You are finally engaged. Congratulations! Since the moment you two met, you knew that if this thing between the two of you worked out and you got to a point where you will start making plans for a wedding, it would have to be different, it would need to be exotic, it would need to be unique. You do not know what that looks like right now, but you know that if you would come across a great idea you would recognize it instantly. And then one idle Sunday morning, over breakfast, you see this thing called Destination Weddings on the Travel Channel. And now the wheels have begun to turn. You need to know more.
So, what is this thing called, Destination Wedding?
Basic definition of “destination wedding” is a wedding which is held a way, typically far away from where you reside. To forego the usual wedding fan fair, to not book your reception at a local business hotel, to not have the same buffet style conference meal, to not fight the traffic of a busy city, to not pay the exorbitant venue booking fees, to not pay 28%-32% service charge (Hotels do not consider service charge to be a gratuity for staff. Gratuity for the staff is extra), to not pay 8% food and 12% liquor tax, and your state sales tax. (Did you know that on the average, after your event meets venue food and drink minimums, your total – out the door bill will be 35%-45% higher than the menu prices listed. That is due to obligatory fees and taxes). A destination wedding allows the couples an opportunity to celebrate their marriage at a destination they have always dreamed of visiting. Or maybe the two of you have discovered your paradise somewhere on the globe and secretly thought to yourselves, “this is the place where I want be wed”. Frequently, destination weddings take place at an exquisitely situated, exclusive paradise locations on an island outside of the United States. US couples typically find their wedding paradise in the Caribbean on an island such as Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, St. Lucia, Aruba, Cayman Islands, St. Thomas, St. Kitts or Barbados. When couples set their sights on Mexico they find the perfect spot for their wedding in Playa del Carmen, Los Cabos, Tulum, Nuevo Vallarta, Cancun, Puerto Morelos, Cozumel, or Isla Mujeres.
As a baseline, destination weddings are generally held in places with:
- Special meaning to the couple (such as the place they met, or always dreamed about going)
- Gorgeous scenery (maybe white-sand beaches, snowy mountains, or green rainforests and waterfalls)
- Tropical climates have beautiful weather year-round, so there’s year-round opportunity
- All-inclusive resorts cater to wedding parties and entice them with custom wedding packages suited for every budget
- Intimate and romantic experiences for the couple. You may chose an all-inclusive, adults only resort, where the both of you will be waited on hand and foot, treated like the royalty that you are.
- Your guests will have memorable lifelong experience as well.
While the Caribbean islands and Mexico are among the most popular wedding destinations for US based couples, there are literally endless options and world locations. If you have the time and budget, you may want to consider your wedding destination a bit further away. Unimaginable scenery, experiences, service, and food options are awaiting you in Fiji, Bali, Borneo, Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore, and let us not forget Dubai. When planning a destination wedding, you can make it anything you two deem appropriate. There are no rules. Your wedding can be intimate, just the two of you and a couple of your friends occupying a private gazebo that is situated at the edge of a natural barrier extended 500 feet into the turquoise water. You can choose to extend your wedding experience to just close family and friends or arrange the festivities and accommodations for hundreds of guests. Due to the travel factor, costs, and the responsibilities at home the destination weddings tend to be smaller than a wedding you would have at home. However, we have been known to create destination wedding experience of a lifetime for the wedding couple and few hundred of their closest friends as close as the Bahamas and as far as Cable Bay, New Zealand and all over the globe.
For quite some time now, destination weddings have become an extremely viable option for lots of couples. And it is quite understandable. Destination weddings are a lot of fun, they are unique, they are exciting, they provide experiences like no other, and they are a getaway vacation for the couple and their guests. But wait, there is more; there is another incredibly significant reason to have a destination wedding. “Budget” – on an average, your destination wedding will cost about 70%-75% less than it would cost you to have it in your home city. Now how do you like that !
Bear in mind, unless you have someone else’s destination wedding, step by step blueprint and attempt to recreate it, no two destination weddings are alike. As such, defining what is meant by ‘destination wedding‘ is different in every case! Your dream wedding may consist of tying a knot and saying “I do” in a traditional manner while wearing an aqualung 300 meters down on the Koro Sea floor with your ceremony serenaded by an underwater brass quartet. Or maybe your dream of saying “I do” is in the tranquil white and blue façade of Mykonos, Greece or maybe you would like to have a mesmerizing sunset wedding ceremony waist deep in water on the beach in Aruba. Your destination wedding is one-of-a-kind, no-one else could have come up with but “you two” wedding.
All you need is a bit of imagination, love to experience something new and of course planning. Do not underestimate planning!! Depending on your appetite, planning destination wedding and one with a bit of uniqueness at that, will take some know how, a few tricks, and planning. And if you are going to plan a destination wedding, you can certainly do it yourself. Or, you can save yourself a headache, time, and money by engaging a Destination Wedding Planner to make all arrangements and itineraries for you and save you money in the process. To that end, TEGI is here for you. We would love to help out with your wedding planning and travel arrangement needs. We would honored to take this journey with you .
Why Have a Destination Wedding?
For the couple who is torn between a destination wedding and the usual hometown affair, it can be challenging to decide which path is “the one” to take. More than likely, you are weighing your own wedding wishes and needs with those of your guests. You may also be weighing the benefits.There are several advantages to tying the knot far from home. Below is a list of reasons why so many couples prefer to host a destination wedding abroad. Be warned: After reading this list, you may find yourself wondering, why NOT?
Reduce Costs
Destination weddings typically cost just a fraction of the average U.S. wedding at home. Couples can jump onto a quick flight to Cancun, say their vows in the sand, and enjoy an unforgettable evening of dancing and romance typically for under $10,000. This cost covers the basic wedding package (both ceremony and reception), the couple’s flight and hotel stay, as well as extended accommodations for the honeymoon. Meanwhile, a standard, hometown wedding averages more than $50,000 (and much more in major cities), that does not include cost of a honeymoon. If your Destination Wedding spend equates to less than $10,000 on you total wedding experience and it is a vacation …….. Do I need to state the obvious?
Reduce the Stress
No doubt you have seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Father of the Bride, there is a common theme that makes these moments so funny, and also so very real – the stress of wedding planning!
Destination weddings, however, are a bit different in the planning department. Usually, the guest list is smaller, and the majority of the details are handled by an expert. You will have a Destination Wedding Specialist, who is there to help you select your dream wedding venue and choose the right wedding package for your needs. Often, destination wedding packages are all-inclusive, which can lessen planning stress even more. Your Specialist will also be your travel agent, arranging flights and accommodations for both you and your guests. After choosing a wedding resort, you will also be matched with an onsite coordinator to help iron out the remaining details of your big day – set up, décor, timeline, and more. Most of the time, beyond having resort coordinator who’s been assigned to your event by the hotel, the wedding couple choses to bring their own “Wedding Planner” from the US. Someone they have been working with from the onset of planning, someone they know they can rely on, someone they know will be their voice and protector while taking care of all the little and big details that inevitably creep up even with the hotel’s on-site coordinator. Let wedding planner manage all of your affairs at a destination while you and your spouse-to-be enjoy your time together in paradise.
Experience of a Lifetime
Many couples go big for their “big day” because it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The same mindset should be applied to a destination wedding. Why not make the most of this moment and start your love story in an exotic, romantic destination? Your loved ones will also enjoy this experience, providing even the least adventurous relative a great excuse for an amazing trip. Many choose to have a destination wedding for the unique and unforgettable experiences they offer (for both couples and guests alike!).
Destination weddings are spectacularly adventurous, which makes them perfect for that second chance at marriage, as well. For couples who have had the large-scale, at-home wedding already, a destination wedding offers a more intimate and unparalleled way to tie the knot a second time.