Planning A Destination Wedding From Ireland
Over the last few weeks, I’ve had a complete influx of couples coming to me asking about getting married abroad. I can completely understand this as restrictions have lifted and so many of us are dying to get out and see the world!
Planning a wedding in Ireland is no easy task but then try planning a destination wedding from Ireland and you’ve a whole extra layer of confusion. I’ve been in the very fortunate position to attend four destination weddings and they were all so beautiful. You get more than a wedding day, the wedding really extends for the days that the wedding party is present. I’ve been to weddings in Italy twice, Spain and Portugal. At all weddings, there was glorious heat, amazing wine & food and interesting venues. Don’t get me wrong, as a guest it is a bigger undertaking financially but when its very close family and friends it’s so worth it. Getting married abroad also clears out the people that are probably not that close to you but unfortunately some important guests may not be able to travel.
To get yourself started, it’s all about destination selection. For some of you, you can short circuit this as you will know a destination that you’ve both been to or have seen online. That’s fantastic and you will at least cut out the next step.
If you do not know which destination then you need to start considering ‘Where’. A few things to consider as you think about destination:
- Is information readily available – this is so important as there are going to be many events such as finding suppliers that you will need to be able to find online, if at this early stage you cannot find great information then you need to start looking for a destination planner or start looking at Irish wedding suppliers that will travel over.
- Legalities – Every destination has a different way of doing things. For example, in France you need residency for 30 days in advance of your wedding. Other’s have specific requirements around paperwork.
- Cost – You will need to assess the cost for guests to attend, are flights reasonable as well as accommodation. Also you will need to have a look at how much it will cost you. For example, whilst a Chateau in the South of France is everything you’ve ever dreamed of, it could cost you an arm and a leg. You also have to bear in mind that you will be taking several trips before the wedding for planning and that will clock up over the course of the year.
- Accessibility – Are you within a reasonable distance from an airport or main transport route. The last thing you want is guests travelling for 3-4 hours. They’ll lose so much important partying time.
- Recommendations – Can you find any key reviews from couples who have got married in different locations that you have looked at.
- Planners – Can you find a planner who is either based there or at home and used to dealing with Irish couples getting married in those locations.
- Weather – You may be deciding on Mexico or Europe…. where ever you decide, one thing to consider is the weather system for the time of year that your wish to get married. It could be tropical rain season in some destinations or temperatures could reach unbearable heights and you and your guests could be uncomfortable.
Once you have settled on your destination, you have a choice, go alone or get a planner. Personally, I would save myself the heartache and get a planner. It will save you stress and money in the long run. We have some planners here in Ireland that specialise in particular destinations across Europe and more. For example, take Special Days by Sue, she is based here in Ireland but travels to her core areas of Nerja. I know for a fact that she has a batch of venues, suppliers and accommodation ready to go for you to select from so you are saving hours of work. You just need to map the dates that you visit to view the different aspects and do tastings. Some destinations are primed for weddings and pretty much all of the venues have an in house planner as part of your package which also saves you a whole effort of time. The only thing is that you may not have the flexibility or creativity to do other experiences outside of the main wedding day.
A very important step is to look at the paperwork or legals very early on. I nod to this early on but the general advice is that you look up the local authorities in the destination where you wish to get married. They will have specific requirements that you have to fulfil to get legally married there. Alternatively, many couples avoid all of the headache of the legalities and get married here in Ireland first and then do a non- legal ceremony in that country. It makes life a whole lot easier. Even down to the piece where you may want to find an English speaking priest or officiant for your day. Some destinations are better stocked for this than others!
A few standard pieces of paperwork that most destinations want you to provide to get legally married in their jurisdiction include ‘Freedom to marry’ certificate. The department of foreign affairs provide you with this. You can apply online and it’s €66 and you need to apply for this at least 4 months before your big day. I would advise getting in earlier as the service can experience delays. You will need to register your intent to marry in that country. If you don’t do this, your marriage wont be recognised in Ireland.
Booking:
Once you’ve settled on a location, you then start to move in to the same wedding planning journey as you would here in Ireland. You need to start finding your wedding venue and suppliers. If you are working with a planner, more than likely they will have a pre meet with you either virtually or by phone. At that stage, they will start filtering options that they believe are the right fit for what you want for your day. They will send you your options and once you agree on what you are interested on seeing more of, you arrange a date to fly out and visit the core venues that you’ve chosen. Once you do that part, you will sit down and do the financials with your planner or venue. Once you settle on main venue and pricing, you proceed to book all other date sensitive items such as band, photographer and videographer. Both your planner or venue planner will more than likely have a list of suppliers that are reputable and specific to that location. Alternatively, you may have suppliers in Ireland that you want to bring out. One thing to note…..hair and make up in prime wedding destinations are never as good as the talent we have here on our doorstep. You may decide to fly out your hair and make up and it’s not uncommon to do so.
Also, one thing that many brides overlook and then panic before is tanning! If you aren’t out in the destination for a good period of time in the run up, you may want to build up your tan through a good spray tan. Many of the sun destinations don’t have great services for this so you will need to work on either a self tan approach or plan to do yours before you go over. I have some tips from Bellamianta on self tanning for your own wedding.
When the date sensitive items are booked, you are pretty much good to go. Through the duration of your planning, you may make a few trips depending on how many times you feel you need to be present in person to meet or approve certain suppliers. You will also need to do the trip for menu tasting. It’s important that you discuss with your planner or venue the timelines that require you to be there in person as the ideal situation is that you book your flights for those trips well in advance to keep costs down. Aim to centre yourself in one place when you are there, you don’t want to be running to several locations to meet suppliers when you are only in for a short break. Aim to have a central location where you can coordinate your meetings.
One thing to note is that if you are looking to add your personalised decor, that will have to be transported to your location and stored. Many of the venues don’t like holding stock for any period beyond the week of your wedding and also for yourself if you plan on transporting, you may aim to split across various people to keep the cost on baggage down.
Other than that, you are literally scanning your supplier choice and preparing as you would a wedding at home. You can see general steps in the Getting Started section.
I hope that helps!
Sara xx
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