Which girl hasn’t sighed and daydreamed when looking at news about celebrities’ destination weddings. Be it at a castle in Italy (Tom Cruise-Katie Holmes), a 17th century palace in France (Eva Longoria-Tony Parker)or beach weddings (Ben Affleck-Jennifer Garner, Mariah Carey-Nick Cannon) with the beautiful sunset as backdrop, destination weddings have long been the forte of celebrities and the wealthy. Our own exotic India has been the choice of setting for several, including most recently Katy Perry-Russell Brand.
Destination Wedding for You
It is really no surprise that destination weddings are fast becoming the norm for today’s brides and grooms. With some extensive planning, it need not be as expensive an affair as some are afraid it’s going to be. You can have a destination wedding well within your budget and some to spare for your honeymoon too.
Palace, Beach or Mountains?
The big realm of www is a great place to start your research. First establish what kind of wedding you want – a palatial one where you will be the princess in everyone’s eyes, a laid-back beach wedding at romantic sundown, a green event amidst the backwaters or a cool misty wedding with foggy mountains in the background. Whichever you decide on, no need to look any further than our own backyard for a venue – Rajasthan, Goa, Kerala, Shimla, Kashmir, Ooty, etc. are all destination wedding locations which don’t require a passport.
Planning, Planning and More Planning
Next step is to look for wedding packages online and call the concierge for the prices. Know that it is OK to bargain for a deal depending on the number of guests you have, rooms you will need and days you will stay. A wedding planner can be helpful here as they know how to negotiate to get the best deal for you.
One way to keep the cost down is to have your wedding during the off-season if possible. However, also keep in mind that off-season usually means bad timing for weather in that part of the country but if it is an indoor wedding there should be no issues.
The Guest List
Another practical budget solution is to cut the guest list to include just close family and friends. A wedding reception back home later for everyone else will suffice as they know you got married out of town and they most probably wouldn’t have been able to make it there anyway.
Renting a luxury bus or booking a comfortable AC coach in train to travel to the venue with close family and friends, instead of flying, will make it a cost-effective transportation. It also makes for a great bonding time with in-laws and kick starts the party pre-wedding.
Spare Change for Honeymoon
You can also roll your honeymoon in at the same destination to further reduce excess costs. What better way to spend it than in the honeymoon suite which most hotels will upgrade you to at no extra charge if you choose to continue there after the wedding. With all the guests gone, it will be the best place to enjoy some alone time and explore the beauty of your destination wedding venue at your leisure.
All you need is a good measure of planning, some creativity andyour loved ones to make any wedding, a worthy destination wedding of your dreams.