This was once thought to be something only the rich and famous did for weddings, however if done correctly, it can be a way of saving a ton of money – not to mention the most memorable wedding your family or close friends have ever attended.

Planned right, a destination wedding is the most unique way to commemorate the beginning of your new lives together, as well as a fantastic mini vacation for your guests. Planning is the key though in selecting the location, time of year and a few assorted other details. You wouldn’t want to book a place in the islands during hurricane season, for example.

There is a lot to think of besides your wedding when taking this route, like making sure your guests will be properly accommodated and that they will be close to things they can do during “down time” as well as shopping affordable rates.

Most people know someone who has had a destination wedding and this may be your most powerful tool. Word of mouth about successful events and disasters travel fast. For those who do not know anyone who has had a wedding in the area or location they are interested, start browsing wedding sites and blogs. Search the term “destination weddings in _(your place of interest)__” and you will find a multitude of websites. A step further, go to www.google.com/blogsearch and type in the same thing, the you can find blogs where people will share their personal experience from places they had chosen for their wedding.

The same holds true, if you decide to use a service for your destination wedding. Make sure that you check them out with the Better Business Bureau, the state agencies where they are established and any personal reviews you can find online.

When selecting your venue it is very wise to actually go there in person. Do not take websites or online photos for gospel, or you could be highly disappointed when you arrive. If you cannot go there, perhaps you know someone you can trust to check it out in person and report back with his or her own opinions and photos.

And be sure to check back here, as we will definitely be posting more on this subject soon!

We were lucky enough to already have a small home on the water, with a new boat docked right off of our backyard, so we had something to build our theme around. Since our home was too small to have everyone inside, we planned to host everything outside. In case of rain, we had a covered screen porch, along with a very big tent in the yard, which we rented from a party supply store.

The party supply store was great for taking care of the big items. In addition to the tent, we also rented the tables, chairs, dishes, silverware, glasses, and tropical themed table linens and napkins. They delivered everything the day before the wedding and set up the tent.

We already had lots of palm trees in the yard, so we added beautiful tropical flower centerpieces on the tables, flower garlands lining the path to the boat dock, and flowers on the boat, where the actual wedding ceremony took place.
There were also large, floating glass orchid/candle globes in the pool for the evening, along with flower petals scattered along the top of the water.

The food (surf & turf) was prepared and served by a local caterer whom we knew fairly well, and her husband also took care of the pool-side bar! Instead of wedding cake, we served an assortment of chocolate dipped fruit and key lime pie.

Some of our extra touches – Our invitations were an informal tropical design and our guests knew to dress informal – Hawaiian shirts welcome. We also found coordinating clothes (my dress and his shirt) from a company in Hawaii. Guests were greeted with Hawaiian leis as they entered the back yard. Traditional Hawaiian Leiswere used in part of our ceremony, for the bride, groom, maid of honor and best man. The wedding favors were handmade candles that had our names and wedding date in the design, from a shop in Key West.

There were also many other things I had collected in the months before the wedding, such as umbrellas for the tropical drinks, unique fish toothpicks for the hors d’oeuvres, hibiscus print cocktail napkins, a string of tropical lights for the screened room, grass skirts for the buffet table, coconut candles, and so on.

I almost forgot the music! We hired a local reggae band (yes, we listened to them play first) and they played from the minute the ceremony finished through the reception. They were a big hit! Everything turned out beautifully and all had a great time – our guests were still talking about all of the fun they had many weeks later.

You have probably noticed that there is a wide variety of choices available when it comes to planning a tropical themed wedding.  “Tropical” can make you think of the ocean, the beach, the Hawaiian or Caribbean Islands, or even a rainforest, and your decisions may vary greatly depending on what you choose and how extravagant you would like to be. Following are a few examples to get your creative juices flowing.

Let’s say you decide to hold your wedding on the beach. There are a multitude of decorating ideas, such as tiki torches (if it is in the evening) around the perimeter, and using seashells or flowers to make the isle. Archways can be rented, along with chairs and easily decorated with tulle or flowering vines. It really does not have to be too complicated, since nature is the perfect backdrop already. Sand and seashells can also be incorporated into the invitations and favors.

If you are going for an ocean theme, without actually being on the sand, there are plenty of things you can do to bring the blue waters into your theme. Use turquoise, ocean blues and greens as colors in your table décor, adding tropical fish patterns for napkins and other assorted sea related décor such as sand dollars, seahorses, shells and starfish. Centerpieces can get very creative with water globes and tropical flowers, or sand and candle arrangements. The ocean blues and fish theme can also be carried over on to invitations and favors.

If you prefer a bolder color scheme, the tropical foliage of the islands can provide a wonderful way to incorporate color from the background to the table. Buy or rent large tropical plants and palm trees if you do not already have them on site. Vibrant tropical arrangements are easy to make for your centerpieces. Pineapples and other tropical fruits are not only colorful and tasty, but add to the theme when included at the tables and bar area. Tiki huts, tropical drinks and some good island music during the reception are some additional touches.