To ensure a smooth and stress-free experience, we recommend that couples begin planning theirDestination wedding 12-18 months in advance. This timeline allows for ample time to secure the perfect venue, coordinate with local vendors, and create a personalized wedding that reflects your love story. Below I have put an example of the timeline that should be followed when planning a destination wedding. As you can see, there is plenty of work to be done, and with the services that I offer I take 12 of the most time consuming and hardest to do off of your list. Being a certified Destination Wedding Planner and Travel Agent Certified in several Destination Locations I am a perfect fit to take care of all your needs and wishes. There is a form at the bottom of the page just fill that out and we can get to work planning that Magical, Dream Wedding that you always wanted and dreamed of.

Set a budget for your destination wedding

The dreaded B word… I know, but it had to be mentioned eventually. Setting a budget for your destination wedding will make the process go a hell of a lot smoother, trust me. Sit down with your partner and have a realistic conversation on what you two want to spend on your wedding and your honeymoon. If family members are contributing to the cost of your big day, make sure it’s clear to them that just because they’re helping out financially, doesn’t mean they get to override you and your partner’s choices. 

Here are some things to consider when creating a budget for your destination wedding:

• Destination wedding planner (highly recommended!) (that’s me!)
• A wedding venue (if you want to cut down the cost of this one, you can have an intimate outdoor wedding somewhere scenic)
• A wedding photographer
• A wedding videographer
• Florist 
• Caterer/baker
• Wedding officiant
• DJ/live band
• Wedding attire 
• Accommodations for you + your guests (Being a travel agent and a wedding planner I take care of all of this as well)
• Flight tickets (And this!)
• Rental car/rideshare services (Even this!) 4 things already checked off your list!!!

If you’re staying at a hotel, most of them offer discounted rates for room blocks for you and your guests. Definitely take advantage of this if you’re planning on covering the cost of accommodations! 

Consider utilizing a travel credit card

I’m not saying you should get a credit card SOLELY for the purpose of your destination wedding, but I am saying that if you choose the right one, the pros will definitely outweigh the cons. A good travel credit card can get you a decent amount of rewards points, which you can then utilize for your honeymoon. Especially if you’re paying for accommodations for your guests, this could be a great option. You can check out all the best travel credit cards here. (https://www.nerdwallet.com/best/credit-cards/travel)

How many guests do you want?

It’s time to narrow down the guest list. Are you going all out and want all your friends and family present? Let’s do it! Keep in mind that the more guests you have, the higher your budget will most likely have to be. If you’re having your wedding at a hotel, you’ll probably be charged per person if they have in-house catering.  If you want to cut down the costs, consider having a destination wedding on the more intimate side. This gives you more options in terms of location (you won’t need a large venue) and food (everyone can go out to eat afterwards!) which leaves more room in your budget. I get it though – you don’t want anyone to feel left out. If that’s one of your concerns, you can always have an intimate destination wedding and a larger party back home to include everyone who couldn’t make it! 

Consider hiring a destination wedding planner (that’s me)

If you want the planning process to be as stress free as possible, take this advice: HIRE A DESTINATION WEDDING PLANNER. Especially if you’re having an international wedding, it can be quite the hassle to try and coordinate with vendors, well, internationally. Save yourself the trouble and hire someone who knows exactly what they’re doing. Plus, they’ll help you bring your vision to life while sticking to your budget! 

12 months before your destination wedding 

• Plan a site visit 

If you’re able to, visiting your destination to scope it out (with your wedding planner if you’re hiring one) is highly recommended. If need be, you can tour venues, locations, do tastings, and really get a feel for how you want your wedding to look! Plus, being there with your planner will give you so much peace of mind because you know that everyone is on the exact same page. 

• Book a hotel room block (I take care of this as well)

You’ll want to reach out to a few hotels (or the same hotel you’re hosting your wedding) and start looking at rates for room blocks. You want to do this before you send out Save the Dates so that your guests can start booking their rooms right when they receive them. Hotels usually require a deposit to be paid upfront in order to reserve your room block, and then they give you a discount code or special link to send to your guests to book at a discounted rate. 

• Find your destination wedding attire

If you’re ordering a wedding gown, they usually take 6-9 months to be ordered and tailored. There would truly be nothing worse than not having your wedding attire in time for your wedding, so it’s better to be safe than sorry! Start looking or at least booking appointments to find your wedding attire about 12 months before the date of your wedding.  

9 months before your destination wedding

• Create your wedding registry/website

Woo hoo! We’re 9 months away from the big day. This is a great time to start creating your wedding registry at your favorite stores, and also build out your wedding website. Especially when having a destination wedding, wedding websites are so useful because your guests can have all the information they need in ONE place. You can build out your site on platforms like Zola, With Joy, and Minted.

• Send out Save the Dates (I also help take care of this)

You can send out Save the Dates physically or digitally with your wedding website! This is totally up to you, and dependent on if your budget allows for ordering physical copies. People do love keeping these as keepsakes, hanging them up somewhere in their home, and just receiving them in general. So if you’re trying to decide between the two, I would recommend sending physical ones, especially if you’re using your engagement session photos. 

• Check flight prices (Me as well)

Now is also a good time to start checking flight prices for your destination. You can use apps like Hopper to track specific flights and get notified when prices are about to go up so that you can book accordingly.

6 months before your destination wedding

• Book your flights (Me again!!)

Now that it’s 6 months before your destination wedding, you’ll want to book and confirm your flights! Once you find a great deal, I would notify your guests via your wedding websites that now would be a good time to book. Sometimes people forget about booking flights, especially this far in advance! It doesn’t hurt to give them a little reminder 😉 

• Order your passports

If you’re traveling out of the country and don’t have an updated passport, now is the time to take care of that. Especially because of COVID, some offices have crazy turnaround times for passports, so again, it’s better to be safe than sorry. 

• Think about transportation for your guests (No need to worry because I will have this covered)

If you’re having your ceremony and reception in different places, or if you guests need to get from their hotel to your venue, it’s time to start thinking about transportation for them. To make it easy on everyone involved, you can ask your hotel if they provide shuttle service for you and your guests. If it’s not complementary, see how much they charge and figure out if your budget allows for it! The other options are renting a bus if you’re having a smaller guest count so that you have transportation all day long. 

0-4 months before your destination wedding

• Send out invitations (with the dress code!) (I help with this as well)

Around 12 weeks before your wedding is a great time to start sending out formal invitations if that’s already in your plan. And don’t forget to include the dress code in your invitation! Especially for a destination wedding, your guests will probably want to have their outfits picked out well beforehand. And you definitely don’t want a million people texting you and asking what to wear. So if you haven’t decided on a dress code or color palette already, you should definitely think about it!

• Have final wedding attire fittings

Whatever you and your partner are wearing for the wedding, make sure you have your final fittings around 2 months before your date. You do not want to be waiting on your tailor to get your outfit back days before your wedding – nobody needs that kind of stress! Have everything set and ready to go so that once it’s time to pack, you don’t have to worry about a thing. 

• Research local marriage laws (This will already be done for you along with all legal paperwork that you will need)

Especially if you’re getting married out of the country, researching local marriage laws is an absolute must. Do you need an officiant? How many witnesses do you need? What type of ceremony will you be performing? A lot of couples decide to get legally married in their home state for ease and convenience, and then have their wedding at a destination. This would probably be the most stress-free option, but if you’re up for the challenge, be sure to do as much research as possible! Your destination wedding planner could also definitely help you out in this department. 

Get freaking married

You can let out a sigh of relief – it’s finally time to have fun and get freaking married