Popular Dates for Destination Weddings

{Beautiful Red & Turquoise themed wedding from here.}

Location is the most important facet of planning a Destination Wedding - but the wedding date you choose is an easy second. This date will be commemorated on everything from silver photo frames, to your champagne glasses, and the framed copy of your formal wedding invitation. There are no written rules on what date you should pick... really any date of the year will print the same.  

I picked 10-15-05 because I liked the combination of ones and fives. You can also add more meaning to your event by picking a date that is sentimental to you and your family. October 15th is also my mother's birthday. She was generous to share her special day with us.

It can also be fun to pick a date with a play on numbers. This year we did see the date of 10-10-10 as one of the most popular. For 2011, I already have weddings on the books for 9-10-11 and 11-11-11. 

Any other fun dates you've considered?

Enjoy,

Sample Welcome Letters & Itinerary

Last week, I pulled out my wedding chest, opened a bottle of wine and finally sat down to fondle the wonderful bits and pieces of wedding paraphernalia that I had tucked away during those 12 months of planning in 2004/2005. We married in October 2005 in Negril, Jamaica at the Rockhouse Hotel. Living in Miami at the time, 2005 was a very busy season for us, losing part of our roof to hurricanes Rita & Katrina and then nearly escaping Wilma as her dark clouds formed the backdrop to our nuptials in Negril. We decided to move to Atlanta shortly after our honeymoon and were packed, shipped, and delivered within 30 days, just in time to celebrate the holidays in our new house. After relocating here, we were off and running expanding my business and our family. Last week, I finally had time to peel the tape of this special box and explore what was worthy of sharing with my clients!

First, is our Welcome Letter - hastily drafted on our way to the airport - but it served the purpose of letting our guests know our appreciation for their presence:

And here is our itinerary. With a guest list of 250 and 120 expected to attend, we were limited on the activities we felt necessary to pay for. Yet, we wanted our guests to know what their entertainment and dining options were. It is also a great idea to remind your Destination Wedding guests of your ceremony time once they are on island, as they have likely long forgotten the time printed on your invitation.


You can clicked the pictures for larger views! Enjoy!

The Dress

(UPDATE!! Here is the dress! And there are a few more photos in the right hand menu of this blog...)

I have been really busy with out-of-town company. A few of my girlfriends from Arizona and my cousins came to visit to help me do some wedding shopping. Not that I needed help in the shopping department, but rather because I needed an audience for my wedding dress shopping extravaganza. What an adventure it turned out to be! Would you believe that we had the most difficult time finding ANY beach worthy wedding dress options in Miami? The weather here is very similar to Jamaica, and other Destination Wedding locations and yet none of the bridal boutiques we visited had anything that qualified. All were either too poofy, too polyester, too long of a train, etc. 

After I had been stuffed, buttoned, and zipped, into about 50 "not perfect" gowns, I was feeling a panic attack coming on and just wanted to take my mind off the search for a while. So the girls and I changed directions and went on the hunt for other pieces that would make up my wedding wardrobe. We landed at Loehmann's and I scored a few off-the-rack designer duds at great prices. Just for kicks, I wandered into the formal gown section.... low and behold, there it was! Floor-length, matte ivory silk, spaghetti straps, fitted bodice, and two "flowey" layers with scalloped edges.... perfect. I put it on and it fit me like it was custom made just for my body! I don't even think it will need to be altered unless I lose more lbs than I intend to on my pre-wedding diet.  I think I can get away with a thorough dry clean and that's it! And, it's less expensive than any other formal gowns I own. How did that happen? 

Now, what is HE going to wear? HE wants to wear swim trunks... I joke that his desire to do so is a protection of sorts in case he decides to dive off the cliffs in the middle of our vows. However, one trip to Tommy Bahama and he will be done. (***UPDATE!!! See what he wore here!)