There is no such thing as a free wedding

 

source: here

A word about free wedding packages: they are not free (sorry!) for two main reasons.

1. Usually the free wedding packages that are good are at resorts that are a little more high-end (read: you pay more for your trip)
2. So basic that it is impossible to not add to them. Usually the add-ons are the place where the resort make up their money.

Why Cuba might be the next hot spot for Canadians looking for a Destination Wedding

I attended a destination wedding seminar the other day and there was information on Destination Weddings in Cuba and they blew my mind.

Source: here

For comparison sake, here is a simplified idea of what you need to get married in Mexico legally :

• Valid Passport (you need this to go to Mexico anyway)
• Long form of your birth certificate
• Letter of No Marriage Registration (processed in Chetumal, Quintana Roo)
• Original blood test & Medical certificate (this causes you to need to be in Mexico at least three business days before the wedding)
• Four witnesses
• Usually a fee (between 1000USD and 1500USD on average for your wedding resort to organize everything for you)

Basically, there is enough here that most couples choose to get married at home before or after.

But in Cuba, here is what you need to get married legally:

• Passport
• Birth Certificate
• That’s it!

I knew the requirements varied from island to island but I had no idea that it could be so easy. To me, it would have been really nice to choose to have a legal wedding as opposed to the symbolic ceremony that we chose.

What a 15 month planning timeline means for your guests

I got engaged December 2014 (I can’t believe it was so long ago as I am typing this). For the first year of our engagement we were pretty busy because we purchased a house, waited for it to be built and moved in. We were originally leaning towards a traditional home wedding (read more about what factors finally swayed us here) and moving into a new house definitely affected our budget! I was really unhappy with the options that I had for having a wedding at home so we officially decided in November 2015 that we would get married away.

We knew we would probably choose a date in Spring 2017 so I felt absolutely no pressure in November, I mean I have a good 18 months at this point right? And most pinterest timelines say give your guests 12 months notice so at the point I had LOTS of time (or at least that’s how I felt).