You’ve surely heard the expression “a day at the beach” (meaning it’s a fun, relaxing, and stress-free event), right?  Well, replace “day” with “wedding” and you’ve got one of the hottest trends in weddings today, the destination wedding.  These days, you’ll find that a destination wedding is more of a common concept and countless island resorts and cruise lines are definitely making it easier for the couple wanting a destination wedding – many such places even have an in-house wedding coordinator to make everything all that much easier on the bride and groom. Some of these couples see it as a way to combine wedding ceremony and honeymoon into one, while others feel that the intimate and relaxing atmosphere of a destination wedding is the ideal part.

There is a little bit of work to be done, however.  One part of destination wedding planning that isn’t necessarily easier for the bride and groom is putting together the guest list. Space for guests is typically very limited but at the same time, it’s all too easy to run the risk of offending friends or family by not sending them an invitation, even if they weren’t going to be able to attend. Although destination wedding etiquette is a fairly new concept, your guests will surely appreciate any efforts, large or small, that you might make towards their comfort and enjoyment.

Another way that getaway weddings can take a little extra work is that when planning a very small wedding (barely any guests at all, even close family) you have a delicate etiquette dance to explain to friends and family who expect to be able to attend.  If you think some folks would be tremendously upset to learn they weren’t invited — even if no one was invited at all — then consider whether those hurt feelings are outweighed by your plans for an intimate wedding with just the bride and groom.  It may seem like it’s just one day, but if you’ll have to hear about how you left them out at the next 50 years’ worth of holiday dinners, you might want to consider this carefully.  Enjoy the beach!