Destination I Do Magazine just published a great list of why destination weddings are great. The most important reason that I would choose a destination wedding is #7. I believe it helps family and friends connect better when it is a multiple day event and no one has to worry about hosting events for everyone. Everybody can just have a wonderful time.
1. The Combo Burrito - Having a destination wedding can combine a family reunion, romantic travel and your big event all in one, which makes it something special for everyone involved. Weddings away allow for all your guests to benefit from your decision.
2. Keep the Guest List to a Dull Roar - Inviting every acquaintance you know can really add up when considering a hometown wedding. Many people feel obligated to invite every Tom, Dick and Harry. The result many times, is an exhausted couple who can barely remember talking to their best friends because they had to make endless "rounds" to see everyone. Destination weddings help to keep your guest list in check. Due to monetary reasons or time constraints, a destination wedding may not be a feasible option for everyone you know. Those acquaintances (mom’s knitting buddies or the girl from cubicle six) most likely won’t make the trip ensuring that your wedding ceremony is witnessed only by those who truly mean the most to you.
3. Your Dream Wedding at Your Dream Price - A destination wedding can prove to be more cost effective since the guest list is smaller. Sure, you can choose to break the bank even on 50 guests, but when the numbers decrease on the guest list, your budget will shrink too. Additionally, many hotels and travel options offer packages or reduced rates for special event groups.
4. Control Freak, NOT! – Too many times brides find themselves losing sleep over how many roses will be in their bouquet or if the minister will pronounce their names correctly. Yes, weddings can create anxiety, but when you decide to have a destination wedding, you are likely going to relinquish most of the control to the professionals you’ve hired. Therefore, when W-Day comes, you’ll be thinking more about the important things – spending time with your friends, loved ones and new spouse rather than the little details no one else will even notice.
5. Minimize the Family Feud - The opportunity to get married some place different sets up an equal playing ground between families. This way there will be no hard feelings about setting the wedding in one family's hometown or another. If the destination is something new for both families, it will become a place special to them as well as to you.
6. Boys Dig It – Time and time again, we hear that the groom is getting more involved in the planning – but this is usually only the case with a destination wedding. Grooms get excited about travel, about the destination and the things to do there. They will help in getting the smaller events organized such as golf outings or kayaking tours. They feel they have more to bring to the table with wedding getaways. With hometown weddings they feel like fish out of water. What fun is it for them to pick out aisle runners and the color almonds that will go on the table? Destination weddings allow for grooms to participate in things they otherwise wouldn’t get to plan.
7. The Ice Breaker - With you and all of your guests spending time in such close proximity and away from home, it creates a much more intimate setting. It gives you plenty of quality time with loved ones, and most importantly the opportunity for the most important people in your newly joined family to bond and really get to know each other.
8. The Weekend Getaway – Because weddings away from home require the couple and guests to travel, they will spend more time in the destination than they would at a hometown wedding. A hometown wedding only allows the couple 4-6 hours of time with their loved ones (and that’s being generous because much of that time gets eaten up by picture taking and traditional things like dances and the bouquet toss). If you have your wedding in another place, you will likely end up spending more along the lines of a few days with your family and friends rather than just a few hours.
9. Leave Home, Must Travel - Since so many families are spread out all around the world, most guests are required to travel to attend the wedding anyway. It could be logistically easier to select a destination that could serve as a midpoint or a place with more available accommodations that is potentially easier to get to than where you currently live.
10. Break The Wedding Mold - A wedding away from home allows for more creativity with venues, cuisine, activities and attire. You can even opt to adopt some local wedding traditions of the destination to make
the event even more unique.
Labels: Destination, Tips
