Congratulations, you’re engaged! The next big decision is when and where to have your wedding. Have you considered a destination wedding?
Growing up my family and I took many vacations to the Caribbean. Long before I was even thinking about saying “I do” to anyone I remember seeing destination weddings and thinking how glamorous they looked. The bride and groom would be strolling on the beach taking beautiful photos or celebrating with friends and family during a big fancy dinner outside under the palm trees. I always assumed they must have been rich or special people to get to have their wedding in such a gorgeous place! Many years later when it came time to plan my own wedding the idea of a destination wedding came up. Neither of us had large families, many of our friends were still unmarried making travel easier, we both loved traveling and I still had that amazing vision of the destination weddings I’d stumbled upon in my childhood. So, after not much convincing of my fiancé we decided to go for it. To my surprise not only could anyone easily have a destination wedding but there were sooo many advantages to actually having one!
It does however take a little thought and research to pick your special destination. With short flight times from the U.S., the Caribbean is the most popular region among American couples looking to marry abroad. However, since it won’t be just you and your fiancé traveling you will need to consider factors like will guests need a passport? Can everyone fit/stay at the same resort? Is it affordable?
To make things a little easier when it came to our wedding planning we chose to get married in St.Croix. It’s located in the U.S. Virgin Islands, so guests didn’t need to worry about getting a passport and there were less “rules” since we were on U.S. territory.
Having a legal marriage in a different country unfortunately isn’t quite as easy as just hiring an officiant. Countries have different requirements including a variety of paperwork requirements like birth and medical certificates, letters of intent, divorce papers, etc. Educate yourself far in advance to ensure you have enough time to get everything together. There are also some locations where you need to establish residency before getting married. In most cases this can be done by arriving a day or two prior to your actual wedding date. Hiring a wedding coordinator or travel agent is a great and easy way to make sure everything is being done correctly. To avoid the legal details, some couples choose to have the legal wedding performed in the United States and then have a symbolic ceremony with guests in their destination.
Destination weddings have become extremely popular over the last 10 years, and it’s no wonder why! Gathering all your family and friends in a fabulous location for your special day is super appealing for so many reasons. Here’s a few:
Less stress
Many resorts and cruise lines have made it incredibly easy and appealing to wed on-site.They have full-time wedding coordinators on staff who are familiar with that country’s marriage license requirements and offer wedding packages that take care of all your ceremony needs. Keep in mind you often won’t get to see the venue/destination or meet vendors in person prior to your wedding day so you really need to trust the planner you chose to work with.
Guest lists can often be a stressful topic when it comes to weddings. You don’t want to leave anyone out and can sometimes feel pressured to invite guests you may not really even know. A destination wedding allows you more flexibility with your guest list! Traveling is expensive and difficult, and a lot of people unfortunately won’t be able to make it work. So you can, in theory, invite everyone you want to invite and people will self-select due to their perceived closeness with you, time available, and finances. It can be hard that some important people might not be able to make it, but it does alleviate stress over who to invite! We invited everyone on our list and ended up with about 40 guests. Many unfortunately couldn’t make the trip, so we chose to have a smaller celebration with them upon our return – which had an added bonus of giving me another opportunity to wear my wedding dress!
Want an outdoor wedding? Having a destination wedding can remove the stress of weather ruining the day. Depending on the destination you choose, chances are the days of sunshine and warm weather far outweigh the gloomy ones. Even if it rains in the Caribbean it’s usually only for a few minutes.You will need to consider the rainy and hurricane season of a location when planning. Overall if you enjoy the summer weather and want a fabulous chance at getting it, having a destination wedding in Mexico or the Caribbean is a great choice.
Finally, with all the planning done months in advance there’s the added bonus of vacation-level relaxation in the days before your wedding. What better way to relax before your wedding than spend the day sipping daiquiris on the beach.
Cost
Surprisingly, most of the time a destination wedding can actually be less expensive than planning a wedding at home! A February 2020 article by The Knot reported that the average domestic wedding costs $33,900, versus an average of $8,237 per couple for a destination wedding. This is mainly because destination weddings are more intimate and fewer guests means lower costs. Many all-inclusive properties also offer wedding packages, and some resorts even offer free weddings with a certain number of room bookings. It’s also common for the couple to be offered free accommodation for a certain number of nights, a percentage off their stay or a free upgrade to the honeymoon suite.
Depending on the destination you choose, lower cost of living, a favorable exchange rate, and less expensive venues mean your dream wedding may also be more doable than you think! Our wedding appetizers consisted of lobster medallions and filet mignon which we never would have been able to afford in the U.S.!
There’s no need to spend thousands of dollars on store-bought decorations when your location IS your decoration. With a traditional wedding, a good amount of a budget will go towards flowers and adornments to give the venue a certain look. Destination weddings, on the other hand, emphasize the natural beauty of the location and use that as decoration instead. By using the gorgeous scenery at your destination as your backdrop, you can shave thousands of dollars off your wedding budget – not to mention that mountains and beaches trump basic flowers any day of the week! I had beautiful bouquets full of orchids and they were a “cheap” option because orchids grow wild everywhere in the islands.
This isn’t always the case, but many destination wedding packages may include free alcohol – especially if you chose to stay at an all inclusive resort. You can end up spending a good portion of your budget on providing alcohol for your guests during traditional weddings, so this could be a huge bonus.
Wedding gowns, tuxedos, bridesmaid dresses… classic wedding attire is notoriously pricey. The gown, for example, costs an average of around $1,600. When having a destination wedding brides and grooms have the flexibility to stick with or do away with traditional wedding attire. You can say “I do” barefoot in a casual summer dress and shorts if you choose.
Many couples chose to stay at their wedding destination to immediately celebrate their honeymoon, thus saving money on an additional future trip.We personally chose to island jump to St.Thomas to spend our honeymoon away from our guests but did still save money by not having to purchase an additional round trip plane ticket at a later date.
Spend Quality Time with The People You Love Most
At a traditional wedding, especially where there are a lot of guests, it can be very challenging for the wedding couple to make time to speak to each person in attendance. A destination wedding however usually means your wedding guests will arrive one to two days prior to your wedding, which enables you to spend quality time together and make incredible memories in your location to last a lifetime. This was one of my favorite parts of our wedding. We spent a day or two relaxing with our family and friends at the resort and going on excursions. When it was time for the after wedding party we were able to relax and actually have fun dancing and enjoying ourselves as opposed to “making the rounds” making small chat and thanking guests for coming.
The extra time prior to your big day also means that the guests from each side of the family can interact and get to know one another, which can allow for a more interactive and relaxed celebration when your wedding day arrives! Me and my husband’s grandmothers met at our wedding and often spoke to each other after the wedding which was only possible since they were able to spend quality time with each other.
It’s been 20 years since we got married and friends still talk about our wedding! Many have even said they wished they chose to go the destination route.
Amazing Photos
When you celebrate your wedding locally, you may find that your photos are very similar to other people you know who were also married in the local area. Your photos may not be particularly unique or feature a beautiful natural environment. When you choose your destination you also get the option to choose a beautiful background. It could be anything from lush forests, crystal clear turquoise water, a volcano or snow-covered mountains. Having a destination wedding means the opportunities for unique and magical photos are around every corner. Choosing to work with a local photographer can boost your chances of spectacular and memorable photos incorporating the natural landscape, as they know how to take the best shots given light and exposure to any natural elements, etc.. We have photos on the beach, under palm trees, on rocks and even laying in a hammock! There’s one shot at the reception with a sunset so beautiful it looks like a fake backdrop.
Availability
With a whole world’s worth of choices you often don’t have to worry about a long waitlist like you would to get that one perfect wedding venue in your town. Onsite hotel wedding vendors also means they are readily available whenever a hotel books a wedding. These are especially important factors in this post covid world where everyone that postponed or missed a wedding is now competing for the few limited venues and suppliers in their city.
Share your love of travel or a location with others
I find that I tend to travel a lot more than most people I know. Sometimes it’s because of the cost but more often it seems that people just don’t know how to start planning, where to go or that they can actually afford to do it. Planning a destination wedding gives you an opportunity to introduce the idea of travel or a favorite location to people. Guests that normally don’t travel will gain memories to last a lifetime and maybe even start to travel more. My husband’s grandmother was never on an airplane until our wedding. Once she returned she loved telling the story about our wedding and her big adventure to everyone.
I was so happy with our decision to have a destination wedding and honestly hope my own children decide to go the same route when it’s time for them to marry. We love to travel so it was so great to incorporate that love and enjoyment into one of the most memorable and special days of our lives. Not only did we save A LOT of money but we also spent quality time making memories with the special people in our lives, ate amazing food and had a gorgeous backdrop for all of it! I love being brought back to that day by sharing my memories, experience and tips with others. Feel free to reach out if you’d like more information or want help planning a destination wedding of your own.
Take vacations, go as many places as you can! You can always make money, you can’t always make memories!
