Wedding Planning

Okay so here I go! My goal is to get this blog caught up on our life by the end of July… aka if you are not interested in pre-wedding life skip to August.  Here are my thoughts on planning a Destination Wedding. 

First decision, location! So if you don’t know already, I’m a little indecisive on things that don’t truly matter. I knew any place we would choose, it would be absolutely wonderful (I mean come on—your closest friends & family all on vacation in one tropical location plus you get to marry the love of your life—seriously brings a smile to my face just thinking about it) BUT a small part of me worried the hotel would be dirty/falling apart and not ‘good enough’ to be up to everyone’s standards. 

After lots, lots, lots of debating & research…. We decided on Moon Palace Resort!

Moon Palace Resort has something for everyone and the prices/reviews fit just what we were looking for.  Plus it had some wonderful offers going on that gave us great deals! On top of that one of our groomsmen is a ‘member’ of Palace Resorts, which means we could all us their membership number to get those rates. 

I did lots of research on how to make this wedding what I wanted.  Here are a few things that helped me along the way…

Best Destination Wedding Website-- http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/

Okay this is a seriously great find for anyone planning a destination wedding.  Tons of brides and businesses post information... I read ALL of the 2012 Moon Palace Brides posts.  Never had the guts to post my information but I so enjoyed hearing people going through the same struggles and triumphs that I was. 

Wedding Magazines/Books—

I read so many magazines, I couldn’t even come close to guessing how many.  I was obsessed! I don’t know why but when you are planning a wedding that is the only thing you think about!  Here are a few of my favorite books on wedding planning…

Left: Everything Destination Wedding Book

Middle: Knot Guide To Destination Wedding

*Seriously read this book cover-to-cover when I started planned.. I even read some of it out loud to Chris on a road trip (I'm sure he enjoyed it as much as I did, right?)

Right: The Everything Wedding Book

Wedding Look-Book—

I ripped and printed out things that I LOVED about other weddings.  I put them in sheet protectors and a HUGE binder... it became my wedding look-book! It was great to help me organize my thoughts and what I liked.  After it got so large, I put in tabs with sections on location, dress, bridesmaids/groomsmen, inspiration, gifts, etc.

Friends & Drinks—

Okay so I was really lucky to have one of my best friends, Amanda, planning her wedding at the same time as me.  So thankful because it just so happened that many of my friends moved out of town (graduation from college and starting new careers will do that to you).  Amanda and I would have girly-drinks, looking at wedding magazines and chat about our excitement and fears.  What would a girl do without her friends?!?

For anyone out there planning a destination wedding, I know it might not be the most enjoyable all the time but it is SO worth it! 

Much Love, 

Liz