How to Organise a Destination Wedding

- Admin - Sunday, July 15, 2012

Destination weddings have become far more popular over the last decade or so as young couples have moved away from the traditional-style wedding ceremony and are embracing more unique and creative ways to tie the knot. The following is a brief guide to organising a destination wedding, from choosing a location like Port Macquarie to hiring a wedding consultant to offer their expert advice.

Choose your destination carefully

The hardest part about organising a destination wedding is choosing a place that will be perfect to hold it, as well as somewhere awesome where everyone can stay together. Port Macquarie hotels are spectacular, just as Samoan beach huts are gorgeous, but choosing between options like these can be hard, so take your time carefully selecting a place, because your options are endless and often one place will suit you far better than the others.

Plan ahead

Don’t just assume that having enough money will guarantee you a space, because many popular destination wedding locations are quite limited in size, and therefore can only host so many weddings at a time. So if you and your partner have your heart set on a particular destination, book early to avoid disappointment, because whether you have your eye on resorts in Port Macquarie or villas in Nice, all of the best places will fill up quickly.

Do your research

It is essential that you do some research into the places you are considering for your destination wedding, especially important factors like what the weather will be like at a particular time of year, whether there is social or political unrest there, or even whether or not you and your guests will need to apply for visas to be able to come. Being able to speak at least a little of the local language can also smooth your way considerably, so consider picking up at least some basic local language skills.

Don’t pressure people to come

While you should still invite all of those important people to the wedding, make it clear that no one is under any pressure to attend, because not everyone will be able to afford to spend thousands of dollars to make the trip. If you can afford to, a wonderful gesture can be to pay for some of the more important people to attend, but keep in mind that a big part of having a destination wedding is it being a smaller and more intimate gathering. To avoid pressuring your friends while ensuring that you still all get to celebrate the wedding together, hold a party at home when you get back, as this way anyone who was unable to go to the destination wedding will still be able to be part of a local round of celebration.

Hire a wedding consultant

Planning a wedding can be a huge undertaking, even without having it take place in another country, so if you feel like planning a destination wedding might be too much to handle, hiring a wedding consultant can make the whole experience extremely easy.

Don’t just settle for a regular service or a quick visit to City Hall for your wedding; celebrate your wedding in style by getting hitched in an exotic paradise. Organising a wedding in another country can be a logistical challenge, but you’ll never have a better excuse to party with your friends overseas, or indeed at a wonderful local destination.