Planning Tips For Your Dream Destination Wedding

By Karen Leiva

The proposal was made – you said yes! Now, it’s time to set the wheels in motion and begin planning for your special day.

We know planning a wedding, regardless of how big or small the event will be, can be overwhelming – that’s why more couples are enlisting the support of qualified destination wedding experts to help them with every step of their journey. With an expert guiding you, there’s no need to sweat the small stuff, just let them take care of the details to make your dream wedding come true. We connected with Lisa Sheldon, president of Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Specialists Association (DWHSA), to ask for insights and tips to start planning your wedding. Here are six top recommendations.

Once the proposal has been accepted, start talking about the kind of wedding you want – and when you want to get married. Within 12 months, 14 months, 18 months? Making a timeline will help you stay organized and not miss an important deadline in the planning process. It’s smart to engage a destination wedding specialist right at the beginning so they can help outline milestone dates.

There really is a wedding for every budget. It depends on a few things, including the number of guests, the type of hotel and its amenities, and the wedding options you choose. Your wedding specialist will be able to show you options that are within your budget, and also determine if there are hotel perks you can access – for example, some hotels offer the wedding free of charge to the couple if they have a certain number of guests. Your specialist can work within your budget to help ensure travel logistics, special day arrangements, as well as any extras such as entertainment, suit your needs. Destination wedding specialists will have an arsenal of knowledge and experience to help steer you in the right direction, which is why it’s important to meet with one at the beginning of your planning process.

Once you’ve set your budget, it’s time to start thinking about who you want to invite to your wedding. Important considerations include whether you are inviting family and friends and if children will be included. If it’s just the two of you, there are possibilities to broadcast the ceremony to loved ones back home. These details will make a difference in choosing your resort. Your destination wedding specialist will be able to target different resorts based on your guests’ needs so it’s important to know early who you want to invite to your dream wedding. It’s also key to be mindful of guests’ commitment to attending because of the cost, as well as access since older grandparents may have special mobility requirements. One of the benefits of working with a destination wedding specialist is they can facilitate installment payments throughout the planning process, over time. Plus, a specialist can try to accommodate friends’ and families’ financial status and target destinations guests will comfortably afford as well.

Symbolic or legal? It’s important to know the difference when you are planning your destination wedding. A symbolic ceremony is not legal, so you must legally marry at home (most often with an officiant or at your city hall). Symbolic ceremonies in destinations are made to feel like the real thing – most guests will not know the difference. A legal ceremony in a destination is where a judge or legal representative officiates your ceremony. The key thing to know here is that for a legal marriage, each destination will have its own regulations. For example, Mexico requires you to be in the country for a few days prior to your wedding. You also need to have blood tests completed, which costs extra, and the ceremony will likely be in Spanish (an interpreter will be provided). The Dominican Republic requires paperwork ahead of time and it needs to be translated first. It is often easier to get married at home and hold a symbolic ceremony at your destination of choice.

Depending on the time of year chosen for your wedding, the weather will play a major factor. There are other things that will help you decide: is there a destination you feel sentimental about? Does the accessibility of the destination matter? When considering easy access, many couples choose Cancun because it is easy to get there and, with so many resort choices, every wedding is unique. Other popular wedding destinations include Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, Las Vegas, and Hawaii – but there is something for everyone in all destinations.

Ask your destination wedding specialist if they have been to the destination and if they are familiar with its resorts and off-site venues. Ask them what exactly they can do to assist in planning your wedding so that you have a full understanding of what to expect. A specialist can ensure your big day goes smoothly with travel and resort arrangements; they will take the pressure off and ensure you enjoy a seamless wedding.