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The Do’s and Don’ts for Your Destination Wedding

Shelli Nornes
Author:
Shelli Nornes
CEO/Owner
Publish Date: January 23, 2025
Last Modified: May 27, 2025

Couples – we’re here to tell you like it is! Here are the do’s and don’ts for planning your destination wedding:

Do…book early

We recommend you reaching out to a destination wedding specialist and booking your resort between16 and 18 months in advance.

But don’t… invite guests too early

It’s best to extend the invites no more than14 months in advance – after your resort has been booked.

And don’t… require an RSVP

For a destination wedding, the guest’s room deposit serves as their RSVP. Easy-peasy! If you ask for a traditional RSVP, you will end up with a lot of “yes!” that can’t actually attend. Just let the room deposit be the RSVP.

But do… set a “book by” date

o encourage guests to book early, you can have a recommended “book by” date on your website. This allows your guests plenty of time to plan accordingly.

Definitely don’t…worry when your wedding coordinator takes a while

In the destination wedding industry, it’s not unusual for your wedding coordinator to take a week or more to get back to you. *Deep breaths* We promise, this is normal. They are busy making magic happen behind-the-scenes!

Oh, and do…trust your travel agent and wedding coordinator

Remember, your destination wedding specialist and wedding coordinator are your advocates and have your best interest at heart.

Also, don’t…stress out over the little details

They say, “hindsight is 20/20,” and this couldn’t ring truer. Everything always falls into place beautifully, and you’ll eventually realize that stressing out over your music playlist was pointless.

Lastly, please do …commit yourself to slowing down

While you can easily get caught up in the moment of wedding planning, it’s important to slow down and take things in stride. After all, you only get one wedding countdown – so it’s best to make it count!

Ready to plan the wedding of your dreams? Then, click here to connect with a destination wedding specialist , today. We look forward to working with you!