A Destination Wedding sounds dreamy! A peaceful beach view from the mandap, instead of focusing on the pheras, you look at the beautiful beach with awe. Or you see a serene mountain view while walking down the aisle! Dreamy, indeed. Destination Weddings can be affordable as well as Grand, It depends on you, how much are you ready to spend? 

We bring you some tips to consider while pondering on these thoughts about Destination Wedding. There are many things you need to consider before even approving the city. Let’s take a look at these tips.

How to plan a Destination Wedding?

When traveling is your first love but you find your soulmate as well, then get to know how to plan your destination wedding in steps. Here are a few things to consider before you start jumping up and down in excitement.

Choose your Destination

Every destination might seem dreamy, you could be imagining scenarios just after looking at the pictures of the city, expecting your fairy tale. But while choosing a Destination, you should be realistic as well. You need to look at your budget and think it through. 

Hire a Wedding Planner who is familiar with the city

After choosing your destination, you would have to hire a Wedding Planner who is familiar with the area. There are plenty of reasons for choosing a local Wedding Planner and vendors from that city. One major reason would be: Saving money and saving any mishaps since you are new there. Do your research about the destination thoroughly though, choosing ‘the’ Wedding Planner who will understand your expectations. 

Wedding planners in India can cost anywhere between Rs 2 to 6 Lakhs. This cost can vary, depending upon the popularity of the planners, and the destination or the scale of the wedding. 

Set a Budget

While choosing a Destination, you should keep your estimated financial budget in mind or better make a mind map. Setting a budget won’t be easy but it can help you a lot, set budgets for different things like Bridal Outfits, Jewellery, Destination, accommodation, transportation, and much more. Once your budget goal is set, you can start shopping for your wedding accordingly. 

Organize your guest list

Since this is a destination wedding, there’s less pressure to extend invitations to acquaintances, co-workers, or people you’re not close to. If you keep the guest list small then you can save up on your budget. Inviting the people who are close to you can also boost up your confidence level and you can flaunt your wedding outfits better.

Book a Date

While booking a date, you shoulder consider the dates when your guests are available. Or better book a wedding date on a national holiday, or any holiday week.

Send out invitations early

Some couples choose to include a map of the venue in their invites. This is great when the wedding is taking place in a remote destination. Send invites out as early as possible, so guests can save up for their travel arrangements and get some time off.

Send out wedding invitations in advance so guests can save money on their plane tickets or send the plane tickets along with the invitation. This is important in ensuring that your closest family and friends make it to your wedding.

Find local vendors

Since you may be in a destination you’re not too familiar with, you could bring your own photographer and make-up artist with you. Be sure to arrange their travel and make sure they’re taken care of so your big day can go smoothly. Local vendors will charge less compared to the vendors you would hire from other cities. If you want to save on your wedding budget then prefer local vendors.

Choose a hotel

This point can be tricky. Choosing a hotel that is a 5-star yet discounts a lot? Difficult but not impossible. You should go for hotels which are rated 3 or 4 but looks elite, their discounts and packages can be different than compared to the 5-star hotels.

Since most plane tickets would be booked by you and their lodging, you could lighten the load by arranging a group discount with a hotel near the ceremony location. This way, you will be able to save a bit of money and stay in the same hotel. Your guests will feel more comfortable being surrounded by friends and family.

Choose the season/weather

The weather in destination weddings tends to correlate with tourist season when there are more people, fewer hotel and venue availabilities, and higher rates all around. If you’re planning a destination wedding during this peak time, book your venue and reserve your room in advance.

Tips to consider while planning a Destination Wedding

There are some tips that should be considered while planning a Destination Wedding:

Pick a location with benefits

While choosing a location, pick a destination that has a lot of benefits and perks. A destination with different perks can help you during your wedding as well. Benefits like Vendors are close by, the saloon is easy to access nearby, a wedding planner knows the place at the back of her hand, and much more.

Take a trip to the destination beforehand

On the first trip, you’ll need to search and secure your main venues for ceremonies and wedding venues, hotels for guests, and local suppliers such as caterers, decorators, and photographers. After you’ve made your reservations you may want to schedule food tasting with your caterer, see sample ideas from decorators, plan a hair and makeup session with a local salon, and much more.

Consider tourist season

If you choose a tourist season for your wedding, it will make it harder for you to pick out a good hotel with discounts. Usually, the hotels increase their prices when it is a tourist season. Even if you book some rooms, you’ll also want to make sure your wedding is peaceful without interruptions due to a convention or major festival.

Try not to pack Wedding outfits in the luggage

While packing for your Destination Wedding, make sure that the Wedding Outfits are not crushed or torn in the process. If you want your outfits to be perfectly flawless then take your outfits, especially your Bridal Lehenga with your handbag.

Go minimal with menu and decor

When you choose a destination, it is bound to be beautiful which means not much decoration might be required. So, you can go minimal with the decor and keep the menu local or continental dishes but try not to choose fancy dishes.

Choose your Wedding Favours in advance

Try to choose your Wedding Favours in advance, so it is not left out after every preparation for the wedding. You should consider your guests while choosing the favours and buy some extra, just in case there are more guests than you expect.

A destination wedding surely has its advantages including a scenic view and amazing time with your close ones, but to truly enjoy every moment, you should know how to set your budget and how to plan a wedding. We @VenueMonk help you know every information you need to know about Destination Weddings and other details related to it.