Most couples tie the knot on home soil. But, for some, the dream of getting married in some far-flung exotic land is too alluring. Going somewhere entirely different and having a destination wedding just seems so much more appealing!
In theory, going abroad sounds great. But in practice, it can be a little tricky. After all, planning a regular wedding is a challenge. Preparing for one overseas is the next level up.
In this post, we take a look planning a wedding abroad and the top 5 things that you need to consider.
1) Check The Legalities
First, you’ll want to check the legalities of getting married in a foreign country. Some places don’t allow you to get remarried if you’ve already been married before. Others will say no to same-sex marriages. Each country (and each state, for that matter) has their own rules for getting the marriage license. And these rules are often different for residents vs non-residents, so check well in advance.
Always check the rules ahead of time to avoid disaster and disappointment.
2) Check The Weather
You won’t be able to control the weather on the day of the wedding. But you can play a probabilities game in advance.
What do we mean by this?
Well, let’s say that you want your wedding to be outdoors, on the beach. Okay – fine. But before you finalize any plans, you want to ensure that the likelihood of rain is minimal.
How do you do that? Simple: just check the average weather reports for the region. They should be able to tell you the likelihood of rain only on any given day during the month of your wedding. Anything below 10 percent is excellent.
After checking the average weather reports, if the weather does not look promising, you then have given yourself the options to change your wedding date, or to look for a different locale.
3) Visit The Venue In Advance
When marketing online, wedding venues like to put their best foot forward. They provide pictures that show their premises in the best possible light, making you believe that you’re going somewhere spectacular. That’s understandable.
Unfortunately, the reality can be different. So it always pays to visit the venue in advance, and before you’ve signed any contracts, to check that it’s the real deal. Make sure that you feel good when you’re there so that you can enjoy your big day fully.
4) Book As Early As You Can
While you can sometimes get discounts for booking at the last minute, it’s almost always better to book your venues as early as you can. That’s true regardless is you’re doing a destination wedding or one closer to home.
Why? Because popular locations can sometimes get booked up as much as two years in advance. And thanks to the pandemic, many weddings that were put on hold have been rescheduled, so demand is likely to be even higher in the future.
Also, without having your venues in place, you really can’t proceed with the rest of your wedding plans.
5) Arrange Travel
Wedding planning sites such as https://www.mtievents.com/personal-and-leisure-travel/destination-wedding-coordination/ highlight the importance of picking a venue that guests can travel to easily. Yes – you want somewhere beautiful. But you also want it to be relatively close to the airport and accessible via coach or taxi so it’s not difficult for your guests to get to.
Arranging travel can be a hassle. Some couples leave it up to their guests to find their way to the venue, while others pay for transport themselves according to https://www.brides.com/story/must-know-advice-for-destination-wedding-planning. Perhaps the easiest method is to hire a coach to collect people from the airport and bus them to your venue.
If you choose to let your guests fend for themselves, (and there’s nothing wrong with that), you may want to make it a bit easier and provide them with contact information for the local transportation companies.
* This is a contributed post
I hope you found this information useful!
Hearts, Joy, Love!
Jean
For planning help and unique ideas for your wedding call or text me at 937-581-3647, or email me at jean@weddingsfromtheheart.net!