The idea of a destination wedding never really crossed my mind. As a matter of fact, I used to think it’s more of an elopement while on a vacation with a handful your loved ones. Until, well…Instagram planted a seed in my head. As my nephew, Chris says, “Blame everything on Instagram or Pinterest!” It’s Wedding Planning Wednesday, and it’s time to talk about location, location, location!
Well, this seed is sprouting and the ideas are brewing. Can we be destined for a destination wedding? My friend Deborah shared that she had a very intimate wedding at one of her favorite wineries; and my very wise friend, Judy, urges to save the money and travel somewhere! The options are endless! What’s #trending right now are open spaces (barns, industrial buildings, historic buildings, camp sites, back yards); and I love this idea! Not only does this give me the flexibility to curate my vendors and personalize as much as I’d like, I quickly realize that this platform will not mesh well with my hands-on and must-do-it myself attitude. In other words, lots of self-imposed stress!
Recently, Tony and I have been thinking about where we’d get married? Our backyard? Somewhere in Los Angeles that speaks to our hearts? Our immediate families are all here in Los Angeles and while most of my extended family is here, most of Tony’s is in Mexico. Most of our friends are in California, but we have friends scattered across America. A destination wedding would make sense. It would be a great opportunity for us to share quality time with our loved ones and share a new experience at destination spot. The options are endless and I’ve been to many beautiful weddings at various locations. Only where do we want ours to be? A beach side wedding? A vineyard somewhere?
We started to think of the logistics, flights, hotels, the idea of working with foreign vendors, and the idea of asking our guests to take time off work for our big day. There are lots of things to consider. Sweet Jesus…what if I forgot my dress at home? Would I be able to let go? Would this really simplify my need to be involved with every detail? Might it be easier and less stressful to keep things closer to home in Los Angeles?
Last night, we started to create a list of pros and cons. I’d love your help — what’s your advice?
Seriously, Sammy?! 
Thanks for the shout-out, Sammy! My advice to you is to do what you and Tony want to do. I am not sure how “doable” that is in your particular situation, but it’s the best advice I can give. Do it how you want, where you want and when you want and let the chips fall where they may. It is so hard to plan for everyone else – who can travel and who can’t, who is close by, who is available, etc. You know who your VIPs are…The day will be special regardless. We actually got married (by a close friend) in my mom’s backyard…with only 30 people. The next weekend, we had what was basically the “reception” (aka party!) with about 60 people in Napa. We also had a really long engagement and figured out a way to do it all the exact way we wanted without having debt (long engagement = long time to save $!) All of our VIPs were present…either at our intimate ceremony or the next weekend at our “reception” or both. So…my best advice to you is to try so hard to have it be what you two want. And Ace, of course! XO
LikeLike
Thank you! Your hindsight wisdom is very much so appreciated. Your wedding sounds like it was all that you wanted it to be!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I didn’t have a destination wedding. I had 200 people I couldn’t have cared less about and never saw again in a over-the-top-fancy restaurant banquet hall. Jenna’s been to lots of destination weddings and I’ve heard her say that, although everyone is “in” at the planning phase, they tend to drop out before the big event. Real life – catastrophic storms, Zika virus and political uprisings – intrude. Please keep it local because I want to be there and I hate to fly.
LikeLike