Is a Destination Wedding
the right fit?

Jaime & Marco at Dreams Playa Mujeres, Cancun, Mexico. Credit: Arturo Aguilar Photography

Not too many people don't love the IDEA of a destination wedding! Multiple days of partying with your family and friends in paradise, a beautiful beach, a bottomless drink and 24 hour room service. All of this while dedicating your life to the one you love most! It's basically what fairy-tales are made of. Not to mention destination weddings cost a fraction of weddings of the same caliber back home in the United States!

But, we are here to tell you, that a destination wedding is not the right choice for everyone. There are many unique challenges that come with the territory, so before you jump into the deep end, consider some of the following items first as we really want to make sure this is the right fit for you!

Ashley & Jeff at Majestic Elegance Cancun, Mexico. Credit: James Berglie Photography

Are you ready for these challenges?

The Invitees

Go ahead and make your invite list for guests at your wedding. Invite all the guests you would invite to your wedding if you were going to have it here in the States. Afterall, if you invite them and they dont come, they will probably send a gift… Score!! 🙂

But, be prepared to receive RSVP's from only 30%-50% of your invitees. Asking your guests to spend their money, and take their valuable vacation time off of work to attend your wedding is a big ask. You have to be able to realize that many, often event he majority of your invite list will have to decline the invitation (unless that invitation also comes with you offering to pay for their stay as well). Don't take it personally if your guests can't make it.

The Unwanted Opinions from Others

Nothing quite seems to open up the floodgates of people voicing their opinion that no one asked for quite like having a destination wedding. You've got to be prepared for it, and if you have thin skin, you may want to re-think having a destination wedding.Invitees will talk, and word will get back to you that Susan is running around town telling everyone she just can't believe you are asking everyone to spend so much money to attend your wedding! Susan will tell everyone you've gone mad, and are so selfish.

Now, generally, people like Susan are the exact reason WHY many of our clients decide to have a destination wedding in the first place: Because let's face it, no one wants Susan at their wedding.

But, people like Susan come with the territory of having a destination wedding. Are you ready to ignore her?

The Media

After being in this industry for a little while, one of the first things we learned is that the US media likes to take it's turn targeting different Caribbean countries with unfair, tabloid style headlines designed to scare everyone out of traveling there.

They often take a couple non-related stories and conflate them into one horrifying, but often misleading headline.

There doesnt seem to be any one target that the Media has, we've seen them attack nearly every Caribbean country. But when they do, the scare-tactics work wonders and family and friends may freak out on you.

After reading a headline (but not the article), your crazy Uncle Jim, who hasn't left his own home town in 20 years, or ever even owned a passport until you decided to have your wedding in another country, is going to call you up to tell you just how dangerous this resort, and entire country you chose to get married in is, and will beg you to change your plans.

Are you ready to deal with Uncle Jim and the media?

The Planning

Bride and Groom-zillas beware: Planning a destination wedding is not for type-A personalities.The vast majority of resorts won't begin working with you to decide on the types of chargers, napkin holders, and chair covers until about 3 months before your big day.

Some resorts won't even guarantee you what location your ceremony and reception will be either!

You can choose to hire an outside wedding planner (outside of the resort) to help your sanity if you are the type of person that needs these decisions made will in advance. But for some, not knowing everything far in advance can be an added stressor.

Now, truth be told, these resorts know exactly what they are doing, and most do multiple weddings every single day (yes, even weekdays), so on their end, they simply don't need to do the planning months or years in advance as they have this down to a science. But, you should know that at many resorts, until we get to around 3 months before your wedding, there will be little planning of the details.

Now, if after reading through the items above if you are still ready to plan a destination wedding, I've got some great news for you! It's absurdly cheap compared to weddings in the United States!!

How much is a destination wedding?

Is a Destination Wedding the right fit?

Are you ready for these challenges?

Is a Destination Wedding
the right fit?