If you’re here (and I’m glad you’re here!) you’re probably wondering about the differences in: destination weddings vs. traditional weddings, and why people might choose one over the other. 

There are numerous differences between these two types of weddings, and both are totally valid and great. You should do what’s right for you. So let’s dive in and help you figure out what type of wedding is right for you!

Here we go: destination weddings vs. traditional weddings.. Who will win the ultimate battle for your big day!?

Wedding Planning & Instant Gratification

These days, we’re pretty conditioned to want, and get, instant gratification. Order food at the drive-through, or from your house; delivered immediately. If we want to read a new book, we can download it in seconds. And Amazon Prime? Enough said. 

So how do we keep that instant gratification streak going while wedding planning? 

Planning a Traditional Wedding: STRESS CITY

Traditional weddings that take place in venues at home (I say “at home” relatively speaking.. I’m used to weddings in other countries 😉 ) require a LOT of work, time, research, and planning. You’ve got to look into different venues near you, narrow it down to a top few that you’re interested in, then make appointments to go and see them. While you’re there, you interview the staff, get pricing, make sure it fits your needs, and more. THEN you pray that they actually have your date available. 

And if you’re like me, you’re probably touring SEVERAL venues. But of course, none of them have appointment availability on the same day, so you spend weeks doing just this very first step.

Way to suck the joy out of wedding planning, research. 😒

But wait, there’s more

Once you’ve locked in a wedding date, then it’s on to vendors. Florists, bakeries, caterers, bartenders, bands and DJs, live painters, an actual wedding planner, and a design team to make the space look pretty.  You’ve gotta interview all of those guys, narrow it down, and make sure they’re available on your big day. 

And you haven’t even BEGUN to invite guests and choose / invite your bridal party. Much less buy wedding attire, choose colors, design florals, choose centerpieces…. AHH!

The list is just too long.

(and seriously, I didn’t even mention actually coordinating all of those logistics, doing any DIY stuff, making/buying party favors, food tastings, etc. O.M.G. I’m basically hyperventilating just thinking about this, and I got married 3 years ago!)

You’re probably feeling as overwhelmed as I am thinking about all of these details. You’re wondering if you have the skills, time, patience, or resources to make all of this happen, and that’s a valid concern. Instead, let me suggest a much simpler alternative: a destination wedding at an all-inclusive resort.

Why have a Destination Wedding? 

I know, you’re a little hesitant about this whole ‘pick up my wedding and move it to Mexico / other tropical destination’ idea, but hear me out!

Imagine, you spend the days leading up to your wedding day enjoying an all-inclusive vacation in a gorgeous, tropical paradise. You hear the crashing waves, the seagulls, and the jams blasting over at the swim-up bar, where your bridal party AND parents just did a round of shots you never thought would happen!

Everyone gets to spend quality time together. This is awesome on many fronts. For most couples, your family and your future in-laws probably haven’t ever really spent meaningful time together. Definitely not a whole weekend. But now? They’re in one place, and you and your fiance can truly have your ‘one big happy family’ moment!

But will I love having a destination wedding?

Go back to imagining a destination wedding. How are you feeling? Probably excited, teeming with happy anticipation of your big day, but also relaxed and enjoying a vacation with all your favorite humans. Life. Is. Sweet.

Your friends? No chance of them being late, or having to find a ride home from the after party. They’re all there with you to have an amazing, celebratory vacation, and support YOU! They’re living their best lives right now, enjoying all the food and drinks they can, and loving the party of the year!

And did I mention, all the food and drinks you could ask for are INCLUDED? 

Ground transportation between the airport and your resort? INCLUDED.

All everyone has to do is book a room in your room block, book their flights, and SHOW UP. 

Instant gratification.

Skip the small stuff that usually comes with traditional weddings

There’s no need for your guests to find parking or hope they can drunk-stumble back from your reception to their crappy hotel room. No hungover search for breakfast. They’ll already have luxurious accommodations, just steps away from the wedding venue. Plus access to as much hangover food as they can handle! (and the hair of the dog! 😉 )

There’s no need to give out party favors if you don’t want.

You don’t have to spend a fortune on decor and florals. Why? because you’re already in a stunningly gorgeous destination. Helloooo golden hour wedding photos at the beach!! 

Everything you need is here, and you don’t have to lift a finger, or set up a single centerpiece the night before. It’s all taken care of. All of it.

You and your families and friends get to spend time making memories. Not worrying about logistics or a DD for the getaway car. 

Speaking of the actual wedding logistics and the wedding planning process? Pfft, easy-peasy, lemon squeezy.

Planning a Destination Wedding is Easy

When you plan a destination wedding at an all-inclusive resort, you’re going to wonder why you ever considered NOT doing this!

You will literally choose a wedding package from a brochure.  Yep, that’s what I said.

Destination wedding packages typically come with all the basics you need to have a lovely wedding. They’ll include different numbers of guests (and you can always add more), different types of decor, and some varying inclusions (photographer, dj, cake, etc.)

Once you pick one of these, you could technically stop there, and be totally done. You’d have everything you needed, and enjoy a lovely day. But most couples choose to add a bit more to their big day.

Even if you want more, the destination wedding planning process is still simple

If you want more than what’s in the package, you’ll choose from the resort’s short list of preferred vendors. This will probably be a photographer / videographer, DJ, and florist. (Yes, you can bring in outside vendors* if you want, but that’s a different discussion).

Once you pick a vendor, they will contact you and share their own packages. You can just point and click, literally.

Florists often have visual menus, with standard arrangements and centerpieces to choose from. This helps if you don’t want a customized design, or if you want a good starting place. Those picture menus are also PERFECT for people like me. I know what kind of floral arrangements I like when I see them, but don’t know how to describe what I want. (which also makes googling or searching pinterest difficult, right!?)

With your destination wedding vendors, you can choose from their menus, and be all set! OR, you can do my favorite thing that happens with destination wedding vendors.

Lots of destination wedding vendors will offer to customize your service, if you don’t want to choose one of their standard packages. They’ll ask for photos / videos of what you’re looking for (think Pinterest / IG, TikTok inspo), and your budget. Then they’ll give you a proposal of what they can do to match your destination wedding vision for your given budget. 

Instant gratification, and no research.

It rocks. 

But you’ve got to choose a resort for your destination wedding first, right?

Yep, you’re right. In order to work closely (and simply!) with an all-inclusive resort wedding team, you will, in fact, need to choose an all-inclusive resort for your destination wedding!

How?

You could go back to the drawing board and research your butt off. What destination, region, beach, brand, and resort is best? What are the reviews like? Are these real or doctored pictures? Which resort’s beach is the best?! You can easily drive yourself crazy researching things you’re not an expert on, IN OTHER COUNTRIES.

I don’t recommend this way.

Hire The Right Person To Plan Your Destination Wedding

Instead, I recommend hiring a destination wedding expert travel advisor. Someone who has been to the resorts, experienced the food, drinks, service, quality of rooms, toured the wedding venues, and knows the weddings manager on-site. 

Someone who knows all the right questions to ask while helping you choose your destination wedding resort. This allows her to sift through the hundreds of options and curate a short list of resorts for you to consider for your big day!

Someone who has a system in place to get all of your guests booked and paid for, without you ever lifting a finger. 

Those are the basics that any good destination wedding travel agent would do. You could pull off a wedding with just this, but there would still be SO MUCH for you to do.

Those are the basics, but you deserve someone who goes above and beyond for your wedding

You deserve more.

You deserve someone who provides you with a Destination Wedding Planning Portal so you can keep track of your contracts, due dates, wedding planning resources, and the checklist of where you are in the process, so you’re never in the dark or out of the loop.

You need someone who builds you a custom wedding website. It’ll house all the travel information you and your wedding guests need to book a room for a destination wedding, answer their questions, and be there for whatever they need.

You NEED someone who is available to you and your wedding guests 24/7 during travel, so if anything goes sideways, you’ve got a travel professional in your corner. 

You want someone who works for YOU, and is here to make sure that your big day goes smoothly, and that you and your guests have positive travel experiences, so you can relax and enjoy the celebrations. This is completely different than working with someone who is working for the resort, trust me.

You need someone you trust to wade through the noise, do the hard work for you, and provide a few perfect options to choose from when the time comes. This person will understand your taste, budget, priorities, and will look out for you throughout the process.

You deserve an expert in your corner. After all, you only get married once!

I can help you plan your destination wedding

I happen to be a certified destination wedding expert travel advisor! I LOVE creating calm and providing order in chaos, and making travel simple and stress-free for engaged couples and their families. I would simply love to help with your destination wedding plans!

If you’d like some expert help in planning your destination wedding, just click the link below to set up a free consultation call.  Or if you’d like to learn more about me, or the destination wedding planning process, just follow those links!

P.S. Are you convinced that a destination wedding is right for you, yet?

Let’s recap, shall we?

Traditional wedding planning requires a GREAT deal of time, research, gas, and time (yes, I said it twice). You’ve got to coordinate numerous disparate vendors, and still often DIY some stuff. 

Destination wedding planning requires a little bit of decision making, and a little bit of patience, if you hire the right person for the job. 

Traditional weddings usually give the couple one day, maybe one and a half days with their people.. Then everyone’s back home and back to reality.

Destination weddings bring everyone you want together in a beautiful location to not only celebrate your love, but to get to know and enjoy each other in a relaxed, all-inclusive setting. (There’s really nothing like unlimited alcohol to help you get to know your in-laws!)

I could go on forever, but you’ve got places to be. You know my opinion; destination weddings rock, and are an amazing option for those couples who love travel and want to create a lifelong memory with all their favorite people in a gorgeous destination. 

If you have any destination wedding, all-inclusive, or travel related questions, feel free to shoot me an email at: allison@ttravelex.com