Keep Your Sanity When Planning Your Destination Wedding
Planning a wedding is no small feat, even when it is a wedding in your backyard with 20 guests. Then you decide that you want a destination wedding: you need to plan for flights, at least for your parents and siblings; you have to decide who just has to attend and who you would rather not be there; you have to arrange for their accommodation, food and entertainment for the three days they will be there; you have to figure out what dress you want to wear, and who you are not picking for your bridal train; you need to make sure that the venue is properly decorated and the seating capacity is the correct amount…whew! Girl, you have got your work cut out for you. Already you can feel an anxiety attack coming on, and your stress levels are already through the roof.
It would make absolutely no sense whatsoever if you work yourself to death, and then end up having a wedding that is so memorable for being a royal disaster. So, to keep your head while planning for your big event abroad, you first of all have to:
- Chill. Calm down. It is not the end of the world (yet), and it is just for one day. Think of it as planning a birthday party. On second thought, no, don’t liken it to a birthday party. Just relax, clear your head, take a deep breath, and…
- Itemize. Write stuff down. Make a list of all that needs to be done. Writing things down makes them clearer, and makes things look much simpler. Sit down with hubby and do this, preferably with snacks.
-Know how deep your friends’ pockets are before settling on a destination for your wedding. Of course, it is your wedding, and you want it to be in St Petersburg, but can your closest and dearest 3 friends attend? However, if you are fine with having just the officiating minister and some locals (including the destination staff) as witnesses, you are good to go.
-You know your destination, so start finding out costs and prices. Check flight plans and itineraries, and find out when to book the cheapest flights and how long it would take them to get to our wedding destination. Call the wedding venues on your list and find out the prices for room and board, discounts for guests, et cetera. Basically, just make sure you know your budget and plan accordingly.
- Delegate! Summon your friends and family and give them appointments: they want to help! Each appointee should have something they are handling, such as: the maid of honor is in charge of the bridesmaids’ dresses; the chief bridesmaid is handling the catering at the venue; the third person on the train will take care of the DJ and other music-related activity, so on and so forth. Don’t carry the event all on your shapely shoulders: share the burden with other, very willing shoulders.
-If you are planning your wedding in lovely Tanzania, you should know that that destination has three seasons: dry, cold, and tourist. If you don’t want your wedding to be a many-people, non-exclusive, entire-world affair, do not set a date that falls in tourist season. Then again, make sure that the destination venue has activities and other forms of entertainment for you and your guests arriving a day before and leaving a day after the wedding. No one likes being bored!
-Contact the destination venue and enquire about the availability/unavailability of certain goods and services. Do they have caterers? Should you bring your own cake? Ask tons of questions and make sure you cover everything, and then plan accordingly.