Many people have the impression that destination weddings are easier and less stressful than planning a wedding at home – but that’s not always the case. Here are 5 important factors to consider when planning a destination wedding

1. YOUR GUESTS
Destination weddings ask a lot of your invitees: the cost of travel, of course, and depending on the location guests may have to take time off work to attend your nuptials. You’ll likely have friends or family who cannot attend or choose not to attend for various reasons. Be prepared for some loved ones to miss the occasion and don’t take it personally.

Tips:

• • Provide accommodation options at different price points to suit a range of budgets.

• Setup a wedding website to convey travel information to your guests to make it easier for them to attend.

2. PLANNING FROM AFAR
If you have “Type A” tendencies, a destination wedding may not be a good fit! Unless you’re able to travel to the location before the wedding to scope out venues and meet with vendors in person, you may find it difficult to make all your plans remotely, especially when cultural differences and language barriers come into play. In some destinations it can take weeks to receive email responses – not every bride has the patience to deal with that pace of planning.

Tips:

• Do your research! Search for real photos from travel review sites or destination wedding blogs to avoid unwelcome surprises.
• Engage the services of a Wedding Planner experienced with weddings in the area.

3. BON VOYAGE BUDGET
It is a common belief that destination weddings are much cheaper than celebrating at home, however tropical resort packages can be deceiving as they are often for a very small number of guests and do not include a private reception.

A weak Canadian dollar can affect affordability of destinations abroad, so why not consider a beautiful destination closer to home? Canada boasts incredible locations throughout the Rocky Mountains, Okanagan Valley and West Coast.

Tips:

• Look off-resort for great local venues that will give you more flexibility in customizing your wedding and choosing your suppliers.
• Some locations may offer better rates for weekday and/or low season weddings.

4. THE UNEXPECTED
Destination weddings are more likely to be affected by factors beyond your control. Examples include extreme weather, such as hurricanes, snow storms, floods and forest fires (we’ve had weddings affected by all of the above); health outbreaks like Swine Flu and most recently, Zika Virus; and foreign political unrest.

Tips:

• If you’re heading somewhere tropical, check when that area is most likely to experience severe storms – in other words, don’t have your wedding during hurricane season!
• Look into getting traveller’s insurance and wedding cancellation insurance.

5. MAKING IT LEGAL
Each country has their own legal requirements for marriages. Some countries mandate blood tests and may require that you’re in the country for a specified number of days before the wedding takes place. In Canada and the U.S. marriage licenses are issued by province / state, so be sure to check the particulars for your wedding location.

Tip: 

• Consider getting married legally at home shortly before or after your destination wedding, and have a symbolic ceremony abroad. This can look and feel exactly the same as a legal ceremony so your guests won’t know the difference – and you may save yourselves some headaches.

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As published in the Fall/Winter 2016 issue of Blush Magazine.

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Jennifer + Team | Jennifer Bergman Weddings
Edmonton Wedding Planning + Design wigs

Nicole + Blake were married at the Castle of the Rocky Mountains – The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. We worked with this fun-loving couple from start to finish to plan and design their mountain destination wedding.

The wedding was designed to enhance the dramatic elegance of the venue with a non-traditional colour palette to reflect the unique personal styles of the bride and groom. Mixed metallics and laser-cut stationery details hinted at the medieval characteristics of the hotel, while lush brightly coloured florals added romance and femininity. Some unique décor elements included a custom black glitter aisle runner, a metal seating chart and laser cut place card wraps around the napkins.

Guests received two custom flavours of fudge from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory that were hand selected by the bride and groom. They also took home an evergreen seedling plant in honour of Nicole’s late father. Duelling pianists were brought in as the evening entertainment, and they kept guests on the dance floor all night long!

Carey Nash’s jaw-dropping photography in a picturesque destination was a perfect match. Read more about Nicole + Blake’s Banff wedding weekend in the latest issue of Blush Magazine.

{Winner of the 2014 Canadian Wedding Industry Awards for
Best Event Planning AND Best Wedding Invitation, Alberta Region}

Jennifer + Team | Jennifer Bergman Weddings
Banff Wedding Planning + Design

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Credits:

• Wedding Planning + Design: Jennifer Bergman Weddings
• Photography: Carey Nash Photography
• Marriage Commissioner: Jason Fernandez
• Ceremony Music: Music Mosaic Duo (Violin/Cello)
• Duelling Pianists: Jamie Mahn + Lesley Pelletier
• Invitations + Stationery: Pinkpolka Design
  
• Florist: faBLOOMosity
• Lighting: PSAV Banff
• Décor: Special Event Rentals / Elegant Touches
• Custom Aisle Runner: The Original Runner Co.
• Favours: Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (Fudge) and Evergreen Memories (Tree Seedlings)
• Cake: Cake Sensations
• Hair: coucouhair(Melissa and Sarah)
• Makeup: Olivia Tassone
• Dress: Pronovias Duende from The Bridal House

I’m very excited to finally share this beautiful June wedding with you! We’ve been keeping it under wraps until it made its debut in the Spring/Summer 2013 issue of Blush Magazine:

Leslie is one of the sweetest brides I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with, and to top it off she’s supermodel gorgeous! When I first met Leslie to chat about her wedding vision, romance was a key theme. After seeing her and Warren together it all made sense – the love that these two share is truly special.

The day started off early with a traditional Chinese tea ceremony at Warren’s parents’ house, followed by a Catholic ceremony at St. Joseph’s Basilica. The reception took place in Manning Hall at the Art Gallery of Alberta where ‘Modern Romance’ came to life. The walls were draped in soft ivory voile and lit in a lavender glow. Black chiavari chairs provided a modern contrast to ivory satin tablecloths, while wheatgrass and phalaenopsis orchid centrepieces added a fresh punch of life to the room.

Guests were treated to a lively Lion Dance performance followed by a delicious dinner courtesy of Zinc Catering.

Loving this wedding? Head on over to the Katch Studios blog for more stunning images!

Leslie + Warren: Thank you for allowing us to be part of your love story. Wishing you a lifetime of happiness together!

Jennifer + Team | Jennifer Bergman Weddings
Edmonton Wedding Planning + Design

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Credits:

• Coordination + Design: Jennifer Bergman Weddings
• Photography: Katch Studios
  
• Floral: faBLOOMosity
• Rentals / Drapery / Lighting: Special Event Rentals
• Linens: Arlene Yam Décor
• Guest Book Table: Elegant Touches
• Cake: Whimsical Cake Studio
• DJ: Premiere DJs
• Transportation: Legends Limousine
• Bride’s Gown: Novelle Bridal Shop
  
• Hair: Jenn Chivers
• Makeup: Anita Gill
  

When I first began working with Jaclyn + Curtis we explored the idea of a Rocky Mountain wedding…and then a local Edmonton wedding…but nothing was really getting them excited. When the idea of a wedding on the beach entered the picture, everything began falling into place.

Ninety guests joined Jaclyn + Curtis at the RIU Palace Cabo San Lucas in Los Cabos, Mexico to celebrate in the sand and sun. The couple kept their guests informed about travel and wedding details via a custom wedding website and travel arrangements were managed by My Dream Destination Travel.

Photographer Phil Crozier of PHOTOPHILCRO joined us on the beach from Calgary, Alberta. Not only is Phil an unbelievably talented photographer, but he has a wonderful way about him that makes you feel like an old friend. Here’s a sampling of some of the GORGEOUS images Phil captured of this beautiful couple.

{Jaclyn + Curtis’ Los Cabos destination wedding was recently featured in the Autumn/Winter 2011 issue of Blush Magazine! View the complete issue online here.}

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Jaclyn wore Eresma by San Patrick from Novelle Bridal. Her stunning hand-tied bouquet was composed of ivory and pink roses and calla lilies.

The ceremony was held at the RIU Palace’s San Jose Gazebo overlooking the glistening blue ocean. At the start of the ceremony the officiant spoke in Spanish for a good three minutes until Curtis finally leaned over and asked, “hablas inglés?” Turns out it was a joke and he continued the ceremony in perfect English. Needless to say it made for a very memorable ceremony!

After the ceremony, guests made their way over to the gorgeous pool side Baja Norte terrace with a stunning view of the signature Los Cabos landmark, El Arco. Local cuisine featured delicious entrées such as coconut chicken, fresh salmon with grapefruit butter, roasted lamb and seafood paella.

Jaclyn and Curtis wanted their décor to be simple yet elegant. Walnut chiavari chairs perfectly complemented custom-made ivory shantung linens, while each place setting was accented with a chocolate brown wicker charger plate and an ivory gift box containing Mexican sweets. Low, lush arrangements of ivory and pink blooms added the perfect amount of colour to each table. (Rentals were sourced locally from Linens, Things and More; flowers by Floreria Treboles.) The wedding invitations and reception stationery, designed by I Do Invitations, were elegantly handcrafted with twine and starfish detailing.

One of the perks of a destination wedding is having more opportunities to capture fantastic photos without having to rush to do it all on one day. Photographer Phil Crozier took Jaclyn and Curtis for a post-wedding shoot and he captured some amazing, romantic images!

By choosing to have a destination wedding, Jaclyn and Curtis were able to enjoy ten days of quality time with their friends and family over dinners, pool lounging and exciting excursions. Jaclyn + Curtis: Thank you for trusting me with such an important part of your lives. It was an absolute pleasure to share this experience with you and your loved ones!

Jennifer
Destination Wedding Planner