5 Reasons To Book A Destination Wedding
Once you get engaged and begin planning the wedding of your dreams, aside from perhaps the dress, where you are actually going to tie the knot is more or less the first thing you and your partner need to think about. Will you get married in your local church? The park? Or how about on a beach?
A destination wedding is an amazing way to spend what is bound to be the most special day of your life. Let’s face it, weddings are quite a lot of effort, and are rather expensive events. Not just for you, but for your guests too! Why not justify all that cost by combining it with a dream holiday too?
If you still need convincing, here are five reasons why you should consider booking a destination wedding!
The location
It goes without saying that the actual destination itself is the number one reason to venture away from home! The world is your oyster!
Have you always longed to see the beautiful Caribbean beaches of Turks and Caicos or the stunning mountain views in Aspen? What about finally taking a cruise?
If you have always dreamed of visiting somewhere breathtakingly beautiful, your wedding is the perfect opportunity to finally tick something off your bucket list in the most special way possible.
There’s almost no limit to your options, so why let your dreams remain dreams? Make them a reality! It’s the most important day of your life, so don’t settle.
Guest list
Whether you want to invite your loved ones on what will probably be the best holiday of all of your lives, or you’re keen to keep it super intimate and invite absolutely nobody but the bride and groom, a destination wedding is the perfect excuse to control your guest list.
Destination weddings typically have around half as many guests as a wedding held closer to home, and it’s much easy to filter out the acquaintances who sometimes get invited out of awkwardness or obligation.
No need to feel guilty for not inviting your cousin’s new partner that you’ve never even met!
It’s also a lovely excuse to spend some quality time with the guests you do invite, as you typically have to arrive a few days before the ceremony for paperwork reasons… plenty of time to socialise before the big day and free yourself up from dashing around trying to catch up with everyone you haven’t seen in a while in one afternoon!
Picture perfect
Just think how incredible your wedding photos will be in your dream location! The scenery itself can often be all the decoration you need, and your photographer will have a very easy job capturing stunning memories!
You probably won't need to worry about the weather ruining your shoot, and you’ll be able to take away incredible photos of you and your partner looking your best, with a backdrop to match!
Even the guests will have so many instagrammable shots of your big day. No filter required!
There’s no denying it, great views make for great memories.
Reduced stress
You have far less to worry about if you choose a destination wedding. All the usual wedding planning is usually relinquished to a professional, leaving you with the responsibilities of finding dresses, tuxes, and rings.
Most resorts offer on-site wedding planners as part of their packages, along with everyone from photographers and chefs.
With plentiful food and drink, and everything taken care of, all that’s left for you and your guests to do is relax and enjoy yourselves!
It’s unique
Let’s face it, you’ve probably been to the same wedding with a different bride and groom a handful of times. While you can certainly mix it up with themes and decorations, at the end of the day, most weddings start to get a bit samey.
Sure, it’s convenient, but does where you live really have the potential to provide your dream wedding?
A truly perfect location can really set your wedding apart, and make it memorable for both you and your partner, and your guests.
Your wedding will be the one everybody is talking about for years to come!
5 Little Extras To Transform Your Wedding Reception
Planning the biggest day of you and your partners lies can be both extremely exciting and utterly exhausting. From the cake to the dress, the photographer to the place settings, there is a crazy amount of things to prepare for the big day.
One of the most fun things about planning your wedding is discovering things which will make it truly memorable for everyone and putting in the extra work to make sure that is the case.
If you are struggling to find that little sprinkle of magic, fear not, here’s five little extras to transform your wedding reception.
Luxury Portable Toilets
Holding a wedding reception outside can throw up a lot of extra issues that a traditional indoor wedding wouldn’t.
One of the biggest issues is providing somewhere to use the toilet. Holding your wedding in a beautiful country hotel means that the restrooms will likely be very comfortable and spacious, this normal contrasts quite horrifically against those tiny blue boxes that pass for portable toilets.
Thankfully, the world of portable toilets has changed massively if you’re happy to spend a little extra. There are now lots of luxury portable toilets which you can hire which are so lovely inside your guests will forget they are outside at all.
To get an idea of the difference in quality between the standard portable toilet and a luxury portable toilet, take a look at Event Washrooms.
Personalised Signs
Whether you’re holding your wedding reception in a hotel or marquee, the one challenge you have is making the venue personalised. Many other people have likely been married there, so you’d want to make sure things look a little different for your special day.
One of the ways to achieve this is by creating some personalised signs. These could be in the style of a road traffic sign, the same as the street you live on or grew up on or maybe in the logo state of your favourite band.
Whatever your favoured style, you could position them around the venue, guiding your guests to different rooms and facilities, perhaps with a personalised message on each.
Take a look at Personalised Creations for a bit of inspiration and let your imagination run wild!
Light Up Letters
Another way to add that personal touch to your venue on the big day is to hire some big bold lighting creations.
There are lots of options out there to check out such as those offered by Light It Up UK who have letters, shapes and numbers for you to create the perfect backdrop for your reception.
Imagine your initials lit up in 4 feet tall lights on the stage of your reception or set up as the backdrop to a beautiful photo area, amazing!
Polaroid Guest Book
Clearly, you’re going to document the biggest day of your life with a professional photographer, but how about something a little more personal alongside it?
Get yourself a few Polaroid cameras and place one on each of the guest tables along with a scrapbook. Encourage guests to take a picture of themselves, stick it in a page of the book and write a note alongside it.
This gives everyone a chance to offer a slightly more personal comment which might otherwise not be possible in person because of how frantic the day will likely be.
Food Stalls
Often, when it’s time to eat at a wedding, it can often feel like something to get out the way rather than enjoy. So, why not make it more of a feature?
Why not try planning a number of street food vendors to serve a variety of delicious dishes from their stalls? This can make the food a great point of conversation and ensure your wedding is one all of your guests won’t forget for a very long time.
If you fancy something different to the routine buffet, take a look at places like streetfood.org.uk where you can find vendors serving every possible type of cuisine.
3 Reasons Why The Lake District Makes The Perfect Wedding Destination
One just has to see or have previously visited the Lake District to fall in love with its lush greenery, awe inspiring scenery and the warmth and rural charm of both its landscapes and locals. With the Lake District being a popular destination for Yorkshire couples we felt like giving this beautiful place a bit of a shoutout. For those yet to visit or discover one of the UK’s best loved regions though, here are three of the reasons why millions more don’t just choose to visit but why many of whom also choose to wed in the Lakes.
The Most Romantic Region – Literally and Literarily
Where in England is more romantic literarily as well as literally than the British Lake District? Spanning 2292 square kilometres (or 885 miles), the Lake District is a National Park and area of over half a million acres of recognised outstanding beauty located in the north West of England.
Deriving its name from the simple fact the region is home to a staggering amount of lakes, over 16 in fact, the largest and perhaps most famous it is home to is that of Lake Windermere, where William Wordsworth would when the Lake froze over in winter rush out with his ice skates in one hand and a kitchen chair in the other to skate its great expanses. The chair was for Dorothy, Wordsworth’s sister and famous diarist in her own right; Dorothy encumbered by her dress found it difficult to ice skate so her brother was often seen pushing her on a kitchen chair about the frozen lakes. Suffice to say, for a poet then and now, the Lake District is a magical and inspirational place. And this is exactly why so many artists, poets and creative types have and continue to be drawn to the region.
To learn more about the region that inspired the most famous and best loved poem in the English Language, and what that poem is for those who don’t already know, visit the Wordsworth Trust and Museum website. Whilst visiting the site, you can also take the opportunity to learn more about the region, after all, Wordsworth might have helped to popularise the Lakes, but the region has long been one synonymous with romance, natural wonder and continues in 2016 to enthral, entice and enchant those who continue to visit and holiday thee year on year. In fact, the Lake District welcomes over 17 million visitors every year who come to take in and awe over its almost 15,000 archaeological sites and ancient monuments, 1760 listed building and stunning architecture and explore, adventure and delight in its breath taking scenery.
The Best in English Country House Hotel Venues
Providing some of the most stunning architecture in Cumbria and most luxurious and quintessential English dwellings and country houses, it is no wonder why the majority of those who opt to wed in the Lake District do so within one of its many English country house hotels; one only has to see Cragwood Country House Hotel or Briery Wood Country House Hotel (to see both for yourself and see what we mean you can do so via the Lake District County Hotels website), to fall in love with these venues; offering the perfect mix of modern luxury and old world comfort and with grounds and views to guarantee the most magical wedding photographs, for those looking for a romantic, traditional English wedding in one of the country’s most idyllic regions, the Lake District makes a fantastic choice.
Further, the Lake District also makes the ideal region in which to remain after a wedding to enjoy a honeymoon. To learn why and what you could get up to, should you choose to linger in the Lakes after your big day and the bg adventures to be had in the region, visit the Go Lakes website. Suffice to say, the region is not just full of stunning scenery, lakes and mountains, but is also brimful with things to do whether you enjoy arts and crafts, fell walking, boating, shopping or are a couple of real foodies.
Inspiring Wedding Ideas and Special Touches
When it comes to furnishing weddings with a special touch, the Lake District has it covered; for example those in love with the Lakes might opt to gift favours of the Lake District Waterhead Bar & Grill roasted coffee beans as suggested via the English Lakes Blog feature: 8 Creative Wedding Favour Ideas, or opt for an even sweeter touch and indulge their guests with some Grasmere Gingerbread hearts.
Another great idea for a Lake District wedding is to consider reading a romantic poem at your ceremony or reception, such as Romantic poet, Lord Byron’s: She Walks in Beauty, which you can read via the Poetry Foundation website or some Keats (another Poet of the Romantic Period) whose poem from Endymion is actually one of the Poetry Foundation Editor’s Own Wedding Poem Picks.
Lastly, no Lake District wedding would be complete without taking inspiration rather literally from the absolute wealth of greenery and lush botany the Lakes have to offer. Hence, when choosing your own wedding flower arrangements consider opting for a Lakes grown arrangement such as those created by The Floristry. Situated in Staveley, The Floristry is one of the most popular Lake District florist’s and proving so popular with wedding couples in recent years that they also make and provide equally stunning, Lake’s made wedding cakes.
Why You Should Have An Unplugged Wedding
You spend months (sometimes years) planning your wedding day, the most important day of your life no matter what age you are when you get married. If the thought of having your guests pull out a cell phone or tablet during your wedding doesn’t sit right with you, then you may want to consider having an unplugged wedding.
To ensure that your wishes are met, you will need to ask everyone on your guest list that mobile devices need to be left home. If your wedding guests have to bring their mobile phones then be sure that they are aware of the fact that you don’t want them to use it throughout the day. Ideally, this is information that should be included in your wedding invitations.
You are paying your wedding photographer anyway
One good reason to have an unplugged wedding is to avoid your guests interfering with your photographer. Guests can often inadvertently ruin a shot your wedding photographer is trying to get by taking their own at the same time and blocking the photographers view.
Chances are that your guests will be more willing to refrain from taking their own photos if you make them aware that they will have easy access to the photos your professional photographer takes. Many wedding photographers can get at least some of your photos to you within a few days of your wedding so that you can share them with those who were present, as soon as possible.
Hire a photo booth
A fun way to get your guests to cooperate with the unplugged rule is to rent a photobooth for your wedding reception. This can be set up at your venue and allows your guests to take pictures without interfering with the flow of the day. Photobooths can be a fun way to bring together guests that may not have met prior to your wedding.
Be there!
Are your guests really 'there' during the important moments of you saying 'I do'? Are they paying more attention to what is being said or are they trying to share a picture of you they had just taken on Facebook?
However, some couples choose to ban phones from their wedding ceremony but still allow them at the wedding reception. If this is an idea that interests you, your guests may be more likely to cooperate during the ceremony knowing they can take pictures during the reception.
Your wedding day should be everything you want it to be. Don’t be afraid to stick to your plan and consider designating someone in your wedding party to keep an eye on the guests and make sure they respect your wishes.