So you’ve popped the question.  You and your honey are going to tie the knot and you want to do it in style.  You’ve made the decision to have your wedding somewhere amazing.  Whether it be a tropical beach at sunset or a snowy villa in the Rockies, you’ve decided upon a destination wedding.

But what do you do to get started?  There are choices to complete and plans to be made.  Here’s a handy little guide for you when planning your destination wedding.

1.  KNOW YOUR GUESTS

Do you want to go to Aruba to get hitched?  Probably not the best idea if all 8 of your grandparents are still alive and you’d like to have them there for your special day.  Travel is a burdensome task for most elderly so understand that constraints that might put on your plans to go long distance.  Likewise, if you and your fiancé’ have pulled yourself up by your bootstraps and are doing well financially, make sure that the rest of your party is right there with you.  It will be difficult for many invitees to say no to your plans, even if it will put them in the poorhouse to go.  While a destination wedding might be a dream for you, make sure that you don’t exclude the most important people in your lives to make that happen.  A suitable compromise is to scale down the size of your guest list and offer help to those that might have difficulty attending.

2. CHECK FOR DISCOUNTS

Most places that make the ideal location for a destination wedding are probably well versed in the process.  Check out the website, or call the powers that be for your ideal wedding spot.  Chances are, you might be eligible for a lofty discount (or even freebees) if you have a large enough guest list.  Don’t leverage your guests to get away scot free, but by all means… if you’re eligible to save some on your wedding by accounting for the people already attending, why not?

3. DO YOUR RESEARCH

There are a number of wonderful websites online that can help you plan out your destination wedding. theknot.com is the preeminent wedding website, but there are others that specialize in destination weddings specifically.  They include destinationweddings.com, destinationweddingmag.com,  bestdestinationwedding.com and islandbrides.com (among many others).  Use these websites to get as much information as you can about your potential wedding.  You’ll find a wealth of valuable information about the places that are available to you.  Most of these sites are commercial, so there is a chance that they’re trying to sell you something.  But that doesn’t necessarily mean a bad thing.  Take a chance to look around and find out all the information that you can.

4.  HIRE A WEDDING PLANNER

If you have the means, a wedding planner can be a wonderful asset for a destination wedding.  They’re helpful in hometown weddings as well, but especially handy when it comes to out of town planning.  There are a great number of details that go into planning a destination wedding including travel and accomodation arrangements for friends and relatives, contact with the staff and crew of your wedding site, food planning and preperation, etc.  Unless you’re lucky enough to have the free time to handle all of this on your own, it will be a great benefit for you to have a wedding planner on your side.  They can take the time to make the important phone calls and check on the critical issues when you yourself have other things to attend to… like picking out your dress.

5.  KNOW YOUR SPOT (AND ALL THE DETAILS THAT COME WITH)

If you’re getting married out of country, you’ll need to fully understand the marriage laws for your destination.  Getting married in Mexico may require you to have a blood test, whereas somewhere such as London may require you to have a 7 day residency.  It’s important to know these facts well before hand.  Think of the travesty if you had your wedding day where all guests had arrived and you were unable to complete your vows!  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

6.  KNOW THE WEATHER

So you love the Caribbean and October seems like a wonderful respite from the cold weather of the north?  Too bad that it’s smack dab in the middle of Hurricane season.  Having it in the middle of August doesn’t help either as the heat is nearly unbearable.  You don’t want your guests swimming in sweat, nor do you want them to wash away with the tide.  Understanding the weather of your particular destination can make all the difference in the world.

7.  GO THERE AT LEAST ONCE

You’ve seen all the brochures and read all the literature.  You want to get married in Venice and enjoy a ride in a Gondola as husband and wife.  If you traveled there, you might realize that you’re not too happy with the smell and the streets are far too confusing for your guests.  This first hand information is invaluable.  All your friends can relay their own experiences, and all the reviews in the world are fantastic, but there is nothing that can beat first hand experience.  You owe it to yourself to visit the place that you will become man and wife at least once before your wedding day.

8.  ORGANIZE YOUR DAY, DOWN TO THE LAST DETAIL

If you’re getting married in your hometown and you forget your purse, it’s ok.  You can have someone from the bridal party run back to the hotel and grab it before the reception.  You won’t have this luxury for a destination wedding.  The beauty of being somewhere exotic and whimsical is also the downfall of being 2000 miles from home.  Having every last detail planned and accounted for can avert any crisis long before it happens.

9.  SET YOUR ATTIRE

Wearing shorts and sandals is not acceptable for a traditional wedding, but it might be the perfect attire for a sandy beach wedding.  Think about your nuptials and ask your guests to attire themselves accordingly.  You don’t want your guests to swelter in a full tuxedo when you’re exchanging vows in oppressive heat.  What if you are getting married on the slopes of your favorite ski resort?  Why not ask the bridesmaids to wear white Uggs?  Setting the rules for your guests dress can help you ensure their comfort and help them ‘look the part.’

10.  RELAX

Whether in the midst of planning a destination wedding, or on the day itself, remind yourself that it’s not only a good idea, but it’s also very important to relax.  What fun is a wedding if it’s nothing but heartache and trouble?  The truth is, planning your wedding (while very intense and important) should also be one of the most rewarding and memorable experiences of your life. You don’t want to look back in 20 years and remember only what a bridezilla you were,  but rather remember how much fun it was to put everything together and make all the plans.  It’s no fun being in a tropical resort if you can’t take a moment to let loose and enjoy it!