The salty scent of the sea, the balmy breeze, the lush foliage: There’s something undeniably romantic about a beach. Perhaps that’s why so many couples in St. Louis and across the country, head to tropical climes to say ‘I do.’
With so many destination, transportation and hotel options, planning a destination wedding can seem daunting, but a travel agent can take the stress out of the process and help couples consider all the factors, says Marcie Boyle, a destination wedding and group travel specialist with Chesterfield-based Travel Leaders. Do you have elderly family members you would like there? If your heart is set on a hard-to-reach or expensive destination, will you mind if fewer friends and family show up?
“We make recommendations based on couples’ budgets, and then help narrow it down to some good fits,” Boyle says. “We also help personalize the trip for wedding guests, so they can upgrade their room or extend their stay if they wish.”
[the pros]
Besides killer photos and a weekend that’s sure to be remembered, a destination wedding comes with a host of other pros, Boyle says.
- It can be cost-effective. Many all-inclusive properties have a free wedding package if you book a certain number of rooms.
- It can help eliminate family drama. Invite lists to destination weddings are generally smaller, so no need to fret about offending a co-worker or your mom’s second cousin.
- It can provide a more intimate setting. “The people who go are the people who matter the most, and couples can spend more time with guests than they would be able to at a conventional wedding,” says Boyle.
- Couples can go straight from their reception to their honeymoon.
[by the numbers]
Recent years have seen a rise in destination weddings, says Boyle, who has noticed an uptick of about 20 to 25 percent in the past five years. This is supported by data from The Knot’s 2013 Real Weddings and 2012 Destination Wedding studies.
- Almost a quarter of all weddings are destination weddings, with more than 350,000 destination weddings each year.
- Destination weddings have an average of 86 guests in attendance.
- The Caribbean, Mexico and Hawaii are the most popular locales outside the continental U.S. This holds true for St. Louis couples,” Boyle says. “We book for Riveria Maya, Cancun and Jamaica, and we’re also currently working on weddings in St. Lucia and Turks & Caicos.”
- Nearly 70 percent of destination weddings are held outdoors.