challenge and a huge sacrifice to get to.

jsut my opinion.

congrats on the baby and on the wedding, im sure it will be greta wherever it is.

I am afraid I have to agree with Zopa. I have averaged 7 weddings/year for the last 4-5 years, and it gets tough, especially when they are "destination" weddings.
**I don't mean this to sound harsh either**
I know this is selfish, but I would like to spend some of my vacation time on me. And yes, I don't have to go to these weddings, but they are my friends or family and I want/need to be there. So for the past few years, my vacation time has been spent on other people. Which is fine, but I did start thinking, as Zopa said, that the folks involved are a bit selfish. Probably not true, but that is looking through my own selfish eyes. (i.e. one was in the Bahamas, which is the last place I wanted to spend my vacation)

People want to celebrate with you, and feel bad when they can't. Going far away is tough for a variety of reasons, and when they can't join you, that makes it tougher. So I have to agree with having the big celebration locally and continuing on your travels.

That's my .02$

However...you could always do Puerto Rico. I know that isn't the forest, but it isn't too far away with TN/Southern US. I have seen some good deals on flights, and people could just make a long weekend out of it.

Much luck to you.

I on the otherhand would do it where you want to, and if people can't make it..throw a big party after the honeymoon! That's what I'm doing. Most of my friends understand that it's in my nature to do the wedding abroad, so they're excited for me and can't wait for the party afterwards. In that way, I see that they support me for what I'm going to do because it is typical of something that I would do.

Selfish? Meh. People who were like.."omg, I'm so going to your wedding" or "you're inviting me, right?"..ended up pulling out anyways for various reasons. So maybe it'll be a small wedding, more intimate. There's nothing wrong with that. It's an experience in itself, and it will be an experience for the guests who do make it.

Where ever you decide, best wishes on it. And congrats with the baby!

Wow! Seriously mixed feelings on this one from most of you. I guess you'd have to know my group of friends to understand. When we went to Costa Rica for my friend's wedding which I was in, there were 90 of us (incl. her family). We've all known each other for over 15 years and spend holidays and birthdays together. So when you mention a wedding overseas, they all jump the chance, because it is something or somewhere they wouldn't do on their own (unlike most of us).

appreciate your opinions on this, but I'm really just looking for ideas on where to go. (BTW, the guidelines were with my friends in mind...not my own personal wants/needs...with me there would be no limitations)

I remember visiting Foz do Iguacu in Brasil and thinking that it would be a perfect place for a honeymoon, but probably a wedding, too - if it would be possible to arrange something by the stunning falls.

In Europe, I'd consider Italy. Toscana is full of romantic places as is Sardegna.

Bethany,

First off congratulations.

Second. We married in Italy. We wanted a small wedding and we believed that in the end the wedding for us and not for our families. Given that we extended invitations to our close friends and families. We billed it as an oppotunity for the families to have a vacation AND attend a wedding for a day. In the end we decided on this location:
La baia del silenzio

It actually worked out well. It was a good jumping point to the rest of the riveria (Rapallo, portofinio, cinque terre), as well as tuscanny (firenze, pisa, siena, san gimingano, etc) Everyone who decided to come spend a day or two in the town and spend the rest of their vacation up and down Italy. From there we were able to start the honeymoon rather easily.

The total cost for our entire 4 week trip, plus airfare for us and some family, accomodations for the entire wedding party for 2 days, pictures, and all food...was still far less than average wedding in our home country.

Feel free to PM me if you want some details....

Traveller friend's of mine invited me to their wedding on Ko Pa-Ngnan. Was probably the best wedding I've ever attended. This being said, obviously KPN doesn't fit your list. Plus, they saw to it that the wedding fell only one week apart from the full moon party and most of their friends are in partying...so that worked out fine as well.