Hello luvies. I'm Erin from Aparment 34 and I'm so honored that Joanna asked me to drop by and visit you while she's away. I'm especially excited as she asked that I talk about one of my most favorite subjects: weddings! Specifically, destination weddings and the thrill {and terror} involved in planning them.
Planning my own wedding in Mexico last year opened my eyes to details that, even as a seasoned event planner, I hadn't thought of before. So I put together a quick list of some of my most eye-opening things I learned. I hope all you brides-to-be find these tips useful!
The web is your friend. The world of wedding planning has changed. The online resources now at your fingertips have opened up the flood gates of both inspiration and resources.
Here are a few great places to get your started. Some of my favorite inspiration destinations include oncewed, 100 layer cake, green wedding shoes, and grey likes weddings. Wedding photography sites are another great source for eye candy. I’m personally addicted to Jose Villa (since he shot our wedding!) Elizabeth Messina, Michele Waite, Jill Thomas and Belathée Photography.
So go ahead, dive in head first – just make sure you know how to swim!
Be organized. Planning a wedding is really nothing more than managing a thousand details. Planning a destination wedding doubles that number so make sure you're ready. Make file folders. Bookmark favorites in your web browser. Archive emails. Keep receipts. Make inspiration boards. Set a calendar and stick to it. The amount of time you invest in organization up front pays off tenfold in the end.
Work with what you got. The saying goes "don't try to shove a square peg into a round hole," right? If you're headed to a remote beach, don't expect to have access to a tent that seats 150 or crystal vases. Having unrealistic expectations will only drive you (and everyone around you) crazy.
When in Rome. Take time to understand the culture of where you're getting married. Cultural norms can really affect your planning experience. Are businesses closed on Sundays? Are people used to communicating by email? Try to work in your location's style rather than trying to get them to work with you in yours - because it probably won't happen!
Break the language barrier. If you're getting married in a country that speaks a language that you don't, get yourself a translator, stat! Being able to communicate with someone in their native tongue makes all the difference in the world.
Help others help you. It's amazing how many people want to help you with your wedding. Let them! They are your greatest resource. Just give very clear directions and set expectations about what people need to do up front. That way there is less confusion on the big day.
Be flexible. Destination weddings often involve a lot of compromise. Things change at the last second. What was promised isn't delivered. The picture of the venue/cake/flowers doesn't live up to what it looks like in real life. You may have to stray from your original vision, but it can all be fabulous if you commit yourself to making the best of it ahead of time.
Expect the unexpected. You will get lost {we did}. You will experience some un-foretold catastrophe {like being locked out of your rental house, running out of water so you couldn't take a shower or your wedding day being the windiest of the entire year - all three of those things happened to us!}. If you know in advance that the ride might be a little bumpy it won't be so scary when it actually happens.
Think of everyone but yourself. I think it's a myth that a wedding day is all about the bride and groom. Amazing weddings create truly special experiences for their guests too. Ask yourself this: if you were going to describe your wedding in one word, what would it be? Have the answer? Plan your wedding so that if you asked any of your guests the very same question, they'd all say that same word. Do that and your wedding will be an experience that every single participant treasures.
Be happy. Your wedding day, no matter where you hold it, overflows with equal parts emotion and stress. But if you stay focused on the bliss of the moment you're about to experience all the rest of it drops away. It's just about you and your commitment to your future partner. And that's all that really matters in the long run.
I so hope you found a few helpful ideas in my list my dears. Thanks again for having me Joanna! I really enjoyed my stay.
*Mrs. E
images by jose villa, belathee photography, samm blake
I have been considering a destination wedding (we are thinking Italy) but I have been freaked out about how to deal with things that are not in my native language as well as (being a control freak) not being able to see everything before hand. This list is great. Thanks!
Posted by: m | September 14, 2011 at 09:36 PM
What a great post!!! Thank you for all the great tips. They will surely come in handy for my upcoming wedding.
Posted by: Catharina | September 14, 2011 at 10:11 PM
Erin! Oh my god! I just checking in to se all my guest and what they have come up with this past week! Oh my god! I love this. Seriously helpful for me since I hope to have a destination wedding next summer. I just need to start to put it together. Feels a little overwhelming! I am totally going to take all this to heart and I guess i just have to start... thanks for this amazing post! xxx joanna
Posted by: joanna of sbp | September 17, 2011 at 11:38 AM
Wednesday, however, is the really interesting day. Apparently, more than 40 per cent of 8,000 singles polled picked Wednesday as their ideal dating day. Their reasoning, apparently was that if things go well, there's a useful day's breathing space before Friday and a second bite at the cherry, as it were. It's long enough to catch your breath, but not too long to fret over that tricky second date
Posted by: Wedding Bells | September 24, 2011 at 08:49 PM
I love this.This list is great. Thanks! It's long enough to catch your breath
Posted by: freelance writing jobs | October 04, 2011 at 04:07 PM