Destination weddings are becoming an increasingly popular trend. The opportunity to combine traveling with tying the knot is the biggest draw card for a destination wedding and allows couples to really think outside the box during their wedding planning phase.
Destination weddings are known for ramping up the excitement of a wedding. It’s exciting enough to travel, let alone travel to a destination wedding!
But there are still many factors to consider when planning a destination wedding.
Although you are planning the trip of a lifetime, you’ll need to have a few serious chats about how things are going to pan out. All your wedding details, big or small, will need to be arranged before you go jet setting, so we have come up with our top five tips for planning a destination wedding.
5. Allow plenty of time to plan for a destination wedding
It’s not often weddings are planned in a short space of time. In fact, the average planning time for a wedding is 18 months. A destination wedding will require plenty of time to plan, possibly more so than the average wedding.
Why? Well, you’re asking friends and family to travel to the destination with you. If they accept your invitation, this will mean taking time off work, finding suitable childcare arrangements and budgeting for the trip itself. Whilst you may be able to factor the cost of travel into your wedding budget, your wedding guests may need to do a bit more juggling.
The best idea is to send out save the date cards as soon as you can after booking your wedding venue. Invitations with the finer details can follow later, but your guests need to be prepared well in advance in order to be given a good chance to attend.
4. Consider any extra expenses
Blowing the budget while traveling is not uncommon. Blowing the budget while planning a wedding is also not uncommon. Combine the two and, well, you can see where we’re going with this.
Allowing a little extra ‘breathing room’ in your budget is really important when planning a destination wedding. Although many places take care of the wedding in one complete package, you still need to factor in all those little extras. From babysitting to nail appointments, there may be more you need to think of than you realise.
When planning all the finer details of your wedding, it can help to tally up the costs using the local currency. This way you know exactly what you’re working with and won’t be in for any sudden surprises.
3. Research local vendors
Thanks to the wonders of the World Wide Web, you can find out pretty much anything you like about local vendors for your destination wedding.
You have all the information you could possibly want at your fingertips so make sure you do your research.
Only select vendors who have legitimate business listings and a proven history of good service. This won’t be hard to find as you will have access to reviews through various channels on the internet. If you know someone who has had a wedding in your chosen location, don’t hesitate to get feedback on vendors they used.
2. Keep Mother Nature in mind
Your location for your destination wedding might be paradise. But even paradise is visited by Mother Nature from time to time.
Your best defence against the elements is to research what season has the least risk for wild weather. Whatever your location, there will be a window of at least a couple of months where weather is in its prime.
This is also another reason why you need to plan a destination wedding well in advance.
If other couples are booking their wedding in the same location as you, you may be planning to have your wedding at the same time of year. Book your venue as far in advance as possible to avoid missing out on the dates you had in mind.
1. Find the perfect place
The key to planning the perfect destination wedding location is to find somewhere that ticks all the boxes. The location you choose will determine the mood of your wedding, be it beachy, rustic or sophisticated.
Your destination wedding should also say something about you. Even if you opt for a full wedding package, try to put your own personal touch on the occasion.
Find a location that will offer more than just a venue.
Traveling abroad comes with its own set of planning requirements, so the less you need to do in the way of catering and entertainment, the better.
Markovina Vineyard Estate has been the venue of choice for many destination weddings. Given the ease of planning with the team at Markovina, it’s no wonder couples are keen to travel to our corner of the Pacific to get married here.
What really sets us apart from other wedding venues is that we only host one wedding at a time, allowing couples and their guests to make full use of our extensive grounds.
With Auckland CBD only 20 minutes from our venue, there is plenty of sightseeing to be done.
The best thing about New Zealand is you could see beaches, lakes, cities and snow-capped mountains all in one day!
New Zealand is no longer the world’s best kept secret.
Word is getting out about the beauty of our country and how much there is to do here.
If you’re planning a destination wedding, call us today. We know how to make sure your wedding is easy to plan and truly unforgettable.
