Some couples expect to be married in a church, and others want to say their vows on a beach. If you’re one of the latter types, you may have dreamed of romantic destinations on a Mexican or Caribbean strand. This is where you would need a quality photographer like the wedding photographers in Calgary to make sure the beach theme is really exaggerated as much as possible in their photos.
Planning such a wedding can be stressful if you don’t take the right steps, though. It requires extra foresight and a few adjustments to traditional wedding planning.
Here are five essential tips for planning a destination wedding on the beach.
- Use a Booking Service
Wedding planning can be exhausting. It takes time away from your fiancé, and can place unnecessary stress on your relationship. One solution is to use an all-inclusive booking service that will help you identify the perfect destination.
There are many solutions out there, but Destify is a popular one. The expert agents there will help you find great destination wedding packages that fit within your budget.
- Set Your Budget … and Stick With It!
All weddings are pricey, but destination weddings tend to be extra costly. Travel, hotels, and more quickly add up.
But you can host a destination wedding on a budget as long as you stick with it. Nobody needs the stress of overspending and debt at the start of their marriage.
In the case of a destination wedding, you might have to compromise on some of the finer details in order to land the ideal location. Meg Keene, author of A Practical Wedding, provides some advice for setting a budget:
“You have to figure out what you can afford to spend and who you need to invite, and then figure out what it would cost to feed them,” she says in a Brides.com interview. “You should start with exactly as much as you can afford, and make it work. Many lovely weddings have been had at a courthouse with cake! There is no reason to go into debt.”
- Do a Site Visit
After you’ve found your dream destination, visit the spot ahead of time if you’ve never been to it. Sometimes a destination looks great online, but it doesn’t have the romantic spark you were expecting when you are actually there. If you visit before the wedding, you can get an idea of the weather, potential venues, food, and other local details that offer further insight into whether it would be the right place to say your vows.
- Give Guests Plenty of Notice
Most of your guests won’t be able to travel at the drop of a hat. They’ll need at least a few months to prepare, whether they have to save money for travel or arrange for time off work.
You’d normally send invitations about six to eight weeks in advance for a local wedding, but an invitation to a destination wedding should be sent at least three months ahead of time. That should give guests time to make their arrangements.
- Consider a House instead of a Hotel for Guests
Hotels are the traditional option for destination wedding goers, but they’re not the only option. Unless you invite an especially large wedding party, you might consider a rental house instead of a hotel for your stay leading up to the wedding.
“Beach houses offer a more personal and often less expensive experience,” says Katie McElveen of Destination Wedding Magazine. “Families can stay together, kitchens let you save money on food, and kids can go to bed early without breaking up the party.”
A house also furnishes more privacy for the wedding party. They won’t have to walk through a crowded hotel while dressed in their wedding attire.
“And while you’ll likely have to assign someone to clean up the beach before you say your vows, the sand behind a residence is usually under less-strict regulations than hotel or city beaches, meaning you can decorate to your heart’s content and hold a casual rehearsal dinner or reception that spills onto the sand,” McElveen explains.
These wedding planning tips are excellent for a planning a successful destination wedding. If you apply these practical suggestions, all you have to do is look forward to the big day!
