The 3 MOST Common Mistakes Couples Make When Planning a Destination Wedding

Photography by Christopher Lee, Emani Photography

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DESTINATION WEDDINGS

Destination weddings are a fabulous choice for tying the knot—we think just about every couple should have one! But, if you don’t know what you’re doing, the whole planning thing can get out of control and way overwhelming, fast.
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If you’re thinking about having a destination wedding, take a pause and read this first. These are 3 of the most common (and costly) mistakes we see destination wedding couples make when they try to plan on their own:

Mistake #1: Not having a room block

If you try to “DIY” your destination wedding, you may not know what the term “room block” refers to. Essentially, when you contract with a resort to host your wedding there, they set aside a group of rooms just for your guests—this is WAY different than simply telling your guests to book a room at a resort for certain dates. It's important to note, having a room block guarantees inventory, NOT that all rooms will be close together on property.

You want to make sure you get a contract for a room block, and then ensure your guests actually book into the room block (instead of “going rogue” and booking a random room themselves) for several reasons. For one, you’ll contract your block of rooms at a certain rate, locking in that rate for your guests—the rates the hotel offers can change, but the rooms in your room block won’t!

You also are setting aside a certain amount of inventory at the resort, so again—even if the resort sells out, the rooms and your room block will still be available for your guests. Plus, many of the “perks” associated with hosting a resort destination wedding—like getting a 5th night free or a complimentary cocktail hour—are tied to your room block. If you don’t meet a certain room block minimum, you won’t get your perks (and guests that book outside the room block won’t count toward your minimums!). It may even cost extra for guests booked off-resort to attend your wedding events. 

Lastly, having a room block is just easier. It’s easier to keep track of who’s actually coming to your wedding, because you can simply check who’s booked into your room block. This is SO important since knowing exactly who’s coming allows you to effectively plan your wedding events—you need an accurate guest count to plan them out! If you expect more than 20 guests at your destination wedding, then we think you NEED a room block (and we’ll manage it for you as a part of our planning services!).   Make sure to read up on how to invite your guests to your destination wedding to ensure they book into your room block.


Mistake #2: Missing room block deadlines

Getting a room block for your guests at your chosen resort comes with a lot of pluses—but there are costly mistakes we see couples make with their room blocks all the time. The most common one is missing room block deadlines, which can leave you on the hook for major $$$.

Here’s what happens: when you contract with a resort for a room block, there are built in “drop” deadlines—basically, if you don’t get guests to book all of the rooms in your room block by “X” date, then you can drop the unused rooms from your room block, no problem.

But … if you miss that deadline to drop rooms, you’ll be the ones who have to pay for the unused rooms, which could be thousands of dollars. When you’re juggling all of the details of your wedding and playing travel agent to your guests, it’s all too easy to get deadlines like this mixed up! That’s why we keep track of important dates like room block deadlines for all of our clients.

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Mistake #3: Having a destination wedding when you shouldn’t

It’s no secret we’re BIG fans of destination weddings (we’ve had one ourselves!)—but they’re not for everyone. It’s so important to figure out if a destination wedding is the right move for you way before you get into the planning weeds. 

Destination weddings generally aren’t a good fit for couples who have “trust issues,” meaning they have a hard time letting go of being in charge of everything. When you’re planning a wedding in a foreign country from a distance, it’s just not possible to micro-manage every detail, and so you have to put your faith in the people you’ve hired to pull it off.

If having a legal wedding ceremony—as opposed to a symbolic one—is super important to you, then a destination wedding might not work for you either. That’s because the requirements to hold a legal ceremony in many countries as foreigners are very stringent; for example, Mexico requires the couple to complete a blood test before the ceremony. The vast majority of resort destination weddings are symbolic. In fact, we got “legally” married in our living room while wearing workout clothes before our destination wedding!

Finally, if you have “non-negotiable” guests that you must have at your wedding, make sure they can make the trip before you start planning. If illness, mobility issues, or other concerns prevent one of your “favorite people” from attending a destination wedding, there’s no shame in staying local to have them take part in your big day.

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The easiest way to avoid making costly destination wedding mistakes? Let United Travel plan it all for you! Learn more about our comprehensive destination wedding design and travel management services right here—or skip to the good part and get started with your complimentary discovery call.

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The cost of a destination wedding varies a ton—but we’re here to help you figure it all out with just a few quick questions! Take this short quiz about your destination wedding vision to find out how much you can expect to spend to bring it all to life: