The Top 5 Places To Tie the Knot in 2011

If you’re looking for the hottest places to tie the knot this year, here are my top picks for 2011:

1. Bora Bora

Famous for its overwater bungalows that hover above ridiculously gorgeous coral reefs, Bora Bora is a heavenly island just perfect for a tropical destination wedding. Recent changes to Tahiti and French Polynesia’s marriage laws means it’s now easier to get married there.  Previously, the law required couples to reside in Tahiti for 30 days prior to getting married, which made it difficult for foreigners wishing to be legally married there.  Not that most people would mind spending 30 days in paradise, but it could become quite costly to stay in luxury surrounds for an extended period.

Image courtesy of InterContinental Tahiti

2. Venice

Anywhere in Italy is perfect for a destination wedding, but Venice is an especially romantic spot to tie the knot against a backdrop of renaissance splendour. A must-do is to be expertly manoeuvred around the city’s famous canals in a Venetian gondola passing by countless centuries-old palaces and villas. Venice has an array of reception venues perfect for hosting a lavish reception or, if you’re arranging more intimate nuptial celebrations, you’ll have no shortage of traditional Venetian restaurants to choose from.

Image courtesy of Venice Events

3. Great Barrier Reef

One of the world’s most spectacular natural wonders, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is the only living thing on earth visible from space. Choose from secluded Lizard Island, beautiful Hayman Island or take a sea plane out to marry on the reef itself. A post-nuptial flight over Heart Reef (the heart-shaped reef that Oprah fell in love with on her recent tour) to admire its awesome beauty from above is the perfect way to end the day. No matter which location you choose, a Great Barrier Reef wedding is guaranteed to be one you’ll never forget.

4. Paris

Image courtesy of Rendezvous in Paris

Paris has become a popular romantic rendezvous point for destination wedding couples due to its central location. Elopements in Paris are all the rage or you could marry at home and have a symbolic ceremony in France.  Although you can’t marry inside or atop famous Parisian landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame or the Sucre Coeur, it’s possible to have photos with them in the background. While in Paris, be sure to take a cruise down the Seine, visit some of the city’s famous sights and kiss under the stars on the steps of Montmartre.

5. Cook Islands

For the ultimate island paradise wedding, head to the Cook Islands.  Rumours Luxury Villas and Spa in Rarotonga is one of the most romantic places to say "I do" on the planet (click on the link to view videos).  The resort’s own onsite wedding coordinator becomes your personal wedding consultant, ensuring your wedding day is perfect in every way. The luxury, 'romance beachfront villas' provide an idyllic pre-wedding and honeymoon accommodation that will make you feel like a Polynesian princess.  

Image courtesy of Edgewater Resort and Spa, Rarotonga

Stay tuned for my list of the top 5 destination wedding locations for 2012!

Destination: Wedding - A guide to planning the destination wedding of your dreams is available in paperback and digital formats at Amazon (UK), Amazon (USA) and from www.destination-wedding-book.com.

For free tips and advice, connect with us on Facebook and Twitter to be kept up-to-date with everything destination wedding!

Ten great ways to save money on your destination wedding

1. Tag your destination wedding on to an already planned holiday

If you’ve already planned a dream getaway, why not get married en-route or at your holiday destination? It can be expensive to travel and getting time off from work can be an extra hurdle. The cost and time effectiveness of combining a holiday with a wedding makes it the ideal solution for many couples.

2. Have your ceremony, reception and honeymoon at the same location

By combining the ceremony and reception locations you save by eliminating the often complicated logistics involved in getting everyone one venue to the next. Honeymooning at your wedding location means even more savings and many resorts will provide complimentary upgrades to honeymooning couples and/or include special celebratory items such as champagne, flowers and chocolate.

3. Negotiate group discounts

If you have a medium or large sized group attending your destination wedding, check to see if you can negotiate group discounts on travel, accommodation, activities and meals. You’ll be amazed at how much you can save yourselves and your guests by negotiating a discounted group rate. It’s quite common for the savings to be in the order of 10% to 50%.

4. Consider an alternative to a traditional wedding gown

There are so many more cost effective options to the traditional wedding gown. Gone are the days where you had to spend thousands of dollars on a dress you will wear for just a few short hours. If you’re marrying overseas, check out what the local brides wear or consider dressing down for a more casual affair. If you are getting married on the beach for example, a tropical dress rather than an elaborate white wedding gown could not only be more suitable, but cheaper too!

5. Do your own hair and makeup

Doing your own hair and makeup is a great way to save money on your destination wedding. It can also be fun especially if you enlist the help of a willing wedding guest. If the thought of doing your own hair and makeup is daunting consider having only your hair done professionally and doing your own makeup. There are loads of books and online beauty sites with step by step instructions on how to achieve perfect wedding day makeup.

6. Buy local wherever possible

By choosing local you’ll save money on everything from food to flowers. Find out which flowers are local and incorporate them into your wedding flowers. Selecting local produce for your wedding menu will not only save you money but add to the experience for you and your guests as you eat like the locals do. Locally bought souvenirs can make delightful wedding favours which can work out much cheaper particularly if you’re marrying in another country with a favourable exchange rate.  

7. Set up a destination wedding wishing well

Instead of guests dragging gifts along with them to your destination wedding, suggest instead that they donate the funds they would have spent on gifts to your destination wedding wishing well. These funds can be used to pay for elements of your destination wedding, activities or honeymoon.  Your destination wedding gift fund can include things like airfares, dinner for two, couples massage and tours. There are companies like Wedding List Co. that specialise in managing your wishing well.

8. Send e-invites

Traditional wedding invitations are no longer the only option when it comes to inviting guests to your wedding. Consider instead the e-invite that you can design on any number of available design programs. Convert the invitation to portable document format (PDF) and email to family and friends. Most brides find that guests will RSVP via email anyway – it makes sense to save on expensive invitations and postage and take advantage of email instead. 

9. Plan your destination wedding for a non-peak period

Substantial savings can be made by booking your destination wedding outside of peak tourist times. You’ll find that transport, accommodation and even activity prices are lower in non-peak times.

10. Elope!

Perhaps the biggest cost saving action you can take is to elope. Eloping (the two of you running away to be married) will reduce costs dramatically as you won’t need to host and entertain guests.

Do you have any other ideas on how to save money on a destination wedding?

Destination: Wedding - A guide to planning the destination wedding of your dreams is available in paperback and digital formats at Amazon (UK), Amazon (USA) and from www.destination-wedding-book.com.

For free tips and advice, connect with us on Facebook and Twitter to be kept up-to-date with everything destination wedding!

Destination: Wedding is finally in print!

I've been working on Destination: Wedding - A guide to planning the destination wedding of your dreams for three years now. During that time I've remained true to the original vision I had for the book. That vision was to create a helpful, easy-to-read guide that would assist couples planning a destination wedding. I wanted to share my own experience, but just as importantly, the experiences of other destination wedding couples.

When seeking out destination wedding couples to contribute to the book, I was heartened to learn how equally passionate they were about their experiences. It was like we had become part of a special club - the destination wedding club! As I interviewed the couples and learned about their stories, it became clear to me that couples who choose a destination wedding share common characteristics. These couples had an undeniable sense of adventure coupled with a penchant for whimsical romance.

I felt privileged to have been so warmly invited into so many destination wedding couples' worlds. As I respectfully viewed their wedding day photo galleries, I  learned about them and their incredibly diverse lives. My only regret is, I was unable to include all the couples who were willing to contribute their stories to the book. I am hopeful that they and many more couples will be keen to contribute to future editions. Each destination wedding is unique and it's this uniqueness that I think inspires other couples who are planning or thinking about their own destination wedding.

Apart from the stories of real life destination wedding couples, the book has been written as a destination wedding planning guide complete with tips and guidance on how to ensure things go as smoothly as possible. Drawing on experience from my own two destination weddings that took place in different parts of the world (Hawaii and Northern Europe), along with countless hours of research, I set out to provide an informative guide full of highly useful and practical information.

It was also important that the book be written for a global audience. I discovered that the few destination wedding related books on the market were very much focused on the country in which they had been written, and having lived overseas and considering myself a citizen of the world, I wanted to speak to everyone no matter their geographical location.

As the print version of Destination: Wedding is released, I look back at the past three years with fond memories. There were certainly times when I wondered if anyone would appreciate the time and effort I was investing in this project. But most of the time I've been very focused on the end goal and the experience has been an enjoyable journey that has left me with a richer appreciation for love, relationships and people fulfilling their dreams.

I invite you to share your thoughts about the book and welcome your destination wedding related comments here and at our facebook page.

To take a look inside or to buy the book, head straight to the book's own website at www.destination-wedding-book.com 

Quirky Destination Wedding Locations

The majority of couples who choose a destination wedding tend to get married in beautiful, romantic locations typically in a chapel, castle, chateau or outdoors in a garden, on a mountain, or by a lake, river or the sea.

Over the years though, I've heard of some quirkier destination wedding ideas. I thought I'd share a few of them:

For those looking for something different, you can marry aboard your own private capsule on the 135 metre high London Eye:

For the super adventurous, what better way to get your heart racing on your wedding day than a 150 metre bungy jump before sealing the deal with a kiss:

A sky dive wedding will really get your adrenaline going:

Or perhaps a an underwater wedding is more your style:

For those who just can't enough of their favorite American fast food chain, couples are deciding to tie the knot at their local McDonalds and Taco Bell stores:

I recently read about a number of airlines proposing to offer in-flight weddings (Easyjet was one of them but has since had it's proposal rejected):

If you're aware of any other interesting destination wedding locations and please let me know! I'm forever fascinated by all the different ways couples choose to declare their love.

My Hawaiian Wedding

When I planned my own destination wedding in Hawaii years ago, I didn't realise I was part of such a growing trend towards destination weddings. I just thought it would be neat to get married while on holidays in a seaside chapel on the Big Island of Hawaii. I saw a picture of this chapel and just knew it was where I wanted to get married.

Hawaii is such a beautiful place to get married, it just oozes what is referred to locally as aloha spirit. Everyone makes you feel so warmly welcomed, you can't help but feel at home.

Visually, Hawaii is breathtaking with it's gorgeous palm fringed beaches, misty rainforest-covered mountains, spectacular waterfalls and awesome volcanoes. Although Hawaii consists of eight islands, the most popular wedding destinations tend to be Oahu, Maui, Kauai and The Big Island of Hawaii.

Incorporating quintessentially Hawaiian elements such as orchid lei's, a conch shell blower and Hawaiian musicians is popular amongst many destination wedding couples. You can provide leis to your guests to wear during the ceremony and/or reception. Every day in Hawaii I couldn't resist wearing a fresh orchid or frangipani (known locally as plumaria) lei around my neck. I can still smell their sweet, tropical perfume wafting through my memories.

Image from: www.alohaislandweddings.com

There's a range of wedding planners and wedding service providers across the islands. Most of the resorts also provide wedding co-ordination services. You only have to Google "wedding in hawaii" to be inundated with myriad of wedding options in Hawaii.

My advice when planning a destination wedding in Hawaii is to go by word of mouth wherever possible. Depending on what kind (and size) of wedding you are planning, you may choose to use a wedding planner to arrange everything for you.

Since my wedding was very intimate, I arranged most things myself although my wedding celebrant helped out by putting me in touch with a reputable local hairdresser and florist. The day went off without a hitch and one of the highlights was cruising along Ali'i Drive on the way to the chapel in our rented Mustang, listening to a Hawaiian version of a Barry White tune. The drive along the Kona coast is spectacular with the sun sparkling on the ocean waves and the palm trees arching from white sand and volcanic rocks.

I would highly recommend getting married in Hawaii, it really is one of the most romantic places on earth.

If you have any questions feel free to ask!