It’s your big day. Your close family and friends have gathered in a place that signifies the love you have for the person you’ve chosen to exchange vows of forever with, and the setting makes you feel as though you’ve stepped right into a romance novel. Whether it be a warm, sandy tropical location where you walk barefooted into marital bliss, or your homeland abroad where you can embrace your culture’s marriage traditions, destination weddings can provide exquisite memories that will have you falling in love over and over, again and again. I have personally compiled 9 pros and cons to think about when contemplating traveling to say €I do€.
Since I’m such a sucker personally for romance, let’s start with the positive benefits a destination wedding brings to the bride and groom-to-be shall we?
The Pros
How amazing is the thought of having just a handful of your closest friends and family join you in paradise for a vacation like no other? That’s what you could have if you chose a destination wedding and my first benefit to this gorgeous idea. This first pro ties all the others together and sets the pace for the fun to be had during this magical time. Group discount packages are available at a ton of resorts too, so whoever may be in charge of footing the bill can have a little peace of mind, and use this second benefit as an excellent budgeting tool. And hey, who doesn’t love to see a little extra green in their wallets?
Saving the extra money from your wedding budget, you may even be able to use it to pay for your wedding party’s accommodations (relieving your guests of that stress), which could be a third benefit to planning your wedding miles from home. With that benefit in mind, your bridesmaid entourage could focus on using their budgets to indulge in the ultimate bachelorette party, (benefit #4) and wait until the group trip to party it up with the girls in paradise! Remember, what happens in paradise, stays in paradise. (Insert the infamous winky face here.)
Benefits# 5: Maybe the location you chose is reminiscent of your first vacation with the love of your life or the place you became engaged. These are very wonderful reasons to revisit that particular destination, and share in your memories as a couple while exchanging your vows. Embracing local culture and/or traditions could be another unique benefit and my sixth reason for a wedding abroad.
The Cons
Here’s the part of my blog that’s not my friend; the negative aspects of a thought I love. In saying that, I’ve only come up with a few reasons that could prevent your destination wedding. I will only briefly delve into them.
Bad boy # 1: Scheduling. As small as your wedding party may be, it is definitely a challenge juggling everyone’s schedule to choose a date that will allow all to attend.
Set back #2: Expense. If you’re unable to pay for expenses for your wedding party, you may have certain members of the group who simply can’t attend due to a lack of financing. This can create additional stress on the planning, but if you’re really interested in having all you’ve invited attend, you can work something out I’m sure.
Nemesis # 3: Research on location. This is a big one. Wherever you’re planning your destination wedding, you have to make sure you (a). know the language, (b). will be steering clear of any bad weather conditions or seasonal times and (c). know the legalities of the government as they pertain to marriage contracts. Who wants to be stuck in another country during hurricane season with a guide who doesn’t understand what you’re saying, just to find out the person you watched be whisked away by category 5 Big Bertha isn’t truly your new husband/wife?!!
And this concludes my 9 pros and cons of destination weddings. Whether you choose a wedding abroad or decide to keep it simple in your hometown, remember that your wedding is a symbol of love and desire for commitment to the person you want to grow old with. Enjoy the entire experience, and for God’s sake, don’t turn into a Bridezilla!
