Continuing from the previous episode, I won’t stretch this out too much. If you’re just joining us now for the first time and want to know the backstory, I recommend going back to read “Unveiling the Dreamy Seaside Wedding in Thailand: Tips and Tales”.
Once we’ve gathered information before selecting a venue, we’re ready to start scouting for one. Actually, this step isn’t that difficult. As long as we have the location, a good price, and the budget, we can make a choice. But if we want the event to be the best it can be, avoiding complaints from guests and ensuring their happiness, we need to compromise a bit.
Choosing the Right Location
Before deciding on which hotel or location is best, I suggest selecting the area or neighborhood you want to explore first. Start by listing the areas you’re interested in and don’t forget to note the reasons behind each choice.
For example, the groom and I wanted a beachside wedding, so we made a list that looked something like this:
- Koh Samui: Because it’s where I grew up.
- Krabi: Because of its beautiful beaches.
- Hua Hin: Because it’s close to bangkok and beautiful.
- Pattaya: Because a friend owns a hotel there (budget-friendly).
Once we’ve made the list, we weigh the pros and cons in terms of travel, aesthetics, beauty, and convenience.
We chose Hua Hin as our event location because it has a beautiful beach, convenient transportation, is close to Bangkok, and most importantly, has a better image than Pattaya.
Choosing the Hotel with Reason
This step is the most exhausting and requires the most reasons and justifications because over 80% of the event budget depends on the hotel. We have to visit each hotel personally, ensuring that they can cater to our needs and take care of our guests well. And, crucially, we need to trust that they can fulfill our culinary dreams. Most importantly, the hotel should be able to turn our dreams into reality.
We had our dream wedding in PDF and every hotel we visited, we laid it out for them to see what kind of mood and tone we wanted (in great detail). This made it easier to communicate and narrow down choices. After visiting 4-5 hotels, we narrowed it down to 3, and eventually settled on 2:
We were particularly impressed by La A Natu, but it had its drawbacks in terms of management and food. We weren’t confident they could execute our dream wedding as we envisioned, and the food options were limited. Additionally, they didn’t have enough rooms for all guests. So, we decided on Centara.
Centara had one downside – it’s not entirely private. We had to accept that there would be some random people in bikinis and speedos photo bumps in our photos (we prepared ourselves and thought of it as having extra witnesses to our love). However, the service at Centara was exceptional. The food was delicious with plenty of options, and the staff showed passion for making our wedding the best it could be.
On the day of the event, we weren’t disappointed. The execution matched our brief, exceeding our expectations. We had expected around 70-80%, but Centara delivered over 100%. Every detail, even those we overlooked, was taken care of, contributing to the perfect atmosphere of our dream wedding.
For those considering a wedding in Hua Hin, I highly recommend keeping Centara Grand Beach Resorts & Villas Hua Hin as one of your options. In the next post, I’ll share about selecting wedding attire for both the bride and groom. If you found this post helpful, please like, share, and stay tuned for more updates.
Remarks: All the photos are a real photo from our wedding
AMBER YOGA 
One thought on “Planning Your Dream Wedding: Choosing the Perfect Venue and Hotel”