How to Plan a Destination Wedding
Tying the knot in a faraway place is becoming more popular each day; one in every four weddings is now a getaway ceremony. Not only does a destination wedding bring a unique touch to your nuptials, but it also gives your guests a chance to visit a new city or country.
Nevertheless, before you whisk away your love to a foreign land, there are some considerations that go into the planning. From the venues to invitations, requirements to timings and other preparations, every detail should be ironed out. With that in mind, here is our guide on how to plan destination wedding.
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Pick your Dream Destination
The location of your ceremony will determine the overall mood of your big day. It will also determine travel plans, wedding theme, and most importantly, the budget. To come up with the best location, make the decision a shared one.
What is your common style and passion? Which city or country best describes your lifestyle? What mood do you want to set for your wedding? These are some of the questions that will help you narrow down to a perfect location.
For example, Mexico, Hawaii, and Mombasa are perfect destinations for a tropical-themed wedding. On the other hand, Paris, Edinburgh, and New York will do for a festive trip abroad. The services of a wedding specialist would also help to turn your dream into a real wedding destination.
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Inquire about Local Marriage Requirements
Local requirements for marriages differ from country to country. Some marriage laws can be restrictive especially when it comes to ‘residency requirement’. This provision calls for a couple to have stayed in a given country for a minimum number of days or months before they can wed.
For example, in Maldives, non-residents can’t get legally married while in Bahamas, a marriage only requires a single day of residency. It may also take some time, which can run into months, to get the papers certified. So as not to miss out on your dream destination, you can forego the legalities by getting hitched at home and having a non-legal blessing abroad.
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Choose the Right Time
When travelling abroad, you have to keep in mind that your party will be tourists. If you decide to hold the wedding during the best weather, say the summer in a beachy island, your visit will coincide with tourist season. Hotel and venues will be costly and as well as the local travel and tours.
If you insist on this peak time, then do your reservations before the season begins; hotels usually run at less than full capacity and are more inclined to offer discounts.
In case you don’t mind the low season, you could end up saving some money. However, you would also have to contend with spells of bad weather and fewer festivities. A service like Trivago helps you to compare hotel prices and to find the respective websites from which you can do the booking.
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Keep your Guests Informed
Family and friends will play a big role in how the ceremony plays out. This means they need to be kept up to speed on plans to enable them make necessary preparations concerning air tickets, visas, accommodations and food among others.
To ensure that no element gets them by surprise, create a wedding website. This will help guests to keep tabs on travel requirements and changes, share ideas on past getaway wedding experiences and most importantly, it will be a single platform for all RSVPs.
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Go for Group Packages
Wedding parties are the perfect bargaining chip for cheaper air tickets, accommodations, local excursions, and even food. Make this work to your advantage by going for companies that offer group packages.
Typically, an airline will offer an extra free seat or slash the prices especially during the low season. Similarly, hotels will be willing to give you one or two free rooms or extend your (newlyweds) stay by a day- free of charge. All of these however depend on the size of your group and how good you are at bargaining. Another approach is to let the hotels bid for your wedding then make your choice.
Final Thoughts
The whole idea of a destination wedding is giving your marriage a unique and possibly exotic touch. You can only achieve this by embracing the local culture of your wedding destination. To make the event truly memorable, ensure that you sample local scenery and the social life.
You can also get a venue that incorporates the local scenery as part of their appeal to give your wedding photos picturesque mountains, cultural artefacts, wildlife, or waterfall backgrounds. Furthermore, if you and your loved one are foodies, you can have the chef serve the best of both worlds by including local delicacies as part of the menu.
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