The cold winter months are the perfect time for a destination wedding. An undeniably wonderful winter wedding can also be realized right here in Latvia, but for those who have longed for warmer and more distant destinations to say their vows, now is the right time to realize this intention.

The world's most popular destinations for weddings in the winter season are:

1. November and December – Australia, Bahamas, Bali, Brazil, Caribbean, South America, Mexico, Morocco, Spain, New Zealand, Egypt, Hawaii, Mauritius.
2. January, February and March - Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Bali, Brazil, Chile, Maldives, Caribbean, South America, New Zealand, Morocco.

Finding the right place

The first step in organizing a destination wedding is, of course, finding the right location.

When choosing a destination, you should consider that the specific place has everything the couple and the wedding needs. If you have planned a relatively large wedding on a remote white sand beach, where there is not even one hotel that can accommodate all the invited guests, then either the wedding concept or the location will have to be changed.

Once the desired wedding venue has been found, it should be announced to potential wedding guests as soon as possible.

Whether you want to invite only ushers or at least a few dozen more guests, they should know about it in time to not only plan their time, but also their budget (especially if the wedding will take place in an exotic destination).

A wedding in Hawaii or Bali will, however, require more financial investment from the guests than, for example, leaving here in Latvia from Riga to Liepāja.

Budget question

When organizing a destination wedding, the budget is one of the biggest issues for the couple themselves. Wedding planners all over the world recommend to think creatively and carefully study the natural advantages of the chosen location, that is, if there are various greens available on the spot, such as olive tree branches, then it will be much more profitable to use them in the decorations than to order, for example, flowers, which could be very expensive in the specific region.

There are several popular wedding destinations in the world, such as exotic islands, where it is almost impossible to get different flowers, but if there is such a possibility, then the cost of ordering flowers is very high.

Professional organizer – must have

If, when holding your wedding here in Latvia, it is theoretically possible to get by without a wedding organizer or coordinator, then those couples who have spoken outside the borders of Latvia indicate that professional help will be necessary, especially in cases where the destination is further away and there is a language and cultural barrier.

A professional wedding organizer will also be the person who will communicate or even better - meet in person with service providers, conclude contracts, clarify all formalities and other issues.

If, however, you want to keep the wedding organization under your control, then when getting married in exotic destinations, it is advisable to choose a hotel with a professional local wedding coordinator. It would be advisable to arrive at the chosen wedding venue a couple of days in advance, so that the bride can try both makeup and hairdo (if the masters are local) and make sure that all other details are in order before the guests arrive.

Take care of service providers

In recent years, more and more couples choose to invite a photographer from Latvia to their destination wedding.

It is undeniably a wonderful opportunity to get exactly the kind of photos you want, however, if service providers are invited from Latvia (photographer, wedding director, sometimes even a pastor), then the couple must additionally cover both travel and accommodation costs. Decent accommodation within 30 minutes of the wedding venue is a must.

Everything important – in the airplane cabin

And finally, a piece of advice that couples who have paid dearly (literally and figuratively) for not following it will surely learn from you - never put your wedding dress and suit in your checked baggage.

Pack as much as possible in your hand luggage to make sure you have all the essentials with you.

PHOTO: ILZE OSE , ELÍNA UPMANE , KRISTINE GRÍNVALDE , LINDA LAUVA , NAIRA KOSYAN , REINIS MELIORANSKIS