10 ways to make destination weddings easier for your guests
If you’re considering throwing a destination wedding, you want to make attending your wedding as easy as possible for your guests.
When you have a local wedding, it is almost always expected that guests make their own way to the venue. Out of town guests arrange for their own accommodations. What your guests do before or after the wedding is really entirely up to them. When planning a destination wedding, taking these considerations into account can really ease the pressure on guests who now have to plan a trip to attend your wedding. This is especially true, as not all your guests will be seasoned travellers or comfortable traveling abroad.
We had a destination wedding ourselves in Tuscany, Italy, and have been to a number of weddings abroad. From both a host perspective and a guest perspective, we’ve compiled a list of 10 things we feel takes the stress out of attending a wedding abroad.
Should I pay for my guests to travel?
Before we dive into our list, we should clarify the biggest destination wedding question for couples. Should the couple be paying for the guests to travel?
The generally accepted answer from a wedding etiquette perspective is no, you are not expected to pay for your guests’ travel expenses.
However, if you are able, we recommend covering part of their stay – whether in accommodations, food, or even excursions at the destination. This will go a long way to making your guests feel included and appreciated for their efforts in trekking all this way to be a part of your wedding. It will also help those who might otherwise not be able to attend because they are strapped for cash.
We will break down what we recommend covering as we go through our suggestions, depending on the size of your guest list and of course, your budget.
10 ways to make destination weddings easier for your guests
10. Notify guests early
Send out “save the date” cards to your guests as soon as you’ve set your date and your destination, even if you do not have the details hammered out yet. Your guests will need to be taking time off work and school, or find childcare for their children. They may want to make other travel plans around your wedding. Your guests will appreciate the time to shop around for travel deals and plan their itinerary.
9. Have a wedding website
Wedding websites in and of themselves are charming. It’s sweet to learn more about the couples and what brought them together, or browsing cute engagement photos. But wedding websites for destination weddings are essential.
You will want to include all sorts of information about the plan and the destination for your guests to refer to as they plan to attend your wedding. This might include flight suggestions, how to get to the venue, booking accommodations, packing lists.
8. Offer proposed travel itineraries
Some of your guests will be enthusiastic travellers. Other guests will appreciate you doing some of the leg work.
Offer your guests different flight options into the nearest airports. You can consider providing information on car rentals or public transportation. It can also be helpful to have lists of what to do at your destination and where to sightsee, or restaurants to check out.
7. Block accommodation for your guests
If you can, try to reserve a “block” of guest rooms at your resort or nearby hotel. This makes booking the rooms easier for your guests, and helps to ensure your guests are on the same floor or close to each other.
If your wedding party is small and you are able, consider covering the cost, or even partial cost, of accommodation for your guests. You could cover the nights before and after your wedding, and guests who choose to stay longer can pay the outstanding balance. (We held our wedding at a small Borgo, and paid for our guests to stay 3 nights. Our venue was the largest part of our wedding expenses, but it was a meaningful way to show our appreciation for guests attending our wedding. Well worth it. To read about our wedding cost breakdown, be sure to check out this post!)
6. Introduce your guests to each other beforehand
We always say what makes or breaks a trip is the company. Of course, your guests are attending the destination wedding to celebrate you – but it is still travel. Your guests will be spending more time together than at a traditional wedding, and having to navigate all the usual elements of travel.
Guests might want to discuss flights, traveling together, or even renting a car together. We’ve even booked airBNB’s with other couples attending the same wedding. It’s a great way to make new friends! And you’ll have people to hang out with and sightsee with at your destination.
As the couple getting married, it might take some extra work to check in with your guests and play the “travel wingman”, so to speak. But it really will help the entire wedding process run more smoothly.
5. Provide transportation to the hotel
Depending on where you are having your wedding, consider organizing transportation to the accommodation. Particularly if your destination is somewhere more rural, public transportation could be tricky and expensive. Not everyone will want to rent a car. Providing transportation is a great way to take the stress out of arriving at a new destination for your guests.
Our wedding was held in the Tuscan countryside, which was only really accessible by car. The day before the wedding, we and a few family members who had rented cars and arrived early made several trips to pick up guests from the nearest train station.
4. Provide transportation between venues
Hands down, the easiest thing to do is to have your ceremony and reception on site. This not only eliminates the need to move everyone back and forth, but it gives your guests the chance to relax at the hotel/resort during any downtime (eg. when you are taking wedding photos). However, this is not always possible. You may be having your ceremony at a church or town hall, and your reception at a different venue altogether. In that case, we recommend arranging transportation for your guests throughout the day. As we mentioned above, not everyone will be driving.
3. Plan a welcome dinner the evening before the wedding
It’s always a good idea to have guests arrive at the destination at least the day before the wedding. Travel plans, no matter how carefully planned, always have a chance of going awry. Flights gets delayed, luggages get lost, the car breaks down.
Instead of the rehearsal dinner, plan to have a welcome dinner for your guests. This is a great way for everyone to unwind after their travels and mingle in a casual setting. We had pizza (and vino, of course), made in a traditional stone pizza oven, which was a great conversation starter.
2. Arrange for an excursion
This is a nice bonus. It’s a great way for your nearest and dearest to spend a little more time together, and experience a little of the destination.
This could be anything from a booked experience, such as a catamaran sail at a Caribbean resort, or a casual group outing. For example, in Tuscany, options might be organizing a cooking class, a wine tour, or a jaunt into your nearest medieval town.
1. Prepare a welcome bag/gift
Also a nice bonus. This would be a great treat for your guests after a long day of travel. You could fill it with local goodies, or travel essentials like sunscreen or flip flops for the beach.
