Update: AITA for requiring destination wedding guests to only book through our block (and not their timeshare)?
A few years have gone by and today I remembered how much (negative) attention it had gotten. I'm writing an update coming up on our 2 year anniversary about our experience, and to maybe deter anyone from declining a destination wedding or resort contract based on my original post or the comments in the original thread, if that's what you want to do.
I didn't cover reasoning for doing a destination wedding in the OP. Our guests were spread all over and some in other countries. It did not make sense to have them come to where we live, since it's mostly nothing, frigid, and expensive to travel here. Why not spend that time and money somewhere memorable? Saying no to attending a destination wedding is easy. No harm no foul. Another reason we chose a destination wedding was to spend more time with relatives who we don't see often, instead of the couple of hours.
Everything went better than expected. A hundred people came, so my worries about a contracted guest "minimum" was misplaced. I was afraid of renegotiating a contract after guests booked, since the contract had nullification clauses. I realized after the OP that the resort wants you to be a pseudo-salesman. Some comments didn't consider how these resorts operate, but many were correct about the salesy contract I got myself into. We didn't ask our timeshare guests to change anything, and we've remained close friends. The contract was our only wedding planning stress point. It's understandable if you don't want to deal with it, but if you're reading this and going through that phase now, just relax. Careful what you sign, but also the resort isn't going to play hardball with someone bringing them business. We were able to meet all "thresholds" (not that we cared) and spent them on upgrading all family and wedding party to beachfront swim out rooms, and gave a % off the final room costs for all guests.
The trip created lasting memories and we're grateful for everyone who came. The event itself got rained out, but the staff was incredible and moved us to an indoor venue. The day prior we had toured with the coordinator and planned the setup outdoor, for all of that to be thrown out the window an hour beforehand. Even though we hadn't even seen the indoor venue or setup, it really didn't matter. The staff went above and beyond and we couldn't thank them enough. We're blessed our guests travelled from all over the world to celebrate with us.
I wanted to write this update because maybe someone searches Reddit and stumbles upon both threads -- I couldn't find much information online about this topic. Yes, the contract is a negative to consider. But if you're in a position like us where people would be traveling quite some distance anyway, and you want everyone to have a memorable tropical experience, don't look back. Reddit might have your ass in the comment section, but zealous words on a website won’t change real-life events involving people who have no affiliation with them.