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ORIGINAL POST:
As a destination wedding company owner we see this question to us all the time. Since we work with couples on both travel and wedding plans, all angles are looked at before we give out suggestions.
The main thought is to look as to how long you want your guests to stay. If you are looking at having your guests or knowing that your guests will only stay 3 - 4 nights, then try to have their flight time not more then 4 hours, then add on one hour of flight time for each night. Your guests will thank you for that gesture.
Lets take into consideration that you are traveling out of Chicago. Remember your guests have to be to their flight 2 1/2 to 3 hours prior, so an 8am flight they have to be to the airport at 5am, then fly four hours, another one for customs and getting baggage, then their trip to the resort. Now if you travel during the high season they might not be able to get into their room until 3pm - 5pm. So their first day is wasted getting there. Then you have the whole day of the wedding, and they are going back. And at all possible try to get a nonstop flight for them too.
With guests your wedding date might also give you an idea of how long your guests will stay. This sounds like a touchy subject because you don't want to be rude, but you would like a honeymoon just the two of you. Some of our bridal couples will go to another resort. Over the years we have found that if a bridal couple schedules their wedding between January to the first part of May, your guests are going to want the option to stay 7 nights, especially coming from a "snow" climate. Then the rest of the year it is usually 3 or 4 night trips for the guests.
With this flight time consideration for your guests, this might cut down the places where you want to get married. Usually this means Cancun/Riviera Mayan area, Jamaica, Puerto Rico (no passports required) and Bahamas. Now if none of these are what you want in your wedding, then you can do one of two options. Number 1 - Have the wedding at one destination then take a trip to where you want to go and renew your vows. We have had people get married in Riviera Maya area then honeymoon in Jamaica because they knew the West Coast people did not want to travel that far. Or a Jamaica wedding couple Honeymooned in Aruba and finally a Cancun couple honeymooned in Italy.
So there are choices out there that can make it affordable to your guests and still give you what you want. Just remember that you can try to please everyone but like a local wedding that is not going to happen. Instead find the middle ground, then run with it.
Best wishes on your special day!
Take Care
Lindsay
President of Trips Down The Aisle, LLC
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