Virtual showroom
Book an appointment
Stores
Photo: Bella Bridesmaids Los Angeles | Cristiano Ostinelli
Destination weddings are the dream wedding. You’ll whisk your guests away from reality and jet off to somewhere fab.
But on top of all regular wedding planning details, the destination wedding planning process involves some extra factors.
This means when planning your getaway, it’s crucial that you zero in on the finer details.
To help, we created the ultimate to-do list — the only destination wedding planning checklist you need — to ensure nothing gets missed on your special day.
How To Get Bridesmaid Dresses for a Destination Wedding
Photo: Bella Bridesmaids Miami | Constantine
When the airline loses your bags, it’s a nightmare under normal circumstances. The nightmare escalates tenfold when that bag contains your wedding attire.
It’s not just you and your wedding dress, though. You’ve got your bridesmaids, the rest of the wedding party, and all their garments.
If your wedding destination is in the U.S., we’ve got you covered.
Here’s how it works:
Once you’ve picked out the bridesmaid dress, all your bridesmaids need to do is try it on and have it fitted in their home city’s Bella Bridesmaids location. Then, they’ll pick it up at the Bella store closest to your wedding location.
Problem solved.
Now that we’ve cleared that up, get ready for our ultimate destination wedding checklist.
Use our store locator to find the Bella Bridesmaids store closest to you!
12-18 Months Before the Wedding
Ideally, you should have plenty of time to organize a destination wedding. You’ll dedicate the 12 to 18 months before your big day to researching, planning, and preparing.
This is the time to get inspired.
You also need to deal with the practical details — budget, size of the wedding, and who you’ll invite.
A destination wedding will require your guests to plan and take more time off work. So you’ll want to give them more notice than you would if it were a local wedding.
During this phase, you need to:
9-12 Months Before the Wedding
Photo: Bella Bridesmaids Long Island | Jennifer Neves
By this point, you’ve done your research. You know where you’re going and who’s coming with you to celebrate.
Now’s the time to:
If you’re traveling internationally, there are additional considerations you need to take.
Be sure to research the requirements of the country where you’ll be getting married. Depending on where you’re going, you may need a visa or certain vaccines, and you and your guests will need to get passports ASAP if you don’t already have one.
Sometimes, working with a travel agent is a good idea to help clarify what you need when traveling abroad.
6-8 Months Before the Wedding
The plan is starting to come to fruition. You’ll spend these months taking care of all the details that need to happen and making sure your guests get the information they need.
Here’s what you need to do:
3-5 Months Before the Wedding
Photo: Bella Bridesmaids Las Vegas | Dmitriy Koltsov
During this phase of planning, make sure you have coffee. You don’t want to miss these details, and it doesn’t hurt to be prepared with a little extra caffeine to help you make it through.
Now is the time to:
1-2 Months Before the Wedding
You’re in the home stretch, and it’s time to finalize the last of those logistical details:
2-4 Weeks Before the Wedding
It’s time to double-check your work. Review your list and all the travel and accommodation details to ensure all the necessary arrangements are in place.
Here’s what you’ll do next:
Arrival at the Wedding Destination
Photo: Bella Bridesmaids Tampa | Iyrus Weddings
You’re here, it’s happening! Take a quick moment to pause and soak up the magic…
There are a few more tasks to check off your list:
Preparing for the Big Day
Most destination weddings don’t address this important aspect of planning:
When traveling, things happen that are often beyond the scope of your control.
Here are a few common pitfalls that may occur and some strategies to prevent them from happening to you:
Share the Load
You want to ensure nothing gets forgotten while also not exceeding packing limitations. So spread the wedding prep essentials out between your bridesmaids.
Have a few bring curling irons and task others with bringing hair spray and other essentials. Do your best to ensure you have a few different versions of what you need.
Also, don’t forget to pack and bring the wedding day emergency kit!
Access the Essentials
If you forget something or something is lost, be sure there’s a store with what you need near your wedding venue where you can restock.
If there isn’t any, pay extra careful attention when packing to ensure you’re not forgetting something vital.
Now, finally, you can relax.
All your meticulous planning and preparation have landed you here. Bask in the moment. Enjoy both the epic vacation and your ‘I do’ celebration.
Nothing beats sharing your nuptials with your family members and loved ones.
Follow us on social media for more wedding inspo!
