Fashion Blogs

For as long as people have been joining in matrimony, weddings have been a source of fun, feasting and family time. A gorgeous champagne colored invitation in the mail carries several connotations: a relative is getting married/a very good friend is getting married, and you are about to go through a whole lot of preparation for one of the year’s biggest parties.

With traveling standards on a whole new, more approachable level, couples are occasionally choosing to throw the party of their lifetime in more remote locations, a move that still receives a very mixed response. Some people will be able to make the trip with and for the couple, but many may get held back by their daily routines and abilities. If you are in the lucky group who gets to party with the bride and groom, you have permission to lift your expectations of this wedding, because it wouldn't be so far away if it wasn't absolutely worth it, right?

The first thing you do when you receive a wedding abroad invitation, before you even think of RSVPing, is figure out if you can do it. Weddings are not cheap, and vacations do not grow from the job tree. See if your schedule can be opened up for the wedding, and if your budget is accommodating. If these two are on point, the hard part is done. Send your RSVP and start shopping!

If the destination is a car ride away, excellent. If not, you will depend on bus/plane/train schedules, which is a slight inconvenience, but nothing to fear. It is important to remind people traveling to a wedding to pack wisely. You need one or two fancy party outfits, which you have tried out to extent back home, and you definitely do not need to bring a selection of outfits to choose from when you get there. At some point of the trip, every tourist becomes very aware of the weight of their luggage. If you are assigned an active role in the wedding, then you could let the wedding planner take over your ceremonial clothes, and not carry them around with you, risking wrinkles and, heavens forbid, losing something. Families with children simply know that their child will be involved in the ceremony in some way. Children will play and get dirty, however, and their clothes always need more room in the bag. You can make it easier on yourself and order fancy dress outfits like flower girl gowns and such to arrive directly to the venue.

Some couples will provide accommodation for their guests, some won’t, and a lot depends upon this. The whole affair should not take more than a few days, optimally a weekend, when even the most corporate friends can get away from their jobs for a while. Depending on the destination, you can expect this to be a mighty fine weekend getaway, with everyone dressed in their best clothes, and feeling easy-breezy like a tourist. If your particular couple provided a bed and breakfast (fingers crossed you scored a room at a large French villa, which seems to be a popular and wonderful travel destination for weddings), half your worries are over. If not, book a room at a nearby hotel/hostel on time. The good news is that weddings are planned months ahead, and you will likely get a good deal for whichever room you are booking, simply because of the timeliness of your reservation. Using the increasingly popular booking websites such as Booking.com or AirBnB, you can do this in a minute, stress free, and on time.

Presents, on the other hand, are not much of a problem. Well, getting them “there” is not much of a problem in any case. Nobody expects to lug a luxury fridge over several borders, so you could, and should, make an arrangement with whichever company you are shopping from, and have it delivered directly to the new couple’s future home.

Last but not least, this is more than a weekend getaway, more than a wedding celebration. This is your chance to experience a new country, and at a fantastic setting at that! Bring some sunscreen and some clothes for adventuring in as well, and enjoy every moment of the fairy tale the bride and groom set up for you!