Are you in the early stages of planning your wedding? In case you haven’t chosen a location yet, you might want to consider having a destination wedding.
The first step for a lot of people in planning a destination wedding is obviously choosing the destination. For most couples, they prefer a location that has never been visited by their guests to make the event more intimate and provide the magical moment that they are looking for. Undoubtedly, that magical moment will be hard to achieve if most of your friends and family members have been to that certain location already. It’s like going to a mini vacation with the most important people in the couple’s life.
With the help of a destination wedding photographer in the Philippines, it allows people to take on an adventure trip and encounter things that they’re most probably not used to experience on a daily basis – all while capturing this precious moment in your life that will serve as your time capsule as you grow older.
Unfortunately, planning for your dream wedding is easier said than done. With so many factors that need to be considered, it will be a huge challenge to execute a perfectly planned destination wedding. With this, we’re giving you some tips that we think might help you achieve your ideal event. Having witnessed hundreds of weddings already, it’s safe to say that a wedding photographer is one of the most reliable people to give an advice.
How to Plan for Your Destination Wedding?
If you want a simple answer, the two (2) important factors in order to achieve your ideal destination wedding is the venue and budget. Have couples only anticipated this early on the planning stage, we’re sure that more weddings could have been more successful.
When considering your destination, proceed by preparing a list of locations that you like, as well as activities that you want to experience with the whole group. Do you want to try exotic cuisine and unique culture? Maybe explore a destination like the Caribbean. Are you the type of couple who are adventure seekers? How about a mountain range or secluded island wedding? Do you love to explore and do new activities? Maybe a wedding in a Scandinavian country. Or are you both beach lovers who can’t get enough of the sand and water? Then head to our very own Boracay – practical, yet still exudes elegance.
If you can do an ocular inspection of the location before your wedding, it will benefit you to know what to anticipate upon your arrival and will also allow you to visit venues, set meeting with suppliers, try local caterers and restaurants, and experience activities so that you can get an overall feel of the upcoming wedding. This allows you to avoid any blunders during the actual wedding.
If it’s hard for you to make a trip to your destination right before the big event, you should ensure to depend heavily on online research, recent reviews from other couples, wedding forums, and recommendations from others who have already been to the location. You can also lean on your wedding coordinator or resort event manager to assist you and ensure that all the necessary details are arranged as smoothly as possible.
Speaking of depending on a wedding coordinator, when you’re planning a wedding, it’s just normal to feel overwhelmed and upset; with a to-do lists with items like hotel and venue inspections, supplier contracts, hotel room reservations, transportation, and activity itinerary just to name a few, it’s extremely normal to need a little help.
In terms of help, it can come in the form of an agent for your travel, a wedding coordinator based on the chosen destination, or resort event manager. It may be even all the above if you really need that much help. Simply put, the more help you can secure, the better for your wedding event.
Without a doubt, as highly important as the other aspects of your wedding is, the weather and the season should also be taken into consideration, which is most likely different than the ones at home. For instance, when it’s winter in Fiji, it’s summer season in the United States. You also must keep in mind whether that season is peak or off-peak. In peak season, the rates are most likely higher and there are more tourists, while the low season might have fewer tourists, it may also have undesirable weather. Word of advice try to aim for what is called a shoulder season, which is the time between peak and off-peak seasons.
How to Take Care of Your Destination Wedding Guests?
“Travelling isn’t as comfortable and affordable for everyone, so ensure that you make it as enjoyable as possible for your guests who are making the trip to celebrate with you.” – anonymous wedding photographer in the Philippines.
It goes without saying that you should make sure to give them enough notice for them to start saving and planning for your destination wedding. If you are having a bridal shower, ask them as far in advance as possible so that they can begin to save as early as possible. We must keep in mind that they will have even more costs than just travel alone. You can also make your guests feel prepared by creating a Facebook page with information on the destination, planned activities, places to see, what to bring, and an agenda for the event festivities. It’s also possible to work with the on-property concierge to welcome your guests with a bag filled with local goodies and travel itinerary. Prior and after the wedding, your guests can spend their free time outdoors taking advantage of all the chosen place’s amenities.
As always, the last thing that you want to worry about is travel delays, injury or illness, major weather obstructions, or lost luggage. The small fee of paying for a travel insurance, if nothing else, will provide you with peace of mind just in case anything happens before or during your travel, especially with your family and friends. Many insurance companies also offer wedding insurance which is designed to help you recoup some of the wedding-related costs should you need to change or cancel anything.
If possible, you should look for family-friendly perks. A resort with kid-friendly amenities will provide peace of mind to every adult – and allows them to relax without any worries. The ideal scenario would be to leave the kids at home, but that option may not always be possible for your guests. Therefore, if you’re inviting guests with children to your destination wedding, make sure to also consider their time at the location. Make it fun for them as well – it may be a tall order but keeping these kids preoccupied means that their parents can lend a helping hand to the couple especially if they are part of the entourage. You don’t want these kids to be the cause of delay for your big event, do you?
Also, you may want to pick a hotel with an amazing view. Indeed, that’s exactly the essence of having a destination wedding – seeing breath-taking sceneries. When it comes to choosing the perfect destination wedding venue, you can’t go wrong with a location that is surrounded by amazing scenery. Not only will your guests thank you for this kind gesture, but your photographer will have such an easy task of capturing professional looking images that will most likely get many likes on your social media. By hiring the best wedding photographer in the Philippines, your guests will always have a remembrance of the most memorable wedding that they’ve been to – all thanks to your great planning skills!
Is it Possible to Plan for a Destination Wedding if You’re on Budget?
Without a doubt, it’s highly important to set a realistic budget for your wedding. Knowing how much you can afford makes you control your impulses when it comes to avoiding unnecessary things during the event. For some, they started saving when they got engaged. Putting a certain amount that both individuals would set aside per pay check and opening a separate account for the event is a good thing to do. Of course, it goes without saying that you should avoid the temptation to spend it on things unrelated to your wedding.
Smart spending on your big event doesn’t have to mean forgoing your dream destination wedding. By figuring out how much budget you must work with, and by determining how much you’ll put to each aspect of your event will solve your problem. If I can give one piece of advice to every couple, it’s that you shouldn’t start your married life deep in debt.
You must keep in mind that a wedding is something that you plan way ahead, and not just any random act that you impulsively do once you have decided to go for it. For instance, many top wedding photographer in the Philippines provide generous discounts if you hire them in advance – the same thing goes with hotels, venues, wedding suppliers, and wedding coordinators.
As they say, it would be better to call it as “spending plan,” which places more importance on how you’re going to spend your hard-earned money. Avoid thinking about it as cutting back, but rather as utilizing restricted resources in the most efficient way possible.
You may also want to know more about the best destination wedding photographer in the Philippines by reading “10 Point Checklist in Finding the Best Wedding Photographer in Manila.”
