When it comes to planning your wedding, one of the first things you and your fiancé will have to decide upon is a date and a location. In the beginning of the search for your wedding venue, it’s typical to have either a month or season in mind, but you may not know whether you want a local wedding or a destination wedding. In either instance, it is important to weigh the pros and cons of both a local wedding and a destination wedding to ensure that your decision is the right one for you.
Destination Weddings vs Local Weddings
Destination weddings can be a wonderful adventure, though they may also take quite a bit of work to plan. Consider the following pros and cons of hosting a destination wedding:
- Pro: You can create an amazing wedding experience at a unique or exotic location anywhere you choose. The world is your oyster!
- Pro: You and your guests will feel as though you are on vacation from the moment you arrive at your chosen destination, which will only further contribute to an amazing wedding experience.
- Pro: You have the opportunity to create a more intimate wedding, by inviting only your closest friends and family members to join you.
- Pro or Con (depending upon your personal preference): Destination weddings often tend to be more casual affairs than local weddings. This is, of course, not always the case and it depends on the specific destination and venue chosen. When selecting the perfect spot, you should consider whether you want your wedding to have a more casual or traditional feel. This may include attire, décor, or your wedding menu.
- Con: You may find that the cost of a destination wedding may require you to narrow down your guest list.
- Con: Your elderly family member(s) may not be able to attend your destination wedding as traveling a long distance might be too difficult.
- Con: Destination weddings have to be planned long-distance, which means that each and every detail may not turn out exactly as desired.
- Con: Your duties as hosts extend beyond just your wedding celebration. Since guests attending will have often traveled a long distance to arrive for your destination wedding, they will usually come a day or two early and leave a few days later. This means that you must take the time to ensure they are comfortable and entertained during their stay. Consider giving your guests ideas of activities to do and restaurants to eat at in the area. In many instances, the couple will host a welcome reception and/or a morning-after brunch.
- Con: While receiving gifts should never be a primary reason for deciding on a wedding location, you must understand that hosting a destination wedding may possibly mean that you receive fewer, and smaller wedding gifts. Since many of your guests will need to pay for their own travel arrangements, they may rightfully consider their presence at your wedding to be their greatest gift to you.
Local weddings can be seen as far more convenient for both the couple and guests. Consider the following pros and cons of hosting a local wedding:
- Pro: You can see the venue firsthand and do a full walk-through to ensure it has everything you need and want. This is not always possible with a destination wedding. The convenient location may also come in handy while sorting out specific wedding details. Scheduling a second walk-through or taking a video may help to refresh your memory about the venue so you are more comfortable settling on décor and setup details.
- Pro: You will have better control of wedding planning. When you plan a local wedding, you are far less likely to experience misunderstanding or miscommunications with local vendors who are being depended upon to deliver what is desired. Local vendors might also have already worked at your wedding venue and can give you insight on different things they’ve seen take place at past weddings.
- Pro: Your wedding can be as small and intimate or as large and welcoming as you desire. Guests are more easily able to attend weddings that are hosted locally, so you can truly have the exact size wedding you envision.
- Con: Your choice of a wedding date is likely to be influenced by local weather patterns. If you have your heart set on an outdoor wedding, for example, you will be unable to host such a wedding during the winter season in New England. This means you may have to compromise your date in order to have the weather and location you desire.
Making a Choice
Ultimately, deciding upon hosting a destination wedding or a local wedding will come down to your own personal preferences. Whether you choose to jet off to an island or say “I do” at a local lake, selecting the right venue and event professionals will have a big impact on ensuring that your wedding day is everything that you have envisioned. The Saphire Event Group fits this description perfectly, helping you to make your dream wedding a reality. If you’re searching for an indoor or outdoor wedding venue, ballroom wedding venue, tented wedding venue, or estate wedding venue, one of Saphire Event Group’s four Massachusetts venues will fit the mold of your perfect local or destination wedding in the Boston area.