Yes’s and No’s of destination wedding

One of the most important things to do if you are considering a destination wedding, is to first visit the place you are getting married in. If you were getting married at home or the city plaza of your city, it wouldn’t be such an issue. But when you are spending thousands of dollars in a place where you are going to marry, why do you want to take a chance. Visiting will open doors for creativity and budget curving sometimes. It is always the best thing to personally check out the place to confirm certain things and mainly for personal satisfaction.

It so happens that when everything is overwhelming around you, you tend to overspend naturally. You always should have a hand on your budget and make sure you spent appropriately for your dime. The small things that go unnoticeable will be the largest spent on when you check the list of items you spent on. It is always better to have some money left than to have nothing post marriage. Keep your mind on budget when you order flowers, destination décor and everything related to destination expenses.

It is best to believe that sometimes less is more. Yes, when you are planning a destination wedding, the place is already so beautiful that you need not plan extra décor setting for the place. Make sure you spend less on that and balance the expenses in some other necessary places. You might want to leave the natural setting to take its toll on your wedding set up than over decorating the place.

You may cringe at this thought, but remember that unless you have money to burn, planning a destination wedding isn’t a piece of cake. Consider negotiating for most of the stuff you might be needing. An open bar can be negotiated with ease when it is your wedding. Making a personal request at times, helps. Also, be open to flexibility. If the flowers that you order are costlier than the ones that are seasonal special, do nudge. Cost cutting happens and you can be flexible about it. Ultimately, what you decide is the best. Don’t have a mind block on such things. Unless you ask, you never get!

This goes without saying! You need to get there with family a few days in prior. It is best to know locals in the destination you have planned the wedding salons, decorators, your hotel people and a lot more than just this. Get your manicures and pedicures done 2-3 days before your wedding. Keep a watch on your bridal gown and make sure it is ironed, pressed and packed well. Trials are very important before the wedding. Contact your local makeup person or the bring the person along if he isn’t from the same city for trials. Going to the place beforehand gives you the much needed relaxation and confidence that nothing will screw up in the wedding.

A wedding is nothing without your guests. When you are planning a destination wedding, make sure your guests are informed way before the wedding date. This is when you need to send them ‘Save the date’ cards, so they don’t forget to book their travel to the destination specified. This should be at least 2-3 months in prior for them to do all other necessities. So, keep them informed in prior and let them know that they need to be there at least a day before or in early hours of the wedding.

Don’ts

Every bride freaks out about this right before the wedding. Don’t be one of them. You have done your job, now it is the guest’s turn to turn up or not. Remove the stress of thinking ‘Will anyone show up?’. You have nothing more to do and you shouldn’t worry about it anymore. Hopefully the ones who care the most about you, will turn up. Ignore if there are less people and just get married. You will be so busy with ‘the day’, that you will even not notice who came or not.

Don’t assume things will get done just like that. Unless you write down what’s important, what is needed or not, things are going to be stagnant and will not move. Don’t assume your flower decorator will come up with his own plan for your wedding. Form a team and make sure to go about it in the right way. You need people to help. So, seek for help from your buddies. You need to fix and confirm everything before hand, personally. If you are unable to do it, delegate! Just give the responsibility to someone who you can trust. Families, friends are always there for your concerns.

One important reason you are getting married in a destination is to take a thousand pictures of yourself and your groom. Never your photos will capture a million memories and will make a story out of each picture you are in. Never skimp on photography. This should be one of your areas where you shouldn’t hold back on budget. Make photography your priority. Also, make sure you have a definite budget for photography also. Have a pre-during-post wedding photography done so it captures the different stages of your wedding day. You can arrange for the same from the photographer. He will help you decide the different themes for the same. Make sure that you speak on the various ways you can involve people in your wedding photography. Bridesmaids and maid of honor are your highlights. So take funny and interesting pictures with them to make it more colorful. Candid photography can be one of the most easiest ways to make your best album.

It is best to mass block a number of rooms for your guests in the same resort. The idea of going back and forth, traveling and car expenses can be cut short if you can arrange rooms nearby your destination. This will save both money and time. Not only will you get the perks of group blocking, but will also have fun when all your people are together in the same resort.

Give your maid of honor the responsibility of holding your ring. It is the best thing instead of keeping it in a bag and forgetting where you kept it. If a person is given responsibility, make sure they stick to it. Imagine a situation where your bridesmaids and maid of honor are searching frantically for your ring. Arrange a small pouch for the same and give it to the concerned person.

Whether things go the way you planned or not, remember not to worry about anything. You are getting married and that’s the biggest thing of the day. If your florist doesn’t get the flowers you ordered or if your caterer swapped dishes or even if the music is not what you like, relax and chill. Mistakes are bound to happen and you need not worry about all that. In fact, you will be so swamped with other work like makeup, dress and vows that you will not care about any of this. If you are still worried, think of the joyous moment of you walking down the aisle. The most amazing person is waiting at the other end. Just enjoy the moment

Happy hitching!

-Pavithra Ravi