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What to Consider When Deciding Between a Local or Destination Wedding

November 16, 2017 | Junebug Weddings

photo by Maggie Grace Photography

Before you book your venue, choose your dress, or even start putting together your guest list, you have a major wedding decision to make: should you have a local or destination wedding? For some, a local wedding seems like a no-brainer, but for others, a destination wedding may be that thought you just can’t quit. If you’ve been trying to decide where to say “I do,” this post is for you!

photo by Ivy and Pine

Destination Pro:

The people who really want to be there will be.

Having a destination wedding can be a blessing in disguise when it comes to keeping your wedding small. The inconvenience of travel can be a clever way to weed down your guest list without feeling guilty about not inviting every one of your groom’s fraternity brothers or your mom’s hairdresser. If you want an intimate wedding but worry about disappointing friends and family who aren’t on your must-have list, a destination wedding might be for you!

photo by Federica Cavicchi

Destination Con:

Travel can add extra expenses to your overall wedding cost.

If you’re on a tight budget already, traveling for your destination wedding and potentially flying out vendors and even family members can come with a hefty price tag. Like with any aspect of wedding planning, it’s important to consider what your priorities are when making your budget. Having the destination wedding of your dreams may mean finding a secondhand dress or skimping on food, décor, or entertainment.

photo by Scott Little Photography

Destination Pro:

If you have family coming in from all over the world, traveling for your wedding isn’t such a big deal.

For some couples, there isn’t a clear location that feels like home. Whether you’ve both moved around a lot or you came from different places and met somewhere else, the decision of where to have your wedding can feel up in the air. However, if you’ve both got family traveling in for your big day regardless, you’ve got a great excuse to pick somewhere exciting to tie the knot that isn’t a huge disadvantage for a large amount of your guest list.

photo by Jordan Voth

Destination Con:

Planning a wedding from afar can be stressful.

Wedding planning has a pretty bad rap for being stressful in general, but tackling the process from afar can definitely elevate anxiety levels. For one, you can only take with you what you can pack, so sourcing décor items at home isn’t really in the cards. Second, your vendor communication will all take place over phone calls and Skype sessions, which could be a bit of a hassle depending on your schedule and the time difference between where you live and where you’re getting married. If you don’t feel like you’ll be able to relinquish some of your control over every little detail that goes into planning your big day, then a destination wedding may not be a great fit for you.

photo by From the Daisies

Destination Pro:

You deserve the wedding of your dreams!

If you’ve dreamed of getting hitched away from home, don’t let these cons hold too much weight! A destination wedding doesn’t have to be more costly than a local affair and hiring the right vendors can make the experience just as stress-free as marrying at home. Put your budget towards what’s most important to you and don’t let anyone try to tell you what your priorities should be. Remember that this day is about you, your partner, and your love, so what anyone else wants or thinks you “should” do is irrelevant.

photo by Eden Strader Photography

One Last Thing to Consider

While it may seem like there are only two options – local or destination – you can actually have the best of both worlds! If a local wedding truly makes the most sense for you logistically but you still feel called to say “I do” in an incredible location, consider eloping privately before or after your local wedding. This allows you to travel to tie the knot without having to make arrangements for family and friends to attend. (P.S. Here are some tips on keeping your family involved if you decide to elope and 4 reasons why you should consider eloping!)

Leaning towards a destination wedding but haven’t picked a spot? Take this quiz to find out which wedding destination is your perfect fit!

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Breathtaking Lake Como Wedding at Eremo Gaudio Hotel

November 16, 2017 | Junebug Weddings

With breathtaking views from the terrace at Eremo Gaudio Hotel, exploring the sweet town of Varenna, and a boat ride on Lake Como, there’s nothing more picture-perfect than Amanda and Anthony’s Lake Como wedding. Amanda’s romantic Lillian West wedding dress goes hand-in-hand with the romance and charm of Italy’s streets and waterfront views. Wanting to celebrate with 31 of their closest family and friends, they opted for a week long celebration at Lake Como leading up to the wedding, and ended the wedding night dancing, drinking, and celebrating this new adventure. Photographer From the Daisies joined them in their celebration and was there in capturing all the sweet and joyous moments of the day.

The Couple:

Amanda and Anthony

The Wedding:

Eremo Gaudio Hotel, Lake Como, Italy

 

When we first started planning our Italian wedding, we weren’t sure if we could pull it off. But we changed our thinking to be in a world of “yes” because that’s how we live our daily lives and that mindset shift made it all possible. Try not to let the distance of a destination wedding and the worry about people saying no be a hindrance. More will come than you can imagine and actually, they will thank you for giving them the opportunity to vacation in a beautiful place and share in your intimate wedding experience and the celebration of your love.

We visited the terrace on our wedding planning trip to Como and knew immediately it would be the place we’d say, “I do.” Villa Cipressi with its sprawling lakeside gardens offered a delicious six-course meal that still makes our mouth water just thinking about it. Finally, we stuck to our roots and reserved a dive bar, Bar Orso, for late night dancing and open bar.

We were really intentional about each person we invited to the wedding. During the ceremony, we asked each guest to stand, one at a time, while we asked for a blessing of something we admire most about that person. 31 blessings later, we know our marriage will be enriched with everything we need to love one another richly and deeply for the rest of our lives.

We chose to plan a wedding week instead of a wedding day, and asked our guests to spend a ton of time with us and each other leading up to the big day. We loved bumping into our guests around town and being in walking distance from everything we needed. It felt remote and exclusive, not to mention unbelievably beautiful. 

Lake Como was our dream ever since we visited a year before we got engaged. In that magical place, we had our first serious conversation about getting married. The tiny town of Varenna on Lake Como, Italy, presented us with the intimate location we envisioned.

We recommend that you go on your honeymoon immediately after the wedding and go for way too long! It’s a once in a lifetime trip that you will never forget and you will need after all the wedding planning. It will also help you let it all sink in and have deep bonding time with your new spouse.

The Wedding Team:

Photography – From the Daisies
Event Planning – Sally Sephora of WeddingBox Lake Como
Ceremony Venue – Eremo Gaudio Hotel
Reception Venue – Villa Cipressi
Floral Design – Barbara Botta
Invitations – Amanda DeLaRosa
Wedding Dress – Lillian West
Groom’s Apparel – Ted’s Clothiers
Groomsmen’s Apparel –
Rings – Miro Jewelers
Transportation – Como Classic Boats

 

Congratulations to Amanda and Anthony and a big thanks to From the Daisies for sharing their beautiful destination wedding with Junebug! If you loved the dights of this Italian wedding, then feast your eyes on how this Italian countryside elopement in Florence is the epitome of intimate.

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Boldly Stylish Big Sur Elopement at Glen Oaks

November 15, 2017 | Junebug Weddings

Taylor and Nick’s Big Sur elopement has some serious style. Dressed to kill, Taylor is rocking an Enzoani wedding dress from Brickhouse Bridal and Nick is looking dapper as ever in his Bonobos suit. These two stayed in a cute cabin at Glen Oaks where they were steps away from exchanging the vows they’d written to each other. Soon after their ceremony, they headed to the coast for some adventuring and the most beautiful bride and groom portraits. Eden Strader Photography was there from start to finish, capturing the sweet and intimate moments all throughout Taylor and Nick’s elopement.

The Couple:

Taylor and Nick

The Wedding:

Glen Oaks, Big Sur, California

My make up artist, Cara, was so laid back and even helped my husband put on his tie. She is a Mom of 3 boys so it was no trouble for her to help him. Since neither of our parents were there it was nice to have a “Mom” there with us! She was also very talented at giving me a look that I loved and was not over done. 

If you elope do your research on officiants, florist, make-up artists, photographer, and places to stay. I read reviews of all of mine and they all did amazing!

The most important thing for me was that our love and real emotion was captured. We decided to elope to avoid the added stress of the wedding planning and a party that ends up being about how pretty the flowers are, how good the food is, and how much fun people have. By eliminating that the only thing we had to focus on was our love for one another and sharing a moment so special with no-one else because at the end of the day is just us anyways, right? I look our wedding pictures and still remember what that exact moment felt like. It wasn’t nerves or stress about my decor or cake. It was real, raw emotion, and love for my husband and the feeling of excitement that the rest of my life was going to be with this man.

The most memorable moment is when my husband pulled his pocket square out from his suit and wiped his tears from his face. The vows were something I wanted to do. I wanted to share our love in words and make promises to each other that only we knew the value of. I don’t know that I could have done that in front of 100 plus people. It was sweet and again when I look at the pictures I still feel the emotion at that moment.

We choose to have our ceremony in the redwoods in Big Sur. The redwoods to me symbolized long lasting beauty and strength I couldn’t think of a better place to share my love and promises to the person I love.

Since we eloped I basically had all my trust and faith in Eden. I knew she was going to be the one to capture every moment and feeling with her camera. She showed up early hugged me upon her first time meeting me. She just gives off such a good vibe I wanted to hug her too! She spent time talking to us taking pics of all the little things shoes, rings, vow books, and us getting ready. We had a few things happen that were out of our control. I was trying not to freak out and honestly I probably would have if she and her friend (who also took photos) did not reassure me that everything was going to be fine. After our ceremony we drove to the coast to capture more pictures. Eden had scouted these spots prior to meeting us that day and the pictures at that location turned out absolutely amazing.

I’m still in awe of my photographer, Eden, and her amazing ability to capture pictures without ever feeling posed and awkward. Besides her amazing talent she’s so sweet and so cute! I also love she has been married so she knows what that day is like and how stressful it can be.

There is a picture of my husband and I standing on the coast on big rocks looking out into the ocean. It’s was one of the last shots we took that day and I look at it and think of us together as a team taking on whatever life brings. Us against the world.

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Eden Strader Photography
Ceremony Venue – Glen Oaks
Floral Design – Twigery
Officiant – Brian Lyke
Hair and Makeup Artist – Cara Hopkins of Face Forward Carmel and Bridal
Wedding Dress – Enzoani from Brickhouse Bridal
Bridal Accessories – Kendra Scott
Groom’s Apparel – Bonobos
Rings – White Flash
Tan – Gold N Delicious Tans
Tailor – Vintage Tailors

 

The biggest thank you to Eden Strader Photography for sharing this stylish elopement with Junebug! For more bold, intimate vows, check out how this eclectic Wahclella Falls wedding blends natural and urban elements.

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