Destination Wedding Pros and Cons

So you’re thinking about hosting a destination wedding? Good for you! Destination weddings continue to grow in popularity, especially for couples who wish to exchange vows in an exotic locale or enjoy the intimacy of a small wedding, but for every benefit of a destination wedding, there’s also a drawback. Consider these pros and cons before deciding whether a destination wedding is right for you…

Pros:

• You don’t have to live on a beach to have an oceanfront ceremony. A destination wedding gives you the opportunity to host your nuptials at literally any place on earth, giving you the chance to create the wedding of your dreams.
• Since destination weddings tend to only attract the most committed of your family and friends, you can celebrate your nuptials with the people nearest and dearest to you instead of being surrounded by people you hardly know or were forced to invite.
• Get a jumpstart on your honeymoon by selecting a wedding location that doubles as a honeymoon hotspot.
• Your wedding locale—whether a romantic beach, mountain resort, or foreign countryside—serves as a breathtaking backdrop, eliminating the need for elaborate decorating and the stress that’s associate with dressing up a ceremony site.
• For most destination wedding locations, you’re limited in your choices of sites or vendors, resulting in a carefree and stress-free decision-making process.
• An intimate ceremony and casual dinner for your small group of guests can prove to be a much more cost-effective option than a lavish ceremony and reception back home.
• Destination weddings help keep the focus on what matters most, the love and commitment between you and your soon-to-be spouse, instead of getting caught up in the typical wedding hoopla and stress.
• Hosting a post-wedding party back home gives you the best of both worlds: a wedding at a dream locale and a chance to celebrate with all of your loved ones.

Cons:

• A destination wedding means a smaller guest list, preventing you the opportunity of sharing your big day with extended family, friends, or co-workers who are unable to make the trip.
• Although a destination wedding is much more intimate, the expense can be comparable to a lavish wedding at home, especially if you’re considering paying the travel and lodging expenses of your family and friends, or hosting a reception in your hometown in the days or weeks after the wedding.
• Hosting an out-of-town affair can be perceived as robbing your parents or future in-laws of the joys of planning and hosting your wedding, resulting in feelings of anger, sadness, or resentment.
• Long-distance preparations can be a headache to manage, especially if you select a wedding location that is completely foreign to you. Expect to spend a lot of time on the phone, scouring the web, or exchanging emails to get all the details perfect.