Has anyone here ever heard of Pakistani/Indian couples opting for a destination wedding (other than in Pakistan/India)? If so…how did it turn out?
With all the drama of planning a wedding, with hundreds of random acquaintances who apparently will be irrevocably offended if they’re not invited, etc…sometimes I wonder if it would be easier to just have the 60 or 70 people who actually matter join us for an intimate event abroad. I’ve been to a couple destination events (for non-Pakistani couples), and I really enjoyed it…even if it is a little expensive. But I have yet to hear of any Desis doing it…I really wonder what people would think.
I think most desis choose not to do it since the travelling can get very expensive, you know? And I know a Pakistani girl that did her wedding in Paris and it was 100 people at the wedding.
Me and hubby will have our civil ceremony while on honeymoon so it will be intimate event for just us two rather than lots of desi's shuved into a registry office :)
I saw an Indian desitnation wedding on "Whose Wedding Is it Anyways" in Grand Cayman--tropical themed wedding, beautifully decorated, intimate with only close friends and family--because of the expense most ppl opt out leaving the very close ones in:)
from what i know about desi weddings...the entire khandan would expect the bride n groom to pay for all their travel expenses for the wedding. just as groom brings entire "baraat" and pays for transportation n hotel stay or they all stay in the "shadi wala ghar" if they're traveling from lets say karachi to lahore or islamabad. i mean, my husband had to pay for all our relatives' hotel stays throughout our wedding cuz they came from different states. and it got realllll expensive, real fast. and the sad thing is...alotta ppl take advantage of this. for example some of our extended relatives and his friends (who had other relatives/friends/aquaintances in my state) actually took advantage of his hotel reservation but DIDNT BOTHER TO SHOW UP FOR THE SHADI! n made stupid excuses like "oh our flight got reallly delayed n we didnt wanna show up so late" when in reality they were just sightseeing in NYC or visiting other relatives of theirs that we didnt even know. umm yeah.
my friends work for masala cruises one of the girls from texas had a destination wedding on one of the islands they were visiting. also on top of that her father paid for the whole boat to enjoy holi on a beach together to celebrate his daughter's shaadi... that was quite expensive.
the idea of a destination wedding is nice but it excludes a lot of people parents really care to have in attendance. So desi wise it's not the most popular way to go but recently a girl i know had one and if you want to see pictures just pm me i'm not willing to share that on here.
american ppl do this all the time, it works out well.
If you are a member of abci Photgrapher's group on FB, you will see that a desi couple opted to get married in the Dominican Republic. It was gorgeus .....
the idea of a destination wedding is nice but it excludes a lot of people parents really care to have in attendance. So desi wise it's not the most popular way to go but recently a girl i know had one and if you want to see pictures just pm me i'm not willing to share that on here.
Haha...I think that's one of the benefits actually :)
There are so many random acquaintances who your parents barely see on a regular basis, and who probably couldn't remember your name if their lives depended on it, and yet, people act like it would be the end of the world if you don't invite them. My fiancee and I could easily pare our guest list down to less than 100 relatives and friends who really know us, and whose presence would actually matter to us. But because of social obligations, we're probably going to end up with at least three times that many people.
If you don't mind my asking, where did your friend get married?
american ppl do this all the time, it works out well.
I know...one of my close friends from college got married last year in Paris. There were probably about 40-50 guests there, and it was probably one of the most beautiful and memorable weddings I've been to.
Yeh, i think its the cost factor that would prevent most desi couples from having destination weddings. Most western people might invite a lot of relatives to their wedding but they expect the guests to front the cost for travel and accomodations, which is why only people who care/love you a lot will put in that investment. In our culture its usually assumed that the bride/grooms family will pay for guests accomodations. If you'd be ok making that statement though it could totally work because destination weddings are usually cheaper not more expensive.
Especially in places like sandals where you can buy wedding packages and the decoration , catering , venue, accomodation, etc are all taken care of the one group. And also since your wedding party will typically be max 50 people at a destination wedding.
We were thinking of Dubai but haven't decided for sure yet.. I don't know any desis who married anywhere other than the country they lived in or 'back home' and amongst my Muslim friends just one Turkish girl who married her other half in the Maldives..
I have seen pics of a few Indian destination weddings but I don't think I have heard about a Pakistani wedding happening in an exotic location. But, if anyone is contemplating this, please invite ME! :D
I would love a wedding abroad, my family is quite small. But I would love to have close friends there aswell. You have to think about your partners family, costs etc
But I know how much it take to organise a wedding in the UK - you know what asians are like lol.
A friend of mine (non asian) is re-newing her wedding vows next year - its just gonna be her, the hubby and daughter in Greece, on a private island for the ceremony on the beach- amazing :-)
I'm not that into destination weddings...There just way too expensive on the guests- they have to take days off from work, pay to get to the desitination, etc. And what if guests have kids? traveling with kids is tougher, and if your only inviting parents, then the guest will have to find and arrangement for them too...
Personally, I want to get married in the city that I was born in, grew up in, and live now!
Usually destination weddings have guests in the range of 15-20 people. Cruise ships are also a fav among the couples as it can be planned as a big family reunion and when docked at an exotic island, just say the wows :)