Destination Weddings

Traditionally, weddings have been held in your own home church, or in a local 

garden, or in some venue close to the home of the groom or bride's family. But 

as Americans become more mobile, living thousands of miles from their families 

in some cases and marrying people from the other side of the country in others, 

it's grown more and more inconvenient to schedule the right place to have your 

wedding. His home, or hers? How do family who live in fifteen different cities 

get here? What is fair?

Rather than worrying about these issues, more brides and grooms have been opting 

for destination weddings. A destination wedding is one that is centered around 

getting married at a particular place that is not at the home of either bride or 

groom, often a tropical or otherwise romantic location. This isn't a runaway 

marriage, like the ones that used to take place frequently at Niagara Falls and 

that still take place in Las Vegas; rather, it's a planned wedding with guests, 

with the only difference between it and other weddings being the away-from-home 

location.

Popular places for destination weddings include Hawaii, the South Carolina 

beaches, Disneyworld, and, yes, Las Vegas. Brides not satisfied with these 

locations can consider some other, more unique ideas: getting married on a 

yacht, Ireland, Fiji, the Bahamas, or weddings in locations that are important 

to the bride and groom for some reason. A destination wedding can be a very 

personal event.

Advantages of Destination Weddings

There are numerous significant advantages to having a destination wedding, 

especially if you have a far-flung family. For one, it spares you from having to 

make the decision between his city and her city; instead, everyone has to travel 

to get to your wedding, making it fair. And then, if you have relatives you feel 

certain would cause trouble at a wedding, a destination wedding is a subtle 

discouragement for them to show up, so you can apologize profusely to them when 

they complain about not being able to get to your wedding and just say you had 

your heart set on a beach wedding at Cabo, or being married in front of the 

falls at Niagara, or whatever destination wedding you've chosen.

Additionally, if there are family clashes between bride and groom in laws, a 

destination wedding brings the whole thing to a neutral location. The only thing 

you want to avoid, in this case, is renting a huge house for everyone to stay 

in; better keep them in separate houses!

One of the worst things that happens to weddings is when Mom takes over, trying 

to plan the wedding for her daughter - and sometimes son - to "make it easier" 

for the bride. Choosing a destination wedding is a great way to get rid of the 

interference of a mother.

Destination weddings tend to be in very romantic, often exotic, locations, which 

leads to several other things. First, those weddings on the beach lead to some 

amazing wedding photographs, especially if you choose your location so that you 

catch the sunset. They also allow you to combine your honeymoon with your 

wedding, and you can tell reluctant family that it will make a great excuse for 

them to take a vacation at your destination.

The surprising advantage some destination weddings has is that they can be much 

cheaper than traditional weddings, if you plan them carefully and choose the 

right destination at the right time. While the U.S. dollar is a little weak 

right now, it still has an excellent exchange rate over some countries. And many 

popular destination wedding sites have been taking advantage of the wedding 

tourist trade by offering great deals on wedding packages of all sorts.

Disadvantages of Destination Weddings

To be fair, destination weddings also have drawbacks. Many of your invited 

guests won't come, and others may invite themselves on your honeymoon if you're 

not careful. Of course, since fewer guests are coming, the wedding will be 

smaller and you'll save money on catering, venue size, and other things, so you 

can dip into your wedding funds to help subsidize the plane tickets for people 

you absolutely must have at your wedding.

Not all destinations are cheap and glorious; it's entirely possible that the 

destination you have your heart set will be more expensive, so you'll have to 

shop around and lock in the best deal you can early. Because the destination may 

be quite remote from America, you'll find planning of sorts you didn't expect is 

necessary, and a good travel agent may become your best friend.

Finally, you must think about a few legalities: passports, visas, and whether or 

not a wedding at your destination will be recognized in the U.S. (not all are!) 

The last problem can be bypassed if you have a simple civil ceremony back home 

and then your elaborate wedding at your destination.

A destination wedding is not the right answer for everyone. And many people who 

would like a destination wedding decide in the end to get married at home for a 

variety of reasons. But if you have your heart set on one and you have plenty of 

time to plan, there is no reason you can't have a destination wedding, and all 

the wonderful memories that go along with it.