TGIF + blog swap!

TGIF, friends! I've got a special treat for you today :) This Friday marks {flower & honey}'s first ever, blog swap! The awesome Victoria, from Tickle My Fancy, is visiting today to chat about destination weddings!
 

"Aloha, Flower & Honey readers!

Victoria here from TickleMyFancy and I am so honored and excited to be sharing some of my insight on planning a destination wedding!

My Hawaii wedding is fast approaching, and here are a few things I've gathered along the way.

Once you have the date and location set, send your save the dates immediately.  The sooner the better, the guests you plan on inviting need plenty of time to be able to take off work and make travel arrangements.  As far as the invites, typically it's suggested you send those out for destination weddings between eight to ten weeks before. In my case our "save the dates" were our invites, since ours will be a very low key, very intimate small ceremony on the beautiful island of Kauai.

I can't stress to you enough about how crucial it is that you find a planner where your wedding will be held. Especially if your location isn't a short drive away. Your planner will become a best friend so to speak in the whole process so definitely make sure you do lots of research. Pick one that sees your vision, and who you will be able to get along with. Emails and phone calls will be the source of communication since you can't physically be there whenever you want. When corresponding with your planner, keep in mind the time difference. Whether it's the same timezone or five, this can of course mean you won't get replies/responses as soon as you would like, so be patient.

If the guests replied to your invite with a YES, the least you can do is give them recommendations or steer them in the right direction. Along with the invite you can make very cute little maps of the city, or print off hotel lists, things to do, time lines of planned events i.e. rehearsal dinner, welcome party, etc. There are so many creative and fun ways to do this, the Internet and of course magazines are great sources.  Basically you want the guests to just show up and enjoy themselves, so the less they have to do the better.

Planning from afar is a huge task and can get very stressful. I suggest just one thing, remember the main and most important reason you are doing it all, your best friend and soon to be spouse. :)

Now for a couple of my favorite pictures from our last trip to Hawaii…

Hope you have a lovely weekend!

Mahalo (Thank You) for having me, Katherine!"

Ummm, John & Tori are adorable. And WOW! Those pictures are amazing and what great advice for couples planning their far off destination weddings. I'm secretly (or not-so-secretly, now) hoping that Victoria will let me stowe away in her suitcase to see these lovebirds tie the knot! ;)

Thank you, Victoria, for this fantastic post! As part of the swap, my TGIF + blog swap! post about reception centerpieces is up on Tickle My Fancy. While you're over there, be sure to check out the rest of Victoria's posts. Her blog rocks my socks. Hope you all enjoy!

Okay, kiddies - have a fabulous weekend :)

xoxo,
Kat