Tips For Your Destination Wedding
So you’ve decided to have a destination wedding. You’re going to get married at a beautiful location and it’s going to be everything you’ve ever imagined. That’s amazing! But are you thinking about all the details that could make it not such a great idea? As a destination wedding photographer I have some tips that might help you in planning your big day.
Check the Weather Patterns When Choosing a Destination
Deciding on the time of the year for your wedding makes a big difference! Summer in your part of the world is probably going to be very different from summer in a different destination. Let’s say you want a tropical destination wedding in Jamaica. Jamaica’s “spring” and “fall” are considered their rainy seasons while their “summer” and “winter” are going to be the drier times of year. However, their temperatures from June - September are going to be really hot compared to their temperatures from November to April. Make sure you take this into consideration when choosing your destination.
Check the Calendar
You should be checking the calendar not only for the best weather conditions during a certain time of year, but also to see if there are any local events or holidays at your destination. Is it going to be tourist season? Will local attractions be closed for a specific event? This can affect pricing and availability when choosing your destination.
Check Marriage Requirements
Are there specific marriage requirements for the location you want to get married? There are going to be some destinations where it’s probably better to get your marriage documentation and sign it while you are in the states. If you get it taken care of ahead of time, then you won’t have to deal with the headache of following international marriage laws.
Location Accessibility
If you plan on going to a wild, exotic, amazing location - think about how difficult it will be for guests to reach that location. Are you asking your grandparents to hike up to the peak of Machu Picchu? You can find a location with a beautiful view that is more accessible for your guests.
Noise Regulations
Each venue should have this in your contract, but asking ahead of time about sound restrictions is something most people don’t think about. If you have a location with a lot of neighbors nearby or is in a populated area, you may have local restrictions to worry about. If you want to be able to dance the night away and not worry about making too much noise, make sure you check with your venue on this.
Always Have a Backup Location
Most 2020 brides were very familiar with having plans A through Z because of all the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic. With countries locking down and new regulations in place, it is super important to make sure you have a back up plan if you are doing a destination wedding. What are the things you need to make sure are set in place in case the worst case scenario happens?
Early Save-the-Dates
The more time to plan, the better. If people have to plan to fly across the world they will need to coordinate with their work to take time off, book flights at the best price they can get, plan if they want to stay longer or come earlier, etc. Make sure you are giving them plenty of heads up to plan, so they can make it to your big day!
Take a Scouting Trip
Make sure the location is everything you’ve envisioned. Meet with a wedding coordinator at the location to make sure they cover everything that you are looking for. There may be odds and ends that you actually don’t prefer, or decorations or vendors that you are not compatible with. This ensures that you are bringing people with you to help make your day exactly how you envision it.
Make sure you’re also standing where you want to stand on your big day. How long does it take you to get to that location? Where is the sun located at the time of day your wedding will occur? Pictures on the venue website won’t show everything that you need to see. Make sure you take a scouting trip out there ahead of time, so there are no surprises.
Wedding planning in general is a lot of work and having a destination wedding can add some additional planning. If you follow these tips, do your research, and take into account some of the smaller details - your destination wedding could be something out of a fairytale!