BY NICOLE DEFOREST
More and more bride and grooms are opting to have a destination wedding! Not only does it save on money, but it’s also a great way to celebrate with your closest friends and family. The experience is a luxurious, once in a lifetime opportunity for you and your loved ones.
Less Stressful: You don’t need to argue which home town you should get married in. There is no fighting with both sides as to what needs to be involved on the big day; YOU decide what YOU want. Whether you want a 5-star elegant resort, or a cheap get away, you will not be disappointed with the outcome. Most all-exclusive’s will have a local wedding coordinator who assists and makes your dreams come true on your big day. Most hotels include the coordinator for free when booking a wedding at their hotel.
The Guest List: Don’t worry while making your guest list. The question if you should invite coworkers, friends from high school you don’t keep in touch with, or 2nd and 3rd cousins is always a large decision. This ends up with the guest list getting out of control as well as the budget. With destination weddings, you can invite everyone and let them decide if they would like to attend or not. Most of the time your closest friends and family are the ones that attend and the ones that you want to share your special day with.
Guest Talk: Ever notice on the big day the bride and groom are running around after dinner trying to say hello to everyone? This is usually in a banquet hall with only a few hours to do so, and when they reach you they only get to spend a few minutes with you before moving on to the next guest. With destination weddings, you can catch up over the duration of your stay. You also have the option to set up day trips. For example, all the ladies can spend the day at the spa while the men get in a round of golf; or even have everyone partake in a day on the sea with snorkeling and swimming.
Repeat: Destination weddings are great if you’ve already had the big extravagant wedding the first time around. You probably want a more enjoyable and intimate setting with just you, your future spouse and/or in-laws and children. You also won’t have to worry about the hometown whispers. A destination ceremony can be a great time to renew your vows with your loved one. Again, this can be done cost effectively and in intimate settings.
Budget: This is what started destination weddings. Brides and grooms could not afford the big, glitzy wedding so they took off and eloped abroad. Parents and friends started getting upset that they had to find out through photos. The happy couple started inviting their close friends and family to join, they just had to pay their way. You can get away to a 5-star hotel, including photos and the ceremony costing you only a few thousand dollars. Whereas a simple wedding within Canada, with only 150 guests can still run you around 20k.
Organizing: Destination weddings are very easy to book with your local travel professional. Their job is to get you the best group rates, get you in touch with the wedding coordinator at the destination and make it simple for your guests to book into your group allotment. Have guests coming from other cities or can only travel for limited amount of dates? Not to worry your travel professional can organize it all. It is the ultimate experience you and your guests will never forget!
