If it is your absolute dream to have a destination wedding, then please do keep reading on. There’s something seductively romantic about destination weddings. It’s not just a treat for you and your partner. It is an absolute adventure for the entire wedding party. And, if planned the right way, it doesn’t even have to be that expensive. There’s a lot that goes into what you need to do to plan a destination wedding, and here’s a great guide to help you make your destination wedding dreams come true.
How to plan a Destination Wedding
When you’re starting to plan a destination wedding, there’s a lot to more to consider than a traditional wedding. The fact that it will be at a completely foreign location means that you will have to do a lot more research and pre-planning, than your average wedding plans.
Choose a Destination
If you haven’t already chosen and have set your mind-up on a destination, or even if you have, you should definitely consider these important factors when choosing what destination will work well for you and your wedding.
Are you familiar with the location?
It’s easy to get carried away and want to get married somewhere you’ve never been to. But unless you have the budget to hire an entire wedding planning team at that destination, and also have the budget to fly back and forth during the duration of your planning period, then it is not advisable to go somewhere where you’re not familiar with. It’s good to choose a location that you’ve been to at least two to five times.
Ask yourself these questions to know if you are familiar with the location:
- Are you familiar with the local culture?: You need to be familiar with the destination’s culture, customs, and local traditions. You wouldn’t want to indirectly offend or disrespect the locals with your wedding celebrations.
- Can you afford a wedding there?: You’ll also need to be familiar with the costs of hosting an event, renting hotel rooms, having food catering, and pretty much everything you’ll need for your wedding. Having had experience actually living for a few weeks at a new location is a good way to grasp just how expensive it will be for you to hold a wedding there. You could also do all of your research online, but the first-hand experience is still the best teacher.
- Is it safe to have your wedding there?: One other important reason why you should be familiar with the destination you are planning to have your wedding at, is to understand how safe it is to have your friends and family flying and staying there for your wedding. Not everyone is experienced with traveling. And not everyone will be aware of the common safety precautions when exploring a new destination. You need to be aware of just how safe it is to have your wedding there, and whether or not you are putting anyone in danger by inviting them there for your celebrations.
Consider the Travel Time
You would want to avoid having to travel a long way to reach your wedding destination. The problem with somewhere that’s too far away is that their flights will be very expensive, you and your guests will need to adjust to the time difference, and you need to consider the actual travel schedules of everyone you’re inviting. It’s a lot to ask for, for your guests to pay for. And it’s just not practical if you can’t afford it yourself too. You might be expected to pay for your entourage. Choose a destination that’s close by, and if possible, even within the same country as where you live. It’ll just be easier for everyone this way.
Consider visa requirements
One really important factor to consider when you’re starting to plan for a destination wedding, and one that’s often overlooked, is the visa requirements of a destination. It’ll really be difficult if a lot of your guests will have to undergo a visa application process. Not everyone may be approved. And a lot of guests may even feel discouraged as it’s a lot of extra work to do, on top of the added expenses. You’ll want to make the process as easy as possible for your guests.
Consider Tourist Season
Try to avoid the tourist season or destinations that are far too crowded with tourists. It’s likely that everything’s overpriced. It’ll be hard to find accommodations. And it’s just not an ideal place to have a wedding at.
It’s really important to get the decision of a destination right, as it does make the biggest difference in all that you need to do to plan a destination wedding. Before you can get anything done, your destination has to be right. It has to be appropriate. And it has to be accessible.
Work on your Budget
Before anything can even start with a plan for a destination wedding, you first need to consider a budget for everything. You need to confirm how much you are willing to spend on your wedding. This will give you a better idea of whether or not you can afford a destination wedding, what you can afford to plan for, and what you can work with for your wedding.
What you need to consider when working on your budget:
- The total amount of money you have for your wedding: You’ll need a precise value of how much money you can spend for your destination wedding. Keep in mind that this should never be your entire savings account. You need to definitely have enough money put aside for emergencies. Be practical with your budget. As much as you want to spend on your wedding, you also shouldn’t go broke by having one.
- Understand how much you’d want to spend on a wedding planner: For such a big project like a destination wedding, you’ll want to be able to hire the best wedding planner you can afford. It’s important to set aside a budget for a wedding planner as their entire team is crucial for the success of your wedding.
- Set aside emergency money: In addition to your budget, set aside some emergency cash that you will be able to spend in the instance that you’ll have no choice but to bring more money out. But you should also guarantee that this is not part of your budget to spend, but rather, a safety net for if problems ever occur.
You need to confirm a budget for yourself so you do not have to be too concerned about overspending during the process of everything you need to do to plan a destination wedding.
Hire a Wedding Planner
With such a big event to plan, you’ll need the experienced help of a wedding planner. It’s best that you hire someone with these qualifications.
- They should have experience planning destination weddings: To plan a destination wedding is completely different from planning a regular wedding. It’s a lot more challenging. You’ll need someone who has done this all before, and who can help guarantee that you do not waste any money by making unnecessary mistakes when planning for your wedding.
- They should be familiar with the destination: If you can, you should hire someone who either lives where your destination is or has a good idea of what it’s like there. They will be the ones who will guide your every decision for your wedding, and you’ll need them to be aware of the necessary actions you have to take when planning a wedding at that destination. Hiring someone who is familiar with the place is just as important as actually choosing what your destination will be.
A wedding planner has the power to create the most stunning wedding for your special day. But a big part of getting everything right for your wedding is how you get along with your planner, and how much they will listen to you and your preferences. They will organize and dictate everything that happens while you plan a destination wedding. And you’ll want someone that you can trust can get the job done, with nothing but your best interest in mind. Learn more about how to hire a wedding planner from the article ‘The Stages of Planning a Wedding‘.
Book a Venue
After hiring a wedding planner, the next step is to start looking at venues to book. Before you can plan a destination wedding, you need to first guarantee that there’s a venue for both your wedding ceremony and your wedding reception to take place in.
What you need to consider when booking a venue:
- Have multiple options: As much as you might have your mind decided on a specific place for your ceremony and reception, you should still have at least one or two other options. You’ll want to have your planner check for different possible venues at the location. You’ll never know if you might just spot a better and cheaper venue that you’ll be a lot happier with.
- Check for dates: Always double-check the dates before making a decision. You’ll want the place to be available, and ready for you and your entourage, on the day that you have planned. You should check if they have any plans for renovations. Double-check if there’s any other event that’s happening during your planned wedding date.
- Make sure they can accommodate your party: It’s also important to confirm if the venue you want to book has the experience, the staff, and the furniture and facilities to accommodate a wedding party. A venue may seem like a great place to plan a destination wedding for, but if they are not equipped to serve a large number of people, then it’ll just be an extremely stressful situation for both you and your planner. If this is the case, you might just find yourself stuck with having to spend more money trying to make up for what the venue is lacking.
- Check neighboring accommodations for you and your guests: There’s no point in continuing on with a plan for a destination wedding when there’s nowhere for you and your guests to actually stay at during the festivities. Make sure that the venue you choose either has rooms for all your guests to stay at, or have neighboring hotels or motels to accommodate you and your guests.
- Confirm if your venue caters: You will definitely need to confirm if your venue caters delicious food that’s suitable for a wedding. This is a big advantage if they do as you do not have to find a different source for your food and drinks, saving you one less job.
Once you have the right venue in mind, and they are available for bookings, as well as capable of accommodating a large wedding party, it’s time to settle a down payment and reserve that venue before you lose it to anyone else. Popular wedding venues could be full-booked even a year before the actual dates, so the sooner you book it, the better.
Plan your guest list
After booking a venue, it’s now time to plan your guest list. With the number of people that can be accommodated by your venue in mind, you need to create a guest list who you think will definitely want to join you for your destination wedding. To plan a destination wedding means to also plan who can come and join you for your wedding.
IMPORTANT TIP: Do not invite too many people
Having too many guests at a destination wedding will be expensive and stressful. You’ll want to filter down your guest checklist to the most important people in your lives. As much as you would want to invite everyone from your office mates, your neighbors, and even a few friends from your past, it’s just not practical.
Send your Invitations out
The sooner you can confirm a guest checklist, the sooner you can send your invitations out. You’ll need to give your guests at least 6 months to be able to plan for your wedding, ask for some time off of work, and book their travel arrangements for your wedding. It’s ideal to send your invitations out somewhere between 9months to a year from your wedding date. If you do, you and your guests will have the chance to book their travel and accommodation expenses, at cheaper prices.
Book your Tickets and Accommodations
The sooner you book your tickets and accommodations, the better. If you book ahead of time, you may even luck-out with discounted flights and hotel fees. As soon as you have a venue and a date ready, and the invitations have been sent, it’s the right time to book your own flights and the places you plan to stay at, just so that it is one less thing to worry about as you continue with what needs to be done to plan a destination wedding.
Plan your Outfits
You need to start planning for the making or the tailoring of all of your entourage’s outfits. This includes you and your partner’s clothes, your best man’s and maid of honor’s outfits, your bridesmaids, your groom’s men, ring bearer, flower girls, and the rest of your entourage. It’s also important to get this done as soon as possible. This will give you enough time to get the fittings and the tailoring right, with everyone.
Plan your Reception
This is a big part of all that needs to work when you plan a destination wedding. Your reception is a significant part of the wedding festivities. It is where most of the planning will be needed.
What you need to consider when you plan your wedding reception:
- Book a host: You need someone to host the festivities, to keep your wedding program and plans organized during the reception time. You can hire a local wedding host, or ask a friend or family member of yours to do the job. The important part is having someone to do it.
- Confirm the catering: You’ll need to confirm the menu you’ll have for your wedding reception. It’s important to confirm the menu with the kitchen or the catering staff, to guarantee that you will not have any problems with the numbers and the dishes on the day.
- Confirm the number of guests: You need to confirm that your reception will be able to cater to the number of guests that have confirmed their attendance at your wedding. Add at least 10 counts to your list, to be sure you will be able to cater to any last-minute confirmation. It’s better to have too many than to find that you don’t have enough for your wedding party.
- Reserve the Cake: Confirm the design and flavor of your cake with the bakery of your choice. Give them the date of your wedding. And give the details (the size and delivery time) of the cake reservation to the team that will decorate your venue.
- Plan your Decorations: You’ll need to start calling and booking with the florists, and sources for decorations for your wedding. Your wedding planner can do the bulk of this job. But it’s important that you keep on top of the decisions being made, and the money being spent. It’s best to work with local farmers and sources. You’ll not only be supporting the local businesses, but you will also definitely get the best that your location has to offer.
- Confirm the decoration party: Have your wedding planner confirm that there’s a team of people who will be on-location for the decorating of your reception venue. You’ll need someone who will manage the team. And you’ll need to guarantee that they will confirm all of the deliverables have arrived on the day. This is important to keep everything organized.
- Plan your bridal car: You’ll need a car and driver that will take you to and from places. Book this ahead of time too to guarantee that there is one available for you and your partner.
- Book entertainment: You’ll need good music for your reception. Get your planner to bring you options for wedding bands or singers or DJ’s, and get samples of their music, so that you can choose for yourself who you’d want to be there to set the mood for your reception.
Once your reception is all planned and set, you’re almost complete with everything you need to do to plan a destination wedding. The rest of the planning process is simply confirming everything and everyone who’s involved in making your special day as spectacular as possible (and this is mostly your wedding planner’s job).
Hire your Photographer and Videographer
And last but not least, it’s also important to hire your photography and videography team that will cover your entire wedding festivities. You’d want all the memories captured. You don’t necessarily have to spend a lot on the coverage if you don’t want to. But it is definitely recommended so that you don’t have to worry about not getting enough photos or videos of your special day.
Plan your Pre-wedding Preparations
You’ll need to plan everything that will be needed on the day of the wedding. This includes the accommodation where you, your partner, and your entourage will prepare for the ceremony. This includes hair and make-up, photoshoot schedules, and the ever so important meal plans for everyone in your entourage. Have your wedding planner arrange all of this for you.
Conclusion
Once you are happy with everything that you’ve done to plan a destination wedding, it’s time to sit back and relax and wait for the big day. An additional tip would be to actually go to your destination at least once after all the vendors, the venues, the plans have been set, just so that you can go and try the food, meet the vendors, and get a quick glimpse of everything before your big day. After this, you’ll find that you are ready to embark on the most spectacular and love-filled moments of your life. And all the wedding planning would have been worth every second. Learn more about what you need to do to plan a wedding from our article ‘The Stages of Planning a Wedding‘.
