While a destination wedding may be your lifelong dream when planning a wedding, remember without your guests there is no event. Consider travel costs and accessibility from where the majority of your guests will be traveling from when selecting a destination.
Knowledge is power
Ask the hard hitting questions before making a commitment when shopping around for a destination wedding.
Peaks and Valleys
The best time of year to travel to the Caribbean and Mexico is the fall. Room rates are lower and some hotels reduce their wedding package pricing or offer added perks/concessions.
Strength in Numbers
Most hotels will offer reduced rates, incentives and concessions for wedding groups who commit to a minimum number of rooms under contract.
Listen to the Experts
Hotels that are committed to destination weddings will have on-site wedding coordinators. Listen to their advice; who else knows the resort better than they do. They are your eyes and ears during the overseas, long distance planning phase. There’s no added cost to utilize the service and expertise of the resort’s coordinator.
Keep it Local
One of the easiest ways to cut costs is to keep it local. Instead of insisting on midnight blue orchids that have to be imported, use wedding flowers grown locally. Don’t insist on bringing your own vendors. Ask the resort for a list of their trusted vendors and capitalize on the relationships built by the resort with these vendors.
Time is on Your Side
Book at least 9-months in advance for best date selection. Last minute planning a wedding can result in unexpected costs. Plus, make sure the save-the-dates are in the mail well in advance to allow family and friends time to budget and plan.
Legal is so “Yesteryear”
There is no need to get legally married in the destination you’ve chosen. Take care of the legal paperwork in your home state to save hundreds of dollars on the cost of a legal ceremony in another country. You’ll avoid a variety of other ‘legalities’ such as needing to translate documents and blood tests.
Arrive in Style
Plan on arriving at your destination at least three days prior to the wedding day. Use the extra time at your destination and resort to scope out the place, get to know the staff, and meet with the resort coordinator and vendors.
Don’t Go on Price Alone
Trust in the hotels that are willing to show you their pricing upfront. Every ‘free wedding’ promotion has restrictions and requirements.
