Destination weddings can be a dream come true. A glorious beach in the Caribbean or a mountain in Italy would provide a perfect backdrop for any couple to tie the knot. Getting married is a magical experience, but doing so on vacation makes it much better. Destination weddings typically end up being less expensive too, because fewer guests can attend. Sadly, like all great things, destination weddings have their drawbacks. Planning a wedding abroad isn’t easy, so many couples make huge mistakes along the way. With that in mind, here are sixteen to avoid.
1. Ditching That Planning Expert
There are many reasons why a couple might decide not to hire a wedding planner. While some don’t want another expense, others love DIY projects. Whatever reasons you have, you must seriously consider hiring an expert for your destination wedding. Planning any large event is challenging, but hosting that event abroad brings up extra difficulties. There are many more factors to think about, which could cause stress. A wedding planner would allow you to relax.
2. Ignoring Your Wedding Budget
Before speaking to a planner, you must make a wedding budget. This should detail every expense, including flowers, flights, and much more. Although destination weddings can work out cheaper, you shouldn’t assume that yours will. Make sure that you have a cash cushion available, just in case you spend more than you were planning to. If all or part of your wedding budget is coming from elsewhere, like a loved one or a loan, then get this sorted out right away.
3. Picking A Remote Destination
There are many beautiful and exotic places where you could host your wedding celebrations. This makes choosing a location incredibly difficult. However, you must keep accessibility in mind when making your decision. Your dream might be to get married on a remote mountaintop, but that wouldn’t work out well for young or elderly relatives. Remote destinations also have fewer wedding vendors available, which means you might struggle to create the wedding you want.
4. Having Huge Vendor Expectations
Anyone planning a wedding in New York City or Italy would be spoiled with the number of vendors available. Unlike many other international destinations, these are popular for weddings, so they have a much larger selection. Rather than having to fly in a photographer, for example, you could use one located already there, like Vittore Buzzi Photography. More remote locations will have fewer vendors available, so if you aren’t happy with the selection, you’ll have to fly your vendors in.
5. Sending Out Late Invitations
Attending a wedding at home is much easier for guests than attending one abroad. After all, when asking your guests to attend a destination wedding, you are essentially asking them to book a vacation away. Because of this, you have to mail the invitations much earlier than the six to eight weeks before the event that couples usually would. Try to send out save-the-dates at least six months before your wedding and provide any other vital details as soon as you can.
6. Giving Guests Little Information
When it comes to destination weddings, guests must be kept in the loop. Rather than just providing the date and location of your wedding, you should pass on any other information your guests might need to know. People who don’t travel abroad often will worry about airport restrictions, hidden expenses, and much more. Giving these details early on will avoid questions being repeated. This information won’t all fit on an invitation, so create a wedding website too.
7. Failing To Visit Locations
After spending thousands on your wedding, the worst thing would be arriving at the venue and it being nothing like you imagined. Sometimes, venues are smaller or more rundown than they appeared online. After all, those images are designed to draw couples in. Rather than fall for the bait, you should visit every potential wedding venue before making a decision. Most planners would advise visiting three times – Once to scout out venues and two more for further planning.
8. Missing A Marriage License
Just as you would back home, you must know the rules for acquiring a marriage license in your wedding destination. Many countries require you to be a resident for a certain length of time before getting married. This time frame could be anything from a few days to several months. Being divorced can make the process more difficult too. To avoid any hassle, you should think about having a legal wedding in a courthouse at home before or after your wedding ceremony.
9. Picking The Wrong Dress
Wherever in the world you get hitched, the gown you wear is undeniably important. If you don’t adore your wedding dress, it will put a damper on the entire day. However, you must remember that you have to travel with that dress. Many airlines will allow brides to bring their dresses onboard in garment bags, but the style you choose could make this tricky. Because of this, you should avoid any large ball gowns. Anyone will a large dress should consider shipping it early.
10. Planning Several DIY Projects
Every couple wants their wedding to be personal to them. Thankfully, there are many ways to achieve this, including DIY projects. The trouble is, you will have to carry the finished products with you. This means you’ll have much less space in your suitcase for clothing and any other essentials. If you’re planning a DIY project, keep it small and lightweight. Alternatively, you could buy the supplies you need abroad and complete your DIY project in your hotel room.
11. Inviting Only Young People
Young couples tend to have mostly young friends. This means that many of your wedding invitees won’t be able to attend your big day. Smaller bank balances and fewer vacation days make international travel difficult, especially for people with children. While this isn’t ideal, having fewer wedding guests is beneficial. After all, fewer attendees mean a smaller venue and fewer meals. This leaves extra money in the wedding fund, which you can either spend or save.
12. Overscheduling Your Loved Ones
All couples want their wedding guests to be entertained. This is especially true with destination weddings, where you’ll be spending several days with them. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t have mandatory activities and events for guests to attend every day. While this is your wedding, it’s their vacation too. An arrival get-together and send-off breakfast is all the scheduling you have to do. Make sure you provide optional activities but don’t force your guests to participate each day.
13. Checking All Wedding Essentials
Lost luggage and delayed flights cause nightmares at the best of times. When traveling abroad for your wedding, however, they can truly cause chaos. Rather than put your wedding at risk, you should carry any essentials in your hand luggage. This could mean paying extra for additional bags, but the expense is more than worth the peace of mind. What’s most important is carrying your wedding dress with you, as this could easily be damaged if crammed into a suitcase.
14. Arriving On The Day
Never begin the journey abroad the day you’re due to get married. This is just asking for trouble. The shortest of delays could cause disruption to your plans, leaving you unable to get hitched. Even if you arrive on time, the stress of the journey will make it impossible to enjoy yourself. For this reason, you should plan to arrive at the hotel at least a few days before the event. With those extra days, you have time to run any last-minute errands and unwind before the big day arrives.
15. Expecting A Perfect Forecast
Hosting your wedding abroad doesn’t guarantee perfect weather. Just like most other countries, your wedding destination will have occasional heatwaves, storms, and worse. Rather than make assumptions, you should conduct research and plan for any potential weather disasters. Having an emergency indoor venue is crucial, but umbrellas could work in light showers. Some brides even pick wedding hairstyles that won’t get messed up in rainy or windy conditions.
16. Forgetting To Enjoy Yourself
Getting married is a big deal. Everyone knows that. However, you shouldn’t allow the stress of getting hitched to put a damper on your enjoyment. A destination wedding is an event like no other. As well as getting married, your time away should be spent relaxing and having fun with your loved ones. Make sure you have time to see the sights and take part in any activities you want to. Making the entire trip about the wedding could make the wedding itself less fun.
Destination weddings are a dream come true, but they aren’t without their drawbacks. Planning a wedding is challenging at the best of times, but doing so abroad comes with many unexpected issues. Much more planning is involved, which means there’s a much larger opportunity for mistakes to be made. Hopefully, with the advice above, your big day can go off without a hitch.
