Destination Wedding Photography by Joseph Kohn

More and more brides today are choosing destination weddings over traditional ceremonies. There are several reasons for that. First, destination weddings often combine the wedding and the honeymoon. Second, having your wedding away from home usually means that only the closest friends and family will accompany you and you do not have to invite your cousin’s best friend from middle school. In addition, destination weddings allow the newlywed couple to host an out-of-the ordinary ceremony and to check out a new location or return to a beloved spot. Of course, destination weddings are not for everyone. For instance, if you always dreamed of having a formal wedding attended by hundreds of guests, destination wedding is probably not for you. However, if you love to travel and prefer to have a smaller, less formal wedding, tying the knot in another country or even another state should be appealing to you. See sample destination wedding album.

The number of locations where you can get married is literally unlimited, from the picturesque beaches in Mexico and the Caribbean to the elegant villas of France and Italy. If you are apprehensive about planning a wedding far from home, relax. With destination weddings being a growing trend, there are a number of professionals who can help you with the planning process. Furthermore, many hotels and resorts offer wedding packages customized to different needs and budgets. In fact, most destination weddings are easier to plan than hometown ceremonies. Do you want to know something else? They are sometimes less expensive, especially if your wedding would have been in a big city like New York or San Francisco.

There are a number of things you should keep in mind when planning your destination wedding. Most important perhaps is forewarning your guests about your plan to get married away from home as soon as possible. Give them ample time to prepare for the trip and assume that not everyone will be able to make it. Hopefully, all the truly important people will come. If getting married abroad, you should research the particular country’s marriage laws and ensure that you have the necessary visas, immunizations and that your passport is up to date. Consider giving your guests a special welcome. Organize a tour, a luncheon or put gift baskets in their room. After all, they traveled all this way to share your big day with you and deserve a little pampering. Also, check out group discounts with hotels/airlines, which may save you and your guests some money. I know that this may look like a lot of work, but chances are it would be even more work planning a big wedding in your hometown. And again, there are plenty of destination wedding specialists who will be happy to help you with all of this.

Any wedding, no matter how small, requires the use of vendors. It does not matter if you are getting hitched in Manhattan or on a remote island in the Pacific, you will need a caterer, florist, officiant, etc. While your destination site is likely to offer all the necessary vendors, you are not obligated to hire the locals. If you admire a florist from your hometown, feel free to ask her to come along. If you absolutely adore the work of a photographer from another state, consider hiring him. Regardless of whether you choose local vendors or bring your own, do spend a good amount of time reviewing their websites and communicating with the couples who worked with them in the past. This is especially important when choosing a photographer. Remember the cake will be eaten, the flowers will wilt, but the photos from your wedding will stay with you for a lifetime and will be passed on to future generations.

In the past, it was always highly recommended that the couple personally meets with several photographers before making a commitment. Today, however, interactive websites and high quality slideshows allow people to review the photographer’s work without ever making a personal appointment. If you are taking that route and not meeting your photographer, have an in-depth phone interview and make sure to communicate with couples who used his services in the past. Do obtain at least three references and make sure that you have a good rapport with the photographer. If after having an in-depth conversation with a prospective photographer you feel that your personalities do not click, do not hire this person! Not having a good relationship with your photographer will affect the quality of pictures. Before choosing a photographer, determine what photography style you like best. Nowadays, the two main trends are traditional and photojournalism. Photographers working in traditional style focus on taking formal portraits, while photojournalists concentrate on taking candid shots. If you prefer photojournalism but worry about the lack of family portraits, bring this issue up with your photographer. Most photojournalists understand the importance of family portraits and will leave a time slot for a formal photo session.

Regardless of how small and informal your destination wedding, it still requires some planning and commitment on your part and you will still experience a little stress. Hopefully, this little write-up will give you some ideas about how to plan your wedding away from home and will relieve some of your stress. Above all, I hope that your destination wedding turns out to be a wonderful experience for you and your loved ones and you will always cherish the memory of your wedding day.

Albums shown above are unique way to present your wedding. See more samples here.

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