Planning Your Destination Wedding from Afar
There is no reason why a wedding planned in an exotic location
should compromise your dreams in any way. By considering the
following pointers and keeping abreast of all of your choices,
your wedding has the potential to be a unique expression of
yourself and a honeymoon all rolled into one.
Choosing your Destination
1 - Check out local marriage guidelines - some destinations
require you to be in the country for a "waiting period" before
your wedding day. If this doesn't suit your schedule you might
want to choose another location.
2 - Weather - some regions are prone to hurricanes during
specific times of the year. Although these times are considered
"off season" and therefore cheaper, they also pose risks to your
day.
3 - Check into the wedding services available in the area. The
more remote your location the less services will be on offer,
including tourism type activities. This might affect your guests
decision to attend the wedding
4 - Cut costs for you and your guests by booking a destination
wedding in off season times. For the Caribbean this is between
May and November.
Nailing Down The Details
Are you happy handling all the details of your wedding yourself
or would you rather have the support of an onsite wedding
planner? Planners are in touch with local service vendors and
often have the local knowledge that can save you money and time.
Once you have decided on your location, its time to decide if
you want to enlist a wedding planner 'on the ground' to help
with your plans.
To begin, use an online resource such as
http://www.islandbrides.com to get an initial list of all the
planners in your chosen wedding destination. Contact them all
initially by email to see who gets back to you promptly and
efficiently. Once you've narrowed down the list to 2 or 3
possible, keep up an email dialogue with them so you can find
out which of them wants to plan your wedding, your way, and
which are only interested in selling you their own fixed
packages.
Once you have found the planner you feel most comfortable with,
make sure that you have spoken to each other a few times, on the
phone, before you arrive in your location. Make sure they know
what you want for your wedding, and have given you a detailed
quote for their services, broken down so you can see exactly
what you are getting. Also ask the obvious questions about
experience, packages and how she/he charges for their services.
It may seem like a lot of work, but choosing your wedding
planner can make or break your day, so putting him or her
through their paces will ensure you are happy with your choice,
and both you and the planner are on the same page.
The Cake, The Photographer, The Flowers, The Stylist, and all
the rest.
If you have decided to enlist a wedding planner, he or she will
be able to recommend florists, bakers, and stylists in the area.
Don't be afraid to ask to see photos of the work of these people
- if they're not willing to provide them, choose someone else.
If you are doing your own planning, most wedding vendors have
websites nowadays, and destination wedding websites such as
http://www.islandbrides.com/ can put you directly in touch with
everyone you will need for your wedding plans.
Just as with choosing your wedding planner, don't just choose
one from the list. Start by contacting them all, and then narrow
your list of options down by speaking regularly to them. You can
tell a lot from a few e-mails back and forth, and you have the
chance to make sure you are getting exactly what you want out of
your package, and review their work online.
With a bit of time spent on research, and a few e-mails in the
right direction, your dream beach wedding can be an event that
every guest remembers for the rest of their lives.