So, you’ve said “yes” to the one person you want to spend the rest of your life with. What’s next? Planning your wedding. As you may have realised, there are a gazillion things to do and take care of before you sail into the sunset. These days more couples are choosing intimate, boutique events over the larger gatherings of the past and with exclusivity, comes flexibility. Suddenly there’s no need to get married in the church down the road that can hold 300 people, the entire world is open to hosting your special day. Here are some tips to help make sure your destination wedding goes off without a hitch (and doesn’t give you a year of headaches in the lead up).
1. Give yourself enough time to plan. It cannot be stressed enough that planning any event requires adequate preparation, and stressing yourself out by doing last minute things in a hurry is unnecessary.
2. Choose your wedding destination. Location is everything. Imagine yourself being a guest at a wedding set somewhere exotic. What’s the first thing that comes to mind? You’re probably going to wonder how to get there, where you should stay, etc. So keep the convenience of these elements in mind when considering where you want the wedding to be held.
3. Once you have your destination, you quickly want to establish your venue, so that you can set a date and create a guest list to make sure that the people you care for most are able to make it. When choosing your venue style and budget are important concerns, but make sure that you find out if packages are all inclusive (or filled with hidden costs) and if the venue is public, visit it on the weekend to see how busy the location is, and the ambience it offers. Some brides like to be surrounded by the well wishing public, others seek the intimacy of their closest loved ones.
4. If the venue doesn’t provide wedding coordination, it’s a very good idea to hire a wedding planner. Planning an event by yourself in your current location is challenging for any first time bride, planning from afar is much harder, particularly if the wedding is to be held in a foreign country where language and cultural barriers may present a problem. Your wedding is a once in a lifetime event; do it right and make sure that the journey, as well as the final destination, are fun experiences for both you and your partner.
5. Remember, Mother Nature is unpredictable. We all want to have the perfect weather on our big day. But what are you going to do when it suddenly pours and your outdoor reception becomes a pool party? Plan an event for any kind of weather, like a good girl scout.