Destination weddings are very special to me. As a wedding guest, it was always hard for me to stomach the plane ticket and hotel price and sometimes the time off from work, but every destination wedding I went to was a blast and worth the effort. It's magical to take a vacation with your friend's good friends who sometimes end up becoming your good friends. Destination weddings are very intimate and often help you meet friends from all over the globe. I find myself now having more friends and people I look forward to visiting someday if I were to be traveling across the country in Europe or Asia because I was sitting next to someone I never would have met otherwise.
Plan a trip to tour the venues and things to do around each venue and make these ideas available to your guests on your wedding website
Research the transportation options & cost range
Research the landmarks, parks, gardens, restaurants, museums, and special eats and eateries for your guests to look forward to planning their vacation around your special day - sometimes introducing your friends to a special fruit that is special to the destination makes people go on a hunt for the experience
Show the exchange rate on the wedding website to help people get an idea of the cost
Getting a feel for the location helps you set the most appropriate dress attire for the wedding & their vacation so your guests can be comfortable - My day was extra special because I knew not to get a wedding dress that was too hot and heavy and to wear the right shoes!
If you have time tour hotels so you get a nice hotel block - we were luckily married "off season" so every price range place close to the venue was available last minute
Book a makeup and hair trial to see if you like the makeup artist
Book the cake and catering menu tasting
Plan a photoshoot around the destination to try out the local photographers - even if their portfolio is amazing online or perhaps they do not have much of a portfolio, I find that the chemistry between the photographer and yourself makes all the difference in capturing the emotion as well as the beauty of the big day
Meet your Destination Wedding Planner in person - this rockstar will make your day perfect and have contingency plans ready. We booked a time that was going to have 100% forecasted rainfall on the day of the big event and our planner had options for us to consider. We decided to play with our luck because we did not like any of the plan B, C, or D options. Luckily the typhoon-like storm did not come until after the afterparty! It's fine meeting your Planner a few days before the wedding too - but wouldn't it be easier if you met in person during your initial tour of the destination? In-person rapport is just the best for working relationships!
Optional, but oh soooo nice
Book a place for 3 days in order to have a rehearsal day, the big day, and the afterparty - make everything outside of the big day optional for the guests that are not part of the wedding party so they don't feel obligated, but can also have at least two events planned for them
Go to restaurants or clubs with music to check different local DJs to book for your event
Go to local formal attire rental location(s) to see whether you want to purchase your own and bring the dress with you or rent. I did both! I found the dress that I wanted to be my dress on my big day at Glamour Closet in LA and also rented the most gorgeous modernized qipao that was tailored and sized for me before my big day
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