When people dream of their weddings they often dream of having them in faraway and exciting places such as Europe or Mexico. Having them in a foreign location guarantees that the wedding will be memorable, but a lot of times the weddings can be inconvenient for the guests for a few different reasons. As exciting as a destination wedding can be, there may be a few things for one to consider before booking the place, because if one wants a large guest list a destination wedding can be problematic because of that.
It is expensive.
When a guest receives an invitation for a wedding that would involve a plane flight, for more it will automatically deter them from wanting to come. Plane tickets are expensive, so unless they have money to spare, they are not going to be able to come. If it’s a close few family members–or if bride and groom are somehow able to pay–they would love the destination as much as anyone else, but money is definitely a hindrance when it comes to going to a wedding. A thing to keep in mind here is that the more time they have to plan and save money the more likely they will be able to come.
It may be hard to get the time off of work.
For most people vacation time is limited. At most jobs, it averages around a week a year, and there’s a lot of reasons that they may not have vacation time left. They may have used it around a holiday or they may have gone on a family vacation. It’s also possible that they don’t even have vacation time. While some people are well off enough that they can take a few days to a week off of work without pay, most people aren’t going to be able to do that. This adds to the expenses too, as they may be losing money!
If they have pets or kids it makes it harder to plan.
Attending a destination wedding can be difficult enough without kids or pets, but this can make it more complicated. Finding childcare or boarding pets for days can be expensive and nerve-wracking. This might make people with families stay home, as they won’t want to deal with the hassle or expenses of finding a babysitter or pet sitter.
Some guests just don’t like traveling.
Some guests will hate long drives or flying or to be far away from their homes. They’d much prefer for the wedding to be close and convenient and may choose to not go if it’s going to involve a lot of traveling or staying at a hotel.
Ultimately though it is important to remember that it is not the bride and grooms’ job to make all of their guests happy on their wedding day. They should do what they want with understanding that a destination wedding might mean fewer guests. It is also important to remember that the farther out in advance it is planned, the more likely guests will be to come. With this, communication is key.
