Planning a destination wedding can be an exciting and romantic experience, but it can also be a bit overwhelming. With so many details to consider, it’s important to have a plan in place early to ensure everything runs smoothly.
Whether you’re planning a beach wedding in Hawaii or a fairytale wedding in Disney, there are a few tips and tricks that can help you make the most of your wedding planning and your special day. Read on for some of the most important things to keep in mind when planning a destination wedding, including budgeting, guest accommodation and any local laws and regulations you may have to consider.
So if you’re considering having a destination wedding and want to make sure it’s as stress-free and enjoyable as possible, read on!
What is a destination wedding?
A destination wedding is a type of wedding in which the ceremony, reception or indeed, both take place at a location that is distant from the couple’s home or where they usually live. Destination weddings typically involve travel for the couple and their friends and family to a specific location, often a beautiful, exotic or scenic spot.
Destination weddings are usually smaller and more intimate but do offer couples a chance to celebrate their love in a unique and meaningful way. Popular destination wedding locations include beach resorts, foreign countries, cliff top weddings and even historic sites.
The main idea of a destination wedding is to combine the ceremony and celebrations with a vacation too.
Plan further in advance
You might find that you actually need to start planning much further in advance if you want to jet off to a beautiful foreign location for your wedding. This will give your guests longer to budget and save in order to be able to afford to come and enjoy your day with you. It’s not uncommon for guests to turn a destination wedding into a holiday for themselves and their family too so they will need time to plan this in and do any saving too.
You may be planning on paying for travel or accommodation costs for some or all of your guests and this can stack up very quickly so it may be that you need the extra time yourselves for saving.
There’s going to be all of your usual wedding costs, the dress, suits, flowers, decoration etc. on top of any travel arrangements and accommodation so one of the first things to do is get on top of your wedding budget and decide what it is you can and cannot afford.
Legalities
Make sure that you do your research to understand any legal requirements so that your ceremony is still legally binding and results in a recognised marriage in your home country. Or if your aim is to have a more informal ‘celebration’ ceremony where friends and family are still involved but it isn’t a legally binding ceremony then don’t forget to cover off the legal requirements and relevant paperwork at home. This doesn’t usually involve too much extra cost but it’s something you are definitely going to want to make sure is high up on your priority list to explore so that you know you’re legally recognised as married.
Smaller guest list
Typically, a destination wedding held abroad will lead to a smaller wedding guest list. This could be a blessing and could be one of the reasons you opt for this style of wedding, but it can also be a little trickier as you try to figure out exactly whom it is you are going to invite.
Be prepared for some of your guest list being unable to make your destination wedding, offer to help where appropriate but don’t make any of your guests feel bad if they ultimately can’t make it.
Will you need a wedding planner?
If you are planning a destination wedding and plan on jetting off to a tropical location you might consider the use of a wedding planner – especially one who is based where you intend to get married. Many hotel resorts and popular wedding destinations will provide you with your own wedding planner, but if you are getting married somewhere more remote you may wish to hire your own wedding planner. You may wish to hire somebody more local to where you want to get married but some couples hire in their own country and take the planner with them. There are pros and cons to both so do some research.
Having eyes and ears on the ground, so to speak, can make planning your wedding a little easier. The wedding planner will know the standard do’s and don’ts of the country and you can find one with connections to other businesses and services that you might need.
Some resorts that host weddings will already have entire packages in place that you can choose from, and they may have a planner or dedicated liaison that you can work with to help ensure everything goes as planned.
A wedding planner will also be able to make recommendations of local suppliers they have already worked with and ones that can bring your vision to life. Your planner will aim to match suppliers with your vision on everything from music, flowers, photography and more.
Destination weddings are the best fit for couples who are ready to host and celebrate their wedding with their guests in a unique location. They can also be great for couples with friends and family spread out across the country or even world – if everyone must travel, why not make it somewhere you’re all excited to visit!
Whether you are travelling to Bali the Bahamas or even Bournemouth – we hope we’ve filled you with some helpful knowledge and need to know details when planning a destination wedding.