The Do's and Don'ts of a Destination Wedding.
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You and your fiancé have always dreamed of travelling to an exotic location for your wedding and honeymoon, however, you are unsure of what is involved or how to go about arranging this.
Well worry no more. Corinna and Leron Gittens-Arnold from Weddingmoon Vacations Ltd are experienced wedding and honeymoon planners, located in Auckland, New Zealand, and they are here to share with you their valuable knowledge and insights for those couples seeking to embark on a journey of love abroad.
Do hire a wedding and event planner.
This is an important time in your life and one that should be as memorable as possible. Planning a wedding can be very stressful, let alone the honeymoon. By hiring an experienced local wedding and event planner you will be almost eliminating this from your venture. The wedding planners have local knowledge of the best vendors and suppliers and will vet all of them to make sure they fit in with your needs and desires.
Corinna and Leron at Weddingmoon Vacations cater to a wide range of people and are particular proud of their connections to the LGBT communities. “It is highly important that our couples get treated well and equally across the board, if a vendor does not meet our strict guidelines then we do not even consider using them in the first place”. They also know the countries legalities regarding marriage certificates and timing involved and local events and holidays that could impact the booking stage of securing venues and hotels.
Do think about why you both chose a destination wedding.
- Is it because you want to elope?
- The romance of the location
- You want to streamline your costs
- You can share a locale you love with your guests
- Your honeymoon is guaranteed
- No hassle planning through a coordinator
- You can control the guest list
- An intimate way to share a special moment in your lives
Whatever your reasons are it is important that you are able to share this with those people in your lives that are close to you. This will enable them to be on the same page as you and to help you to make your dreams a reality.
Do think about your guests.
The first thing you want to figure out is if you are going to have a few people going along with you, lots of people, or none at all. Remember that if you do have guests attending that they will need to know at least six months in advance in order to plan their own vacations.
Use your wedding planner wisely in this case, allowing them to coordinate a group rate for accommodation, activities and transportation. If you do want to have your friends and family travel with you, remember not to pressure them into attending. For some people it may be cost prohibitive or the timing may be difficult for them with obligations that they already have. Whatever you decided, be flexible and allow a lot of lead time for the planning.
Don’t pay for your guests airfares.
It is not customary for the couple getting married at their ultimate dream location to pay for your guests airfares, unless of course you want to. This needs to be factored in when sending out your invites, letting your guests know either way. Then all parties attending can make the necessary arrangements and decisions when deciding whether they will attend or not.
Don’t mail your wedding dress and or wedding items to the venue or wedding planner.
While transporting a wedding dress, wedding attire or special items you want to include in your ceremony, can be a challenge, it is never recommended that you mail them to your destination. Things could go missing or get damaged. Your items may get held up in mail inspection at the official customs of the country, or, even worse, get returned to your address without ever being delivered.
It is your responsibility to transport any items and clothing that you wish to have at your ceremony. Airlines will work with you to make sure that everything arrives in a safe manner, including using the on board large lockers that they have to stow your dress or wedding attire while travelling.
Don’t hold back on celebrating and having fun.
The most important aspect of your nuptials, the celebration! It is time to pull out the party hats and enjoy your moment! Dance the night away after a delectable dinner, savoring the local wine and taking all that your dream location has to offer, because the celebration does not stop after the ceremony, it continues with the honeymoon. You are in the part of the world you always wanted to be in for the most important time in your life, take in the sights, relax and most of all have fun.
