Destination weddings are something many dream of but only a few go through with it. There are many reasons why the idea itself seems cumbersome. After all we are talking about moving 100s of people from one location to another, all at the same time, give or take a few days here and there. Many decisions need to be taken. Who travels business class and who is accommodated in economy (due to limited seats in business class)? Which airline is the most convenient for all your guests within a certain budget? And to complicate it all, for destination weddings in Europe probably most of your guests will require visas. Who will coordinate all the paper work required by the embassy and follow-up? Now this does not sound simple or easy.
But there is a method to this madness. It is no secret but just simple good planning.
Once you have selected your destination and know an approximate number of hotel rooms that are available, you will need to start with the essential task of trimming the guest list. Not an easy exercise for any Indian family. By the way it’s not always due to budget constraints. It is about availability of rooms in the same hotel or hotels in very close proximity to each other. Many luxury hotels and resorts in Europe not only have limited accommodation but their banquet halls are also relatively smaller. Only a few destinations have multiple luxury hotels located in close proximity or within walking distance. Even the richest of the rich trim their guest list considering these constraints.
Trimming of the guest list is not always due to to budget constraints.
Try and limit your guest list to your closest family members, friends and important business associates. Identify one person from the family or someone reliable to entrust the responsibility of gathering the RSVPs. Give the invited families enough time to decide but with a definite date by when the decision needs to be made.
Then depending on the country, a travel agency or the travel desk of a competent event agency/ wedding planner will be able to assist you with all the information and the paper work that needs to be procured from your guests for the visa. There should be one person from the family to follow-up on the status and delays, if any.
Only national flights of the destination and Air India fly directly to the destination.
In parallel to the task of securing the visas talk to as many international airlines operating on the route and compare quotes. The most comfortable option is to fly direct but this facility is available only from the national carriers of the destination or Air India. One stopover for a long flight is not bad. Airlines will be more than happy for the bulk booking and may even offer additional services as a goodwill gesture.
It is only natural to feel bogged down by the complexity of a destination wedding on the onset but having all the information and a good plan in your arsenal is all it takes. You will have total control over the situation and that too without any stress. Precisely for this reason we offer our destination wedding consultancy services to help those who have both the desire and the resources to have a destination wedding but are on the verge of giving up because they find it too complex and too cumbersome to pull it off.