We all know the mix of thoughts that cross your mind when an invitation arrives for a wedding on the opposite side of the country – especially in the Kimberley WA.
Firstly, excitement that your friends are getting married and you've been lucky enough to be included in their special day. Then when it comes time to book flights and pick betweenself catering or hotel accommodation, buy a wedding present, consider car hire and all the other expenses that come with organising a vacation…. We inevitably ask ourselves how much is this going to cost me?
Luckily, a wedding – especially in the Kimberley WAis the best excuse for you to visit magnificent areas of Australia that you might otherwise have been waiting until you're a grey-nomad to holiday to and there is a good mix of affordable accommodation options for a Kimberley wedding.
A former local who returned to Kununurra to plan their wedding, provides some insight into how she and her now husband approached booking and advising their guests on accommodation in the Kimberley.
“Firstly, you need to think about the mix of people you're inviting to your wedding we had parental retirees, single parents, large and small families, DINKS (dual income no kids) & university students. So, we wanted to provide a choice to match alltheir budgets in searching for Kimberley accommodation.
Having lived in Kununurra for many years before returning from interstate to tie the knot, the decision on where we would stay as Bride and Groom was easy. Freshwater Apartments were the newest self catered accommodation, situated across the road from Celebrity Tree Park, close to caravan parks, the boat ramp (we departed for the ceremony by boat) and dining options. Management also let us host a small pre-wedding BBQ around the pool.
Whilst the Freshwater Apartments accommodation offers self catering, some of your guests might prefer The Kimberley Grande or the Kununurra Country Club Resort which have in-house restaurants. These three Kimberley accommodation venues all fit the bill for the Bride and Groom and their DINK friends who don't mind paying a little more for their wedding vacation in the Kimberley WA.
Options we suggested to retirees and families focused on the caravan parks with self catering cabins or hotels not attached to pubs. These included Kimberleyland Caravan Park because of their proximity to the Freshwater Apartments and The Kimberley Grande, or Town Caravan Park because of their proximity to The Country Club.
For our guests on a budget we suggested hiring a campervan and driving from Darwin – my sister did this and really enjoyed the experience with her partner and two kids. It proved very affordable as they could self-cater the whole way paying the minimal fee for a camping site in a caravan park.”
The Kimberley WA offers many hotel and self catering accommodation options for any wedding vacation budget.The localsare always happy to help, all you need to do is ask.
Martin Wynn
