Destination Weddings - Southern California

Is all this talk about going somewhere to hold your wedding putting ideas in your head? If so, and you are looking for a place that is not so far yet as exotic as far off places, why not consider Southern California? That is, if you currently reside in the US.

Mention of the word California never fails to evoke images of bright sunshine and sandy beaches. It is perhaps one of the greatest places to hold your destination wedding at. Here are some specific locations for you to look at for your destination wedding.

Huntington Beach – Recently received the title of “Surf City” USA Huntington each is a wonderful location to have a sunset beach wedding at. You can either have a beach wedding or a chapel wedding either way the scenery and weather in and around Huntington beach is fabulous and your guests will have a wonderful time. It is very close to the Los Angeles Airport and there are some very classy hotels right on the beach. Your guests will have a great time with the downtown surfing night life scene with some great restaurants and fun bars as well as enjoy the beauty of the ocean.

Santa Barbara
One of the wealthiest places in California Santa Barbara is a thriving city. There are unlimited stretches of open beach and a wonderful downtown for fun. There is also the Santa Barbara mission and beautiful mountains right behind the city. These all make for an ideal wedding spot and in fact an ideal place to live. There is lots of hotels right down on the water front and many of them will help you in planning your wedding.

Malibu
Malibu is the beach of the Hollywood crown and a great place to see some of the movie stars! Malibu again has wonderful weather, a beautiful beach, and mountains all rolled into one. Along with a fun little city and some great night life your guests will love the destination and you will love the beauty of a beach wedding. The relaxed California atmosphere of the area is a wonderful beginning to a great wedding. All of your guests will be relaxed and enjoy themselves in this beautiful climate and hopefully you will even catch a glimpse of your favorite movie star.

Of course, a trip to Cali wouldn’t be complete without its other attractions apart from the beaches, let us take a look at those in the next post.

Destination Weddings - Where to Go?

I remember posting something about the Caribbean last week but the more I think about it, not everyone will fancy a week in the Caribbean for their destination wedding cum honeymoon. Seriously, though, I cannot (for the life of me) understand why people would not want to go to the Caribbean. I must just be biased. In any case, there are tons of other places where you can go and hold your destination wedding.

If you prefer the cold to the hot – or let’s be moderate and say cool to the warm – then consider going to a ski resort or a mountain retreat for your destination wedding. If you love this kind of atmosphere, it would be perfect for you to spend your honeymoon there as well. There are plenty of places to choose from in the US – Colorado, Vermont, etc. Or if you have a little bit more cash to spend, go to the Alps in France, Switzerland, or Italy. Surely you will not find a lack of cold places to hold your destination wedding at.

One idea for a mountaintop wedding is to have a theme that suits the weather. How about ski suits or something that like that? Of course, it would only be apt if you and your partner are into skiing.

On the other end of the continuum we have the tropical climate with images of palm trees swaying in the breeze as you say your vows. For people who prefer this kind of destination, there are even more choices for you – Southern California, Hawaii, Mexico, and of course, the Caribbean. If you want to go to Europe, you have even more choices – South of France, Spain, Italy, and Greece. Dare to take things one notch higher? Go to Asia! Thailand, India, the Philippines, Indonesia – name it, the choices are endless.

Of course, if you are planning on a far away destination, you have to factor in the costs and all the paperwork that will be needed for your wedding. The idea is to decide on a general location and then zero in at the specific place you want. As I mentioned in another post, try looking for a package that will help you hold your destination wedding without too much of a hassle. Trying to find a minister, buy a wedding cake, get musicians, etc. individually will drive you crazy. For more information about this, see our post on all inclusive destination weddings.

Packing For Your Destination Wedding

So you have decided on a destination wedding for your big day. You have contracted the services of a wedding planner and everything else is in place. What do you do now? Well, assuming that nothing else needs your attention, all you need to do is get your things together and head on to wherever your destination is going to be. However, packing for a wedding is nothing like packing for a vacation. Here are some tips for you when you pack for your destination wedding.

Wedding dress – whether you are getting married in a formal or informal setting, you are likely to have a special dress for the occasion. It doesn’t matter if it is an elaborate gown or a simple dress – you need to be sure that it will arrive in one piece at your destination. As much as possible, take your dress with you. The same thing goes for your groom to be. Do not trust check in facilities of airlines for your clothes. It may be manageable to lose your luggage for a vacation but losing your wedding dress or your husband’s tux is a different story altogether. Check with your airline, the chances are that you can have your dress hung in a coat closet.

Another thing that you must carry with you – and never part with you – is documentation. Birth certificates, divorce papers, marriage license – keep these with you at all times and never check them in. You cannot take the risk of losing these for any reason whatsoever.

All Inclusive Destination Wedding Packages

One viable option when planning your destination wedding is to take an all inclusive package. It may sound like something you would do for a vacation but think about it, a destination wedding is a vacation of sorts, isn’t it? What can you expect from an all inclusive destination wedding package?

Destination wedding sites are offering such packages to cover most anything that you need for your wedding. One concern with destination weddings is that the location is too far away for you to handle everything from your home. With the help of destination wedding planners, you can actually relax more and leave the “dirty work” in their hands. They can arrange everything including the specific venue, arrangements and décor, rehearsal dinners, as well as the necessary documents that you would need. On top of these they can deal with the arrangements needed for accommodations, caterers, and other details.

Quite obviously, the arrangements with an all inclusive destination wedding will take a huge load off your mind. It does not mean that you cannot have a hand in the wedding preparations, of course. You still probably want to have the ultimate decision with all the details. All inclusive destination wedding planners of course will agree to this arrangement. The good thing for you is that all you need is to give your input and they will be the ones to do the job for you. Though this will mean having to pay for their services, it also means that you will save a lot of time and avoid headaches associated with planning a wedding.

With destination weddings, you also have to take into consideration the travel arrangements. Airfare is perhaps one of the costlier aspects of destination weddings. Now you can opt to do this yourself but then you may be able to save more if you have experienced planners on your side. With their connections, they may be able to get better deals for you and your party. And if you get the all inclusive package, you will probably even be able to save more as the planner will take care of everything and will probably be able to negotiate cheaper deals for you, including hotels.

There are also deals in certain resorts wherein they give you a free wedding for a minimum number of nights of stay. Deals vary from resort to resort so you just have to shop around if you want to avail of this kind of promotion. You can actually avail of this promo for a stay as short as 3 nights only.

Destination Weddings - The Caribbean

When you mention the word exotic, the chances are that imagery of powdery white sand, crystal clear water, and bright shiny sunrays are going to enter your mind. And what better place to go for these things than the Caribbean? For people in the Americas, the Caribbean is a convenient and affordable location for destination weddings. Yet where to go specifically? Here are a few ideas regarding the top spots for destination weddings in the Caribbean. (This is adapted from an article on the top 10 most romantic spots in this part of the world by Paris Permenter.)

Diamond Waterfalls and Gardens, St. Lucia. Blooming with tropical splendor, garden trails lead to the Diamond Waterfalls, a cascade that leaves a spray of “diamond” twinkles in the air. If you stop by on a Sunday, you can also enjoy a soak in the mineral baths originally built by French King Louis XVI for use by his troops.

The Baths, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands. This beach is littered with massive granite boulders as smooth as riverbed stones. They form shadowy caves perfect for a clandestine kiss.

Y.S. Falls, Jamaica. Although the north coast’s Dunns’ River Falls is far more visited, these secluded falls offer couples a much quieter paradise. Cascading in steps through tropical forest, the falls can be climbed with the help of a guide then swimmers can enjoy clear waters under a canopy of ferns.

Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Dotted with historic sites and rich with the atmosphere of Spanish conquistadors, here couples can stroll hand-in-hand where lovers have literally walked for centuries. The most recognized site in Old San Juan is Fuerte San Felipe del Morro, a fort better known as El Morro.

Boca Tabla, Curaçao. Pounding Atlantic waves carved this sea cave. Kneeling in the darkness of the sea cave, you’ll watch the surge of crystal blue waves as they come within feet of you, roaring into the cave and back out to sea.

West End, Negril, Jamaica. Negril’s famous Seven Mile Beach gives way to rugged cliffs on its west side and here visitors find one of the best sunset lookouts in the Caribbean. Every day, crowds arrive at Rick’s, one of the region’s best known sunset bars, for the chance to watch another island day draw to a close.

Now imagine you and your partner exchanging vows in one of these places…what’s stopping you?

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