Simple Tips for brides planning a destination wedding or honeymoon vacation.
Getting ready for a destination wedding ? Whether you're having your wedding
in a garden or you've chosen a local venue, inviting out-of-town guests means
it's a destination wedding for them. Therefore, it is a good idea for you to
become knowledgeable about destination wedding invitation etiquette and on all
of your options on how to plan your event with ease and less stress.
A destination wedding is when you travel to a unique location for your
wedding. It might be just the two of you (also known as eloping!), or you might
include a group of friends and family. It's an appealing option if you want to
do something different, "enforce" a small guest list, hold the
wedding at a place equally convenient or inconvenient for far-flung family, or
just "get away!"
When deciding on who you want to attend , check with your guest who live far
away from the wedding location, and find out if they plan to attend. If they
wish to attend, you should make arrangements for out-of-town guests before you
send your destination weddings invitations. If you have only a few out-of-town
wedding guests, this will simplify the task. But if you're having many out of
town guest , you will need to include lodging information, maps and even
activities and events around the area. All of this information should be
included in the destination weddings invitations. In lieu of that, many couples
create blogs and put the URL on the destination weddings invitations. The goal
is to have all of this information accurate and available to guests so you
don't have to worry about it . Additionally, the guests will know that you
appreciate thier travdeling efforst for your special day.
Some people believe that destination weddings can be more cost effective
than a traditional wedding. The good thing about destination wedding is that it
makes the wedding more special by adding an exotic twist to the wedding
occasion. Most brides tend to look for elegant destination garden wedding dresses or some
type of pretty lace embellishment detailing since they will be going to a
tropical location for the ceramony. If the wedding destination weddings
are plotted properly you will actually save on your wedding because
possibilities are that the place you choose may be a lot cheaper than the place
you live. Some popular wedding destinations offer package deals which are worthwhile.
By having a destination wedding you and your guests will have a nice holiday
and end up making the whole occasion special.
In order to have a destination wedding you need to be very organized and plan
everything in advance. For example you can opt for an air and hotel package
which is usually more cost effective than making bookings for them both
separately. A well planned destination wedding can be a relaxing and a
fun experience, but make sure that both of you plan it well and systematically
before making nay decisions.
Some weddings are planned well but when the time comes because the bride and
groom are both busy the wedding guests are left to look after themselves. To
make sure your wedding is planned correctly it is probably best to go through
companies which specifically conduct destination weddings. Usually the packages
that they offer will also provide a facilitator at the site of the wedding who
will be able take care of everybody's needs.
Also these service companies usually have a business relationship with
several hotels and airlines. Tehrefore they usually negotiate a much
better deal for you than you can on your own. The hotels and airlines usually
have a deal worked out with the vendors because of the volume of business they
provide on a regular basis. But when you approach individually they will treat
you as a one timer and may not give you as a good a deal.
Destination weddings are extremely popular now a days , but planning
the right one can be a bit challenging. This is especially daunting if you have
never visited the place where you want to have the wedding. Luckily, we go out
of our way to provide you with the most up to date information on destination
weddings in order to help you make the right decision. We provide you with
information on destination weddings and we also provide a list of popular and
recommended destinations. This is very helpful to many couples because they see
where other couples have enjoyed certain locations and this serves as a
wonderful guide.
You could also opt to hire a wedding consultant who is familiar
with the location where you wish to get married. This might be a consultant is
located in the place where you're getting married, or a travel agent or other
person who has experience in planning destination weddings many times. Don't
assume that any wedding or travel consultant can automatically meet your needs.
Wedding Consultants who are wonderful for local couples may not be as
adept in helping you long-distance. Luckily, in some locales there are wedding
planners whose primary business is working with couples from out-of-town. They
are good about faxing, mailing photos, and taking other special steps to help
you. There are also consultants who aren't limited to any particular wedding
location, but regularly handle destination weddings. This is probably the
asiest way to plan a wedding, but it will add to your cost. For example, they
may charge a flat fee, or a surcharge on the cost of all services which they
contract for you. It is always wise to You may want to get several references
for anyone you are considering to hire .
Another option is to find a wedding chapel (instead of a company) at the
location you're interested in. These tend to have complete packages with
photographs, flowers, music, officiant, even license built right in. Your job
is usually limited to showing up. This is easiest, and may even be the least
expensive. However, you may not get a say so in a lot of the details , and you
may not like the get in and get out feeling these chapels provide .
The next option is to do it yourself. You find the florist, the officiant,
the ceremony site, the baker, the music, the photographer and so on by
yourself. This is probably the toughest way to do it, but you get to make all
the decisions. If you're a control freak about details it might be the one you
opt for. If you go this route, I'd try hard to find some sort of local
contact--someone who knows some of the local businesses but who won't profit
personally from any referrals. Here's where setting up your lodging first can
be a help--the hotel staff or innkeeper may be a great source. Ask at the
travel newsgroups, or wedding newsgroups. Ask friends and relatives. You
never know who may be able to give you some advice or tips on how to plan your
wedding .
A destination wedding really opens up some possibilities. If you still want
to have a fairytale wedding, then destination weddings may not be for you . But
if you're open to other options, destination weddings will give you a lot to
work with . Simply by having a destination wedding, you're not doing the
conventional. You've already altered people's expectations, so you might be
less likely to feel bound to a wedding template. And if your setting is
particularly nice, you may be able to simplify other aspects of your wedding.
For example, we got married in a beautiful historic inn, which needed no
additional decoration or flowers. We saw some weddings in Jamaica where the
natural flowers and outdoor setting were so beautiful, just having a bride and
groom and officiant looked perfect. Whether you choose to simplify or not, do
feel free to rethink some of the typical wedding traditions.
Invitations to traditional weddings are supposed to be sent 4-6 weeks before
the event. But more lead time is helpful. Your guests might also want to ask
for vacation time to better enjoy the special place you've chosen! In some
areas, accommodations fill up way in advance. For all these reasons, you should
consider getting in touch with your guests early. A friendly little form letter
with pertinent info (place and date) will do nicely. If you've begun to set up
accommodations, include that too, along with any other travel info. Otherwise,
promise to get back to them later with that information.
It makes things much easier if you take care of details whiel you are at
home . This destination wedding should be a vacation for you, too. Don't get so
caught up in little details that you can't enjoy the weekend in a special
place. Figure out what's important to you, and label the rest of it "small
stuff" that you won't sweat. That will free you up to sight see, relax,
play, and join in what your guests are doing!
Plan Your Packing Get advice from your dressmaker or retailer on how a dress
should be packed for travel. At Darius
Cordell Fashion Ltd we tell all of our brides to not worry about steaming
the dress until just a few days prior to their wear date - once they arrive at
thier location. Make sure you have the right-sized suitcase or box ahead
of time. If you're flying, plan to carry it on if you can, along with any other
wedding apparel you'd find hard to substitute on short notice! We found that
packing for the wedding and the honeymoon added up to a lot of luggage. If you
can, farm out some of your important things to guests and family who are
traveling down there. If you are shipping anything, leave extra time. You
can ship flowers ahead of time .
Don't have your guest doing too many things . You've probably gone to a lot
of trouble to choose a nice place to get married. Let your guests enjoy it!
Don't plan so many get-togethers, family dinners, rehearsal dinners, and so on
that your family and friends have no free time. I know that it has become a
nice tradition for people to plan huge wedding-related activities and social
gatherings where mother of the groom dresses were worn
all weekend for each event. This may not be comfortable for all your
guest. Since you are basically on vacation or at a resort threfore
your location can do a lot of the entertaining for you so let it!
There is no reason for you to be over worked and
worried about planning a destination wedding just becuase it seems likeit
may be overwhelming . You can get all the help you need using
one of these tips. that way you can make an informed
decision. You will find that planning a destination wedding with
assistance is much easier than you ever thought it woudl be
