Lord Thompson Manor, Wedding Estate

Author: Shari Hearn
It’s true, destination weddings are all the rage today.

What exactly is a destination wedding? In simple terms, it’s a wedding away from your hometown, either just the two of you, or with family and friends. It can be as simple or elaborate, inexpensive or lavish as you desire.

Okay, so it’s the wedding trend of the day, but, is it any simpler to plan? Or, is planning a wedding far from home even harder than planning one in your own hometown? The answer to that, of course, is up to you, and how lavish or unique you want your wedding to be. Here are the steps in planning that destination “I Do.”

Step One: Who’s Going to Attend?

Before you can plan your wedding destination, you really have to decide who you’re going to invite, as your guest list can sometimes narrow your choices of destinations.

Is your destination wedding going to be for just the two of you? Then the whole world is your oyster.

Are you going to invite a few close friends or family members? If so, are you going to pick up the tab for their travel, or are travel expenses to be paid by each individual? If you can’t afford to pick up the tab for travel to your wedding, and the friends and family members would have a hard time coming up the money, then you might want to pick some special place closer to home. For example, if you live in Phoenix and want a destination wedding where family and friends could easily travel to, you might want to pick Sedona rather than Hawaii.

There might also be time restrictions for your guests as well. Some people just can’t take time off of work to attend your wedding on some tropical island, whereas they might be able to attend a wedding which is a few-hours drive away.

Step Two: When is the Wedding?

If the two of you are planning your wedding around vacation time at work, then that too may dictate where you will have your destination wedding. If your vacation time is during hurricane season, you may want to skip Cancun and opt for the beaches of Southern California instead.

Step Three: Draw up a Wedding Budget

Face it; some locations are just more traditionally affordable than others. Your heart may be screaming the beaches of Costa Rica, but your budget is screaming Las Vegas. Yes, we all want to answer our heart’s call, but your budget should have the last word.

But, don’t let that keep you from choosing a great, unique wedding destination. You’d be surprised how many wonderful, unique wedding destinations there are which may fit your budget. B&Bs all over the United States, in such romantic destinations as California, New England, Florida and Virginia, offer inexpensive wedding packages for either just the two of your, or several guests.

When considering your budget, you have to consider travel expenses (flying or driving) as well as the wedding related expenses. In addition, you should also plan on the costs for accommodations, meals during your stay and even the things that you would like to do there.

Step Four: Consider the Marriage Laws

Some locations in the United States as well as some countries make having a wedding very difficult. You may have to deal with specific requirements before you can actually wed. Before you select a location at which to be married, make sure you know what the laws in that location actually are.

Step Five: Hire a Wedding Planner or DIY

Once you’ve narrowed in on your wedding location, you need to decide if you will be planning your wedding yourself or if you will need to hire a wedding planner. If you are having a larger destination wedding with numerous family and friends attending, you may want to hire a wedding planner to help coordinate everything.

If it’s just the two of you, you can probably handle the planning yourself. Often you can hire a wedding officiant who has packages available which include picking a location, performing the ceremony, as well as transportation, cake and champagne. Resorts and even B&Bs also offer packages which make the planning extra simple.

Step Six: Enjoy Your Honeymoon

Here’s the best part of having a destination wedding. The honeymoon starts right after the “I Do.”

With destination weddings continuing to grow in popularity, and more B&Bs, resorts and wedding planners offering wedding packages, planning a destination wedding can be as simple as planning a vacation. No more renting a hall, hiring a band, sending invitations to an ever-growing list of guests. It’s time to take the stress out of your wedding planning and make it fun. A destination wedding allows you to do just that.

Author: Kathy Crawford
Using a wedding checklist will help make your big day a happy day.

There are so many details concerning a wedding that you need to use a wedding checklist to be sure you don’t forget anything important that may ruin the day.

If you plan carefully using a wedding checklist chances are the special day will be a joyous experience. Your list can be tailored for your specific needs and desires which will help relieve the inevitable stress as the day gets closer.

If at all possible six to twelve months before the wedding day your checklist should include the actual wedding date and time, lining up a florist and a caterer and also a photographer and a DJ. You will need to reserve the church and a location for the reception.

Your wedding checklist needs to include other important details such as, choosing who will be in the wedding party and ordering the invitations. You need to pick out a wedding gown, the wedding attendant’s dresses and the attire for the groom and groomsmen. And of course the all important wedding rings.

All of the above are the most major things that you should arrange for as early as possible.
On you wedding checklist be sure to put reminders for details that will be happening closer to the date. Like ordering your wedding cake, flowers, sending out the invitations and final fittings for everyone’s wedding attire. You also need a reminder to place a wedding announcemnet in your local paper.

There are other many other things that need to be on your wedding list such as, deciding on music for the wedding, a guest book, printed knapkins, thank you cards, wedding favors, decorations and a limo service.

About a month to six weeks before your big day you should go over your wedding checklist to make absolutely sure you haven’t forgotten anything.

There are, of course, many more things than those listed above that you will need to put on your specific wedding planning checklist that are personal to your wedding, but the above will give you an idea of the things you need to include.

If you can afford it the top thing on your wedding checklist should be hiring a Wedding Planner to help you plan your special day. This can take a lot of stress off of you and your family and allow you to relax and enjoy the process and the actual wedding day.