Destination weddings are not a new craze, in fact I went to Fiji for a destination wedding for my cousin back in 2005 and then in 2010 it was off to the Dominican Republic (slightly further on the map!). Each of those weddings required a few extra things in my luggage, an international flight ticket and my passport!
Couples are can have a #destinationwedding, within just a few hours drive from Sydney. Of course my favorite is the South Coast, in particular, #JervisBay. Its where I now live, but I was living in Sydney back when we got married in 2014 on the South Coast.
Much like other destination weddings, the big benefit is grouping together your most favorite people – for a ‘mini vacation’. This creates so many opportunities to get together with your family and friends, and thus also, more chances to actually see people and spend time with them. Despite all best intentions, I find that whenever I host a party, no matter how prepared I am, I always seem to be busy busy busy and I feel like I speak to no one!
So on your mini vacation event you can host lots of little get togethers. Here’s a few examples. Last year my brother was married on the South Coast (see his story on another blog, about the Jetty House) and the night before the wedding we told everyone who wanted to join us that we would be having dinner at the local country club. The country club was more than stoked that they had an extra 40 patrons. In fact we did the same for the day after the wedding and we all went back for Sunday night roast.
I’ve enjoyed many night before dinners at a destination wedding. Everyone is away from home so generally needs to eat out and everyone wants to catch up. We all met at a restaurant the night before the wedding in the Hunter Valley for my cousin (the second wedding I ever officiated), another destination wedding and another example of how we all got together on more occasions than just the wedding.
When my husband and I got #married we referred to our wedding weekend as the ‘love festival’. I deliberately chose to have our wedding on a Friday, not to save money (although many venues do offer discounts during the week) but purely because I wanted to have a three day festival with more time to spend with my guests. It was an action packed events with lots on everyday.
On the Thursday we set up the hall (as we had out reception at the School of Arts Hall and brought in caterers). On the Friday we got married (early, at 2pm as I wanted to have more time at the wedding rather than getting ready). On the Saturday morning my husband and I went for a romantic breakfast together (I had romantic ideas to dine at the fancy waterfront restaurant, however I found out that day they do lunch and dinner, not breakfast). We then met with our wonderful and helpful family and friends who were back at the hall to pack it all away.
After pack up we set off for 9 holes at the local golf club. I truly enjoy golf, even though Im not particularly good at it. I would love to play more often, I just don’t seem to have the time. I don’t think I’ve actually had a game since our wedding (6 years ago! I have manged a few good drives at the groovy Top Golf facility on the Gold Coast and a game of putt putt with my husband and kids). Golf was awesome, for those that played. There was lots of laughs. Those who didn’t want to play golf stayed at the undercover gazebo on the ground where there was bbq and grazing food and somewhere to sit and enjoy each others company. When the BBQ was ready it was delivered around the course on the Love Bug (the golf cart adorned with the wedding balloons). Hot sausages, cold beers, great mates. It truly was a weekend filled with memories.
Lots of guests from interstate had never been to Jervis Bay before and they took the opportunity to sightsee the local coastline, discovering that it was worth the trip to come back another time and explore some more. Most the guests lift on the Sunday and so they dropped by to the homestead that we had rented and had a cuppa and a chance to reflect and share stories from the awesome- intense- action filled weekend that they had.
If you are having a destination #wedding, I strongly encourage you to research beforehand what local facilities and attractions are available and invite your guests to gather and continue celebrating your very own #love festival. Because marriage isn’t just one day, it’s a lifetime together, making memories and sharing time with family and friends.