Destination Wedding

Hi Tionna! Is there a specific location you're curious about, or are you just wondering in general?

So ours was kinda like a destination wedding. Most of our families and friends lived about two hours from the venue. We picked this venue because it was in between where both of our families live. His family lives primarily in one state and mine in the other and they are about four hours from each other. We lived four hours from the venue and there were a few friends and family that lived even further. The hardest part for us was having to travel for things like tours, tastings, meeting with vendors, etc. Our ceremony and reception were held at a hotel.


If you are looking at getting married on the beach then you will want to look at venues nearby that you could just have the reception at. You'll want to make sure you have any required permits to get married on the beach as well.

Hi Tionna!

I did have a destination wedding, but it was in Arizona, instead of the beach.

What I did was have an, "Info" section on my wedding website with the following topics specific to the venue:
-Location and surrounding area
-Airports

-What the typical seasonal forecast was

-3 hotels with room blocks.
Hotels were within 7 miles of the venue due to limited parking and to keep potential Uber costs down.
One hotel could accommodate guests with mobility issues and had a view of the mountains as well as a sizable pool. Another hotel catered to the regional aesthetic and vibe. The third hotel was very close to the airport and had good sound insulation, and a standard refrigerator size if guests wanted to store and prepare their own food. All hotels were kept to about $120 per night (give or take).


-A full description of the meals to be served

-Dress code with examples (ie: Cocktail attire for ladies should be dresses or pantsuits and open-toed shoes were ok)

-Facilities provided for young parents with children

Additional:

I sent out my Save-the-dates with the destination city when I announced my engagement about 1.3 years before the wedding. This was to give guests plenty of time to make and save up for leave and travel.

The Pros:

-Having a destination wedding allowed me to stretch my dollar and stay true to the values my fiancé (now husband) and I share.

-Several vendors and products were local.

-My venue had 3 settings we used: The courtyard for the ceremony and cocktail hour (later flipped for the dancing in the evening), The main house for the dining, The cantina room for part of the cocktail hour, cake cutting, and guest lounge for the reception so guests could beat the heat. This also allowed us to have "back up" if in case it rained.

The Cons:
-Because most of the vendors were local and independent, their pricing was subject to inflation (glad I booked most of them early), and you had to usually pay in cash, or Venmo, Zelle, or Paypal instead of credit card.

-Over half of our initial guest count dropped because they did not want to travel.

Some Considerations:

-If you are traveling to a tropical destination, or are having a wedding close to the water, line your suitcase, and place your clothes in plastic bags that way they will be dry if water gets to them. This includes your wedding dress.

-Have your wedding dress neatly prepared by a local dry cleaner. I didn't do this, and I wish I did because the crinoline was a little too flat, and didn't flare as much as it was supposed to.

-Do NOT use a steamer on plastic beading- it will melt the beads.

-I know I will sound crazy, but buy a back up wedding dress (like a sample, or your dress but second hand through a resale site) just in case if your first dress is ruined during travel. As a bridal stylist I have heard and seen the horror stories.

View Quoted Comment Thank you for this I am taking note

View Quoted Comment Thanks for the advice

We didn’t have one but have attended them as guests for loved ones. It’s considered a cost saver for the couple because they are passing costs to guests who are not responsible for the expenses and makes it even more prohibitive for them to attend. It’s not the guests’ responsibility to make sure the couple has a free or low cost stay due to resort conditions. It’s also prohibitive when the resort/hotel requires guests to stay at the venue in order to attend the wedding, that may be out of their budget. Very few destination weddings are truly less expensive than a domestic one. When invited guests are unable to attend due to finances and other issues such as not wanting to use PTO or not wanting to visit the particular location, not all couples accept that graciously. Some do end friendships over that. There are cons that people ignore or say are irrelevant to real life but they have a big impact.