Possibly one of hottest articles of 2009 at STE was our feature of the top honeymoon destinations, as suggested by a few of our readers. That article was a huge hit, but as a community member pointed out to me awhile back, what about places to actually get married?
Destination weddings have been hugely popular even with the current economic downturn, and I think they’ll be coming back in style in in 2010. You don’t have to be getting married to enjoy any of these romantic backdrpos, but here’s some of the great locales we found on the hunt for a great wedding backdrops and tips for making your destination wedding a success.
Vanuatu
Annabel Candy and her husband eloped on the island of Vanuatu. It might sound like an off-beat destination and a little to far just to stick your toes in the snad, but it was no shock for the family of five who sold out and moved to Central American in 2006. It might sound simple but with lais, tropical drinks, and a local band, what more do you need? Oh, yes – the perfect sunset to end your perfect day.
Rajasthan, India
Surely any Sharing Travel Experiences-inspired wedding planner would look no further than Rajasthan, India. It’s always been our most often-cited place for romance and inspiration. The rich colours, the symbolism, and the lavish palaces. You can choose which ceremonies make sense for your wedding, from the folk music to live dancing. For many readers it will also be cheaper than a wedding at home! Surrounded by lavish palaces, amazing food, and unbeatable scenery, a destination wedding in India might be a lot of work, but it’s an unforgettable experience.
Bermuda
Tonya M. Fitzpatrick didn’t have any interest in meeting her husband until she had learned he traveled abroad. After that, it was all sailing into the sunset for these two. In addition to abandoning their careers in law and pursing travel broadcast journalist (how cool is that!?), Ian proposed to Tonya in Toronto, and before their dream honeymoon in South Africa on their one-year anniversary, they tied the knot in sunny Bermuda. Tonya says:
I wanted a beach setting and we conducted research on various islands’ traditions, accessibility from the mid-west and costs but we also didn’t want to travel to a “typical” destination…so through a process of elimination we chose Bermuda.”
Sooke Harbour, British Columbia
Kathy Howard is a wedding planner and editor of BridesKnowBest, so when it comes to destination weddings, I think her advice is spot on. She spent her honeymoon at the Sooke Harbour House in British Columbia – on the water on an island but it’s not a sand-in-toes place. They are famous for edible flowers in their entrees and the B&B is very very romantic. There’s lots of great hiking if you’re interested in some fresh air, but you can stay indoors or do whatever you like really.
Kathy shares an anecdote about how they found Sooke Harbour, or perhaps how it found them:
Actually, my husband’s ex-wife and her husband paid for our honeymoon! They actually found the Sooke Harbour House when they were on this huge hike, and quite literally fell into it (she fell on a log and fell down a mountain and landed at the Sooke Harbor House. They loved it so much that when we got married, they gifted us the same experience (except the fall down the mountain!).
If you want the perfect destination for both a wedding and a honeymoon, this might just be it. Looks like a dream come true to me.
Tuscany
Our good friends Audrey Scott and Daniel Noll first started thinking of destination weddings because they didn’t want a big, traditional American wedding. Instead, they wanted a simple, small wedding with close family and friends in a location that would be special and match our values (travel, unique, food, wine). Audrey says:
Although Dan had never been to Tuscany, we decided there was no better place for incredible food, wine and scenery. We narrowed ourselves down to the hill towns of Montipulciano and Pienza and after talking with several Italians, we chose Pienza. The fact that they had an opening at the Municipal house on the day we wanted to get married sealed the deal
We told our family and friends to plan a vacation to Italy and incorporate the wedding into the itinerary (i.e., don’t just come for the wedding). We wanted people to have a fun experience outside of our wedding.
I think that’s proof that even a perceived “touristy” destination might be perfect for you. You need to find the right place for you.
Destination Wedding Planning Tips
Putting together a destination wedding can be a bit of a nightmare if you aren’t organised and plan ahead. Audrey had some great tips for making your destination wedding special that I wanted to share:
- Accommodation: Try to rent out (or rent rooms) at a small, family hotel where you feel kind of like family and feel like you have the freedom to relax and enjoy the place. We rented out a medieval agriturismo 7 km away from Pienza where the owner brought his wife in to cook our meals (dinner the night before and meal after wedding). The owner also took care in making sure he provided wine from his vineyard, that all the ingredients were sourced locally, etc. We were the only guests so could use all the grounds, pool and everything else.
- Note: We originally rented a regular hotel via the internet that embellished its description. We arrived in Italy three weeks in advance, realized this wasn’t the place we wanted and drove around to find the agriturismo we eventually rented.
- Location: Choose a place where your guests can arrive a few days early and go off sightseeing and touring around. Many of our guests arrived 3-4 days before the wedding and used the time to visit nearby Tuscan towns and villages. This also allowed my parents and Dan’s parents to get to know each other (they had never met before the wedding).
- Hint: Ask your guests to bring back something from their outing something special in the food or wine department for a picnic. You’ll end up with a smorgasborg of fresh ingredients and an informal affair for people to hang out and just enjoy getting to know everyone.
- Get your family and friends involved in the ceremony: Ask for help and get people involved – it makes them feel more a part of the occasion (and helps with sanity) For example, my mom and friend took care of flowers. Another friend did the program. Dan’s step-brother and his girlfriend played music during the ceremony.
One piece of advice that all of our destination wedding couples had to say was this: have fun. This is about an event to remember. Whether it’s your wedding, a honeymoon, a renewal of your vows, drop the expectations of a traditional wedding and do something that suits you.
Photos by kristen_a, amit, christian haugen, md_bulldawg, tuchodi, cleavers
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
This is a great list! I wish I planned my own destination wedding. Too late now…just destination anniversary celebrations, then! How does that sound? A reason to celebrate and travel each year!
I couldn’t agree more with the tip to “Have Fun”. And remember that it is about you as a couple – don’t be overwhelmed with trying to please everyone because you won’t. People didn’t understand the concept behind our non-traditional wedding, but we didn’t let that bother us. Once they were in the moment experiencing it, they got it.
And destination weddings don’t have to be in far off locations. We chose the Jersey Shore for ours as it was an important place in both of our lives – before and after we met.
Look at destination places on the cusp of the busy season. We had ours in September when the weather is actually the nicest. But because it is a family vacation spot, rents were a quarter the price. It was cheaper for us to rent a block of homes to put up family and friends (plus our wedding house) for a week then it would have been to rent a hall for four hours. And people could spend as little or as much time as they wanted since we had the homes for a week.
And I also agree with incorporating friends and family members to help. It really helped make it feel like a party. Another area that you can include everyone is in music selection! We sent emails to everyone asking for five songs they’d like to hear at a cocktail party, bbq, and dancing. We then built playlists in our iPod for our various events. People said they had so much fun selecting songs and loved it when they actually heard it played. Plus saves money on a DJ!
Here’s more on our wedding: http://potter-bontempi.com/
Quick suggestion to add to the mix: a villa on the southern coast of Sri Lanka!
My wife and I got married in 2004 and I doubt there is anywhere else in the world that we could have combined such a beautiful and idyllic location with such luxurious fully staffed villas- and been able to afford it!
Since then at our company we have organsised many such weddings and they have all been a resounding success. We only had a few guests, but with quite a few villas of a really good size, you can get all your family and friends out there too – and the shared cost means they will thank you for years to come for such a cheap and wonderful holiday too!
Thanks for including my tips above for creating a unique destination wedding! I just attended a destination wedding that really was incredible – in Antarctica! A couple decided to tie the knot on our second to last day atop a rock formation called Neptune’s Bellows at Deception Point Island. Although they froze for a bit, it really was beautiful and touching.
I did not get married in India but I have visited several times. It is a gorgeous pace and would be a wonderful place to get married.