Long distance wedding?

Question

Was your wedding somewhere other than where you were living? What were/are the biggest challenges of planning a wedding from afar? How many trips did you make and how long did it take to plan?

Answer 1

Our wedding was originally supposed to be in Lake Tahoe. We live in So Cal, so all the planning was done by phone and internet. Totally do-able once you find the right vendor. I recommend finding a do-it-all wedding company. Someone who does the ceremony and reception and flowers and cake etc etc, all in one. It really is a time and money saver since you only have to deal with one company/person. We had the whole thing planned in less than a month. Super easy.

My only pitfall was that the area had a horrible forest fire, and basically ruined all our plans. We had like 5 weeks to re-plan everything ourselves, and all our guests and families had to change their travel arrangements. It was a mess... but it turned out ok in the end.

Answer 2

Im planning my wedding in Maine from Texas. I started seriously planning at the year mark. Luckily I am from Maine and I still have family there so I have not had to make any trips there for the planning. I am planning to move back about 3 months before the wedding so that should really throw a stick in my spokes, but I'll deal with that bridge when I get there!

I think the biggest challenge is not being able to meet with the venue staff, photographer, or bakery before signing the contract. That's the only thing I'm feeling uneasy about. Other than that I'd say it's not much different.

If you're doing this I strongly reccommend that you give yourself plenty of time and try to have as much communication with the people you're working with as possible!

Answer 3

We live in Pennsylvania and are marrying in St Thomas. We planned most of it through a wedding service using emails, and went there once to look at the stuff in person over a long weekend. This is def not a good thing for someone who needs to control every detail, but if you're a more relaxed type, this is a great thing to do. People keep asking me how the plans are coming, etc, and I really don't have much to do! In a few emails, we got the whole thing arranged. I'm sure it will be lovely, considering the backdrop. I don't care about the flowers, as long as they're not wilted, and the other details I trust to the coordinator. Nothing could happen that would ruin the day, as long as we get there, and at the end of the day, we are a married couple.

Answer 4

My wedding was in my hometown. I was lucky because I was only 5 hours away, but it still proved to be a bit of a challenge in my 14 months of planning. I spent A LOT of time on the phone. The hardest part was not being able to just run over and look at something or to go talk to my service providers. It all worked out in the end, I just had to make sure that I kept a lot of lists with my questions so when I finally did get home, I could be as efficient as possible.

Answer 5

Our wedding was on the Oregon Coast and we live in N. Idaho. We did not have a wedding coordinator, but I do understand that one would be very helpful. To help alleviate as much stress as possible, we made it as small as possible. It was just our immediate families and we had a friend officiate. We got married at a resort and also had a formal sit down dinner at the resort.

We started planning the wedding 14 months prior to the wedding and I made one trip to the Coast 6 months before the wedding. During my trip, I finalized everything while choosing the photographer and florist (who later canceled on us). We ended up doing our own flowers in the end.

I think the keys to making it work was that we only invited our immediate family and our officiant (14 people total). We basically had two vendors, the photographers and the resort. It really helped not having to coordinate with too many people. Throughout the planning, I remained in contact with the resort and photographers by phone and email. Staying in contact really helps to ensure that everything will go smoothly. Finally, we arrived 3 days prior to our wedding to make sure nothing was left unattended to.

I would definitely recommend keeping things as small as possible. Also, if there are minor details, I'd just skip it. It's very hard to make sure that you have everything packed to go to the destination. I am a very organized person and I cannot imagine if I had made our wedding more elaborate. Finally, make sure that you don't stress out over little things. Yes, things will be forgotten or messed up. No one will notice but you. Good luck and enjoy!!

Answer 6

I'm currently planning a wedding where I will be living at the time of the wedding (PA) but due to school, work & family have to spend time in NJ for at least a while longer. Its not like it is just over the border. It is 3hrs each way to where I am going to be living and most of the venues are in that area or within 30-45mins from there.
So I can sympathize.
Fortunately, I am finding many places willing to do work and plan for Saturday appointments so I can do things on the weekends I am out there anyway. Also, the internet is such a huge help - I can scope things out from wherever and rule places out if they don't look right or aren't in our price range.

Answer 7

You need to hire a wedding coordinator in the city where you are having the wedding. You will need to meet with them and talk A LOT, either on the phone or via e-mail. You need to trust them. That is the only way that you can pull off something long distance like this. I have been a wedding coordinator but I am planning a wedding in the Caribbean and I have hired one there because that is the only way that I can make sure things will be done right.

Answer 8

Well....we're having a long-distance reception. My fiance and I live in the US; I'm American, but he is originally from India. He has some extended family here, but his parents, brothers, and most of his extended family still live in India. We're having a wedding and reception in the city we live in, but soon afterwards, we're going to India for a big reception there. It will be much easier for the two of us to travel there than for all of them to try to get visas and come here.

At first we were really anxious about how we were going to get everything done from the other side of the world. We needed to rent a hall, arrange for food, book a salon to do my hair and paint my hands, send out invitations...all that. However, his parents have very generously volunteered to do almost all the arrangements and preparations for us. All we'll have to do is decorate and set up the reception hall the day of the reception and send his parents a check. There's really not much we would be able to do from here, so we're extremely thankful that his parents are being so helpful.

If his parents weren't able to help, the biggest challenges would be:
1. the 11.5 hour time difference makes placing phone calls during business hours difficult.
2. I don't speak the language very well, so my fiance would have to do almost everything by himself
3. We would have to make all the bookings without being able to look at the venues first...kind of scary!

Answer 9

I was four and a half hours away from my hometown, where the wedding was to be. Pretty much made the trip home every weekend! It was LOTS of driving, but well worth it!