Destination wedding on a budget (Image: Pexels)
Destination wedding is a dream for many people, but due to expenses they have to hold back. However, by smart planning and choosing the right venue, you can make your dream wedding special without spoiling the budget. A little research, some common sense and some creative ideas are enough to halve this expense.
Plan for Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities
If your budget is limited, then leave expensive 5-star hotels and palace-like properties in big cities. 3-star and 4-star boutique resorts in small towns offer stunning locations but at affordable prices. Options like Kota instead of Jaipur, Malvan instead of Goa or Rajsamand instead of Udaipur can significantly reduce the expenses of your wedding. Venues available in small cities are available at approximately 4060% lower prices, making the budget easily controlled.
Booking in off-season: Same wedding, but at half rate
Most people get married between November and February, which is why the expenses on hotels, flights and wedding vendors increase manifold during these months. If you plan your wedding in months like September-October or March-April, you get huge discounts. Hotel rooms become cheaper by 20% to 40% and venue booking is also easily available.
Use apps instead of wedding planner
Hiring a wedding planner often doubles the budget. But today apps like WedMeGood, WeddingWire India and Plan A Wedding make the entire planning easy. You can search for venues, talk to vendors, track budgets and even compare different packages. Even without a planner, the entire wedding preparation is done in a professional manner.
Hire local artists and vendors
The biggest expense in a destination wedding is travel and stay. Therefore, hire local photographer, makeup artist, decor team and caterer from the place where you are getting married. This eliminates their travel and accommodation expenses, and significantly reduces your overall costs. Many times the local team knows the area well, so the work gets done even better.
Adopt sustainable wedding ideas
Nowadays the trend of eco-friendly wedding is also increasing rapidly. Printing costs are saved by sending digital invites. Flower expenses can be reduced by choosing reusable decor, lights and fabric backdrops. Renting outfits for functions is also a good way. All these ideas reduce the budget and make the wedding unique.
Choose a location that is easy to reach
Destination wedding does not mean that only some far-flung place should be chosen. Choose a location that is easily accessible by road, train or bus. This makes transportation of guests cheaper and vendors also charge less as they do not have to travel long distances.