When you think back on your wedding day, you’ll remember every detail — including the weather, the spaces that hosted the ceremony and the reception, and of course, where you were. And if you choose a destination wedding, that last recollection can be something stunning: the highlands of Patagonia, for instance, or the rugged coast of Ireland.
But before you can have the destination wedding of your dreams, you need to plan it. Here’s what you need to know in order to get from today to the big day.
Understand what you’re getting into
A destination wedding is like nothing else. It gives you the chance to place your perfect ceremony and reception in the perfect location, which is something that no other type of wedding can do. But a destination wedding also comes with its own unique planning challenges and its own unique drawbacks.
You need to know ahead of time that a destination wedding can be pricey and tough to plan. You’ll probably have fewer guests, partly because the price will be an issue for you, and partly because the price will be an issue for your guests. And you’ll likely receive fewer and smaller gifts.
These aren’t reasons to give up on your destination wedding dreams, but they are things that you should be aware of!
Start early and plan extensively
Planning a destination wedding involves extra hurdles. There’s just more to worry about here, because you’re a long way away from the professionals you’ll be calling and emailing, the venues you’ll be considering, and so on.
It’s always a good idea to start planning early, but this is especially true for a destination wedding. This is certainly not something that you want to be doing last minute! If possible, plan early enough to send your save-the-dates and invitations a bit early, too. It will help your guests make their own travel plans, which may be somewhat stressful in their own right.
Hire professionals to get the job done right
If you haven’t noticed by now, planning a destination wedding can be kind of a headache. Everything that is stressful about regular wedding planning (and there’s quite a lot that’s stressful about regular wedding planning) is here.
But there’s also a whole lot of new stuff and a whole lot of obstacles that make the normal stuff harder. Time changes, foreign languages, currency conversions, weird tax consequences — you name it, it’s an issue.
The good news is that you don’t have to go crazy planning every aspect of your destination wedding yourself. Instead, you can hire professionals. Adventure weddings are destination weddings that are exciting and fully planned out. Professionals know the challenges and tricks for ensuring a great wedding for their clients.
Don’t forget about your day-of beauty needs
You want to look your very best on the best day of your life. That means that you’ll want to hit the spa and the beauty parlor to make sure that your hair, nails, and makeup are all perfect.
But, of course, you’ll be far from home. You may know where to find a “nail salon near me”, but you’ll need to do some Googling before you know the best “nail salon near Patagonia”. So do your research, plan ahead, and make sure that you have somewhere to go.
Not all salons and beauty parlors are created equal, so read reviews and, if possible, ask other brides and grooms who have had their wedding in the same beautiful destination as you’ve chosen. It doesn’t hurt to have a backup plan, too. You don’t want anything to go wrong on your big day.