5 Mistakes to Avoid Making for Your Destination Elopement

Having a destination elopement is an amazing thing! It’s an exciting opportunity to spend some one on one time, experience a new culture and explore some beautiful places in the world. But destination elopements come with their own set of challenges, too.

You’re eloping somewhere far from home, that means you don’t have much leeway for making mistakes. Trust us, you’re going to want to do the majority of your planning back home. That way, you can arrive at your elopement and have almost everything taken care of. These are a few of the challenges you might encounter, so it’s best to avoid them when you’re planning from afar.

1. Not accounting for the weather

Planning your elopement from afar means you won’t actually have a good feel for the weather over there. And we often forget about the wind or the high heat. Do some research about the average climate of your chosen destination, see when the best time to travel is.

Another thing to consider is the wind direction. This is particularly true for those of you looking into beach elopements. Although destination beaches are full of sunshine, they can also be quite windy at times. Think about where the wind is coming from before you decide on your ceremony location. It’s best to have the wind blowing towards you, this way your hair remains out of your face and blows beautifully in the wind.

The ocean tide is also a biggie here. The oceans vary between high tide and low tide, which means the shore levels vary. Before you start setting up your ceremony, check online for the latest tidal times. You really don’t want to be in a situation where you’ve set up for the big day and the tide comes and washes it all away!

Don’t risk planning your elopement offseason to avoid high cost. If you’re traveling from far, you don’t want to risk it. Rather plan your elopement around the most desirable season and avoid disappointment!

Top Tip: If there’s a chance you’ll be encountering some wind, use double-sided Valco or some heavy rocks to keep tablecloths down.

2. Not knowing the legal requirements for your destination elopement

Eloping in a new country means you’re going to have to abide by their laws and regulations. Even though you’ll be doing all of the necessary legal things back home, you’ll still be required to follow foreign country rules. Many countries have a residency period requirement which is necessary to officially get married. Often these can take a day or even a week to process.

There are also some countries that require documentation to be filed a few weeks before the ceremony. Once you’ve arrived in the country, you’ll simply need to appear at the government office with your documentation from back home and then you’re all good to go!

Do your legal homework well in advance, this way you can avoid delays and unexpected hiccups!

3. Leaving the vendors until last minute

Vendors aren’t something you can leave until the last minute. Chances are you’re heading to a pretty popular elopement or wedding destination to say your “I do’s”, so you aren’t going to be the only couple in need of some vendors!

Luckily, booking your vendors is a pretty simple task. You can organize almost every vendor from the comfort of your own home. Just by googling some vendors you can open the doors up to all of your possible options.

One thing to keep in mind for destination elopements is that cultures and work paces vary. You may be living in a fast-paced lifestyle where everything is sorted out at once, while there are many other countries around the world who work at a completely different level to what you’re familiar with. Don’t allow yourself to get worked up if things aren’t instantaneously falling into place, service speed and work speed vary from culture to culture.

4. Not dressing the part for your elopement abroad

This one’s pretty similar to accounting for the weather. You have to, have to dress right for the weather! Yes, looks are everything, but so is comfort! When it comes to an elopement dress for a celebration abroad, you’ll need something light, durable and easy to travel with. And of course, something appropriate!

Picking the right shoes is an essential part of feeling comfortable. Heels are most likely not an option for beach elopements, just like being barefoot for your mountaintop elopement isn’t an option either.

It’s really not a big deal though, all you need to do is keep it simple and practical. If you’re spending some time abroad before your elopement, you can even do some of your elopement shopping while you’re over there.

5. Expecting things to be just like home

Eloping abroad means you might be feeling a little out of place. Maybe you thought you’d get there and the perfect elopement ceremony spot would just come to you! But things might not be as easy as they are back home. And that’s totally normal! You’re in unfamiliar territory and it might seem quite daunting, to begin with.

The key is to just remind yourself that it’s normal to feel this way and that it’s actually rather exciting. You decided to go for the adventure packed elopement abroad, and it’s going to be totally worth it! Don’t get caught up comparing things to back home; roll with the flow, you’ll be a much happier bride if you do!

Save this to Pinterest, and you definitely won’t be making any of these mistakes!