Marrying your love plus a holiday with your nearest and dearest – no wonder destination weddings seem to be trending.
If you have ever had, or been to a wedding overseas, you can appreciate all the planning and effort that goes into making sure the wedding runs smoothly and that everyone has a good time.
Here are eight tips that may help you do it effectively and with less stress.
1. Hire a wedding coordinator
This is the best tip that could be offered for having a wedding in Hawaii, or really, any destination. This tip is so valuable – it really ought to count for tips two and three as well. Not being there yourself, their knowledge is absolutely priceless. They work with suppliers for a living, so they know who is good and who can be relied upon, something that is difficult to know when planning from another country.
Having a wedding coordinator also helps to keep stress levels down. You can all enjoy the day without having to pull in your friends and family to help. Everything is taken care of and you will have plenty of phone/email conversations prior to the wedding to make sure everything runs exactly as you want.
In fact, my wedding seemed like a special ops mission with walkie talkies and a personal assistant for both the bride and groom! Wedding coordinators have different packages to cater to your specific needs, so you can get as much or as little help as you choose.
Wedding coordinator in Hawaii: Fred & Kate Events www.fredandkate.com
2. Arrive a few days before the big day
You never know what could happen. Your plane could sit on the tarmac for three hours in Sydney due to a bad storm, therefore making you miss your connecting flight to Honolulu. Yes, personal experience. I was very glad to have planned to arrive five days prior to the wedding as we could not get onto another flight for two days.
Referring back to tip number one, wedding coordinators are fantastic at calming you down and rescheduling any appointments with suppliers you may have.
Another reason to arrive early is that you’ll also want to set up an appointment for a hair and make up trial, meet with your celebrant/minister, get your wedding license, and have a rehearsal if required. Also, making time to just relax and enjoy being away with your family and friends is just as important.
3. Set up a wedding website
A fantastic way to keep your guests up to date with all the information they require is by setting up a website. The Knot offers free website templates that are easy to use and update. By creating a website, you can keep your invitations simple without having to think of everything at the time of sending. You can just update the website as you get the information.
Free wedding website creator: www.theknot.com/gs/wedding-websites
4. Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket
Getting married in a destination other than your own means you will need to bring a fair bit of stuff. Be sure to spread out the packing – in other words, don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. Ask your family and bridal party to each pack something so that if luggage does get lost, you won’t be missing everything. Lost luggage = another personal experience.
5. Do your research
Research marriage laws to make sure your marriage will be recognised in Australia, and if not, organise a solution. Research your hair and make up artists well, because if you’re not happy with their trial, it will be difficult to find another artist at short notice. This is another reason why a wedding coordinator is fantastic – they can give you recommendations as they know who is good and who isn’t.
As much research as you can do, their opinions matter, so don’t be afraid to ask for them.
6. Organise activities for guests
Your friends and family have come all that way to celebrate with you, the least you can do is organise something for them. This could be a luau, a dinner the night before the wedding, a golf day or even a catamaran cruise. Otherwise, organising to meet at a particular bar each night is a great way for all your guests to meet everyone.
It’s informal, not compulsory and a nice way for people to share stories about their day.
7. Give plenty of notice
Depending on the destination and how costly it will be, 12-18 months notice is a good guideline to start notifying guests so they can save up. If you have an engagement party and are already aware that you’ll be having a destination wedding, it’s a great time to notify guests.
Otherwise, consider sending a save-the-date/invitation combination and refer them to a website that you can continually update as you get more information.
8. Keep your dress in mind
When trying on dresses, keep in mind that you’ll need to travel with it. Get a dress that will travel well and won’t require much care upon arrival. You don’t want another task on your already long to-do list.
Another hint: Never let your gown out of sight, and carry it as hand luggage. Flight attendants are lovely and will generally offer to hang it up for you, so it doesn’t have to be placed in the over head compartments. Unfortunately, sometimes luggage does get lost, but you’ll stress less knowing that you have your hot little hands on your precious gown.
Have you seen an increasing demand for destination weddings among your clients?
