Tips To Keep Your Bali Wedding Guest’s Costs Down
Attending a Bali wedding as a guest does not require a large budget when planned correctly. Here are 5 hot tips to help keep your Bali wedding guest's expenses down and your numbers up.
Tip #1 - The Early Bird Catches The Worm
Providing your guests with a minimum of 10-12 months' notice will ensure they have access to better travel deals and also more time to save for their trip. Another benefit of this is, the sooner you get their RSVPs back, the sooner you can realistically budget for catering and other elements of your Bali wedding that require a guest count. If your RSVPs are due closer to 'the date', it might be a good idea to select a wedding date within the low season to gain access to better deals on accommodation and flights. Over recent years Bali’s high and low seasons have changed, revolving not only around the weather but also the Australian, European and some southeast Asian country's school holidays.
Tip #2 - Your Presence Is Our Present
Depending on your family and cultural traditions, you might want to consider a no-gift policy for your Bali wedding. This could be communicated via the invitation or when sending out the ‘save the dates’. This policy may lighten the load a little and give your guest one less thing to think about on top of planning their holiday. Your close friends and family may still insist on bringing a gift, so we recommend entrusting a responsible member of your bridal party to manage and safely store any gifts and cards received on the day.
Tip #3 - Group Accommodation
Did you know that some hotels offer discounted nightly rates for large group bookings? Well, they can, and many will if you provide a minimum of 6-8 months' notice. To gain access to the best possible pricing on group accommodation in resorts and hotels, speak directly with a senior member of their booking team and negotiate your little heart out for a sweet deal. Be sure you get them to send you a quote in writing via email and read all T&Cs associated with the quote. The deal may only be valid for a short period of time so make sure you get your guest to book ASAP so that they don’t miss out. If you are time-poor, travel agents can source group deals for you.
Tip #4 Group Activities
There are hundreds of fun activities and group excursions to do in Bali and its surrounding islands. If this is some of your guest's first time on ‘The Island Of The Gods’, it could be fun to arrange a group day out before your Bali wedding, getting everyone together and better acquainted. Many restaurants and tour groups in Bali also offer deals and specials to encourage large group bookings, so don’t be shy to get in contact prior, to see what discounts they can offer large group bookings.
Tip #5 Be Easy Going
When planning a Bali wedding, keep in mind that all attending guests will have completely different vacation budgets, some more than others. If you do decide to hold some pre or post-wedding events or dinners, make sure that everyone has the option to attend or not attend. This will help ease the pressure off those who may not be able to afford attending group activities and events surrounding the wedding.
If you are planning a destination wedding, we highly recommend creating a wedding website and providing your guests with a link to this on the invitation. This will enable you to post information surrounding the ‘big day’ and also any accommodation deals, group activities, dinners or events surrounding the wedding. More on wedding websites in our next blog…. Keep posted!
Image by Evermotion Photography