Top 5 Tips For Planning a Destination Wedding!

Have you decided to jaunt off and get married someplace exotic?  A Caribbean island perhaps or a romantic castle in Ireland?  Here are some tips from our own Amanda Smith McCabe who recently planned her own destination wedding in Turks and Caicos. Enjoy!

1)   If you have the time and resources, do a site visit!  Besides seeing your venue and putting a face with some of your vendors, you can learn valuable information such as cost and means of transportation from airport to hotel, length of time from airport to hotel, and restaurants or other site attractions nearby!  There also may be sections of the island/city/area that you do not want guests to go to!

 

2)   Hire a planner!  Just as if you were having your wedding locally, you will want to relax and enjoy your day.  You can bring someone down with you from your hometown or research to see if there are planners that are local on the island- they can be a valuable resource!

3)   Before you decide to ship down favors/welcome bags/décor, do some research on the import tax if you are in a different country than the US!  It may be more practical to bring these items down in suitcases- plus that leaves room for more shopping after the wedding!

4)   Don’t be scared to get some vendors locally.  They, after all, live there!  Unless your dream is peonies at your wedding- trust the locally grown florals- they look fantastic in their home setting!

 5)   HAVE FUN!  How often do you get to have a group of friends and family (most who probably don’t know each other well) all together in one location for a few days?!  I love the idea of planning some side activities such as snorkeling, fishing, horseback riding, etc. to have those special experiences with your guests!!