“Why should I book a group room block for my destination wedding?” is in the top 5 destination wedding questions that I receive – and it’s a good one! Booking a group room block often requires contracts, deposits, and has terms, conditions and stipulations that can seem overwhelming and unnecessary, especially for smaller destination wedding groups.

On top of that, there will always be a destination wedding guest (or two) that don’t like the resort that the wedding will be held at, have a friend who said that they can borrow their time-share, prefers a cheaper hotel stay off-site or simply found a “cheap travel deal” online or at a big box travel retailer store.

I have a separate article that goes into detail about the benefits, advantages and disadvantages of group room blocks which you can find HERE. However, I want to focus this article about what happens in the event of a hotel shutdown, evacuation, sale, fire, weather event (like a hurricane!), government-imposed travel restrictions by your destination country or other unforeseen event.

Before you start thinking, “well what are the odds of THAT though?!” or “I’ll be fine, because my wedding isn’t scheduled during a predominantly bad weather month”, I do want to gently point out that the COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected everyone on a global scale and seemed to come from nowhere.

In that same vein, so can hurricanes, floods, volcanoes, fires, blizzards and hotel acquisitions – and yes, I do mean that your hotel could be sold to another owner before your wedding and they may have plans to shut down and renovate! Yikes!

I'm going to warn you now, that this is a relatively a long article. :) There is so much to know and understand which often go overlooked before it's too late. I have gone through many of the above scenarios with clients, and wanted to share one of the latest stories I've encountered with a wedding group just a couple weeks ago... 

Throughout my 11 years of planning destination wedding travel, I've had at LEAST one event per year affect a wedding group of mine and sadly, sometimes 2-3 in a year! Considering that I usually only accept a maximum of 20 weddings per year, so I can dedicate the time and attention required to my couples and their guests, it's statistically high odds that you might be affected by an unforeseen event – which in turn means that your guests will also be affected.

In addition to the coronavirus pandemic affecting all destination wedding couples in some way, one of my wedding groups had to do deal with two separate situations that wreaked havoc on their wedding vacation. While originally, they had done “all of the right things” and booked their wedding well out of hurricane season, when COVID hit, they (along with every other couple, group, and vacationer) had to reschedule due to travel restrictions and hotel closures. Due to the options offered in the early COVID chaos period – the availability was scarce, and they had to select an early October postponement.

Unfortunately, a sizeable hurricane began to head toward the popular tourist region where their wedding was scheduled just a day before travel – while rare, nothing is impossible, and thankfully the hurricane weakened before it made landfall and people in the area had time to evacuate to remain safe. The resort the wedding group was scheduled to arrive at, sustained damage and had to cease operation for repairs. The guests who were already staying at the resort, and those who were scheduled to arrive in the next few days (such as my wedding group!) were all diverted to a sister resort that had not been impacted by the hurricane.

What I really want to do, is give you a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what happens to a destination wedding group during an unforeseen emergency. Below will outline three ways your guests may make their room reservation to attend your wedding, and everything to think about BEFORE they do, just in case something like the above scenarios may happen to you, perish the thought!

The group mentioned above was comprised of wedding guests who booked in the following three ways:

1. Booking Style #1: Within the group room block, through the couple’s destination wedding travel agent (in this case, myself, Haley Davis, owner and founder of Destinations HD Boutique Travel Agency).
   
   
2. Booking Style #2: On their own, at the same resort, but through a different travel service provider via an online booking engine.
   
   
3. Booking Style #3: On their own, but at a different accommodations option altogether – be it  a rental property, alternate resort, time-share, etc... These guests of course, would not be able to spend time with the group staying on property, but instead had plans to purchase resort “wedding day passes” to attend the wedding events on that day.
   
   

Unfortunately, the reality of the experiences, outcomes, and even the ability to attend the wedding itself, were very different for the wedding guests and members of the wedding party depending on how they actually booked. It was an unfortunate lesson that many guests had to learn the hard way. I felt it was a good lesson to share to ensure you understand what could happen if things don’t go as planned.

Booking Style #1
It probably goes without saying that if you book with the travel agent and within a group room block that you’re likely to fare better, but let me share the specific reasons why...

1. Destination Wedding Travel Agents have personal relationships with at least 3 different people involved in your wedding! They have a relationship with the wedding coordinator, the resort business development manager, and the group contract manager who assists with negotiating your contract. This means that a destination wedding travel specialist is likely to get advance notification of resort closures, evacuations, etc... which in turn means that they can pass on this information to you and your wedding guests as soon as internal decisions are made.
   
   
2. When you are booked at a hotel within a group, the hotel will ensure that the group is kept together – so if they need to move the group to a sister resort and they have four sister resorts in the area, the guests who are booked within the group will all be re-routed to the same resort.
   
   
3. Logistics: When your property gets evacuated or your group gets moved you have a new problem – what about your flights and ground transportation?? Wedding guests who are booked in a group room block won’t need to worry about it – as the destination wedding specialist travel advisor that is taking care of your group, will be rearranging, rerouting and regrouping everyone – so that all you have to do is remember to pack your carry on with essentials so that you can drop your luggage when you arrive and head to the pool for a nap while your group coordinator, travel agent, wedding coordinator and the hotel work on getting all of the logistics reorganized!

 
Booking Style #2
These guests are often wary of “contracts”, travel advisors, and are savvy personal vacation planners who may have simply found a promotional deal through a third-party travel retailer. While there is nothing wrong with that, should an unforeseen emergency arise, they are often left with the following problems:

1. Late notification (if any) of resort closure. It’s sad but true, with limited staffing and the DIY nature of online booking sites, it doesn’t permit for individualized and personal notifications in the event of emergencies concerning your hotel. As such, it is highly unlikely that those guests will ever receive personal communication from an Expedia representative to inform them they are being rerouted to an alternate hotel. Eventually, those individuals are likely to receive a generic email – but if the emergency is a matter of days or hours before their flight, they could miss important details as they are preparing to or already traveling to the destination.
   
   SIDE NOTE: Most events causing resort closures won’t necessary be easy to find either – as hoteliers make their first announcement within the travel industry community as soon as they are able, which is released by their corporate offices, before releasing to public. The hotel leaves it up to the travel companies to pass along the news to clients with reservations. This goes back to the above point, that outside bookings may never get notified or know what is happening until after arrival.
   
   
2. No Group Guarantee. When booking outside the wedding group, there is absolutely no guarantee that these guests will be moved to the same resort that the group block is being transferred to. As far as the hotel is concerned, they are individual vacationers and have no idea they are part of the wedding. In the midst of trying to appease ALL guests and keep ALL guests safe, the hotel most likely won’t have time to take personal requests about hotel preferences. Most guests aren’t notified until arrival when events like a hurricane occur, so may be transferred without knowledge to an alternate hotel.
   
   The terms and conditions for traveling, and the contract that one enters into when booking through a chosen online or big box travel agency, could be different than those contracted within the group room block, and as such, those other companies may have different hotels contracted that will house their clients should anything affect their travel or when overbooking. These outside reservations are likely to receive very different treatment if not booked under the wedding group – whether they are the mother of the bride or a daughter! Booking through a third-party supplier can be risky when it comes to important events like a wedding or other group celebrations when you want everyone to be together.
   
   
3. Logistics – Hold times have been unusually longer since the COVID-19 pandemic impacted global travel, and they are significantly higher during any unforeseen event which affects travelers such as weather events. If one of these disturbs your wedding group travel plans, and those outside guests that may have received late notice about a hotel closure or evacuation, they may find it difficult to reschedule both air and ground transportation between the airport and hotel – if they are even able to do so at all before arriving.

 
Booking Style #3
The most risky, whether there is an unforeseen event or not, but especially in the case of a destination wedding group moving locations due to an emergency. Should something happen, these guests that decided to stay off-resort often have no recourse at all – whether prompt or otherwise.
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1. Receiving notification may be iffy at best, but in majority of cases, unlikely altogether – particularly (and most importantly) about the resort where the wedding is being held. In this case, the wedding attendee(s) will need to monitor not only their own travel accommodation, but also that of the hotel the wedding is scheduled at – otherwise these guests may arrive to no accommodation and no idea where the rest of the wedding group went! As the wedding couple, you'll now have the added stress to also keep all those guests outside the group informed of the situation at hand and as things develop, in addition to preparing for your own travels.
   
   
2. No vacancy. As these guests are booked at outside accommodations, it’s extremely unlikely your resort will have any last minute availabity for outside guests to book. Since the hotel transfers all their guests affected to other properties, those rooms will likely be full due to the movement of other groups and guests. External requests will likely be out of luck in sourcing space during an emergency – particularly if the emergency was related to a weather event, in which case not only are hotel occupants affected, but the entire population of the region.
   
   Another good point to ponder is even if your hotel is impacted, the hotel, house or other accommodation that some guests booked on their own may not have been, and they may not be able to get out of their stay to try and find something closer to your new location. That is even if they will be allowed in at your new property (see section for Day Passes below for more explanation).
   
   
3. Air and ground transportation may be sparse and commandeered by those who had solidified bookings via a reputed provider – for those who planned on “winging it” and taking a taxi or uber service from the airport, they may be in for quite high fares, if even available – especially if the wedding group has been moved to a location that is a significant distance further from the airport than initially scheduled to be.

Day Passes
As regular readers and clients of mine will already know, I would never recommend counting on purchasing a resort day pass to attend a destination wedding – too much can go wrong here.

You can read more about why here. However, in the event of a situation that requires guests to be moved to a different property, the reason is simple:
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• It's likely that the resort will NOT have any day passes available. Accommodating hundreds of new people who were meant to be at one resort, to another resort which presumably already had their own bookings, means that it’s highly probably that the resort will be filled to capacity now. When the resort is at capacity, no day passes can be sold due to local safety and fire code laws.

 
Refunds or Partial Refunds
This is a hot topic and an important one when facing emergency situations that require a change in plans and accommodation. Unfortunately, force majeure events are not usually covered in any travel package terms and conditions – this is where travel insurance becomes a vital backup.

While travel insurance policies have their own terms and conditions, oftentimes you’ll find that you are usually covered for reimbursement of some, if not all, expenses incurred in an emergency situation*.
*For specific terms, conditions, and coverage policy details you will need to reach out to your preferred travel insurance provider to discuss. 

Most hotels and airlines are not required to reimburse you in anyway or to “make up” for the fact that an event impacted your trip, so if provider offers anything at all, is usually in the faith of good customer service, but not all companies will make exceptions.

With that in mind, if you are booked with a group who has entered into a group room block contract and has a travel advisor on your side, you’ll tend to find that the travel agent will advocate on your behalf for possible partial refunds or additional comps, perks and amenities for the trip interruption that you faced. Online or big box travel retailers do not provide these services and the single traveler is unlikely to get far when asking for favors – the simple truth is that a good destination wedding travel agent already has a relationship with the right people in addition to being likely to promote and sell the resort in the future for groups and as such, will have more chance of using that leverage to your advantage.

What to Expect If Disaster Strikes
Understanding the behind-the-scenes details when disaster strikes (whether it be natural, managerial, or accidental), can help better appreciate why it can appear that resorts are slow to act.

In the example of any disaster, the safety of the guests and staff comes first, and their comfort second. The order in which this works is also tied to guests already on property and then transitions to guests who are scheduled to arrive next and so on – but priority is always given to those guests who are currently at the hotel. During this time staff are overwhelmed with moving guests to safety, securing the grounds and retrieving guest belongings from the rooms to forward on to the new property - just to name a few.

This flurry of activity often results in delayed check-in and room allocation at the new property as the staff works with accommodating the influx of new guests and belongings that they were not prepared for. This can take quite some time especially as the staff navigates displaced guests and groups and attempts to accommodate all the special requests that were included in the original booking, as they transfer essential details into their computer systems – all while continuing to manage the property and the guests currently in place and who were scheduled to arrive.

The best thing that you can do is be patient, flexible, and enjoy the resort amenities while you let the resort staff tackle the monumental task at hand – remember, they want you to be safe, happy and to have a wonderful vacation, so they are doing all that they can to ensure that you leave with a positive experience! 

I hope you found some valuable information to help you understand the importance of protecting your destination wedding and your guests with a group room block. If you feel overwhelmed or would like assistance to navigate contract negotiations, we are here for you! This is what we do every day!

We spend most of our vacation time touring resorts, meeting with the wedding coordinators and training for destination weddings, so we can make it very simple for you. We save you time by filtering out all the bad advice and countless options for you. Let us take the guesswork out and match-make you to the destination and resorts that fit your style, vision and budget the best.

​Together we will find your most perfect wedding resort and we take care of the logistics after that. All you have to do is the fun wedding planning and creating an unforgettable event your friend and family will remember for a lifetime! Schedule your free consultation to see how we can assist and learn more about our services!

Before you get too far into dreaming of the perfect beach wedding dress and walking down the aisle in a tropical paradise to say “I do”, you first need to choose the date before you start planning your destination wedding. If you have a special date in mind that means a lot to you and your partner, you’ll need to consider a few things before you want to settle on the location that you’ll married at. Even for those of you that have more date flexibility, there are still some important factors that will play a role in deciding when is the best time of year for a destination wedding.

In addition to all the below influences in figuring out your perfect wedding date, keep in mind that Friday and Saturday evening weddings are the most popular and are the first to go. Quickly followed by the day before and after, so if you are considering a Thursday to Sunday wedding date to create a long weekend for guests, I highly recommend you start planning around 12-16 months prior. On the latter side if you’re hoping for that unique memorable date such as 11/11/21, 2/2/2022 or 4/22/22 – you can bet there are hundreds of others trying to get the same date, so you have to be first!

Below will highlight our tips for how to pick the best wedding date and what to consider before you start planning your destination beach wedding...

Guest Commitments
While you won’t need to take a poll and find out all of your guests schedules for the next two years when you pick your wedding date, you will want to think about those closest to you, and who you absolutely do not want to get married without being in attendance – and for these guests, you may want to reach out for tentative information about their availability.

One of the biggest guest commitments to take into consideration is actually related to their children – if they have kids and if those children are school age or not. Many parents may not want to – and in some cases be unable to – remove their children from school to attend an international wedding, and particularly if their kids are in sports, extra-curriculars and/or in junior or senior year of high school.

On the other hand, this might be ideal if you are hoping for an adults-only wedding!  Selecting a date that you know won’t be ideal for a child’s schedule, may make it easier for you to request no kids, but also the parents may not feel as bad for leaving the kids knowing they have activities keeping them busy with their care-givers.  

Additionally, you may want to check if those closest to you have any “blackout” dates at their workplace – these are dates in which employees are heavily encouraged not to request to use time off because the business is just too busy – such as accountants in tax season.  While this may not be a deal-breaker, it’s nice to consider your guests when you start planning your dream wedding!

Weather
Weather can wreak havoc on the most well-laid plans and unfortunately Mother Nature will do as she pleases, regardless of how long you’ve been planning your destination wedding! The easiest way to circumvent her and set yourself up for wedding success though, is to have a thorough understanding of the seasonal destination wedding weather of the location(s) that you are considering.

You’ll find that many tropical destinations have a high humidity rating and relentless heat during the US summer months, which can be so oppressive that it’s nearly impossible to enjoy yourself outside of the pool – or even keep makeup and hair in place. This can be especially uncomfortable for those who prefer a more formal men’s attire, because dress pants, dress shirts and closed toe shoes in formidable temperatures is not a good combination.

Another often over-looked piece of the equation is ocean and pool temperature. Due to the balmy weather found year-round in destination wedding paradises, some resorts don’t offer heated options for plunge pools, swimout suites, and even the main pools – and of course there is no way to regulate ocean temperature (not without a specific superhero power at least).  

This means that if any swimmable water, such as swimout or plunge pools are located in an area that blocks the sunlight for part of the day, you’ll be paying for a fancy feature that will be too cold to use in the “winter” season! Similar can be said of the ocean – while shade isn’t the problem, the significant drop in temperature in the evenings of these cooler months tend to mean that the ocean can be quite chilly in this season. This varies depending on where you travel to, but just know that not all Caribbean water is warm in the winter months.

On top of the above, hurricanes, rainy seasons and seaweed can significantly effect quite a few tropical destination wedding locations at varying times of the year, so you may need to consider date flexibility, and if that’s not an option, destination flexibility.

Ecological Events
Briefly touched on in my Savvy Soulmates Guide to Planning a Destination Resort Wedding, ecological events can be found across Mexico, Costa Rica and the Caribbean – such as turtle nesting season, sargassum seaweed, and red tides.

During turtle nesting season for instance, areas of the beach where the turtles need to nest are off limits and as such, cannot be used – so if your heart is set on a sunset beach wedding or reception, you’ll need to find another location, resort or date that won’t be affected by this.

On the other end of the spectrum, ecological events such as Whale Migrations are also seasonal events that many people love to plan their unique wedding concepts around. In the same vein as the above, you’ll need to select a date that falls within this spectrum for the chance to have such a momentous event take place during your proceedings.

Holidays – Local and International
Many couples think that planning their destination wedding to fall over a holiday weekend is the best of both worlds – kids are out of school, most people are off of work an extra day, so why not jet off to paradise for a beautiful wedding and some fun and sun?!

The only caveat is that – everyone else is off of work and school. This means that holiday periods have limited availability AND resorts and airfare are often priced significantly higher than non-holiday periods. This can occasionally be circumvented by being the proverbial early bird and getting your contract and air locked in early, so if you have always dreamed of a Valentines Day wedding or are thinking of using Spring Break as a way to ensure travel easier for your guests, you should jump on the train well over a year in advance!

Christmas Couples – many resorts do not allow weddings on major holidays such as Christmas or New Years, because they usually have resort wide events that ALL resort guests are invited to partake in. If your absolute dream is to have a destination wedding on a major holiday, I recommend reaching out to a destination wedding travel agent to discuss your options.

The other holiday factor to take into account are the local holidays of the country that you’re visiting. If you don’t do your due diligence with researching your destination wedding locations local holidays, you may find that a weeklong national holiday event is taking place the week of your wedding.

If this happens to you and your partner, you could suffer from limited vendors availability, limited staff on the resort, resort wide events to celebrate, limited accommodation availability as local nationals are off work and vacationing too, increased pricing due to requesting services on national holidays, or simply have nothing to do in the place you chose for its breadth of nightlight and local activities because the locals are off enjoying their holiday and you find many closed businesses and shops. 

Budget
While no-one wants to spend more than they need to, some couples prefer to stick to a tighter budget for their destination wedding. With that in mind, you’ll want to get to know the peak and off-peak seasons of the destinations that you are considering and begin looking at wedding dates that fall into those off-peak parameters.
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Just be aware – off-peak is often priced lower for a reason, so you’ll need to be very careful that your “great deal” doesn’t coincide with a weather, ecological or holiday event in the country where you’re getting married that may affect your experience! 

I hope you found some valuable insight on what to consider before deciding on your date for your dream destination wedding. If you feel overwhelmed or would like assistance to narrow down the perfect destination or resort, we are here for you! 
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We spend most of our vacation time touring resorts, meeting with the wedding coordinators and training for destination weddings, so we can make it very simple for you. We save you time by filtering out all the bad advice and countless options for you. Let us take the guesswork out and match-make you to the destination and resorts that fit your style, vision and budget the best.

​Together we will find your most perfect wedding resort and we take care of the logistics after that. All you have to do is the fun wedding planning and creating an unforgettable event your friend and family will remember for a lifetime! Schedule your free consultation to see how we can assist and learn more about our services!

Pre-planning is crucial for any wedding, but even more so for a destination wedding for many reasons, but most importantly to give your guests as much time as possible to make their arrangements. Most guests will need to organize absences from work or school, sitters for pets or children, and of course, have enough time to save for the flights and hotel.
 
With that in mind, one of the most common questions we are asked when planning a destination wedding with our clients, is regarding the save-the-date timeline – which is quite different than the checklist for a traditional local wedding.

While figuring out the wording or if you want save-the-date magnets, cards, or boarding passes is fun, first and foremost you need to determine when you should send out the save the dates for your destination wedding.

The simple answer? The best time to send your save-the-dates is as soon as you possibly can. Once you’ve selected your ideal wedding date, booked the location, and confirmed your room block (click the links for more info about those items!), you’ll want to get those save-the-dates out to your guest list, so they can start to consider their options!  
  
When booking an all-inclusive resort for your destination wedding, if you have a large group and hold a block of rooms in a group room block, most contracts will require payment in full around 60-70 days prior - so keep in mind that your guests will have 2 less months to save money to attend your wedding. This is another reason why it’s important for you to give them enough time beforehand to make arrangements. 
  
Additionally, remember that you will need a headcount to plan accordingly and to get an idea on how much your destination wedding will cost, as the price is based on the number of guests that you’ll have in attendance (many resort wedding packages will include up to 20 guests, but over that is a per head cost for the ceremony and reception). Therefore, the earlier you can get people to commit, the better for you as well to move forward with planning and budgeting for your destination wedding. 

With so many creative, fun, and unique options for save-the-dates are a big deal now as you and partner get to introduce your plans and wishes to your loved ones about your upcoming wedding! Yet another benefit of your decision to have a destination wedding however, is that you don't need to stress about the formality and traditional timeline that are expected when hosting a local wedding. Win! 

A resort destination wedding is usually more relaxed, so there are less “rules” to follow when it comes to your invitations. We suggest sending these out at least 9-12 months prior to your wedding day. ​The most important take-away is to provide your guests ample time to prepare and save, so giving them a heads up about the details is highly recommend and they will be grateful for the consideration. Plus, more advance notice can also equate to having more guests attend the wedding! 
  
Lastly, don't forget that during certain months and peak seasons, popular resorts can book up to a year or more in advance – not even factoring in the COVID-19 pandemic which forced so many couples to reschedule to 2021/2022 - so if you have a specific date and/or prefer an evening time for your ceremony or reception, it's always better to confirm at least a year in advance so you get the resort, date and time you truly want to ensure your destination wedding dreams become a reality. 

I hope you found some valuable insight to help you get started with planning your destination wedding. If you feel overwhelmed or would like assistance to narrow down the perfect destination or resort, we are here for you! This is what we do every day! 
 
We spend most of our vacation time touring resorts, meeting with the wedding coordinators and training for destination weddings, so we can make it very simple for you. We save you time by filtering out all the bad advice and countless options for you. Let us take the guesswork out and match-make you to the destination and resorts that fit your style, vision and budget the best. 
 
Together we will find your most perfect wedding resort and we take care of the logistics after that. All that you have to do is the fun wedding planning and creating an unforgettable event your friend and family will remember for a lifetime! Schedule your free consultation to see how we can assist and learn more about our services! 

Here comes the fun part – deciding which paradise location to say "I Do"! 

There is a ton to consider when deciding where to have your destination wedding, but with a bit of knowledge and education, you can begin narrowing the options for your dream wedding quicker than you might think.  

To get you in the zone, I have something fun to start you off! I created the quiz below to help couples begin the process of planning and envisioning their dream wedding location. These questions will get you started on the right track about some things you'll want to keep in mind as you start location shopping! ​

After daydreaming and having some fun taking the quiz, we still need to talk about specifics.

The first thing that you should decide is not actually that exciting, but something to get out of the way so you can move forward with your planning - legal verses symbolic ceremony.  

Each country has their own requirements in order for a legal ceremony to be performed, and many can be quite tedious. There may be a mandatory "residency period" which can range from 24 hours to 4 days.  Some countries require blood tests, immunization certificates or doctor certificates. For instance, one island requires the official ceremony be held at their civil townhouse before you can have your "blessing ceremony" at the resort or beach location of your choice. Another country requires you to arrive 3 months prior to complete the paperwork in person before returning for your ceremony later. 

I'm going to be completely forthright here - nearly every single destination wedding couple that I have worked with (including myself), has chosen to do the legal paperwork back home prior to the international ceremony to keep it simple and have more time in destination with family and friends. However, this is an intimate decision that each couple must make together and there is no wrong way to do this. Just make sure to research the requirements of the destination(s) you have in mind to determine how you want to proceed. If having a legal ceremony is important, you might select a destination that's easier and doesn't have a lot of requirements. If you have chosen to work with a travel advisor, they should be able to go over all of this in great detail with you – it's their job!  

While the above is paramount to your narrowing down your location choices, there is so much more to consider before you start coming up with Aruba or Curacao wedding hashtags, so keep reading on!  

• Do you have a significant location that may be an ideal destination to start your new life together? Did you get engaged on vacation? What was your first vacation spot together? Or perhaps just a destination you have both always wanted to go? 
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• Do you prefer an all-inclusive resort? These resorts are great for keeping costs consistent and not having your guests worry about extra expenses when they arrive. If this is something you had in mind, there are limited all-inclusive resorts and are not available in all locations or islands, so this question will narrow down your destination options very quickly. 
  
  
• What is your wedding vision when you think of your ceremony? Do you want a sunset background in your wedding photos?  Mountain views? Cultural influences? Many people don't think about the fact that not all tropical destinations have direct sunset views - the resort may face East and offer sunrise views only with the sunset behind the buildings. 
  
  
• Is there a date or month that has significant meaning? If you need to plan around a special date, focus on destinations that have good weather that time of year. Don't forget to think about any local festivals or holidays that may effect availability or pricing. Additionally, seasonal concerns such as turtle nesting season could be factor. For example, during turtle nesting season, the property is required to close the beach early which would force you to have an early wedding or select another reception location which might not live up to your vision of getting married on the beach. 
   
• Is turquoise water one of your top 3 requirements OR not as important? This in particular is a huge factor because even though all of the pretty pictures online love to tout locations as having that Caribbean teal water, the truth is that many places do NOT, so you can narrow down your search considerably right there. 
  
  
• Is the color of the sand important? White, Golden, Black colors? Beaches also range in locations from powder soft sand to pebble beaches, so if you have a preference or know what you do not want, you can cross some destinations off your list. 
  
  
• Do you have a vision of venue for your ceremony? Are you looking for an ocean view wedding gazebo instead of ceremony directly on the beach? What about a sky wedding, where you're on a rooftop with aerial or panoramic views? Maybe you want an over-the-water chapel or over-the-water palapa or a secret garden? Deciding on your vision for the ceremony will help trim those destinations that offer properties with venue options matching what you are looking for. 
  
  

• Are you planning on wearing heels, but still want a beach wedding? If so, you'll need to find a property which includes a deck or boardwalk on the sand or has an ocean front ceremony option that isn’t directly ON the sand. You'd be surprised, but this would actually rule out a lot of destinations!
  
  
• Do you have any special traditions or desires that you want to incorporate? Looking for a bonfire welcome party or floating lanterns to be released? Not all resorts can offer these due to government restrictions or insurance coverage. What about fireworks, a particular band, or entertainment show like fire dancers? Be sure to ask first, as not all resorts or locations can offer these type of events, so this can help you rule out many options if you have something particular in mind.
   
• What back-up location(s) are available in case of weather? Some properties will only have a ballroom available, others will have covered entertainment areas with ocean views or charming chapels. You'll want to discuss what matters most to you should a tropical shower occur.  This will ensure that you're prepared and know what you're getting so you aren't disappointed on your big day!  
  
  
• Any guests have disabilities, dietary or any other special needs to be considered?  Consider ages (children or seniors) and any physical mobility issues you should plan for. For example, if you have a lot of guests coming from both California and New York you may need to consider a more centralized country that won’t require some of your guest to layover overnight to get to your wedding losing precious time and money. In addition, if you have some mobility issues, you'll want to ensure the property grounds are easy to get around on, and have elevators to the rooms, as well as, any venue locations you are considering for any of the wedding events. Make sure the destination and resorts you are looking into can accommodate for any special needs your guests may need.  
  
  
• Do you have a special group activity you want to experience off resort? Zip-Lining, snorkeling, city tour, etc... My clients often elect to plan at least one group excursion that’s off property during their stay, so if you think that you might want to share that kind of experience with your guests, you may want to select a location that offers the adventure you envision. Zip-lining flat grounds isn't quite as exciting as if you zip-ling through a jungle mountain range, so if you know what you prefer to do as a group, that can help you concentrate on destinations that are best for that particular experience!   
  
  

• Budget for guests (air and hotel). While budget will come into play in a much bigger way when it comes down to comparing resort options, you'll want to pay attention when selecting your location since some countries are, simply put, just going to be way more expensive.  A wedding in Mexico for example, is a completely different budget ballgame than a wedding in Turks & Caicos. 
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• Kids Clubs/Activities/Babysitting Services. If you know that you'll definitely need to get married on a family-friendly property, then take that into consideration when choosing your country. Some countries - and smaller islands in particular - may not have a suitable family-friendly option available, so you could waste a lot of time and energy researching a place that has no actual viable resort option for your wedding. 

I hope you found some valuable insight to help you get started with finding your ideal destination wedding location. If you feel overwhelmed or would like assistance to narrow down the perfect destination or resort, we are here for you! This is what we do every day! 
 
We spend most of our vacation time touring resorts, meeting with the wedding coordinators and training for destination weddings, so we can make it very simple for you. We save you time by filtering out all the bad advice and countless options for you. Let us take the guesswork out and match-make you to the destination and resorts that fit your style, vision and budget the best. 
 
Together we will find your most perfect wedding resort and we take care of the logistics after that. All you have to do is the fun wedding planning and creating an unforgettable event your friend and family will remember for a lifetime! Schedule your free consultation to see how we can assist and learn more about our services! 

Congratulations on your engagement! You may have always dreamed of a destination beach wedding, or you started to plan a local wedding and quickly found out how expensive those can get. Either way, you're here to gather more information and see if a destination wedding is the right fit for you. 

As a past destination resort bride, I'm a little biased and would happily tell you to GO FOR IT, but I'm also realistic and know that it's not a fit for everyone. Below, you can find my thoughts on some advantages and disadvantages to consider as you are deciding if this is the route you want to go for your big day!

• Possibly Harder Planning ​
• Communication and/or Language Barrier ​​
• Legality ​
• Size of Wedding​
• Cost for Guests​
• Some Family or Friends Not Able to Travel​
• Unpredictable – ​Travel Delays and Weather​
• Privacy of Outdoor Locations

Earlier I said it was easier to plan, but this could also be a disadvantage for some that need that face-to-face meeting to feel more comfortable. There are many resorts that offer a "big day preview" type option, where you can stay a few nights to meet with the onsite wedding coordinator, walk through the venue locations (and back-up options), taste the food and see or even meet with the other vendors. This would have an additional cost, but if you need a bit more control, it's a great way to ensure your sanity.

Language could also be a factor depending on your location. Sometimes words don't translate as intended, so it takes a little extra patience and understanding. You tend to also have a delay in response between emails, and it could be 3-4 days before you hear back. With the amount of weddings they perform each week, and a more laid-back culture in many Caribbean destinations, you will have to quickly appreciate the relaxed demeanor and go with the flow to keep your stress-levels in check. 

Some destinations will have more strict requirements to perform a legal ceremony, including extra costs and "residency" rules in where you need to arrive a certain number of days, weeks or months prior. Be sure to check your destination's specifications to determine if you want the legal ceremony there, or if it's easier for you to do the legal paperwork back home first and have a symbolic ceremony in destination. You can find more information about the legality in my other article about How to Plan your Destination Wedding.

Destination Weddings are typically smaller than traditional weddings, so you may have to cut out some friends, extended family or co-workers - depending on your budget. Many guests may not even be able to make it due to the cost of travel, health issues, and even work or family obligations that won't allow them to take extended time off. 

Travel is also unpredictable, so there could be flight delays that may cause some people to not make the actual wedding. Mother Nature is also erratic, but not only just the rain that can happen in a tropical destination, but seaweed or a red tide can be a factor. While you can try to organize around the seasons that tend to have higher chances for these events, you can't predict natural phenomenons. If something like that would absolutely ruin your day, focus on properties that have Sky Terraces with ocean views or a romantic Garden or Gazebo location.  

So, you love planning your own vacations and are super great at organizing and want to know if you should hire a travel agent to assist with your destination wedding. Of course you can do most anything yourself - we are smart, capable and can do anything if we put our minds, time and effort into it! The question comes down to, do you want to be on the hook for your wedding, guests or self if anything goes wrong? 

Let us explore a few things to think about as you prepare for the exciting adventure of getting married in paradise!

Think about how you will handle having to reschedule everyone to a new resort if a hurricane caused your resort to close for destruction, or if COVID-19 returns and forces cancellation at your resort, or even when a snow storm shuts down the airport where half of your guests are now stuck? Did you make your reservations through an online website – will someone be there to assist if an unexpected situation occurs? These situations are just a few events I have personally dealt with as a destination wedding travel specialist. While everyone dreams of the most perfect wedding day, sometimes things just don’t work out as planned and it might be valuable to you and your guests to have someone on their side for such an important event.
 
Planning a wedding can become quite involved. Remember, you are planning an entire wedding in another country thousands of miles away, plus a new life together, and not to mention your daily routine with work and life in general. There will be a hundred things to do outside of the travel arrangements, especially as society moves forward in our new normal after COVID-19 and the new requirements for travel. If you have any guests that are not well-traveled or ever been out of the country, they tend to want to know the tiniest details to feel more comfortable, so you will want to decide if you have the time or want to even take that on.
 
While you can certainly join a destination wedding Facebook group to ask questions and help you find the destination, resort and plan the wedding, but you’d be surprised by how inundated you will be with all the responses and personal opinions. Keep in mind that what destination or resort was perfect for one couple (or your Aunt Sally), may not be up to the same level of standards that will be a good fit for you or your guests.
 
Reviews, opinions and suggestions are based on a person's own style, budget, experiences and expectations, so while photos may look appealing, or the fact that the hotel website states they are a “luxury, 5-star” property, that can just be smoke and mirrors with good marketing and not always factual. There is a variety of 5-star resorts out there, but the service level, quality of food, inclusions, room amenities and comforts can vary greatly between the vast resort brands. What was amazing to someone else, may be unacceptable to you. 

On top of trying to understand the brands and the different quality and service levels you get; you will also need to consider your time and how quickly you need to make your decision. Do you have the extra hours it can take to filter through all the wedding forums and websites to research the destinations, resorts and if there are any seasonal environmental factors that could affect your day (turtle nesting season, sargassum seaweed locations, seasonal temperatures of ocean, etc)? Don’t forget you will need to check where the resort is located and how it's facing to ensure the sun sets on that side of the island if you have always dreamed of a sunset wedding. Do you have any requirements you need to be aware of such as, if the local government bans fire pits on the beach that you wanted to set-up for your welcome party? The list goes on.  
 
Finally, you will also be in charge of tracking your guests’ flight arrival/departure for the transfer arrangements to/from resort, the reservation numbers and every guest name booked in each room to provide the wedding coordinator for room location and wedding planning. Who will take care of your parents if they get delayed in Dallas on the way over or your cousin gets denied boarding for not knowing the proper documentation needed to enter the country PRIOR to flying? 
 
It is a lot of work to track and provide all the requirements needed to know for travel. Even if you love planning your own vacations - there is much more to it when organizing a group wedding. Especially if you plan to have a group of 5 or more rooms – which may get you additional benefits for the wedding or complimentary nights to stay – but then that requires you to track all the contracted dates related to signing-up, releasing unused inventory so you aren’t penalized, and also ensuring all guests have made their final payment so you aren’t on the hook or their room gets cancelled for non-payment.  
 
Don’t worry! Your passion for planning will still be put to use with the fun details of the actual wedding and events, but when you use a travel professional instead of taking this on your own, you don’t have to worry about the minuscule details and logistics with the travel. You will even still have control of the resort and destination you pick, but by partnering with an expert that you trust, who can listen to your vision and match you to the most ideal options to fit what YOU want, not what others like, you can ensure you are making the best decision for your wedding.     
 
To avoid disappointment upon arrival, if you are taking a recommendation from a forum or family acquaintance, it’s highly recommended to take a few days and head down to the destination to check out some resorts before committing. I find it beneficial to schedule a meeting with the onsite wedding coordinator to give you a good starting relationship and be able to walk through the locations (and back-up options), as well as, taste the food. Doing this first will help you be prepared when making decisions once the planning begins. You will also set your mind at ease and it will be less stressful when you have seen and tasted your options beforehand. ​​

You can read more about how to select the best destination for your beach wedding to continue your research as you move forward.