Dreaming of saying your “I do’s” with your toes in the sand while gazing out at a turquoise tide that’s almost as pretty as the sunset?  For a lot of brides, the idea of leaving Omaha with your closest family and friends and heading to an exotic location is an easier choice that can take some of the stress and worry out of getting married.  Get ready to pack your bags and hop on a flight to somewhere far, far away from Nebraska!  Here are some helpful tips to help you get started on planning the perfect destination wedding:

Choose a date!  Get your closet friends and family in the loop and see what dates would work for them.  You’ll want to start planning and booking about 9-15 months in advance :).

Find a reputable travel agency in Omaha.  From my experience, Andy Baker with Enchanted Honeymoons and Travel is the best in Omaha!  He has some really fantastic ideas and is thoroughly organized from the early planning stages all the way to the time of your departure.  You can contact him at andy@enchantedhoneymoons.com

Make sure to do your research!  Costa Rica, Jamaica and Saint Lucia all have different marriage laws and travel laws.  You’ll also want to get your passport (make sure to do this way ahead of time)!

Hire a wedding consultant through the resort.  You won’t regret it!  He or she will be your saving grace during the trip and throughout the entire process of planning your wedding.

Hire a photographer!!!  This is so important;  we cannot emphasize this enough.  The price you pay for a photographer that the resort assigns to you and the price you pay for a photographer that you’ve done your research on will be the same (and sometimes the resort’s price will even be MORE… Yikes!).  This is such an important part of one of the biggest days of your life, so why not pay the same price for someone you trust and have done your homework on?  The resort photographers are usually paid an hourly wage and will produce very generic, unedited images.  A hired photographer will document the entire day from start to finish.  In fact, if you hire Love & Light Omaha you’ll receive both images and a video of our entire stay with you.  We are very hands-on and tend to create lifelong friendships with our clients :).

Call us at 402-578-5591 or email us at audreybphotography@gmail.com or loveandlightomaha@gmail.com for more information!  We can’t wait to hear from you!