Destination weddings are different than planning a typical wedding and honeymoon and much different than planning a standard travel vacation so you’ll definitely want to enlist the help and expertise of an experienced travel agent, and better yet, an agent who specializes in destination weddings.
Your destination wedding travel agent will need to know your budget, some of the destinations you are considering (and why you’re considering them i.e. you’ve been there, weather, mystique, etc.), the must-haves and can’t have on your list (must allow kids, can’t be too hot, must have a beach ceremony location or a church, etc. The approximate number of people in your wedding party and how many guests you think will be able to join you, how long you’d like to stay, whether or not you’ll be going elsewhere for your honeymoon or if you’ll spend your entire vacation at your wedding location, as well as, some other questions I’m sure.
You will want to find out from her how much experience she has with destination weddings, whether has she traveled to any of your choices personally, whether are there destinations she’s an expert in and/or where she has special connections, what you can expect from her while you work together, for instance, what is a reasonable amount of time for her to respond to your questions, how do the deposits work and what are the cancellation and change policies, and is she a full-service agent i.e. does she book flights and rooms and help facilitate details with the wedding coordinator or does she turn you over to the coordinator once booked.
Choosing your wedding destination is a very important decision and you will want to work with someone who you trust completely and who you get along well with. You will be sharing your intimate details about what’s important to you for your special day and you need someone who will truly listen and take that into consideration. You will also be relying on them to find you the very best deals for you and your loved ones and you need to know they won’t rush but will take the time and energy to find you the very best destination at the very best price.