Who is guilty of holding their breath when opening a wedding invite, and praying that the location is somewhere warmer, colder, more tropical or more picturesque then home?
It’s not that you aren’t ecstatic for the happy couple, it’s just that a location wedding is a holiday rolled in. if you are considering a location wedding for your special day, then you will be very popular, but you might also be a little out of your depth in what to do and how to plan this. Read this guide and implement these ideas, and your wedding planning will feel less disjointed and easier to manage.
Well, where is the location?
Your planning can’t really start until you select your location, so here are some helpful hints and qualifiers you can use to rule out or rule in your shortlist. You want to consider a distance that is manageable for your grandparents and baby nieces alike – you want a full attendance after all. What is the weather like in the location you are thinking at the time you are thinking – is this something you can do all year round, or will you need to use Melbourne marquee hire, or whenever your location is to be? Finally, what are the accommodation options and how easy is it get there – a flight over might be fine, but a six-hour drive to the venue from the airport might be a literal bridge too far?
Try and choose an all-in-one venue
Hotel weddings can be a great option if you are having a location wedding, as you have access to their event space, their event planning team, their full catering/team of chefs and accommodation options. You also have local planning your wedding and can leverage the many ideas, connections and years of experience they have in planning weddings in that venue. The accommodation option can also not be understated, and your guests will appreciate the convenience of simply travelling a couple of floors up at the end of the night. If you wanted to do some group activities before and after your big day, it will be easier to coordinate with everyone staying in the same place. You might even be able to wrangle a shuttle bus that transports your guests to and from the airport and other local attractions.
Notify your guests in advance
It’s customary to send a wedding invite out six to eight weeks in advance, but you will have to consider a longer lead time for a location wedding. If you have locked away the location, there is no reason why you can’t send out a save the date three or more months in advance. Your guests will have to book flights or transport, book accommodation and will have to apply for annual leave in some circumstances. The more time you give, the more RSVP’s you can expect. Remember that you can still send a save the date with only a few details locked away, they simply need to know the location and the dates – and the rest can be communicated with the formal invitation that comes later.
Choosing the location, the venue and informing your guests is the easy part – from there you illustrate your perfect wedding to a team of planners and watch the magic come to life. If you don’t wish to have a hotel wedding, you may need to hire an external wedding planner to be on the ground and making plans and decisions based on your brief. If it becomes too much you can also elect a couple of members from your family to help plan certain parts of the wedding. Who doesn’t love to be involved in a beautiful location wedding?
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