Destination Wedding Thoughts

We did ours a destination wedding. Vilano beach Florida!!! It was absolutely perfect. Here are a few suggestions we found after going through this.

* find a good wedding planner or service. We went through sun and sea beach weddings. They did an amazing job from the flowers to the photographer to the dj for the reception to the permits that needed to be pulled to be married on the beach!

* a destination wedding isn't necessarily cheaper than a full wedding back home. It can be more expensive. Ours wasn't. But we did cut some corners so it wouldn't be.

* let those people that you really want there know as soon as possible. Also even though people will say they are going to be there there will be several that will back out. We invited 45 people and 27 actually came. If your not ok with people not coming don't do a destination wedding.

* the last suggestion is to make sure your ok with someone else making all the decisions because you can't always physically see it all. That was very difficult for us.

I wouldn't change our wedding for the world. It was perfect and exactly what we wanted!!!! Here's one picture of what it looked like on a beach wedding!!!

Check with your VIP's that a DW works for them in terms of date and budget

Hi Danielle, it would be great if you could set an avatar photo. You’ll get more replies on your threads and it’ll help the community recognize you when you post. This can be done from the desktop version of the site by going to “My Settings”, or you can email a picture to community@weddingwire.com and someone will set it for you.

Never been a fan of destination weddings. I know an invitation isn't a summons but when it's a close family member or friend's wedding you feel somewhat obliged to go or face being ill spoken of in the village. I can think of better ways to spend my money & annual leave

Check with your VIP guests first. Make sure they are willing and able to travel for the wedding.

I would recommend a travel agent. We are working with Beach Bum Vacations. They have been so helpful.

A lot of people say that destination weddings will be cheaper. That us not always true. It will depend on your locatiin, size of the guest list and all the details you add. Set your budget and stick to it. Be prepared for a lot of people to not be able to attend the wedding. It's a lot to ask of your friends and family to attend. But, also budget and be prepared to host everyone that is invited.

We thought about it for awhile, but ended up deferring to the fact that a local wedding was going to be much easier for people we wanted to be there. It's asking a lot for people to travel with you and spend their vacation time and money for your wedding.

If you're set on it, my big piece of advice would be to talk it over with your vips. FSIL planned a destination wedding without telling any of us and was hurt when everyone gave her negative feedback. Not everyone, even immediate family, is willing to drop a couple grand to travel for your wedding. It's asking a lot financially from your guests.

Just make sure that all the most important people can come and you are all set. For me dw planning has been easier than planning a wedding here lol I get married in about a week and I pretty much get to show up and chill until the wedding day : ) for me as long and my mom, dad and immediate family are there I was good.