1) When is the ideal time to send out invites to a wedding?
Thankfully, the concept of ‘Save-the-Date’ has been well adapted by different cultures. This is one of the most effective tools to draw your guests’ attention to the dates of your celebration much before you may have your venues booked or celebrations planned.
As the name suggests, it actually helps your guests save the date and mark their calendars for a potential attendance at your wedding. With formal invitations to follow, you can then list out the details of the event type, venues and timings for the same at a later date.
We see 6 months out of your wedding as an ideal time horizon to send the Save the Date and about 3 months out of your wedding as the ideal time to send the formal invitations whether E-invites or Print invites.
As for wedding websites, we would much rather suggest Apps as they are easier to navigate with handheld devices such as Smart Phones or Tablets. We have seen that a neatly designed wedding app comes in more handy and increases the engagement level of your guests before and during your wedding.
2)What should your guest list ideally be for destination weddings?
The most accurate answer to this would be, invite just the right number of guests that you can give your personal attention to. However, more often, such is not the case when it comes to wedding celebrations.
We have seen that the guest numbers vary with different cultures and demographics. A couple spending for their own wedding tend to keep their guest numbers limited as they care for a much warm and intimate celebration amongst their loved ones and the people that matter to them.
On the other hand, a business family paying for their son’s or daughter’s wedding have an endless list of guests as these include relatives, acquaintances, business guests and the extended community as the celebrations here is a status determinant for the host in this case.
3)When is it ideal to book venues and vendors for destination weddings?
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.
One of the valuable advice we give our couples is to space out the wedding planning process and enjoy the journey versus a rushed approach which can cause anxieties and get stressful for the family.
4)How important is it to hire experienced professionals for a destination wedding?
It is no wonder that the professions of a lawyer, doctor and a wedding planner can be spoken of in the same breath. With a holistic and calculated approach to their craft, each one of them are able to provide their clients with the most ideal solutions to forecast and manage situations well.
Without a doubt, professionals with in-depth experience can help strategize ahead of time and define processes accurately in order to ease out the burden during the days of the events and minimize any margin of error. It is important that all stakeholders work together and are of a similar calibre to enable a healthy synergy, so everything is precise like clockwork.
5) How can a couple manage the stress of a multi-day wedding celebration?
One of the most common mistakes couples make at destination weddings, is to host their first event as a full-format formal event. This is when guests have just arrived from different parts of the world and may need some time to refresh and renew their energies before actively engaging in any high energy events.
We highly recommend hosting the first event as an easy ice-breaker casual event where both sides of the family meet each other, friends get acquainted and gradually feel the elevating vibes.
With a multi-day celebration, it is best to build up the hype, excitement and elevate the experience from one event to the other where guests are longing to see what’s next. Having said that, we advice our couples to allow for enough rest time between events to so your guests are not fatigued and burnt out quickly or you’ll see their energies and involvement decline.
Finally, at multi-day wedding celebrations, try and keep your themes varied, food and beverage options diverse and entertainment constantly engaging as your guests may not appreciate a monotonous experience.
6) What are the key pointers one should keep in mind when planning a destination wedding?
Hosting a wedding at foreign lands comes with its own share of challenges. When planning your destination wedding, it is important to take the following into consideration:
Hire experienced professionals
It is sensible to hire experienced professionals at your wedding destination or someone who is well versed with the destination. This ensures efficiency in communications, negotiations, logistics and decision making throughout the planning process.
Ease of Access
Pick a destination which is convenient to get to. Avoid multiple connecting flights or extremely long flying hours. You do not want your guests to hit fatigue before they attend your wedding celebrations.
Visas
When picking your destination of choice for your wedding celebrations, pay close attention to the visa criteria that your guests will have to meet to ensure that you don’t miss out on important people at your wedding solely due to visa challenges.
Uncharted Territories
Is possible, stay away from new destinations that aren’t experienced or not well-versed with the service levels required for a destination wedding. The locations and venues may be gorgeous but if the service levels are compromised, your guests wont be happy about it and they will make themselves heard.
Multiple Visits
It is essential that you visit the destination a few times before your actual wedding celebration to make sure everything is in place and the finer details have been looked into. This will save you the embarrassment during the days of your event and you can ensure a hassle-free celebration.
Seek Support
Lastly, try and seek support from government bodies, tourism boards and local community groups to enhance your destination wedding celebrations. Such connects help with facilitating permissions, ease out restrictions, elevate your guest experiences and leave you with lasting memories of a successful and happy wedding celebration.
Stay Tuned for more series of In the Spotlight where Vivaah Celebrations speaks to phenomenal individuals on their journey.
Vivaah Celebrations is a premier Wedding Planning & Management company operating locally and globally for Destination Weddings under the leadership of Rahul Kumar who has over a decade of experience planning and managing weddings globally. To plan your next event, connect with us at info@vivaahcelebrations.com
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