Your wedding day is the most important day in your life. Planning a wedding close to home is time consuming and stressful enough but how do you even begin to plan something thousands of miles away, a destination wedding? When considering the location, think about your guests. Airfare varies considerably from location to location and transfers may be required. Will there be activities for all ages? Is the venue and surrounding areas accessible for the elderly or handicapped? Is your destination somewhere your family and friends might choose and stay on after the ceremony? Remember, this trip might be the holiday of a lifetime for some of the attendees.
After the location is chosen, it is imperative that you hire a local wedding planner. You need someone experienced in the area to attend to every detail. Although some venues have their own in-house wedding coordinators, ByeByeBride is happy to recommend planners from PuertoVallarta to Barcelona.
ByeByeBride has more than 250 luxury villas to consider. Wedding planners may also have venues to choose from but whatever location you choose, you must visit at least once before you finalise the contract. Just walking through the location will give you a good idea of what to expect at the wedding and reception. It can also tell you, despite the wonderful photos and description, that the place is not for you and you should look for another location.
However, if you do settle on a location, your planner will meet with you and go over the floor plan for cocktails and dinner, the best ceremony location, menus, the best flower choices; there are a million little details. Try to plan another trip closer to the actual wedding date to be sure that everything is perfect.
The wedding budget is a big consideration. Are you paying for all your guests to stay overnight or perhaps a few days? Will there be a rehearsal dinner or cocktails in the evening before? Perhaps you would like to say goodbye to your family and friends with a lovely brunch the morning after. The type of reception will have a huge influence on your budget: you could choose a barbecue on the beach or an elegant sit down dinner for 100. Once you establish a budget, your planner will help you by offering ideas and solutions to stay on track. That’s why it is so important to have a local professional to take advantage of their contacts! The relationship they have with local vendors is invaluable and something you cannot get by searching the internet.
Destination weddings are perfect for the couple getting remarried. It affords the opportunity to do things a little differently than the first time. Smaller and more intimate in nature, the second wedding can be the immediate family and close friends or even just the bride and groom! If it is just the two of you, a week on a romantic Thai beach might be perfect. If you are bringing children along consider somewhere more adventurous. Hiking and biking in Spain, manoeuvring the canals of Venice or snowmobiling in Patagonia.
Check out ByeByeBride.com and find the perfect location for whatever you have in mind. With a little planning, a destination wedding can be a huge success!
