Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Tips for 1st and 2nd time brides wanting to plan a destination wedding or honeymoon vacation.

Are you planning a destination wedding? Whether you're having your wedding on a beach or you've chosen a local venue, inviting out-of-town guests means it's a destination wedding for them. Therefore, it is a good idea for you to become knowledgeable about destination wedding invitation etiquette and on all of your options on how to plan your event with ease and less stress.

A destination wedding is when you travel to a special place for your wedding. It might be just the two of you (also known as eloping!), or you might include a group of friends and family. It's an appealing option if you want to do something different, "carry out" a small guest list, hold the wedding at a place equally convenient or inconvenient for far-flung family, or just "get away!"

When making the guest list, check with family and friends who live far away from the wedding location, and find out if they are coming . If they wish to attend, you should make arrangements for out-of-town guests before you send your destination weddings invitations. If you have only a few people coming from out of town , this will simplify the task. But if you're having many out of town guest , you will need to include lodging information, maps and even activities and events around the area. All of this information should be sent with the destination weddings invitations. In lieu of that, many couples create a web site with this information and put the URL on the destination weddings invitations. The goal is to have all of this information researched, compiled and sent to guests so you don't have to do it when they get to town. Additionally, the guests will know that you appreciate thier travdeling efforst for your special day.

Some people believe that destination weddings can be more cost effective than a traditional wedding. The good thing about destination wedding is that it makes the wedding more special by adding an exotic twist to the wedding occasion. Most brides tend to look for strapless or garden style designer wedding dresses with flowers or some type of pretty lace embroidery detailing since they will be going to a tropical location for the ceramony.  If the wedding destination weddings are plotted properly you will in truth save on your wedding because possibilities are that the place you choose may be a lot cheaper than the place you live. Some popular wedding destinations offer package deals which are worthwhile. By having a destination wedding you and your guests will have a nice holiday and end up making the whole occasion special.

In order to have a destination wedding you need to be very organized and plan everything in advance. For example you can opt for an air and hotel package which is usually more cost effective than making bookings for them both separately.  A well planned destination wedding can be a relaxing and a fun experience, but make sure that both of you plan it well and systematically before making nay decisions.

Some weddings are planned well but others fail as the bride & groom needed extra help in getting things arragned . In order to avoid these kinds of situations it is probably best to go through companies which specifically conduct destination weddings. Usually the packages that they offer will also provide a facilitator at the site of the wedding who will be able take care of everybody's needs.

Also these professional companies usually have a business relationship with several hotels and airlines.  Tehrefore they can most of the time negotiate a much better deal for you than you can by yourself . The hotels and airlines usually have a deal worked out with these people because of the volume of business they provide on a steady basis. But when you approach individually they will serve you as a one timer and may not give you as a good a deal.

Destination weddings are extremely popular now a days , but planning the right one can be a bit challenging. This is especially intimidating if you have never visited the place where you want to have the wedding. Luckily, we go out of our way to provide you with the most up to date information on destination weddings in order to help you make the right decision. We provide you with information on destination weddings and we also provide a list of popular and recommended destinations. This is very helpful to many people who are in the planning stages because they see where other couples have enjoyed certain locations and this serves as a wonderful guide.

You could also opt to hire  a wedding consultant who is familiar with the location where you wish to get married. This might be a consultant is located in the place where you're getting married, or a travel agent or other person who has performed destination weddings many times. Don't assume that any wedding or travel consultant can automatically meet your needs. Wedding Consultants who are wonderful for local couples may not be as adept in helping you long-distance. Luckily, in some locales there are wedding consultants whose primary business is working with couples from out-of-town. They are good about faxing, mailing photos, and taking other special steps to help you. There are also consultants who aren't limited to any particular wedding location, but regularly handle destination weddings.  This may be the most-hassle free way to plan a wedding, but it will add to your cost. For example, they may charge a flat fee, or a surcharge on the cost of all services which they contract for you. It is always wise to You may want to get several references for anyone you work with .

Another option is to find a wedding chapel (instead of a company) at the location you're interested in. These tend to offer a full array of services with most things built into a package . Your job is most of the time to simply be present . This is easiest, and may even be the least expensive. However, you may not get a say so in a lot of the details , and you may not like the get in and get out feeling these chapels provide .
You could opt to try and do it all yourself . You find the florist, the officiant, the ceremony site, the baker, the music, the photographer and so on by yourself. This is probably the toughest way to do it, but you get to make all the decisions. If you're a control freak about details it might be the one you opt for. If you go this route, I'd try hard to find some sort of local contact--someone who knows some of the local businesses but who won't profit personally from any referrals. Here's where setting up your lodging first can be a help--the hotel staff or innkeeper may be a great source. Ask at the travel newsgroups, or wedding newsgroups. Ask friends and relatives. You never know how you'll find someone who can make a few recommendations .
A destination wedding gives you a lot of options . If you still want to have a fairytale wedding, then destination weddings may not be for you . But if you're open to other options, destination weddings will give you a lot to work with . Simply by having a destination wedding, you're not doing the conventional. You've already altered people's expectations, so you might be less likely to feel bound to a wedding template. And if your setting is particularly nice, you may be able to simplify other aspects of your wedding. For example, we got married in a beautiful historic inn, which needed no additional decoration or flowers. We saw some weddings in Jamaica where the natural flowers and outdoor setting were so beautiful, just having a bride and groom and officiant looked perfect. Whether you choose to simplify or not, do feel free to rethink some of the typical wedding traditions.

Invitations to traditional weddings are supposed to be sent 4-6 weeks before the event. But more lead time is helpful. Your guests might also want to ask for vacation time to better enjoy the special place you've chosen! In some areas, accommodations fill up way in advance. For all these reasons, you should consider getting in touch with your guests early. A friendly little form letter with pertinent info (place and date) will do nicely. If you've begun to set up accommodations, include that too, along with any other travel info. Otherwise, promise to get back to them later with that information.

It makes things much easier if you take care of details whiel you are at home . This destination wedding should be a vacation for you, too. Don't get so caught up in little details that you can't enjoy the weekend in a special place. Figure out what's important to you, and label the rest of it "small stuff" that you won't sweat. That will free you up to sight see, relax, play, and join in what your guests are doing!

Plan Your Packing Get advice from your dressmaker or retailer on how a dress should be packed for travel. At Darius Cordell we tell all of our brides to not worry about steaming the dress until just a few days prior to their wear date - once they arrive at thier location.  Make sure you have the right-sized suitcase or box ahead of time. If you're flying, plan to carry it on if you can, along with any other wedding apparel you'd find hard to substitute on short notice! We found that packing for the wedding and the honeymoon added up to a lot of luggage. If you can, farm out some of your important things to guests and family who are traveling down there. If you are shipping anything, leave extra time. You can ship flowers ahead of time .

  You want your guest to not feel over worked . You've probably gone to a lot of trouble to choose a nice place to get married. Let your guests enjoy it! Don't plan so many get-togethers, family dinners, rehearsal dinners, and so on that your family feels like it is a job to be there . I know that it has become a nice tradition for people to plan huge wedding-related activities and social gatherings where ball gowns were worn all weekend for each event. This may not be comfortable for all your guest.  Since you are basically on vacation or at a resort threfore your location can help you quite a bit in the planning so let it!

There is no reason for you to be over worked and worried about planning a destination wedding just becuase it seems likeit may be overwhelming .   You can get all the help you need using one of these tips.  that way you can make an informed decision.  You will find that planning a destination wedding with assistance is much easier than you ever thought it woudl be .