Everything You Need to Know About Destination Weddings
Let's Get Practical
Ah, it all sounds soooo delightfully dreamy. But a destination wedding still needs to be planned, in the everyday practical sense, same as any wedding. Okoboji may be home to some, but many of our brides come from all around Iowa and Minnesota. Planning this wedding as a destination wedding may need a little extra work! Here, three points you simply must consider:
Photo Credit: Brovado Weddings from Minneapolis, MN
1. Start early. You may think you have plenty of time, but when you start investigating your first choice locale, you may learn it’s a lot pricier than you thought, or getting there is too complicated for you and your guests. And speaking of guests, they need lots of time, too. While six to eight weeks ahead is fine for sending invites to a traditional wedding, you’ll need to give four months’ notice—minimum—to guests invited to a wedding away.
2. Stick to your budget. While it’s true that it’s easier to keep costs in check with destination weddings (it’s that all inclusive thing), it’s still wise to keep an upper limit firmly in mind. That way, if you happen to start tooling around online and see the ever so slightly ritzier resort just a few steps down the beach from the first place you loved, you’ll be far less inclined to spend more.
3. Be communicative. Send out save-the-date cards as soon as you know when and where you’ll be wed. It’s always a good idea to set up a wedding website to keep guests apprised of details. Let them know if you’ve set aside blocks of hotel rooms and how to book them, what to pack, what the itinerary of the event will be and so on. (Caveat: Keeping guests up to date is not the same thing as boring everyone to tears with details about the search for the perfect strappy sandal. Only give them the info they need.)
Originally written by: Denise Schipani from http://www.bridalguide.com/destination-weddings/destination-wedding-advice?page=1
Edited by: Samantha Hirschman, Okoboji Weddings Team Member