I can officially say that I’m getting married next year which is crazy, so it’s time to get back into wedding planning! We’ve got a lot of the main vendors booked for the wedding, however there is still a lot of planning to do. I’m going to be sharing our thoughts on having a destination wedding and sharing the main questions we get asked by our family and friends.
Why are we having a destination wedding?
In the back of our minds we always wanted to have a destination wedding in the glorious sunshine, but keeping it close enough for our guests to attend. I’ve always loved the South of France however was open to anywhere with warm weather in Europe, until I found my dream venue on Pinterest. Being a self-confessed Pinterest addict I had seen hundreds of beautiful venues, but I didn’t have that feeling of ‘Wow, I want to get married here’. As soon as I saw a photo of our venue I fell head over heels in love and spent the next few hours finding out as much as I could about this wonderful french chateau.
Where is our wedding venue and how did we find it?
Our wedding venue is in the South of France and is a beautiful chateau overlooking the French Riviera, one of the most luxurious places in the world. We went to visit last year and viewed a few other venues whilst we were there just incase the photos weren’t an accurate representation of the chateau. However, it was everything we wanted and more; a beautiful terrace for the ceremony and cocktail hour, as well as an indoor area for dinner with ceiling to floor length glass panels looking out to the amazing view. We wanted an indoor area whilst eating dinner due to the hot weather in July, so the air-conditioning would help keep everyone cool. Unlike other venues this was the perfect size for an intimate wedding and you could privatise all the areas (which is what we have done).
Is a destination wedding cheaper?
This is the main question that I always get asked, as a lot of people have heard that it’s cheaper to get married abroad. However, in our case it’s more expensive and it would have been cheaper to have a larger wedding in the UK. There are many factors which influence the price such as the country, city and the venue. Ours is a luxury chateau with views of the French Riviera which makes it more expensive, however if you went to mainland France you would find more inexpensive options. It’s important to make sure you do your research based on your budget and don’t assume it will be cheaper, as you might be left disappointed.
Save the Dates
We keep getting asked about the date of our wedding from our family and friends so we are going to be sending out the save the dates soon, even though our wedding isn’t until July 2021. Our wedding is in the summer and is when most people are booking their holidays, so it’s even more important to give them enough notice. Aaron is designing the save the dates along with the formal invitations which will be going out nearer the time, I will share them with you however want all of our guests to receive them first. Another reason why we are sending them out early is so people can book their travel and accommodation is advance to take advantage of the best deals. Some of our guests are making it their holiday that year and staying longer than just the wedding weekend which is lovely, so obviously they need more time to plan. We’ve made it easier for those who just want to go for the weekend or have trouble booking time off work by having the wedding on a Saturday.
Wedding Website
We will be creating a wedding website with all of the information that our guests will need about travel, accommodation and the destination including tips on what to do and the best places to eat in the area. We might create an wedding weekend itinerary card with details of the weekend events, however this information will still be available on the website along with everything they need to know. I’ll be creating this myself on WordPress as after researching into the different wedding website providers, they are restricting in certain areas.
That’s where we are at the moment with planning a destination wedding, if you’re planning or have previously planned a destination wedding let me know any tips that you have in the comments. There are pros and cons for planning a destination wedding, however we are both happy with the decision we have made. I have a wedding YouTube series starting on my YouTube channel (you can watch the first video below) and have lots of wedding content ideas planned, for both my channel and blog so I’ll be keeping you updated with the planning. However I do have a previous wedding planning post if you’re interested in more wedding related content.
Rebecca x
This is such a great idea and it’s a beautiful place.
Candice
natalyaamour.com
Author
It’s so beautiful, I can’t wait!