As I said last post, I was inspired by my recent trip to Florida. I love the beach, so I did a design board with a beach theme.
Top Beach Picture
Cake Picture
Flowers on Chair Picture
Jump Picture
Bottom Flower Picture
Bottom Beach Picture
Destination beach weddings can be beautiful and you can get some amazing pictures.
Happy Planning!
I have just came back from vacation in Florida and I have been inspired. Have you thought of going to an exotic location for your wedding? You can choose a destination wedding for several different reasons.
Be different – Maybe you want to get away and have a wedding that others you know are not. If you live in the midwest, not many of your friends are going to have a beach wedding. You could plan your wedding in Florida and have that beach wedding all your friends dream of.
Different Location Options – Every city does not hold the same features. For instance, Indianapolis does not have an aquarium. Maybe you love fish and everything in the water. Think about going to a city where you could hold your wedding in an aquarium. When I was in Florida I visited Mote Aquarium in Sarasota and all I kept thinking was, what a great wedding site. By choosing a destination city, you can get a location that may not be available in your current city.
Shorter Guest List – Not everyone wants a big wedding. If you fear that your guest list may get out of hand, think about a destination wedding. Since everyone on the guest list has to travel, you can cut it down to just very close family and friends. This way you can have a great wedding without feeling guilty about not inviting everyone you know.
Costs Less – This is a feature that everyone uses with destination weddings. I want you to take this with a grain of salt. Depending on your circumstances, yes a destination wedding can save you money. You have less people coming so your per person costs are down and your travel costs are no different from your honeymoon costs. But depending on where you are going, you may still need a large budget. For example, if you only bring 20 guests you think that you have saved money by not inviting 100. If at home your per person cost is $25 and your destination per person cost is $150, you have actually spent more money. Just make sure that you do the math both ways to make sure you really are saving money.
Finally, you are probably going to need more help with a destination wedding. Hiring a wedding planner can be very important. You can choose to hire someone at the destination location or choose someone in your own area. The person at the destination will know vendors, but will not be around to help you up to your wedding day. By choosing someone in your own area, they are there when you need them. Just because the planner is not in the destination city, does not mean that they cannot help with vendors. In my case, I am a member of the Association of Bridal Consultants, which is nationwide. If I need to find a local vendor in another city, I can tap into my association contacts and get the information I need.
Having a destination wedding can be a fun adventure that both you and your family will enjoy.
Happy Planning!
This past weekend I helped with a wedding and it made me think, do you have a weather back up plan for your wedding? If you are having an outdoor ceremony or reception you need to have a weather back up plan. Another wedding I just assisted with back in May was a perfect example. The ceremony was outside and the reception was inside. Leading up to the wedding and even that morning the weather forecast was sunny and in the 70s, perfect right? Guess what, at noon it was raining. We had to think fast and rework the reception room, as it was the back up rain plan.
Unfortunately, we cannot control the weather (trust me if I could, I would). You need to have a plan ready for what to do if rain does happen. You also need to know at what time a final decision needs to be made. Some brides think that they can wait until 30 minutes before their wedding to make the call, but that is not feasible. You need to have time to make the back up ceremony/reception site the way you want it.
Another weather problem you may not have thought about is heat. This past weekend at the wedding, we were concerned that the rain predicted was going to ruin the outside cocktail hour. The reception site did not really have another room for us to use for the cocktail hour and we were counting on using outside area. The original plan was to use the parlor and the patio for the cocktail hour. All week rain was predicted and we were worried. Then Saturday came and the rain never came, great right? Wrong, it was almost 90 degrees with Indiana humidity and no one wanted to go outside. We ended up with 250 people in a small parlor and small gathering space just before the patio. It ended up working out, but it could have been a disaster.
Heat is something we do not often think about at a weather problem for a wedding. If you are having an outdoor ceremony and it is going to be hot and humid, you may have a problem. Remember that you will be wearing a layered wedding dress and your groom and groomsmen with most likely be in black tuxes. If you are having a summer wedding outside, you may want to think about having a back up heat plan along with your back up rain plan.
The important message here is be prepared for anything. Again, we cannot control the weather but we can help control the situation. If you are worried that you will not be prepared, you may want to talk to a wedding planner to see if maybe you need a little help for your wedding day. We are able to think fast on our feet and can help you when ever mother nature decides to change her mind.
Happy Planning!
{ Love Letters } 