10 Essential Tools for Planning Your Destination Wedding
Planning a destination wedding is hard work but it doesn’t have to be a headache! These 10 essential tools will guarantee smooth sailing from proposal to piña coladas on the beach.
1. Appy Couple
Appy Couple bills itself as the ultimate all-in-one tool for planning, organizing, and pulling off your dream wedding—and I’m inclined to agree. With features like ready-to-go wedding websites, custom RSVP forms, photo sharing, digital guestbook, guest list manager, and a personalized wedding app to keep both you and your guests in the loop, Appy Couple’s got all the bells and whistles you could possibly need.
Think of Appy as your own virtual wedding assistant—sending you updates, managing your guests, and just generally keeping things running smoothly.
2. Mint
There are parts of the wedding planning process that are fun, like scrolling through the #weddinginspo hashtag on Instagram and daydreaming about where you’re going to honeymoon. And then… there’s budgeting.
Not many people would put “managing finances” at the top of their Favorite Things To Do list, but it’s a necessary part of adulting—especially when you’re planning a major event like your wedding! Mint makes things easy by syncing up with your financial accounts, keeping you up-to-date on bills, and allowing you to create budgets to meet your savings goals. No more wondering whether your wedding budget is on track—with Mint, you’ll know for sure!
3. Pinterest
If you’re planning a wedding and you haven’t made an account on Pinterest yet—get on it, girl!!
Pinterest is THE destination for wedding inspiration, whether you’re looking for pics, DIY tutorials, or handy listicles like this one. With a Pinterest account, you can save anything that catches your eye for later by “pinning” it to one of your virtual corkboards. Organization mavens (like me!) will love the ability to sort pins by category and sub-category, making it easy to go back and quickly find something specific without having to sift through an endless list of pins (those suckers can seriously pile up!).
And if you wanna learn how to pin like a pro for your destination wedding, I’ve laid it out step-by-step for you on the TravelBash blog. My motto? Dream big, pin bigger 💁💍
4. LadyMarry
Tired of lugging that heavy wedding binder everywhere you go? Ditch it in favor of LadyMarry, the app that lets you track and manage all your wedding to-dos right from your phone. Use LadyMarry to cross off completed tasks, jot down expenses, connect with local vendors, and communicate with your bridal party (all while feeling good about the trees you’re saving by going paperless!).
If you’re newly engaged and not sure where to even begin your to-do list, don’t panic! I gotchu 😉 Download TravelBash’s Complete Destination Wedding Planning Timeline and Budget Worksheet for a list of everything you need to plan a kickass celebration.
5. Eversnap
You’ll probably have a professional photographer snapping pics at your wedding, but what about all the awesome photos your friends and family will capture on their phones? Emailing guests after the event to try and collect the pictures yourself is a big pain, so save yourself the hassle and make sure you sign up for a service like Eversnap instead.
Voted the #1 Wedding/Event Photo App by Huffington Post, Eversnap allows you to create a digital album with a unique code for your wedding that will fill up with all of the pics and videos that guests take during your big day. Photos and video taken using the free app will upload automatically, or guests can manually upload them from their phone gallery. And if you have an Instagram or Twitter wedding hashtag, Eversnap will automatically gather up any pics tagged with it too!
Bonus: Eversnap will work even if you’re in a remote location with no cell service or WiFi 🙌
6. Skyscanner
When you’re planning a destination wedding, flight prices are one of the first things that come to mind—specifically, “How much is it going to cost my friends and family to come celebrate with me on my big day?”
No one wants their loved ones feeling like they have to sell a kidney or get a second mortgage to afford the flight to the wedding (duh!), which is why flight comparison sites like Skyscanner are so key. Skyscanner pulls flight prices from all across the web to help you find the one you’re looking for, whether that’s the fastest, most convenient, or cheapest.
(Not sure where you want to have your wedding? Check out my rundown of the top 20 destination wedding locations around the globe to kick-start your search!)
Use our code to get 20% off your Basic Invite order + FREE shipping!
7. Basic Invite
So you’ve picked your destination, got your date set, and your vendors all lined up—what’s next? Getting those invites out! It’s important when planning a destination wedding that you announce it to your guests nice and early (shoot for three months ahead, minimum) in case they need to book vacation time, flights, etc.
Basic Invite is the answer to all of your wedding invite prayers, offering beautifully customizable stationary that invitees will be happy to stick on their fridge (’cause let’s be real, that’s where all wedding invites inevitably end up).
Got a particular color scheme you want to use? No problem! A cute photo of you and bae? Slap it on there! Calligraphy and hand-drawn florals? Oh you fancy, huh. No matter what your vision is, Basic Invite will make it come to life (and for a great price, too). You can also order your thank you cards from them once you’ve said your “I dos”—easy peasy!
P.S. Use my partner code above for 20% off your purchase & free shipping ; )
8. Nearly Newlywed
Look, I’m not gonna tiptoe around it—wedding dresses can be EXPENSIVE. Like, this-thing-better-be-coated-in-diamonds-and-fairy-dust expensive. What’s a sale-savvy bride to do? Hit up Nearly Newlywed, of course!
Nearly Newlywed is basically a meticulously curated consignment shop for brides, offering gorgeous pre-worn designer and vintage gowns at major discounts. Because the only thing better than discovering the perfect dress is snagging it at 50% off the retail price. Hell yeah 👊
9. Zola
Wedding registries used to be all about helping the young couple set up house together (you know—china, silverware, maybe a nice crockpot or blender), but thanks to the fact that couples nowadays are often living together long before getting married, modern registries tend to be a lot more flexible.
A prime example is Zola, “the wedding company that will do anything for love.” Using Zola, couples can create a personalized registry and fill it with anything—and I mean anything—they want. From more traditional gifts like dinnerware and appliances to out-of-the-box stuff like honeymoon funds, subscription boxes, and Airbnb gift cards, your imagination’s really the limit.
(Check out TravelBash’s honeymoon registry roundup for more excellent registry options!)
10. Hitchswitch
Between choosing a caterer, picking out floral arrangements, and booking a DJ, you might not have had time to think about one tiny-but-crucial detail—changing your name.
Luckily, the procedure doesn’t have to be a neverending paperwork nightmare! Hitchswitch is here to make things easy. This handy service will help you change your name online in a matter of minutes—simply fill out the one-page form, jot down your SSN, sign with your new name, and send your documents off. How’s that for low-stress? 🙏
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.
