1/23/2023     by Guest Contributor

Avoid Wedding Day Woes with Tips from the Experts

It’s true, travel advisors have planned a lot of destination weddings and honeymoons. With that experience comes a wealth of knowledge they’ve learned over time. Keep reading to get their best advice. Plus, find out what couples wish they would have done differently on their big day.
Frustrated Bridge
Cappadocia, Turkey

Avoid analysis paralysis

As you begin the research process, you’ll find that there are seemingly endless destination wedding and honeymoon options. Don’t stress yourself out over comparing them all. Instead, talk to your travel agent. They can save you a ton of time by providing a customized list of filtered options based on factors such as your personality, timeline and budget.

 

Couple eating pizza
Focus on what matters most

Don’t sweat the details

When it comes to wedding planning, it doesn’t get much easier than a destination wedding booked through a travel specialist. Not only will all your travel details be taken care of for you, but you’ll also have just one vendor for the wedding day. The resort provides an event planner to keep everything organized and you’ll be able to work with them about your selections for flowers, photography, hair and makeup, food, music and more. Easy!

 

Chalkboard for a wedding budget
Get help to plan it all out

Don’t go it alone

There are many moving parts that go along with planning a destination wedding that you could only know through experience. When in doubt, turn to those who do this for a living. Travel advisors are essential for negotiating the best rates, organizing all the booking details and protecting your trip with travel insurance.

 

What couples said about …

Rundown resort
Get a feel for the location before you book it

Visiting The Resort

  • I should have visited the location in advance. The weather was warmer than I expected and our groomsmen were miserable sweating it out in their full suits. After seeing the vibe of the resort, I would have opted for something that was still wedding-appropriate but not as formal.”
  • Our family was skeptical about a destination wedding, but once they arrived and saw what we saw, their hesitations quickly faded. Go see the resort yourself, then give them as much information upfront as possible to help calm their worries.”

 

Wedding planning checklist
Use a printed checklist

Planning Ahead

  • “I wish I would have used an online wedding website or printed checklist to stay organized, since there is so much to keep track of.”
  • “Don’t be that couple who plans every second of the wedding day. Have some downtime built into your schedule to relax and connect with your wedding party and guests. Those are the things you will remember most.”
  • “We should have listened to our travel advisor and booked our excursions before we left for our honeymoon, as we didn’t get to do some of the activities we wanted because they were sold out when we arrived.”

 

Wedding video camera
Consider a video package

Photography

  • “Make sure to have your photographer access the venue early to take pictures of all the details before you and your guests arrive.”
  • “Ask your photographer to take pictures of the guests and everyone enjoying the wedding. We had so many pictures of us and the wedding party and hardly any of our friends and family.”
  • “Our photos were amazing, but I wish we would have also paid for a videographer to really capture the emotion of the day. It wasn’t that much more for an upgraded package.”

 

His and hers piggy banks
Make the most of your budget

The Budget

  • “We saved so much money opting for a destination wedding, I wish we would have taken more time off after the wedding to have a longer honeymoon. We were already in a really beautiful location.”
  • “Party favors at your reception are nice, but they can also be a big hassle. We had to ship everything to the resort and some of the guests didn’t even end up taking their gifts. I would have rather spent the money on something else instead.”
  • “I would have created a honeymoon registry with our travel advisor to help cover the costs of our trip, which would have also allowed us to upgrade our flights and our room to a suite.”

 

Call one of our travel agents today to plan your destination wedding.

 

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