One of the most popular types of weddings these days is the destination wedding. A destination wedding refers to a wedding at a beautiful location, rather than at the bride’s home or at one of the couples’ local hometowns. The benefit to planning a destination wedding compared to a traditional wedding is that there are typically fewer party rules and that the bride is free to do as she pleased, so to speak. This is why destination weddings have become so popular in the past few years.
For instance, many resorts provide free destination wedding packages simply because they will earn their money off of the extra room accommodations, so you might qualify for an incredibly inexpensive wedding package simply by bring a certain number of guests to the beach or to your hotel. You might also find sandals at some resorts. Sandals are a must for a great many types of beach weddings, but not at all at some of the expensive beach resorts. Some of the most expensive resorts will actually force you to rent sandals, which aren’t very practical if you’re after an authentic island experience. However, if you’re willing to spend the extra money, you can get rid of the shoes and have a romantic, free and barefoot beach wedding.
Some all-inclusive resort destinations also offer free honeymoon options, which may not be included in the package. Unfortunately, not every destination wedding packages include honeymoon options, so you’ll need to keep this in mind. The nice thing is that many all-inclusive resort destinations have a great variety of activities, so you’re sure to find something memorable. If your partner loves snorkeling, scuba diving, windsurfing, kite surfing or anything else, then you’ll probably want to consider taking your honeymoon to one of these locations. Just make sure you’ve booked everything you need ahead of time, so you don’t waste any time.
Once you’ve found the perfect destination, you have a few major jobs ahead of you. Since most of the guests are going to be vacationing family members or friends, you need to make sure they can fit in a plane, stay in a hotel, and even pay for the food and drinks they will consume during the wedding. Depending on where you are, you might be required to show them ID and a credit card, since most destinations don’t offer any form of public transportation. You also have the task of picking out a great cake and possibly picking up some flowers for the women. Couples who are from hometowns don’t usually have to worry about any of these things, but everyone needs to be prepared for the major jobs that lie ahead.
While you might not think it, a destination wedding can be just as expensive as a traditional one. Destination weddings can have all the same elaborate arrangements as a traditional one, but the difference lies in how much you are going to pay to get everything taken care of. If you don’t book your resort or cruise ship well in advance, you will find that costs rise considerably. Every step from picking out the flowers to picking out the cake should be taken care of by someone other than the bride and groom, so make sure that you keep everyone in the loop about every step of the process, from when you are planning to have the wedding to when you are actually on the island or cruise ship. It doesn’t hurt to let each of the guests know every single step, so that everyone is aware of what is taking place and can hopefully be a more cohesive group if anything goes wrong with the destination wedding.
Every step from choosing your destination to picking out your attire should be taken care of by someone besides the bride and groom, making sure that the bride and groom are well aware of every last detail. A good travel agent can handle all of these details, making sure that everyone gets what they want and that the bride and groom don’t miss anything. They will also take care of all the arrangements for the attire of the guests, which is important because the bride and groom want to wear matching attire for their big day, but not everyone else at the party is going to know that! Having an actual travel agent that is well versed in destination weddings will help make this transition go smoothly, so that the bride and groom can just enjoy their time together instead of stressing about whether or not everyone has what they need.