Your Wedding Abroad Checklist

I have been planning Destination Weddings for the last 10 years including my own, but is it really as easy as it seems?  So here is our Travel by Lesley simple step-by-step guide to getting through the planning process. So grab a pen and start ticking off your wedding to-do list.


 As soon as possible
  • Agree on your overall budget, and add a contingency of 10 percent or so for unexpected expenses.
  • Think about where you want to get married and look into all the legalities. 
  • If you plan to invite friends and family, decide what you will pay for and what they will need to pay for, and check who’s likely to come. 
  • When you have a number in mind, choose and book your wedding package.
  • Consider taking out wedding insurance.
  • Check that your passports are up to date. Most countries require you to have at least six months left on your passport especially after Brexit. 
  • Remember to book in the name as per your passport.
  • We will send you a wedding information pack. Make sure you fulfil all the legal requirements by the dates given. 
  • Check who your contact at the venue will be and email your wedding planner. 
  • Start shopping for your wedding dress.   


Six months to go 
  • Send out wedding invites. This needs to be done sooner than if you were getting married in the UK as your guests will need to organise time off work, flights, and accommodation.

Four months to go
  • Check exactly what your wedding package includes and what you will need to organise yourself. 
  • Brides, shop for your wedding accessories (shoes, tiara, jewellery etc.) 
  • Grooms, shop for your wedding outfit and accessories.
  • Is there someone you would have loved to have with you but they are no longer around? 
  • Planning your Wedding but wish someone was with you? Why not have a piece of memorial keepsakes or some jewellery with their writing or fingerprints on, you could even pick up a shell or something from your destination wedding and have it made into a beautiful piece of silver jewellery on your return.

Two months to go 
  • Make sure you have all the documents you need, check if any need to be sent in advance of the wedding, and make copies to take with you. 
  • Get written quotes and confirmation from all your suppliers. Add them to a folder to be taken away with you. 
  • Your tickets should arrive soon; keep an eye out for them. 
  • Confirm final guest numbers with your venue. 
  • Visit your GP if you need any vaccinations and/or medical certificates.

One month to go 
  • Organise holiday insurance if you haven’t already.
  • Shop for your honeymoon clothes and accessories. 
  • Book in-resort beauty treatments. 

Two weeks to go
  • Shop for toiletries, suntan lotion, and other holiday essentials. 
  • Start packing, putting things to one side to go in your suitcase. 

The week before you travel 
  • Collect your wedding outfits and hang them until it’s time to pack them. I recommend having your dress packed in a wedding travel dress box and not in a dress cover as there will be nowhere to hang it on the flight.
  • Pick up any wedding items you're having made in the UK. 
  • Finish packing. 
  • Label your luggage. 


When you arrive 
  • Meet your wedding coordinator to run through all the arrangements.
  • Hang your dress, it may need to be steamed, you can buy a portable steamer to take with you quite cheaply.
  • Relax and enjoy the resort and a spa treatment or two. 
  • Have an early night, tomorrow’s the big day!

Why not read all about the countdown and planning to my wedding which was in Mauritius in June 2017 here

Call Lesley on 0800 983 0075 or email info@travelbylesley.co.uk


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