Destination Wedding Planning: The Pros and Cons
We’re willing to bet that you’re incredibly ambitious by nature. As a wedding planner, your work is so important to you. You’re always looking for new ways to challenge yourself and elevate your business. If this is the case and you’re currently trying to figure out the next step for your career, then we have 3 words for you: destination wedding planning!
As a destination wedding planner, you’ll be responsible for organizing and coordinating nuptials across the globe. By including this specialized service in your wedding planning business, you’ll be able to increase your profits and attract a larger clientele!
Want to learn more about what it’s like to be an expert in destination wedding planning? Let’s take a look at 3 of the most common pros and cons related to this profession…
Pro: Location won’t limit your clientele!
Operating a local-only business is great, but it does limit the number of clients you can attract. Planning destination weddings allows you to expand your business to reach a much larger audience. You can offer your services to local and long-distance customers alike!
These days, destination wedding planners often don’t need to meet their clients in-person until the final days leading up to the wedding (or even until the day of the wedding itself)! Thanks to today’s technology, plenty of destination wedding planners can meet with their clients, work with different vendors and organize events virtually – all without ever being together in the same room during the planning process!
Con: Regional laws can potentially make things tricky.
Organizing a local client’s wedding is a time-consuming, meticulous process as it is. When it comes to destination wedding planning, though, this process can get even trickier. For example, if the celebration will take place in a foreign country or even just in another state, you may to take specific laws and regulations into consideration to help your client obtain a legal marriage license.
The good news is that research will always be your best friend! The more information you gather to plan and prepare for a destination wedding, the less likely you and your client will be to come across any unexpected snags. If you do encounter any unforeseen challenges, thorough research and preparation will ensure that you know how to properly handle them.
Pro: You get to travel!
This part may seem obvious, but it’s still worth mentioning this exciting perk! Destination weddings revolve around travel. While some of your clients may simply wish to tie the knot a couple of cities over, others will want to say their vows in a breathtaking, exotic location.
Not all of your clients will require your assistance on the day of the wedding but many of them will. This means that where your clients go, you go! You’ll have the chance to expand your horizons and gain cultural experience on a personal level, as well as strengthen your skill-set as an industry professional.
No doubt, having vast wedding planning experience across a wide variety of different locations will look great on your resume!
Con: Not everyone will get to attend your client’s big day.
As a professional wedding planner, your job is to be there for your client to take any unnecessary stress of their shoulders. Sometimes, you’ll do this by handling the guest list. Unfortunately, destination weddings can be difficult for some people to attend. Whether it’s due to prior commitments or travel costs, not everyone who wants to be at a destination wedding will get to be there.
Depending on the invitee and their relationship to your client, this can be a hard blow. Luckily, you can find ways to help everyone make the best of a bad situation! If you notice that too many guests, or extremely important guests, are unable to attend your client’s destination wedding, you might suggest live-streaming their wedding online for guests who can’t make it!
Pro: You’ll get to network like crazy!
The more destination weddings you plan, the more industry experts you’ll meet from all around the world. What better way to build professional relationships and strengthen your network? Here are just a small handful of the different people you’ll have the pleasure of collaborating with through destination wedding planning:
- Vendors
- Suppliers
- Venues
- Florists
- Event decorators
- Musicians
- Chefs, pastry artists, caterers, etc.
- Makeup artists
- Hair stylists
- Photographers
- Videographers
This will also provide you with opportunity after opportunity to make lasting impressions, and build a solid reputation as an international destination wedding planner!
Con: Unexpected emergencies may feel a little more overwhelming.
Of course, unexpected situations happen – regardless of the kinds of weddings you plan. You can’t control everything, and sometimes, things won’t unfold as you intended. Emergencies that take place at destination weddings can be a bit more challenging to navigate than those at local weddings. After all, you’re all in a foreign, unfamiliar place. You might not have all of the resources at your disposal to solve problems as easily as you could have on your home turf.
This is where your professional destination wedding planning training will become essential! Always remain calm and rely on the back-up plans you’ve put into place (to prepare for exactly this scenario). Make sure you’ve put together a thorough emergency kit, and that you’ve brought it with you on the day of the event.
By preparing for your client’s destination wedding as thoroughly as humanly possible, you’ll be surprised how many emergencies you can resolve with just a bit of extra effort on your part!
