Destination Wedding Archives - Honeyfund Blog by Honeyfund.com, the free honeymoon registry

This entry is from our Expert Guest series where wedding and honeymoon professionals share their best tips on creating memories that last a lifetime

Have you ever thought of getting married in Las Vegas? I am sure you have ….everyone has since it is the wedding capital of the world. Las Vegas Wedding Chapels have been portrayed in a certain light over the last decades, and times are constantly changing. The chapels are consistently reinventing themselves. The old-fashioned photos of someone knocking on the door in the middle of the night, with the husband and wife answering in pajamas to marry the happy couple are long gone. We have elegant facilities that are very traditional as well as we have the lighthearted chapels too, with Elvis impersonators and the like.

Wedding Variety In Vegas

We are the most fun and economical place to get married!!! This town has opportunities for everyone that range from a walk-up wedding window, a drive-up wedding window, to “sky’s the limit!” We have anything you can image from getting married by helicopter over the Grand Canyon, dressed as your favorite character, get married on a gondola, or even have your nuptials performed while skydiving!

The Las Vegas Wedding scenario has expanded from just strip chapels to chapels in the luxurious hotels, golf courses, hotel suites, themed locations, the famous Las Vegas sign, and even at local attractions. Several free-standing chapels have changed their philosophy about just being a number game and want to create a “Vegas experience” to be remembered. They are staying on the cutting edge with implementing webcasting and Skype to interact with the relatives that cannot attend, reception facilities on property with full capabilities of catering an event, and even tux and costume shops for you to rent your attire.

The Banquet and Catering departments of hotels have seen larger groups wanting their “reception” in the banquet facilities, and some of them in their local restaurants. Again, the cost on this part of the function varies from location to time of the day your event will occur as well as attendance.

Getting Married In Las Vegas

We are seeing larger groups coming to Vegas, while in the past it was smaller groups and a lot of just couples. Two trends are in play.

First, though a great percentage of parties still consists of just the bride and groom, when they inform their family and friends they are going to Vegas, everyone jumps on the bandwagon for the event. We see this, especially with our Southern California travelers. The days of the $25,000 wedding still exists, although you can have a large group attend your wedding, have a fine dining reception with all the trimmings, DJ, flowers, photos, limos etc. with a portion of the cost that includes fun in Las Vegas.

Second, we have also now created the perfect place for the last night of being a single woman or man. Everyone is having Bachelorette or Bachelor parties where attending live shows is not just for men anymore. The women can go to Chippendales or Thunder Down Under for an exotic male revue or enjoy a Stripper 101 class, while there are numerous adult entertainment locations for the men. Again, the cost is not prohibitive.

“Vegas, Baby” – Live Your Dream

The best part is that you can start in Vegas with your Bachelor/Bachelorette party, and then your wedding, and the honeymoon, while all your guests have shared the most important day in your life and are having a vacation for them…. All at a fraction of the cost that other destination weddings cannot offer. “Vegas Baby”… We can bring your vision to reality.

Make your Vegas dreams a reality with a Honeyfund honeymoon registry.

Bio: Please feel free to contact me if I can assist you with your Vegas Wedding plan!!!!

Joni@lvweddingconnection.com

LV Wedding Connection

Joni Moss

Client Relations

702-236-8728

Nevada Weddings

www.nevadaweddings.org

This entry is from our Expert Guest series where wedding and honeymoon professionals share their best tips on creating memories that last a lifetime.

Destination weddings are an ultimate, fun and romantic adventure couples remember till the end of their lives. But even though they can double as your dream vacation, they take twice as much planning and can be quite stressful to organize. However, there is now one quite handy thing called the internet, where you can find all the information you need, so without further ado, here is how to prepare your perfect destination wedding.

Consider The Budget

Before you even start googling through hundreds of “destination wedding ideas” articles, you have to consider your budget. Just like with everything, your budget is going to dictate the time of the year, the location, and how long it is all going to last. Travel costs can fluctuate depending on if you are traveling during low season, peak season or holiday weekends. Make sure you check the calendar and all the events happening around your destination in advance. An average budget for one luxury destination wedding goes from $750 up to $1500 or more per person, only for the reception and ceremony, while your wedding planner’s fees can account for roughly 20% of the entire budget. So if you want to spare some expense and cut your costs, consider finding an all-inclusive resort which offers wedding packages for couples that fit your budget.

Picking A Destination

If your budget is limited, you should go with a destination that is closer to your home. Besides that, the place you are marrying at should make sense to you and be something that your guests will be excited about as well. Currently, the most popular destinations for destination weddings are the Caribbean, Mexico, and Hawaii.

Hire Some Help For Your Destination Wedding

Even though turning this into a DIY is possible in theory, it is a much smarter idea to hire an extra pair of hands – some of the destination management companies (DMC). If you are an American, have in mind that there are many different DMC in the USA that can help you and make everything go as stress-free as possible. There are simply so many logistical things that are behind the scenes but in the same time are crucial for everything to work, plus, they already know all the good vendors, the right people overall, etc.

Create The Guest List Early

The number of guests directly impacts your budget, because the smaller the list, the less alcohol and catering you have to bring, and, of course, fewer tables with fewer centerpieces etc., so knowing your numbers as early as possible is a win-win scenario. Send the invites at least nine months in advance, so they can decide and plan everything out.

Get Legally Married

The legality of your marriage and making sure it is recognized in your country is also an important detail you as a couple should plan. Make sure you visit the embassy of your country at your destination to verify the wedding is legally recognized. And if you want to avoid that step, you can do a civil ceremony in your own country and do the celebration at the destination.

Getting There

Think ahead – if you are buying a lot of things from the vendors, check if you can send all that directly to the hotel where it will be assembled before the ceremony. Before and during travel consider the comfort of your guests as well, and plan their experience to ensure they are carefree and happy. Maybe go there a day early and personally greet everyone when they arrive.

Don’t Forget The Dress

For shipping, you will have to think about the logistics that are involved, since some countries may have shipping restrictions when it comes to this type of ‘luggage’, and may charge you customs at the point of entry. Also, you need to think about how you can get that dress back, since some airlines can make allowances for holding your dress on a flight or you might even have to book a separate seat for it. In other words, its size and weight also matter big time.

As you can see, a destination wedding is not an easy ceremony to plan, but once everything is done, your effort will definitely pay off.

Help finance your wedding dreams with a Honeyfund honeymoon registry.

Bio: Carla Cartmell writes for SmoothDecorator.com, a website dedicated to that sanctuary that is your home.