Written By: Jaime Valdes-Riench, Owner
of Travel & Events with Style
Photography: Sugar and Soul Photography
Travel & Events with Style wedding planner: Tiffany Check
Most people are getting acquainted and comfortable with what
destination weddings are. In one case
or another, most have had the opportunity to have been invited or even attended
one of these weddings and holidays raped up in one. Destination weddings by definition are
weddings held a significant distance from the home town of the bride and groom,
but often the first image that comes to most minds are the destination weddings
that are held in tropical climates on white sandy beaches next to crystal blue
oceans.
As you begin to plan your own wedding, has the thought of
starting your new life together at one of these locations crossed your mind? How do you know it is right for you as a
couple? Here are some questions you may
want to ask yourselves to see if this option will make for a wedding day dream
come true:
1. Make
a truthful budget – one that you can live with after the wedding bells have
stopped chiming. Now what is your true bottom line, so you do not go over
it? Destination weddings at established
resorts in the Caribbean and Central America often come with smaller price tags
and guest lists verses traditional local weddings. To keep on budget, thought must be put into
location, resort type and ranking, and the actual cost for the celebration.
2. Are
you comfortable that there will be a lot of arrangements that are out of your
control? Are you whiling to trust more
to professionals to direct you in your choices verses seeing every item
yourself done during the planning process?
Are you the type of couple where the small details do not matter as long
as there is sun, sand, and love abundantly?
3. Will
this bring family together because they are too spread out? Are most of your guests comfortable with
travelling? Are you comfortable without
everyone in your family and social circle in attendance? Are you hoping for a smaller size wedding and
were not sure how to obtain it if you had it locally?
4. Are
you comfortable that you will be dealing with legal procedures outside your
country? Are you comfortable not knowing
the officiant prior to the ceremony? Or,
as an alternative, are you comfortable with a private and brief civil ceremony
prior to leaving in order to alleviate most of the “red tape” from the country
of choice?
5. Does
the idea of another culture, country, and climate inspire you or make you
nervous? Are you the adventurous type that
enjoys new things, and will embrace that your wedding location will have
another culture inspiring your wedding cuisine, music and theme?
As with all things, there can be easy answers to all these
questions and there can be some second guessing that can come with it as well. If this all sounds like it could be your
dream, focus on the important things that can work for you. See if you can fix the areas in doubt and if
so, stand back and look at it again. If
you have found the answer for the area in question, Congratulations! You have just started the first part of
planning you wedding! Here is an example
of a challenge: If you are not
comfortable in dealing with the legal procedures of another country and the correspondence
that will come with it, consider having a civil ceremony locally prior to
leaving. This way, once you are at the
resort, you can have a renewal of vows, and the legal paperwork is done here in
Canada. If having the legal ceremony
here is an option, have an important person in your life such as a pastor or
priest marry you prior to your departure (remember, all that is required to
make a marriage legal in Canada is to have the officiant, the bride, the groom
and 2 witnesses be in attendance and of legal age while the marriage vows are
being said). Then you can still have
your dream ceremony at the resort with all your guests in attendance. You will have the best of both worlds! If there is no one in particular you would
like to request officiate your vows here in Canada, there is always the option
of a Marriage Commissioner or Justice of the Peace employed by the province of
Manitoba.A wedding is the beginning of two lives uniting together. The decision of the location should truly be that couple’s dream into a reality.
