Does the thought of getting married in your hometown feel limited to you? Do you feel that the venues, churches, and the scenery of your hometown is not the backdrop that you always dreamt of? Have you always dreamt of a wedding that was different than what you are used to seeing at home?
The good news is that you are not alone in thinking that way. Many people nowadays want a wedding that is extraordinary. They want their occasion to be a celebration of their union in a place that is both unique and reflective of the couples personalities and experiences.
Twenty years ago you would have had a difficult time planning a wedding of your dreams in a faraway place. That, however, is no longer the case. Destination weddings have become much more accessible with the large number of all inclusive resorts that offer wedding packages. Moreover, destination weddings are much cheaper than traditional hometown weddings. It’s no wonder that a third of all weddings nowadays are destination weddings.
But how do you know it’s right for you?
Let’s take into consideration the following:
Do You Have The Time To Plan A Hometown Wedding?
In town traditional weddings are bigger events than destination weddings. They require a lot of time and effort to pull off.
You have to deal with dozens of vendors, all of whom have to deliver their ‘A’ game on the day of your wedding. Add to that the pressure of having a much larger guest list, and you may see why a destination wedding is so appealing nowadays.
Hotels and resorts in popular destination wedding locations take the hassle out of planning a wedding almost completely. There are hundreds of all inclusive resorts that offer wedding packages. These packages typically include food, decorations, music, photography, and a ceremony. All you have to do is show up with your guests.
Are Your Parents Too Involved?
As soon as your parents saw the engagement ring, did they start planning your wedding in your hometown? Did the grooms parents do the same?
Each set of parents will always have their own ideas on where you should get married.
Another problem that arises is that of money. Who will pay for what? Can the grooms parents pay for a much larger wedding than yours? Does one set of parents want a big city wedding whereas the other wants a small intimate one at their place?
How do you resolve these issues?
Announce a destination wedding and stop worrying about what people think. It’s your wedding and you need to plan it your way.
Will You Have The Help In Planning A Wedding At Home?
A traditional hometown wedding will require more than just you doing the planning and running around.
You have to deal with dozens of vendors, do food tastings, finalize colors, deal with last minute issues and so much more.
Planning a wedding, in many cases, goes from being fun to becoming a part time job. To pull off a successful wedding, you’re going to need help from your fiance, your parents and friends. Are they all committed to helping as well?
A destination wedding can require very little involvement from you. If you don’t have time to plan, no problem. Select an all inclusive resort for your wedding and their wedding coordinator (Included in most destination wedding packages) will work out all the details.
Do you have the budget to do a hometown wedding?
A traditional wedding will cost, on average, about $30,000.
For a newlywed couple, this money could be better used towards a down payment on a house or to pay off student loans. Spending it on an event that may last five hours almost seems unnecessary.
Compare that to a destination wedding which can cost less than $10,000 for around 50 guests.
Do you want an intimate wedding with the people that you love?
Are you too busy to plan a wedding for 350 people? A destination wedding will cut that list down to 100 based on the fact that most people won’t be interested in the additional expense of flying down to another location. A friend of ours used to say that destination weddings allow you to “Gut the guest list without the guilt”.
What is your preference? A one day event or a week long celebration
At home weddings are usually one day events that last about five hours. A destination wedding usually lasts anywhere between three days to a whole week. So even if the costs are the same, many brides prefer to have a destination wedding filled with pre wedding activities with their guests.
At a traditional wedding, many of your closest guests will have a great time for one night, and then off to work they go. At a destination wedding, the focus won’t be on work, but on having fun with your family and friends.
Will you have fun?
So many brides have said that if they had to do it all over again, they would have chosen a destination wedding for one simple reason. With the stress of planning, meeting, greeting and keeping up with traditions, the couple was not able to enjoy their own wedding. They were too stressed and too busy to take the time out to enjoy themselves.
Instead, a destination wedding can provide a much more relaxed atmosphere where you show up a few days before your wedding so you can have fun with friends and family.
If you are still undecided, consider completing the following questionnaire with your fiance. Don’t involve your parents, cousins, siblings or friends. The decision to have a destination wedding should be between the two of you.
Simply print out the questions below and check off the statements that you agree with. And if you want to add a few of your own questions, go right ahead. The more personalized the reasons, the better.
- We want to be surrounded by our most intimate friends and family
- We are adventurous and want to have a non-traditional wedding
- Our friends are all over the country and will have travel costs
- We want to minimize the time we spend on planning a wedding
- We want to spend a lot of time with our friends and family before the wedding
- We enjoy travel and the opportunity to learn about other cultures
- We don’t have to have a religious wedding
- We prefer a more casual wedding experience as opposed to the traditional one.
- We are not interested in every detail of the wedding. The most important thing to us is that we are surrounded by the people we love.
- We would consider a wedding package if it makes the headache of planning go away
- We are comfortable in a new environment and love to explore.
- We want to create a wedding experience for our guests that is memorable because of the beautiful surroundings as well as the company.
- We enjoy being different.
- Our budget will not support a large wedding
If you agree with more than 50% of the statements above, then a destination wedding is what we would recommend. And if you are thinking of getting married at a destination away from home, then it’s time to start planning.
So which option is more appealing to you?
What should you do next?
If you are going to be planning a destination wedding, then start looking at some great locations to host your wedding.