In today’s super-busy world, life doesn’t hit pause for wedding planning. Many newly-engaged couples are facing more than just the altar: they’re moving into new homes, starting new jobs, having babies, and juggling everyday responsibilities all at once.

We hear it all the time: “How am I supposed to plan the day of a lifetime, when I’m already stressed about [finishing this home renovation/planning childcare and doctor’s appointments/taking on a new project at work/insert your own busy life event]?”

Plus, beyond the typical venue and vendor contracts, there are so many tiny details couples themselves often don’t realize they’ll have to consider and take time to cover. 

But your engagement is supposed to be a happy, blissful time – not one marked by wedding stress and planning woes. And if you’re getting married abroad, the excitement should be doubled. After all, you’re wrapping two adventures into the day of your dreams!

 At TravelBash, we know our clients have plenty on their plates, whether it’s work, school, family obligations, travel, and social events. After all, it’s normal to have a crazy calendar no matter whether or not you’re planning a destination wedding. 

If your stress levels are rising, we can help. Unclench your jaw, relax your shoulders, and read on for our experts’ top tips when it comes to planning a destination wedding – even when it seems like life is getting in the way.

Visualize Your Dream…Outline What’s Most Important!

Before you get any further in the planning process, take a step back. Ask yourself what your ideal, dream destination wedding would look like. Would you invite everyone you know or a more intimate circle? Would you book a venue over a weekend, or extend it longer over a holiday? What kind of entertainment and catering options would you want? Once you have answers to these, create a visual aid: a Pinterest or vision board, a checklist, or a PowerPoint you can reference during your planning journey. When other voices – friends or family, especially – are pressuring you to make specific accommodations or choices, you’ll be able to point to your blueprint and back up your own decisions.

Once you have a complete picture of what you actually want in a destination wedding, you can prioritize making the most important elements a reality. These elements will become your main points of focus as you plan your destination wedding and make it easy to make those big planning decisions.

Create a Timeline

Once you’ve dreamt up your destination wedding and curated its aesthetic with a visual aid, it’s time to nail down the deadlines. These aren’t meant to stress you out – in fact, we find that our clients who use timelines are actually much less stressed than those who don’t. Knowing what to expect and when is key to keeping your cool as your wedding date approaches. Need a starting point? Reference our guides to see a sample timeline and create your own!

Delegating preparation tasks using a month-by-month timeline can help you live your life outside wedding prep. Now, you won’t stress about cramming for work presentations, meeting with contractors or scheduling your dress fitting – because you’ll know you have time for everything.

Bring in the Experts

You might be prepared to choose your vendors, book a hotel block, and select your menu – but are you prepared to handle cancellation policies, car rentals, reservation changes and marriage license processes that your host country follows? If the answer is no – or even a hesitant yes – you’ll be relieved to have an expert on your side who can take care of it all, and communicate details with your wedding party and guests seamlessly. 

Let’s be real: when you’re already swamped with responsibilities as a partner, parent, employee, or homeowner, there’s not much time left over to dedicate to tiny wedding planning details. At baseline, planning is overwhelming – and with everything else thrown your way, it’s possible small yet important details will fall through the cracks. On one of the most important days of your life, these aren’t risks you might be willing to take!

Our destination wedding experts and travel advisors work with you to ensure every element of your destination wedding is covered. Trust us, we’ve been there – literally. Many of our team members were destination brides themselves!

From helping you and your guests travel safely to and from your location to offering bespoke group excursions and making venue-specific vendor recommendations, our expertise is invaluable in helping you stress less about the day of your dreams. 

Bring some peace of mind to your engagement, and get in touch with our experts now!

Courtnie is the founder & CEO of TravelBash. After years as an ambitious fundraiser, she took her passion for travel full-time. She has lived all over the U.S. and abroad and after planning her own destination wedding, she decided to help other couples plan their big day abroad too. She has written “Passport to Paradise: The Complete Destination Wedding Guide,” a top seller on Amazon. She has also been featured in Travel + Leisure, Destination I Do and The Washington Post. As a certified travel advisor, expert event planner and natural connector, she uses her powers to create VIP travel experiences.