u/Tough_Coast_8054

Need honest advice from people who’ve done destination weddings.

I’m starting to feel confused about the role of my planner vs designer and whether my situation is normal or not.

Our planner charges around €4k for two days. She brought in probably 60% of the vendors and handles outreach, timelines, coordination, logistics, etc. I brought the other 40% of the vendors myself.

The actual wedding design, decor direction, rentals, tablescapes, styling, visual concept etc is all being handled by the wedding designer. Me and the designer are constantly going back and forth on the actual creative execution and budget decisions.

What’s making me frustrated is:

• We are WAY over budget now
• A lot of costs appeared later in the process
• Initial expectations felt very different from reality
• For vendors I personally sourced, I’m still the one mainly communicating/coordinating with them instead of the planner
• I also can’t help but wonder how commissions work behind the scenes between planners/designers/vendors

I completely understand planners deserve to make money and that weddings are expensive. But I’m struggling to understand where the planner’s role starts and ends when I’m heavily involved in sourcing vendors, communicating with some of them directly, and handling a lot of the creative discussions myself.

Is it normal for planners to take vendor commissions while also charging a planning fee? And if budgets spiral way past what was initially discussed, how do people usually navigate that conversation midway through planning?

Hey !!

I did my second session of clear and brilliant. I saw a little difference in complexion in first one. I am also doing glacial RX. What are your thoughts on both?

Also, how much does each treatment cost in your country (let us know where that is)?

For experienced users and professionals I have a question please answer kindly. I recently got liposuction in my legs and arms. It was very subtle and I expected a bigger result, but I’m happy with the result though now I’m feeling a bit insecure about my tummy and I need to lose still some weight obviously as there’s still way to lose in general overall and I’m thinking of going back to my GLP I am now almost a Mo postop. Can I start my GLP’s now or will this mess up my surgery results keep in mind I did Lipo filling in breasts and hips

Hey brides,

I’m planning a wedding for approximately 100 to 150 people in Europe and would love to know how much you guys have spent so far on your vendors . For example, how much is each meal costing you as well as open bar? Entertainment, venue, hire, Makeup hair, photography, videography decor. I’d really appreciate some transparency here as I don’t know what I’m signing up for at all and I don’t wanna go in blindsided. Thank you in advance.

Hey ladies!

Looking for a talented GD to help with design custom gives always and signage etc… any rec?

Planning a destination wedding (~120 guests) and stuck on the welcome event.

It has to be after sunset (July heat), so it falls during dinner time. Budget is tight because most went to the wedding day.

Options:

1. Hotel courtyard (where most guests stay)
   Super convenient, nice setting, drinks + passed bites.
   But strict policy: no real music, just low background → no dancing.

2. Boat
   Music allowed, better vibe.
   But it docks and leaves within ~5 minutes, so if guests are late (and many arrive same day), they miss it.

3. Small venue
   DJ + proper setup, feels like an actual event.
   But highest cost, most budget goes to food/drinks, minimal extras.

Main question:
For a destination wedding welcome night, what actually makes it fun?

• Is drinks + passed food enough at dinner time?
• Do people even want a party the night before, or something more chill?
• Have you been to a no-dancing welcome that still worked?

Trying to avoid either a boring night or overdoing it before the wedding.

Hey Europe brides!!

Can we be transparent here!! What are you paying for makeup and hair and in which country.

If your artist is travelling from another city or country please share with the class

Hi brides,

I sent out both save the dates and formal invites with RSVP links and our wedding website for our destination wedding.

We invited around 280 and were expecting about 200. A few people responded right away or messaged me separately, but most haven’t acknowledged anything at all. I don’t mean RSVPs since the deadline is still few weeks away, I just mean a quick note or any kind of response.

Is this normal? It feels a bit off, but maybe I’m overthinking it. For context, the invited were sent from our personal numbers….