5 Thoughtful Tips & Tricks to Plan + Personalize Your Destination Wedding (from a Real Bride!)
Do you dream of a destination wedding but feel completely intimidated by the planning process and fear you won't be able to truly personalize your day? Today's Bride, Viktoriya is here to deem all you worries unnecessary. As a creative artist herself and the owner of Simple Things Ceramics, custom and curated was naturally the name of her wedding game—from the gifts to styling goods to a table dressed up by Weddings by Susan Dunne. Viktoriya is sharing her very own tips on how to master your own far away fete, alongside stunning imagery by Anya Kernes Photography.
From bride, Viktoriya, and owner of Simple Things Ceramics... Having a destination wedding was a dream and we didn’t realize how much work it was until we began putting together the vision for our special occasion. My (now) husband and I knew that we wanted to have an intimate ceremony and reception in Italy. The idea of incredible food, wine, and gorgeous views was simply impossible to pass up. We invited our closest people and since there were only 13 guests at the wedding we got a chance to bond and spend time with everyone, which made the experience relaxing and memorable.
1. I put together personalized proposal boxes for my girlfriends who took part in the wedding. I enjoyed designing the custom paper inserts, handmade tags, picking chocolates and Italian wine to help celebrate the occasion with everyone in my “I do crew”. They were fun to open and made for a fun memory box for my friends after the treats were gone.
These 5 handcrafted details helped us add personal touch to the trip and made it truly unforgettable.
1. I put together personalized proposal boxes for my girlfriends who took part in the wedding. I enjoyed designing the custom paper inserts, handmade tags, picking chocolates and Italian wine to help celebrate the occasion with everyone in my “I do crew”. They were fun to open and made for a fun memory box for my friends after the treats were gone.
2. When it was time to pick our wedding attire, I had to be strategic, since we were flying for over 16 hours to our destination and had to hand carry everything in case it got lost during the flight (I wasn’t taking any chances checking in my dress J). So, I looked for a simple gown that was not going to wrinkle during the flight and was easy to fold. I just added earrings and my flat Bella Belle shoes, which were weightless and so comfortable on the grass and after a few glasses of wine! My husband also picked a summer suite, which was lighter and more appropriate for our June wedding.
3. Since my hubby and I are huge foodies we wanted to share our love for local ingredients with our guests. We prepared personalized goodie bags with locally sourced treats like cheese, honey, cookies and wine for guests when they arrived. I wrote a thank you note for every guest who made a long trip to be there for our big day. To bring everyone together and kick off the celebrations we hosted a pizza party as our welcome dinner, which allowed everyone to mingle and get to spend quality time with each other.
3. Since my hubby and I are huge foodies we wanted to share our love for local ingredients with our guests. We prepared personalized goodie bags with locally sourced treats like cheese, honey, cookies and wine for guests when they arrived. I wrote a thank you note for every guest who made a long trip to be there for our big day. To bring everyone together and kick off the celebrations we hosted a pizza party as our welcome dinner, which allowed everyone to mingle and get to spend quality time with each other.
4. After the wedding, all you have is a husband, paper details and photos. So we are creating family heirlooms while designing our personalized paper details for the wedding. I wanted to frame these details and display them in our home with our wedding photos afterwards. We had love notes, funny signage, words of wisdom for the couple activity for guests and special ceremony programs. We had our vows calligraphed on one side and printed on the other, which meant we didn’t have to pick and got to have both looks. Bonus, the print also made it easy to read during the vow exchange.
5. The key to having a dream destination wedding is hiring a great planner and photographer. Once the planning starts trust them in the process. It makes all the difference for the destination wedding. Our planner helped us put together an incredible team of local vendors and made sure everything went smoothly. The photographer was there to beautifully capture the occasion as we remember it today and for generations to come. Wedding albums also make great holiday gifts for parents and grandparents.
5. The key to having a dream destination wedding is hiring a great planner and photographer. Once the planning starts trust them in the process. It makes all the difference for the destination wedding. Our planner helped us put together an incredible team of local vendors and made sure everything went smoothly. The photographer was there to beautifully capture the occasion as we remember it today and for generations to come. Wedding albums also make great holiday gifts for parents and grandparents.
