Destination Wedding Guide: 12+ Months Before The Wedding

A destination wedding offers a unique and memorable way to celebrate your love. To help you navigate this exciting adventure, we’ve prepared the ultimate destination wedding planning checklist. From the early stages of decision-making to the magical day itself, let’s make sure your destination wedding is everything you’ve ever dreamed of.

12+ Months Before the Wedding

Start a Wedding Binder

• A wedding binder is the perfect option to help you stay organized throughout your destination wedding planning process.
• It’s an organized system to store all your important wedding-related documents, notes, and inspiration in one place. This makes it easy to access information quickly and stay on top of planning tasks.

Create Your Wedding Vision

• What does your dream wedding look like?
• What type of ceremony speaks to you- chapel, beach, garden, cruise ship, scenic overlook?
• Think about the mood and atmosphere you want to create. Do you envision a romantic and intimate gathering, a lively and vibrant celebration, or a tranquil and serene event? Consider how you want your guests to feel.
• Identify key elements that are essential to your wedding vision. These may include specific decor elements (e.g., candles, flowers, or lanterns), cultural or religious traditions, or unique details that are meaningful to you.
• Create a vision board and color palette. Include images and ideas that resonate with you.

Determine Your Dream Destination

• When determining your dream destination you will want to consider factors such as budget, legal and religious marriage requirements, travel distance, etc. (A travel agent can help guide you)

Set a Budget

• Establish a clear budget that accounts for all wedding expenses: including travel costs, ceremony and reception cost, optional upgrades and wedding venue extras, invitations/cards, wedding attire, shoes & accessories, gifts, additional vendor fees, etc.
• Is anyone helping you pay for the wedding, what are they willing to contribute?
• Are you potentially assisting any guests with their wedding and travel expenses?

Choose a Wedding Date

• Destination weddings are becoming very popular, especially in the Caribbean and Mexico. Wedding Venues book up fast so have a few wedding date options in mind in case the one you want isn’t available.
• When choosing a date you will want to consider a few factors such as weather, high season/low season, and local or national holidays & events.

Determine a Guest List

• Keep in mind that not everyone you invite may be able to attend your destination wedding. Realistically half the people you invite will not be able to attend due to financial or work constraints.
• You will need to have an idea on how many guests you have in order to ensure that the wedding venue you choose can accommodate your guest count.

Hire a Travel Agent

• Travel Agents that specialize in destination weddings often have in-depth knowledge of the destinations and wedding venues where you are considering getting married. They are your ultimate guide to helping you narrow down your search to your perfect wedding location.
• Destination Weddings can also be complex to plan and organize, especially when dealing with multiple elements like guest travel arrangements, accommodations, and event coordination. Destination Wedding Travel Specialists can handle these logistics, allowing you to focus on enjoying your engagement and wedding day.
• A Destination Wedding Travel Specialists main role is to liaison with the wedding venue, obtain wedding packages, wedding date availability, wedding contracts, provide options for accommodations, negotiate & manage group contracts, manage guest travel arrangements & accommodations, manage payment plans and overall take that stress off your plate.
• Destination Wedding Travel Specialists also act as a safety net and lifeline. They can assist you and your guests in case there are unforeseen travel disruptions or in the case of an emergency to ensure your wedding plans stay in track.

Preview the Wedding Site

• If possible, visit the destination and wedding venue before you finalize the details.
• Tour the wedding venue, look at the ceremony and reception options. Meet the wedding & event coordinators that will be working with you. Sample the food and atmosphere. Determine if the venue resonates with you and matches your wedding vision.

Reserve Your Wedding Venue

• After finalizing your wedding venue choice, the next step is to secure your wedding date through a contract with the venue. This contract will encompass your chosen wedding package and any additional arrangements you’ve coordinated with the venue, such as the designated ceremony and reception locations, menu selections, and more.

Reserve a Group Room Block

• After reserving your wedding venue and signing the wedding contract, you will need to decide if you will need to set up a group room block for your guests.
• Typically, a group block for accommodations requires a minimum of 10 rooms. If your guest count doesn’t reach this threshold, you won’t need a room block. Instead, we recommend advising your guests to secure their rooms promptly to ensure availability.
• Should you need a group block, your travel agent will assist in the negotiation and establishment of a contract..

Continue following our blog for more destination wedding planning tips.  Plus, we’re happy to offer you a free consultation to help you start your search for the perfect wedding destination!