Your Island Wedding-Day Checklist
By Beverly Clark
http://www.islands.com/
The following checklist will help you and your spouse-to-be cover all the bases of your destination wedding. Keep in mind that these are general recommendations and may need to be adjusted to fit your particular plans.
SIX TO EIGHT MONTHS BEFORE THE WEDDING
Decide on a budget.
Determine the style (formal, informal), size (wedding party, guests), and setting (church, garden, beach) for the ceremony.
Target a wedding date.
Select a destination—check the Internet or contact a travel agent.
Create a file for contracts, notes of conversations, and other wedding-related information.
Research the marriage license requirements of the island. If possible, request an application ahead of time from the foreign consulate, chamber of commerce, or tourism department.
Call or send for information on wedding sites; wedding-package details from hotels, chapels, consulates, and tourism departments; and consultants who can assist in legal matters and coordinate the ceremony site, officiant, flowers, music, and other details.
Evaluate wedding packages and select a wedding service or consultant who can assist you with long-distance arrangements.
Choose a maid of honor, best man, and other attendants.
Develop an invitation list, then send a save-the-date note.
Select wedding attire.
Sign up with a bridal registry and select gifts.
FOUR TO SIX MONTHS BEFORE
Negotiate and finalize ceremony and reception details with your wedding service providers, independent consultant, or on-site coordinator, communicating any items that will personalize your wedding.
Make sure to collect signed contracts that confirm the arrangements.
Finalize your guest list.
Order wedding invitations, announcements, and thank-you cards.
Negotiate and arrange air, hotel, and ground transportation for the wedding party. Make additional arrangements for the honeymoon.
Confirm your arrangements with the photographer and videographer.
Buy wedding rings and have them engraved.
TWO TO FOUR MONTHS BEFORE
Obtain necessary legal documents, including passports and/or visas if traveling to a foreign destination.
Get any necessary inoculations.
Choose gifts for the maid of honor, best man, and other attendants.
Address and mail invitations.
Begin composing your vows (if you want to write your own).
ONE TO TWO MONTHS BEFORE
Have your final dress and headpiece fittings.
Have a formal wedding portrait taken.
Send a wedding announcement and picture to your hometown newspapers.
Shop for your travel wardrobe.
Consult with a professional shipper if you are shipping your wedding dress.
TWO WEEKS BEFORE
Contact necessary offices for name change forms (driver’s license, social security, etc.).
Confirm travel and wedding arrangements.
ONE WEEK BEFORE
Review final details with the hotel, photographer, videographer, florist, musicians, and others involved in the wedding.
Arrange to meet with your officiant before the ceremony.
Make sure everyone’s wedding attire is in order.
Plan guest seating if needed.
UPON ARRIVAL
Visit with your consultant and/or officiant.
Apply for the marriage license.
Visit the ceremony site.
THE WEDDING DAY
Concentrate on the important things—each other—and be flexible about everything else.
Have fun!