If you have your heart set on somewhere beautiful outside your neighborhood for your wedding, no worries. Destination weddings are a great option for couples who can afford it and have the will to travel. Before you start spinning the globe and day-dreaming about currency exchange stations, check out our top tips for planning your destination wedding.
1. Set Your Date Wisely
Have you dreamed about Hawaii in the summer? You’re not alone. Aiming for off-seasons can help cut your costs considerably. If you’re planning on taking anyone with you (such as family or friends), you’ll want to find a property that can accommodate everyone. If you’re unsure about when the off-season is, look at hotel rates for different dates on hotel booking sites like Expedia or Hotels.com. If you’re noticing a pattern of lower rates one weekend over another, that’ll be a more cost-effective time to get hitched. Since you’ll most likely have guests going to the wedding with you, you should ensure that it will be as affordable as possible for them as well. Keep in mind that there may be local events going on that could cause a busy weekend; for example Washington D.C. has a cherry blossom festival annually which causes just as much tourist traffic as the summer does. Do your research and your wallet will thank you later.
2. Warn Your Family
It will be smart to plan very much ahead for destination weddings- we’re talking a few months. Not everyone may be able to afford to travel for a wedding, but if you give your loved ones enough time they may be able to save. If you price out flights, hotels, and rental cars (if needed) in advance and show the costs to your guests, they will be more likely to attend. If you’ll need to save extra, your family and friends may need to as well.
3. Do Your Research
It is wise to at least have visited the place you’d like to get married before you get there. You may day-dream about Cabo and not feel the magic once you hit the beach, and you don’t want to risk that. Be sure it’s a place that you and your fiance both love. If it’s been a few years since you’ve visited your dream destination, take a weekend off with your love and check it out. It’s a nice excuse for a vacation (but honey- it’s wedding research!) plus you may find some unexpected finds nearby.
4. Block It Out
If you’ve settled on a location and a hotel, get in touch with the sales manager at the hotel. If you contact them directly and let them know that you’ll have some friends and family coming out with you for your special day, they may do some extra work for you. A hotel sales manager wants to make sure that your (and your loved ones’) experience is as excellent as possible- they want to make it easy on you. They may be able to set up a block of rooms so your guests are all on the same floor or area. They may also (and this may be an advanced move- but it can be done!) be able to set up special lower rates since you’re guaranteeing them a solid amount of room nights. It’s not a guarantee, but it’s worth a shot. If they are unable to accommodate you, they may be able to offer suggestions for other properties as well.
5. Plan Ahead
If there’s one unexpected storm, you and your wedding party are landlocked. It may be a long shot if you’ve got your dates planned right, but there’s no harm in setting up a safety net. If you’re flying or driving, plan on leaving at least 1-2 days before your wedding events start so you have that time to settle in and get ready. Do what you can to not book the last flight of the night- if an earlier one gets bumped you can always go stand-by on the next one. Have a few hundred on retainer in case you need to move your flight with short notice. You would not want your luggage to get lost and show up to your wedding a day late.
Andrea Carter
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