Wedding planning is never easy. And with destination weddings, the challenges of hosting a wedding successfully are often more. And the biggest challenge? Securing your dream venue and your favorite vendor for the most magical day of your life. We’ve reached out to a few destination planners from around the world who have shared a complete guide on booking your vendors, right from what you need to think about when hiring your experts to everything you need to consider when selecting your venue. Read on to find out how you can seamlessly lay the foundations for successfully hosting your destination wedding.
Hire An Expert Destination Wedding Planner
Picture Courtesy: @davidbastianoni
Hiring an expert wedding planner is crucial for most weddings, but it is especially for destination weddings. So when it comes to discussing destination weddings, it is no surprise that all our experts highlighted the importance of a planner that knows their stuff, specifically with these types of events. (And it is VERY important!) Whether they are from the destination you are hosting your wedding or experienced with the planning of destination weddings, it is helpful to have an expert familiar with the travel requirements and planning steps. This will bring you the most seamless and stress-free wedding weekend.
Joann Gregoli is a phenomenal planner and Founder of Elegant Occasions by JoAnn Gregoli, USA. Her top piece of advice? “When you hire people who are experts in the destination you are going to host your wedding, it makes your life much easier to work with experts who can navigate the customs, cultures, and travel requirements. On-site coordinators should be familiar with the venue you have picked so they can assist with any unexpected situations or problems that should arise.”
Bárbara Diez, who is a widely recognized weddings and events planner for over 20 years. The Founder of Bárbara Diez Events, Argentina, shares local vendors, local transportation, travel experts, on-site coordinators, and a full logistics team are also essential to host a destination wedding successfully.
To add to this, Heidi Hughett from Coastside Couture, USA, tells us, “Having a planner that specializes in the destination is imperative! You want someone driving the planning to understand the nuances of that locale.”
When you have a planner who has experience with destination weddings, it becomes so much more convenient to navigate priorities so that you cruise through the process with ease. From budget allocations to booking timelines, everything becomes clearer with a planner by your side. Especially if they are from the local or have the niche for destination weddings.
“With our big know-how, we can help the bridal couple with the calculation of the budget, creating a decoration concept with colors which fit, finding the perfect location and service providers and coordinate the day.” – Janine Mayer, weddingfever, Austria.
When hiring a destination wedding team, Kia Marie of Kia Marie Events, USA also suggests hiring the right travel agent to make sure your guests travel and stay are taking care of, and as many local vendors as possible.
When thinking about finalizing your planner, Danila Stella from Danila Stella Event Crafters, Italy shares, “First to hire is definitely a wedding planner, mostly in countries where English is not commonly spoken along suppliers. Also, hiring a wedding planner is important to double check on contracts as the law applied can be different compared to yours, and last but not least, to search for the right venue. Google maps and historical venues are tricky and are easy for the logistic to turn out into a proper nightmare.”
This bonus of having a planner that speaks the local language can give you the upper hand when it comes to negotiating prices with local vendors. And who wouldn’t want to have that advantage of saving budget when you can! (A better honeymoon may be a possibility with that saved cost!)
“Your onsite venue coordinator will play a key role in assisting you with all things venue-related leading up to the big day. Your hired event planner will be able to assist you in all things from venue selection, budget, vendor selection, day-of timeline, etc. This is someone who is available every step of the planning to offer expert advice. It is important to understand the difference between these two roles.” Claims Jessica Ralph Bova from Parties A’ La Carte, USA.
The Booking Timeline
Picture Courtesy: @poetyque.events
Now that we’ve got the guidelines for selecting the right kind of wedding specialists, it’s time to think about blocking those hotel rooms and ensuring everything from the venue to your photographer are available on your preferred dates. Our planners have unanimously stated that booking your venue should be the first thing on your checklist as soon as you set the dates. And while you’re at it, it’s always best to have other easily accessible options with varying pricing so that guests can comfortably book their stay and not have issues traveling, especially if you’re planning on hiring multiple venues for different functions.
“The most ideal period is 10 – 12 months out from your wedding. This gives couples ample time to evaluate their options for venues and vendors. In addition to being better prepared, starting early gives couples a higher power of negotiating contracts and value deals with different stakeholders.” Suggests Rahul Kumar of Vivaah Celebrations, UAE.
Eric Sugiono of Poetyque Events, Indonesia, adds, “Do not ever deal with any other supplier if you don’t have exact date and venue. Can you imagine if you already deal on a supplier when you still haven’t decided on a date, then on your desired date the supplier are not available. Usually the supplier can not refund your payment.”
“As soon as you decide on your budget and guest count, you should book your planner and venue.” Kia recommends.
Heidi also advises, “With the current climate of weddings, I would book the venue as soon as you can. At least 12 to 18 months out. The best vendors book up quick, especially for high-season dates.”
Keeping in mind the average timeline of booking your vendors will help you plan out the remaining details of your wedding, including when you should ideally get started on invitation designs and what activities you can plan at the locale.
Danila also shares that booking in advance can help save budget, as last-second services are always more expensive.
“If time permits it, upon becoming engaged, we suggest couples to secure their venue as one of their initial tasks to complete. A year and half out is amazing, a year out is good. With the pandemic, we have experienced limited date availability for clients, as venues have had to extend events out two years.” Says Nahid Farhoud of Nahid Global Events, USA.
Adding his thoughts to Eric’s earlier point is Tajrean Kashem of Taj Raj Events, UAE – “Due to the pandemic, all venues and vendors are experiencing a high volume of inquiries and bookings. Thus, the venue and most favorite vendors should be booked 12-18 months in advance. At a minimum, your venue, wedding planner, photographer, videographer, and make-up artist should be booked as quickly as possible. The rest can wait a bit.”
Wedding Celebrant Theresa Du Toit, UAE, lists her tips on what to consider when finalizing your vendors.
- I advise couples to check out the websites of planners to get a feel of their personalities and energy. This is important because they should feel totally comfortable with the planner to whom they are entrusting their wedding dream to.
- The ceremony is the most important part of the wedding day, as the couple share their vows and love in the presence of their guests. Their celebrant should give the impression that she has known the couple all their lives and create a fabulous ceremony that reflects the personalities of the couple, as well as their love for each other.
- With photographers and videographers, check out their websites and their style of photography, as you want to feel totally at ease with the photographer.
- Consult a travel expert that can take care of all your travel details and also advise them on honeymoon suggestions.
Conclusion
Starting off with a vision is great, but when you have a planner specializing in destination weddings, you have the advantage of navigating through all the key details that can shape a personalized path with set timelines that ensure the right balance between your needs and the guidelines of your chosen destination. Often times when thinking about the big stuff like selecting your venue or designing the invites, we may forget the importance of the smallest details like language barriers or providing additional stay options for your guests. With these thoughtful tips from our planning experts, you are guaranteed to host a magical destination celebration in the most efficient way possible!
You’ve got your guidelines to kick-start wedding preps. Now, you need said vendors to support you every step of the way. But don’t sweat it! Start off wedding planning in the right way with the help of these destination wedding specialists right here on Insider! And if you’re thinking, ‘what’s the next step once I have my vendors in place?’, don’t sweat it! We have everything covered in one place, right here for you. Happy planning!
Feature Image Credit: @eliaskordelakos
