The 20 Steps to planning your destination wedding.
A destination wedding is a wedding celebration of a day or more that takes place away from where the bride & groom live, many times in a different area of the country or a different country altogether. This implies that all or the vast majority of guests also need transportation and accommodation. Many times, other smaller events will be added to this celebration: a welcome/rehearsal dinner, civil and/or spiritual ceremony, a pre-wedding lunch or a post-wedding brunch. The result is two or three wonderful days spent together with the closest family and friends, a great chance for everyone to get to know each other better and to really immerse themselves in love and fun.
If you want, you can start by discussing with one, two or three wedding planners that have caught your eye in time or were recommended to you about your desired wedding. They can help you with the entire process, venue selection, concept design and implementation, vendor proposal, contracting and payments and just general project management for your wonderful event!
Here are the 20 steps to planning your destination wedding, with or without a planner:
- Check out different locations online or offline and see whether one or more of them looks like the perfect one for you. If you already have a planner, they may also provide recommendations or feedback based on your specific event. The Ultimate Guide that you can find on this website will also be a huge help, as it lists almost all of the options in the country.
- Make a short-list and contact them for availability and offer. If you already have a specific date in mind, check if they have it available, but also consider staying flexible.
- If your dream place/places also have an offer that matches your budget, discuss the available/desired dates with the guests that you would not host the party without. Ask the venue to keep the date pre-booked for a few days until you find out if your most important guests can make it then.
- Quickly check for flights to the closest airport to that destination for the main places where you and guests would fly from so that you know if it is possible for them to fly in or what the options are.
- If you already have a dream wedding planner, photographer, band or any other vendor, check also with them if they will be available.
- Make the final decision and book your venue by signing a contract and paying a deposit.
- Send out “save the dates” to all of your guests.
- Book the photographer (&videographer, if you like), entertainment and wedding planner – these are the hardest to come by, if you want someone specific.
- Book or pre-book accommodations for your guests, if you already know that you will need more rooms than there are the venue.
- Continue booking the rest of the vendors, throughout the year: decorations & flowers, hair & make-up, candy bar & cake, etc
- Book your ceremony officiants – civil and religious, or whatever your choice is
- Send out official invitations to guests with venue, dates, times of ceremonies and party. People can then see when they can make it and what is unmissable.
- Continue planning all of the details – scheduling, menus, hotel and room assignments, transportation, payments, outfits, etc.
- Request RSVPs and re-check who will be joining your party – at least one month before but it can depend on your contracts for rooms and meals (latest cancellation time possible).
- Send out all final information to venue and vendors
- Think of who will be helping you to coordinate the event on site: best friend, mother, hired planner or coordinator, venue coordinator.
- If you chose a civil ceremony, file the documents 10 days before at the Mayor’s Office. If one of you is not Romanian, make sure you have an official translator coming to the ceremony.
- 48 hours before check-in, verify that all vendors and officiants are coming and make clear the time that they need to arrive in order for everything to go smoothly. If you have a planner, they will do that for you.
- Go through all of the details, try to imagine yourself going through all of the moments from leaving your house to coming back. What will you need at every step? Pack thoughtfully, ship anything too heavy or complicated in advance and enlist friends to help.
- On the first day, check in to your venue and ENJOY!
Photo Credit: Razvan Lupan