As the desire for destination weddings have increased we've seen trends come and go, and the latest offers our brides and grooms a wedding of their dreams in a dream destination. Destination weddings used to be thought of a quick way to tie the knot with little planning and little stress. Still this statement holds some value. Little stress, yes. Many destinations feature wedding planning services for destination weddings as well as most resorts offer wedding consultants. With the majority of our resorts and wedding packages we offer our personal planning services, which means you tell us and we do it. No words are lost in translation, no long distance phone calls, no waiting until you arrive at the property. Everything is done prior to you leaving, everything is arranged with you every step of the way.
Little planning may not be as true as it once was. Each country does require particular details before you arrive if you plan on having a legal ceremony, so some preparation of documents is required. However with our services this would all be taken care of. Other types of planning depend on the couple themselves. Which takes me to the latest trend.
Along with more modern times destination weddings are beginning to feature many of the at home wedding themes. Couples are wanting their weddings to be personalized to themselves. They're wanting to choose their colours, their flowers, their foods, etc. Many brides and grooms are wanting the wedding to be unique to them, whether it be at home or on some exotic island. This trend I love. I believe brides and grooms should have the option of having a basic wedding or having a wedding personalized to themselves. A wedding is a symbol of the love they share for each other, and it should appear to be that way. 
Along with the personalized trend more planning does come into play. The resorts we've chosen to partner with allows us the opportunity for our brides and grooms to make the choice to have a wedding "their way". It allows for flexibility when choosing music, colours, locations, foods, etc.  
So the amount of planning for your destination wedding depends on the type of wedding you are dreaming of. 
Another factor in the destination wedding is the guest list. Many brides and grooms do want to have their friends and family celebrate with them. Something we've been offering for a long time to our destination wedding packages is including some group activities during the duration of the vacation. Rather than just incorporating 1 day for friends and family to celebrate together we've come up with some fun ways to get the gang together and enjoy each others company (rather than just chilling out in the pool). Ideas like chartering a catamaran tour for your friends and family, a private lunch picnic, a private dance party, a girls spa day, a guys golfing trip. The options are endless and each destination offers something a little different!

For more details on Destination Weddings visit www.weddingbutlers.com 

Credit: Wedding Butlers

Deborah was recently featured in the Kamloops Daily Newspaper edition of Women In Business 2012.