Building a Destination Wedding Itinerary For an Immersive Experience
So you have officially decided to host your wedding abroad, what’s next? Planning your destination wedding itinerary is a great place to start.
Before we dive in, congratulations! Choosing your wedding date along with making the decision to have a destination wedding is no small feat. With those two things in place, you might be wondering what you should focus on next when it comes to planning.
In our experience, every incredible destination wedding weekend starts with a well-thought-out itinerary. Here's a look inside the key events that create an unforgettable experience and planning tricks that will make the logistics seem effortless.
Start Here: Planning a Destination Wedding Itinerary
It can be so easy to feel overwhelmed when building your destination wedding itinerary. However, we can assure you, working with a destination planner to put the earliest version of your wedding vision down on paper is the perfect place to start.
Once your venue and date have been chosen, creating an outline for your wedding weekend itinerary is one of the best steps to take. Not only does this allow you to begin building what your destination wedding weekend will look like, but it will also serve as an amazing way to create a top-down approach for all of your unique wedding planning needs.
Bring Your Dream Destination Wedding to Life Through Your Itinerary
As you’ve begun planning a destination wedding, a magical weekend away has probably crossed your mind. One filled with incredible events and the people you love. Creating a destination wedding itinerary that fulfills your vision is all about penciling in the fun moments in a way that is considerate of the logistics. Additionally, it will be equally important to consider how these logistics impact your group.
To share an example, if you’ve decided to plan a wedding on an island, five-star resorts, many times, can be in more remote locations. If this applies to your wedding’s resort, and your guests will be participating in offsite activities, has research been done to identify how far away the activities will be? Just as importantly, will commutes to and from activities keep your guests’ energy levels high, or is there a chance that the logistics could become overwhelming? Being able to enjoy all parts of a wedding weekend at a mostly-relaxed pace, many times, is key to planning a seamless weekend.
The Blue Print For Your Destination Wedding Events
Day One: Your Welcome Party
Hosting a welcome party is a wonderful way to bring them into your destination wedding weekend, while also setting the tone for the activities and events to come. After a day of traveling, a welcome event allows your guests to greet and connect with you and other guests.
Keep in mind that some may be traveling after a day of work, or arriving on the last flight of the day. Because of this, it can be nice for a welcome party to have a more casual and relaxed atmosphere. Hint: the key is to avoid a seated dinner.
Custom-crafted cocktails with food stations can make for fantastic welcome party features and also allow guests time to settle in, relax, and unwind.
It’s also important to remember that although your guests have traveled to this enchanting location for your wedding, you don’t want to overwhelm them with formal events and activities on the first day. We always cross our fingers in the hopes that a guest doesn’t incur a flight delay. But if by chance they do, a less formal welcome party will allow them to simply jump right into the merriment & mingling as soon as they arrive. Aside from your welcome event, arrival day should be a free day for your guests to get acclimated, unpack, and enjoy the rest of their day as they see fit.
Day Two: Daytime Local Activities
After a warm welcome and a good night’s rest, your guests could likely be ready to explore your wedding's destination! After the "Arrival Day,” we recommend setting up time for local activities or, for a less structured plan, a soft list of activity recommendations.
When working with our clients, we always challenge ourselves to think thoroughly and realistically about what will make for a relaxing or energizing activity. One guideline that we recommend is to avoid activities or logistics that could become burdensome, exhausting, or simply too time-consuming. By nature, your wedding weekend will be a busy one. It will be nice to allow for your guests to have a taste of the destination, but creating an itinerary that does not overwhelm their time or energy will be important when it comes to planning the best experience.
Overall, your guests will be excited to explore your wedding’s destination and experience activities that you and your partner enjoy. When it comes to this portion of your itinerary, our best advice is to find that perfect blend of activities that are personal to your fiance and you, will keep spirits high, and, of course, that your guests will enjoy.
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Meet Lauren and Ryan, City & Terrace co-founders and your go-to experts for destination weddings and celebrations.
Based in New York City, Lauren and Ryan are event industry veterans and seasoned travelers with a passion for crafting unforgettable experiences.
Planning a destination wedding can be daunting, especially when navigating different time zones and logistics. Our approach combines a positive, de-stressed style with over 20 years of combined experience planning celebrations in over 100 cities globally.
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Day Two: Evening Rehearsal Celebration
If day two is the day before your wedding, it’s, of course, only natural that the itinerary features your rehearsal dinner or a similar celebration. When starting to plan your rehearsal evening, our team always first considers your vision and a few important factors.
First, do you envision including all of your guests attending a more intimate gathering? We like to start here because some of our couples love to host a rehearsal dinner where all of their guests are invited to a formal sit-down dinner while enjoying the local flavors. Other couples prefer hosting an invite-only rehearsal dinner that includes their immediate family members and their wedding party dining by candlelight. Every rehearsal dinner has its own unique dynamic and there are multiple ways to plan yours when it comes to your destination wedding.
Another important point to consider is whether or not you will have time to spend just with your core group of close family members and friends before all your other guests arrive. In other words, do you plan to arrive at your wedding destination at least one night before all of your other guests arrive? If so, will your closest friends and family members be doing the same?
If so, in lieu of a more intimate rehearsal dinner, it could make sense to host the small group of your closest family and friends for a scaled-down, seated dinner, before all other guests arrive. That way, the night before your wedding can be a free night or it can be reserved for a larger event to include all guests. It simply depends on your vision.
The Final Day: A Farewell Event
You are officially newlyweds! You and your guests have danced the night away in honor of this momentous occasion.
So, what’s next?
A final farewell event like a brunch or a pool party is the perfect way to wind down your picture-perfect destination wedding. Your farewell event can be a fun send-off the day after your guests have spent the night dancing the night away at your wedding. A relaxing activity such as a pool party or brunch is an amazing way for guests to recount their experiences and reminisce about their time together before saying their final goodbyes. Much like the day of your welcome event, it’s important to remember that on the day of your farewell event, guests will be traveling at different intervals.
How Does Your Destination Wedding Itinerary Create an Immersive Experience?
To quickly recap, there are a few key elements to remember when building the itinerary for your destination wedding. First, focus on the ease of experience. Secondly, schedule your events in a way that considers travel and logistics to keep your guests from feeling overwhelmed.
All in all, your destination wedding planner will help guide you through this brainstorming process while also engineering your dream destination wedding weekend itinerary." as the overall blog takeaway?
With your welcome event, local activities, and final event firmly in place, your destination wedding planner will help guide you through this brainstorming process to map out your dream destination wedding weekend itinerary.