What to Expect from Destination Wedding Planners

Destination wedding planners can help alleviate much of the stress of planning a destination wedding. Similar to travel agents, they work with thousands of properties around the world and can help coordinate all of the details involved with a destination wedding--airfare, accommodations, marriage license paperwork, reception arrangements, and guests' flights and hotel accommodations. Registering with a destination wedding planner is easy. Most companies require a small "commitment deposit," that is applicable toward your wedding expenses. This is just to show that you are serious about planning a destination wedding and that you intend to use that company before the planner goes to hours of work putting together a package just for you. Destination wedding planners know the language of group hotel and banquet contracts. They can steer you away from clauses that are not to your advantage, such as a common hotel practice of requiring the host to pay for rooms that are booked, but later canceled. Another benefit of using a destination wedding company, such as Destination Weddings.com, is that most such companies will set up a special wedding Web site for you, where you can post photographs, details of the wedding, and wedding registry information.