My wedding took place in Hawaii. Not because it’s breathtaking scenery offers the ideal backdrop for an outdoor wedding. Not because it would be a great “destination” wedding where everything was covered under a resort’s “all-inclusive wedding package.” Nor was it because I dreamt of having my wedding pictures taken along a fabulous sandy beach at sunset. The reason I got married in Hawaii is simple: it was where I was born and raised and I couldn’t imagine starting a new chapter of my life without family and friends looking on.
With that said, I planned this Hawaiian wedding while I was working in the Midwest (5,000 miles away). I don’t recommend it. In fact, I strongly urge anyone who may be thinking of planning a wedding from miles away to hire a wedding planner (my mom was my wedding planner and looking back that was a lot to ask). I realize there are many brides-to-be who are in the same situation I was in, pursuing a career in another state, but desires to be married in their hometown. If that sounds like you, then I have some sanity-saving tips for you to consider:
Tip #1—Choosing a Travel-Friendly Dress. When I chose my dress the last thing I considered was how well it would travel. Big mistake. I ended up choosing a lovely plain-bodice dress with a long jewel-encrusted train. After months getting it tailored so it fit like a glove, two weeks before the wedding I was struck with the realization that I had no clue how I was going to get this white monstrosity across the Pacific. Hence, Tip #1: BEFORE deciding on a dress, decide how travel-friendly it is. Obviously, some fabrics travel better than others and some styles will lend themselves to being packed in a garment bag better than others. At the last moment I had to rush-order a special garment bag that would accommodate my multi-layered monstrosity (bustling it only made it larger).
Tip #2—ALWAYS Carry On Your Wedding Dress. Never check your dress through as luggage. Besides the fact that you may never see it again; have you seen how baggage handlers treat luggage? Instead, call the airline and ask if they have any restrictions regarding wedding dresses as carry-ons. Luckily, in my case, a member of my wedding party was a flight attendant for the airline I was flying, so she got them to keep my dress in the pilot’s closet. I was very LUCKY. It just so happened that there were three other brides-to-be on my flight to Hawaii and since the closet space is limited and works on a first-come-first-serve basis, one very unhappy bride-to-be was forced to cram her dress into an overhead bin.
Tip#3-Triple Check Travel Arrangements—I flew in a priest (a family friend) from another island to perform our wedding. His plane was to arrive the morning of our wedding, but he ended up almost missing the ceremony because the person in charge of picking him up had the wrong flight number. The poor priest waited at the airport for more than an hour before he eventually called a cab to take him to the church.
Tip#4—Prepare for the Worst. Sounds a bit morbid, but when it comes to travel arrangements, just about anything can go wrong (of course, you hope for the best, but sometimes reality rears its ugly head). For example, the rental car company that was supposed to have a fleet of Lincoln Town Cars for a number of our special guests had the reservation under the wrong name and date (delaying our guest’s arrival at the church). Also, the hotel that had blocked off a number of rooms for our out-of-town guests refused to accommodate the ones that didn’t show up by check-in time because of airline delays. (That was eventually resolved with a few phone calls.)
I do hope these tips will serve some good. (Please learn from my mistakes.) Your wedding day is supposed to be one of the most memorable days of your life. Here’s to making those memories good ones!