Your Biggest Destination Wedding Etiquette Questions, Answered (2024)

What’s better than planning a wedding? How about planning a spectacular destination wedding and inviting the people you love to join you? Whether you’re heading to a white sand beach or a centuries-old European city, a destination wedding is hard to beat. Of course, planning a far-flung wedding comes with its own list of logistical problems and etiquette questions. Who do you invite? Do you pay for their accommodations? How do you travel with your wedding dress?

We’ve rounded up the most common destination wedding etiquette questions to help you navigate the choppy waters and make sure your celebration continues with smooth sailing.

Everything You Need to Know When Planning a Destination Wedding, According to the Experts

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Can We Have an Intimate Destination Wedding, Then Celebrate When We Get Back?

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Absolutely! When you’re planning a wedding abroad, you’ll most likely end up with a smaller guest list. That may be due to your preferences, the size of your venue, or how many loved ones are ultimately able to attend a far-flung celebration. If all of these factors mean that your nuptials will only include a dozen or so guests, you can absolutely invite the rest of your family and friends to join you for a reception once you’re home. You could go full throttle with a traditional wedding reception (white dress, live band, and cake included) or keep it more casual with a co*cktail celebration or backyard barbecue—ultimately, it's up to you!

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When Should We Send Our Save-the-Dates?

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If you’re going to ask guests to book flights (and even bust out their passports) for your wedding, make sure to give them ample time to make travel plans. Instead of the four-month lead time for a local wedding, you’ll want to send destination save-the-dates at least six months in advance—and should have all the travel details outlined on your wedding website before you send invitations at the 12-week mark.

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What Do We Need to Include on the Invitation?

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Unlike a traditional wedding invitation, you need to give your guests a lot more information when you’re asking them to join you out of town. In addition to your actual invitation, you’ll want an information card outlining all of the events you’ve planned so guests know how long to be in town. The weekend itinerary should include the date, time, and location of each event. You’ll also want to print a card with lodging details—whether that’s a huge house you’ve reserved for the group or the local hotels where you have room blocks (plus, information on how to get discounts!).

A wedding website is a great idea, especially for celebrations with a lot of logistics. This will allow you to put everything in one place, as well as include details about transportation and local activities.

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What’s the Best Way to Travel With My Wedding Dress, Suit, or Other Formal Attire?

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Traveling with formal attire—a wedding dress, suit, tuxedo, you name it!—is one of the trickier parts of planning a destination wedding. The easiest option (especially if your dress has a slim silhouette instead of a full skirt or if you're packing a suit or tux) is to carry it in a garment bag as your carry-on. Ask a flight attendant if it's at all possible to hang the garment bag in the hanging space for first class or, if the plane doesn’t have a closet, wait until all of the rolling bags have been stowed, then lay your dress on top of the suitcases. If the fabric isn’t prone to wrinkling, you could also carefully fold the dress and tuck it into your own carry-on suitcase.

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Do We Have to Pay for Our Wedding Party’s Travel and Accommodations?

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Here’s some good news: You are not obligated to foot the bill for any of your wedding party’s travel expenses. That being said, you should try to hook them up as much as possible. Offer reasonably priced lodging options, or consider renting a house instead of hotel rooms so everyone can crash together (at a much more reasonable price). Let them know about your plans ASAP so they can start shopping around for deals on airfare, too.

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Do We Have to Pay for Our Guests' Meals, Aside from at Our Reception?

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While the only food you must pay for is what’s served during the festivities (rehearsal dinner, wedding-day meals for the wedding party, the reception dinner, and morning-after brunch), it’s a kind gesture to pick up the tab at least one other time if you’re asking your guests to join you for more than three days, like at a welcome dinner or lunch on the beach. If you can afford it, paying for one meal a day for your wedding party (such as daily breakfast) will help offset their expenses.

Insights, advice, suggestions, feedback and comments from experts

As an expert in destination weddings, I can provide you with information related to the concepts mentioned in this article. Let's dive into each concept:

Intimate Destination Weddings and Celebrations

When planning a destination wedding, it is common to have a smaller guest list due to various factors such as venue size, preferences, and the ability of loved ones to attend. If your destination wedding includes only a few guests, you can invite the rest of your family and friends to join you for a reception once you're back home. The reception can be a traditional wedding reception or a more casual celebration like a co*cktail party or backyard barbecue.

Sending Save-the-Dates for Destination Weddings

For destination weddings, it's important to give your guests ample time to make travel plans. Instead of the usual four-month lead time for local weddings, it is recommended to send save-the-dates for destination weddings at least six months in advance. Additionally, all travel details should be outlined on your wedding website before sending out formal invitations at the 12-week mark.

Including Information on the Invitation

When inviting guests to a destination wedding, it's essential to provide them with more information compared to traditional wedding invitations. Along with the actual invitation, you should include an information card that outlines all the planned events, including the date, time, and location of each event. It's also helpful to provide details about lodging options, such as reserved group houses or local hotels with room blocks. Creating a wedding website is a great way to centralize all the information and include additional details about transportation and local activities .

Traveling with Wedding Attire

Traveling with formal attire, such as a wedding dress, suit, or tuxedo, can be challenging for destination weddings. One option is to carry the attire in a garment bag as your carry-on. You can ask a flight attendant if it's possible to hang the garment bag in the hanging space for first class or, if there's no closet, lay the dress on top of the suitcases once all rolling bags have been stowed. If the fabric isn't prone to wrinkling, you can also carefully fold the dress and pack it in your own carry-on suitcase .

Wedding Party's Travel and Accommodations

While you are not obligated to pay for your wedding party's travel expenses, it's considerate to help them as much as possible. You can offer reasonably priced lodging options or consider renting a house instead of hotel rooms so everyone can stay together at a more affordable price. It's important to inform your wedding party about your plans as early as possible so they can start looking for deals on airfare.

Guests' Meals and Expenses

As the couple getting married, you are responsible for paying for the meals served during the festivities, including the rehearsal dinner, wedding-day meals for the wedding party, the reception dinner, and the morning-after brunch. However, it's a kind gesture to consider paying for at least one additional meal if you're asking your guests to join you for more than three days, such as a welcome dinner or lunch on the beach. If you can afford it, paying for one meal a day for your wedding party, like daily breakfast, can help offset their expenses .

I hope this information helps you navigate the etiquette and logistics of planning a destination wedding. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!