Destination Wedding Tips

Destination weddings are popular with couples who want to skip the fuss and jump straight to the fun.   Around the world, you'll find hotels and resorts that offer on-site help to plan your wedding, from wedding licenses to extras such as music and photos. Whether your special day involves just the two of you or if you'll be inviting friends and relatives to join in the occasion, a destination wedding can create wonderful memories for everyone.

Here are some helpful tips for planning a successful, stress-free destination wedding.

Combining Wedding and Honeymoon

The benefit of having a destination wedding is that you don’t have to travel far for your honeymoon. Depending on where you choose get married, you can have the wedding and continue your honeymoon in the same location, or move on to another destination for your honeymoon.

Choosing a Destination for a Wedding and Honeymoon

Choosing where to have your combination wedding and honeymoon can be made easy if you choose to book through a travelling agent. By choosing the same destination for both your wedding and honeymoon, you’ll have a lot less travel plans to worry about. And by utilizing the help of specialists, you can make your wedding day and your honeymoon a relaxing and enjoyable time.

Visit your wedding venue

You'll need to scout and secure your key venues, such as the church, reception, hotels for guests, rehearsal dinner venue and local suppliers such as caterers (have tastings), florists (view a mock up), and photographers (view portfolios). If possible, meet with a local hairdresser and make-up artist and have a trial to ensure you are happy. Try plan only one trip and make sure you meet with all the vendors you’ll be using.

Get help

If you've signed up for a wedding package, the services of a planner are probably included. If not, try to earmark part of your budget (about 10 percent of the total) for a wedding planner. This way, someone else can shoulder the burden of researching, auditioning and securing local vendors. A wedding planner can be the behind-the-scenes queen, creating gift bags for guests, greeting everyone at the airport, keeping people busy with fun activities once there, vetting special requests (babysitters, dry cleaners, and so on), and getting everyone where they need to be on time.
 

Bring your own

If in doubt about the local service providers, then rather use your own local professionals. Especially when it comes to photography, hair and make-up.

Warn your friends and family

Before sending out elaborate, expensive invitations, perhaps consider sending out an e-mail invitation warning them that you have chosen a destination wedding. So if finances are tight they can tell you before you send them an expensive invitation that they don’t intend to come to the wedding.

Don’t get angry

If some of your close friends and family members can’t attend your wedding, don’t get angry. While you are, in a sense, footing some of the food bills, their travel, hotel and car rental expenses can really add up, especially if a whole family is to travel. So be sympathetic if some guests can’t make it.

Pack light

Whatever you bring with you, you'll have to lug along for the whole trip. And don't forget to allow ample room for your gown.

Transportation for your guests

Remember, once your guests arrive at the wedding location, they become dependent on you. Make sure you organise transportation to and from the airport, as well as to all the events of the weekend. Make sure that the people driving the guests know how to get from the accommodation of the guests to the ceremony and reception locations and not get lost.

Guest Activities

What do your guests do when the destination wedding ceremony is over? Most of the time, guests will be able to plan for themselves and will want to explore the beautiful location and take in the local attractions. However, you can also opt to try and get them special rates for certain excursions and give them booklets containing information on where you are getting married together with their invitations so they can plan it for themselves in advance.

Welcome your guests

Be sure to place a gift basket in each room full of essentials for the trip (suntan lotion, bug spray) and goodies that will remind them of the setting – local cookbooks, samples of native food, or crafts from local artisans are all good options.