How Long to Plan a Destination Wedding?

It's a lot of planning, but can be done in that amount of time. We're ending up around 10 months, but only because of the seasons...I didn't want to get married in winter and wanted to be outside so that limited is when looking at our venue's available dates....I think we would have taken a shorter engagement if we could!

My DW will be planned in 15 months. If she gets a wedding planner she can do it as quickly as she wants really. They know vendors in the area and can handle a lot of the details.

I planned my destination wedding in Greece in 15 months. For me, I needed that much time as I work full-time and have other obligations. 4 to 6 months is a stretch and I know I couldn't handle everything in that amount of time, but some people may be able to.

I think a year to 16 months is the sweet spot. It's plenty of time to plan and breathe simultaneously.

I planned my Destination wedding in 7 months.
However I wouldnt consider NY to IN when the majority of guests live in IN as a destination wedding. The couple are travelling in from out of town but the majority of guests are not. Plenty of wedding occur that way now.

I think it really depends on how big it is. We're planning a DW in about 9 months with a planner and I feel like we could have done it sooner if needed. However I'm also pretty laid back about the whole thing and let the planner basically handle everything and just gave general input for most things like flowers and cake.

Thanks everyone for the input. I don’t know if they are thinking of using a wedding planner or not. Do you think a 4-6 month window would be possible without a wedding planner? Also, the groom’s family lives in IN but the bride’s family and friends are somewhat spread out between MI and the rest of the country (2 sisters & parents living in Denver, Portland, and Dallas, plus some aunts and uncles in TX, and friends all over the place)

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Hardest part is finding a venue and date, once she finds that.....send STDs.

She may not have 1st pick but there will always be bakeries, photographers, and etc who want $$$.

As long as she give OOT guest a heads up now and books venue within a couple weeks, she will be good.

She may have to by and off the rack dress and the bridesmaids dress soon, she will be good.

View Quoted Comment When you lay it all out like that, it kinda sounds impossible to me. I can’t get my bridesmaid dress until I’m back in the country (which will be end of May), our parents are in the process of selling their house and moving from Memphis to Dallas, and our youngest sister is graduating from college mid-May. And to top it all off, the food all must be gluten free (for medical reasons for a bunch of people).

I just dont see this being feasible unless she gets really motivated and fast (she has a tendency to drag her feet on long projects or if she’s just not in the mood to do something).