Travel Tips for Your Destination Wedding
Philippine Wedding News
17 April 2009

Destination wedding has started to become a trend, especially here in the Philippines. It is where couples decide to hold their wedding in venues outside their hometown and do it in another location of their choice. Popular destinations here in the Philippines include Tagaytay City, Cebu, and Boracay Island, among others.

If you and your partner decide to have a destination wedding, your main concern involves traveling. You and your partner will have to constantly travel, whether to meet with local suppliers or inspect your ceremony and reception venue. In this case, here are some traveling tips for your destination wedding:

- Familiarize yourself with the landmarks and roads to your wedding ceremony and reception venue as well as the mode of transportation available.Remember, you will be the first person they will call if they need instructions on how to get to your wedding. Though you may provide maps on your invitations, it will still be helpful if you could guide them in looking for the landmarks indicated in your map. If you are getting married somewhere where your guests will have to pass by expressways, like North Luzon Expressway, South Luzon Expressway or Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, make sure to indicate in your map what exit your guests will have to take.

TIP: Your guests may also decide to have a short vacation after your wedding. Try to learn about the places of interest near your venue.

- Familiarize yourself with important establishment found near your wedding ceremony and reception venue. Important establishments include malls, convenient stores, fast food chains, and restaurants. You or your guests may need to buy something like food or toiletries.

- Send your guests save-the-date cards and information packets as early as six months in advance. This will allow them to book plane tickets, if needed, reserve hotel rooms, and organize their schedule. Also, this will give them ample time to find their way towards your venue.

TIP: In case you will not shoulder your guests’ accommodation, find out the promos and discounts of the hotel where you will stay in and suggest to your guest to book there as well. Some airlines and also offer group discounts.

- Consider getting local suppliers. It is good to hire local suppliers since travel will not be an issue for them. Unlike suppliers from the metro, it will be very tedious for them to bring their products to your wedding, unless they have a branch there. Also, local suppliers are very familiar with your wedding ceremony and reception, which would allow them to adjust better if something comes up. Then again, do not hesitate to hire suppliers from Manila that you really trust, especially those that are very mobile such as photographers, make-up artists, and wedding coordinators. But once you do, expect to be charged for out of town, travel and accommodation expenses.

- Travel light. It will be easier for you and you partner if you pack only the things you need for the whole time you will be staying at the hotel, especially during your wedding day. Settle for toiletries in sachets or smaller bottles. Avoid packing too many clothes and bring only that you are sure to wear.

- Bring basic medicines such as painkillers, anti motion sickness, for tummy aches, and your maintenance drugs, if any. You may not have ample time to scout for a drugstore or a pharmacy when the need arise.

- Plan your meetings and appointments well. Try to allot one whole day to accomplish your agenda such as meeting with local suppliers or inspecting your ceremony and reception venue. Create a contingency plan just in case something unexpected comes up such as delay of flight schedule, weather, or unavailability of suppliers for meetings.

- Bring an extra bag. You and your partner may have time to shop before or after your wedding. Your guests may hand out their gifts during your wedding. In any case, an extra bag will help you in packing up excess baggage.

- List down important local assistance hotlines. During unexpected circumstances, it is best to have a copy of important local numbers such as tourist information and assistance centers, police stations, fire stations, and medical facilities. It would be best to share these contact numbers with your guests.

- Charge up and load up. Make sure that you charge your phone regularly or have an extra battery with you when you leave the hotel. If you’re using prepaid mobile lines, keep extra call cards in your wallet or bag to avoid having a hard time looking for a load outlet when you run out of load.

- If in a place where the language or dialect you know is not widely spoken, keep table napkins, business cards or anything with the name of your hotel or venue on it. Also, keep identity cards with you (driver’s license, passport, company ID, etc.). This will help you in asking for instructions should you get lost.

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Kasal.com thanks the following sources for this article:

Sablan, Niño Mark, Philippine Daily Inquirer. Tips for hassle-free traveling (Posted April 1, 2009) Retrieved April 2, 2009 from
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/philippineexplorer/philippineexplorer/view/20090401-197425/Tips-for-hassle-free-traveling

Martha Stewart Weddings (U.S.) Planning a Destination Wedding. (Posted March 22, 2009) Retrieved April 2, 2009 from
http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/article/planning-a-destination-wedding?lnc=3e781aadd4b1d110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&xsc=eml_dwd_2009_03_22

Pash Weddings.com. Free Wedding Planner. (in .PDF format) Retrieved April 2, 2009 from
http://www.pashweddings.com/library/free-wedding-planner.php