In November 2012, I will be marrying my the man of my dreams, my best friend in the world. And like so many other Aussies these days, we have decided to break tradition and get married overseas.

There are several reasons why getting married locally is not for us. Firstly, because we both grew up in different parts of the country, in totally different states, a lot of our friends and family are scattered across Australia . We also have a lot of friends internationally, in America, Canada and the UK, none of which we could imagine getting married without them being there. Finally, being avid travellers, we are constantly looking for “excuses” to plan another trip abroad. We visited Fiji as a stop-over from the USA in 2010 and fell in love with the laid-back attitude of the locals, and the incredibly romantic scenery.  So we thought, if we need to choose a location, why not choose somewhere neutral, new, exciting, tropical and exotic? Why not make a holiday out of it?!

To us, a destination wedding means extending the celebrations beyond the 45 minute ceremony (or it seems, some are even shorter these days) and more than just a reception afterwards. Instead, our closest friends and family (not every single cousin, uncle or great aunt) will be joining us for 5 nights in the intimate Wananavu Resort (and yes, this is all on a budget), to celebrate love and friendship, and to all enjoy a well overdue holiday! The idea of having everyone together in one place (with our photographer from Tamiz Photography there to capture every moment), gives me chills of excitement just thinking about it! And although I’m not naive enough to think that there won’t be any stress on the day, I like to think that being on-site for a couple of days prior (and enjoying a few choice cocktails and some intensive pool time) is going to make it a hell of a lot easier to deal with it.

A destination wedding is not for everyone.  Be warned: your best friend, your grandmother, your family dog all may not be able to come. Not everyone will have the funds (or annual leave time) to join you. You may not be able to visit the venue first, so you’ll have to instill a tonne of faith in your coordinator/planner/hotel manager, who could very well be over the other side of the world, and you’ll need to be very organised. On top of all this, and it might not come as a surprise, but people will tell you that you’re being selfish, and question your motives (um, hello, whose wedding is it anyway?).

So remember this, in fact, think of it as your golden rule as it applies to everything when planning your wedding: this day, this very special and sacred day, believe it or not, is about you and your man. So above all, make the decision that’s right for you. Although we care about our friends and family, it is impossible to please everyone, and in trying to do so, you might find that you are failing to fulfill your own needs and will end up regretting your choices. After all, how many people do you know that have said about their own weddings, “if we could do it again, we’d elope”? For us, we’re confident we’ve made the right choice. Bring on 2012, I say!

More updates on our destination wedding coming soon!

MsProcrastin8 x

All images courtesy of the fabulous Tamiz Photography

Ms Gingham says: OK so not everyone will be able to come but personally my thoughts are that culling the guest list down (unintentionally of course) isn’t always such a bad thing. Especially when you get to spend the leadup to your wedding day lounging by the pool and drinking cocktails with your best friends.

Katie aka MsProcrastin8: Sydney, Australia, Blogger @ Ultimate Katie Blog; procrastinator; list writer; dreamer; planner; student; wife.