A planner for the part of a destination wedding that is not the wedding: forty people getting there and back.
What most destination wedding specialists charge the couple, because resorts pay them commission. Some also charge a $200 to $500 planning fee.
The guest management is the real product. Coordinating forty people booking separately, at different times and on different budgets, with changes and cancellations throughout, is the part that becomes unmanageable alone. The room block contract is the part with your money in it.
Most destination wedding travel specialists are paid by the resort or the supplier through commission, not by you. That is why so many advertise free planning. It is genuinely free at the point of use, and it also means the incentive structure is worth understanding: an agent earns more from some properties than others.
The better ones are transparent about it, and many now charge a modest planning fee of $200 to $500 alongside commission, which buys you an advisor whose recommendations are less dependent on which resort pays best. If an agent will not discuss how they are paid, that is information.
The guest management is the real product. Coordinating 40 people booking separately, at different times, with different budgets, is the part that becomes unmanageable without help.
Resort group contracts carry attrition clauses just as hotels do, setting a minimum number of rooms or room nights your group must book, with you liable for the shortfall. Ask about the drop date, the point at which you can release unbooked rooms without penalty, which at resorts is often around six months out. Resorts book twelve or more months ahead, and the room block frequently has to be secured within about ten days of holding your date, which is a very short window for reading twenty pages of contract.
How they work
The contract
Specialisation is the thing to check, because the label is unregulated.
Not how many holidays they have booked. Destination weddings are a distinct product with group contracts, legal marriage requirements and on-site coordination. Ask which resorts they have worked at repeatedly, and how recently they visited.
Many countries have residency requirements, blood tests, document translation or apostille rules that take weeks. Plenty of couples marry legally at home beforehand and hold a symbolic ceremony abroad, which is entirely normal. Ask what your destination requires and how long it takes, before you fall for a venue.
Your travel specialist is almost certainly not traveling with you. The resort supplies its own wedding coordinator, often assigned late and managing several weddings a week. Ask when that person is assigned, how many weddings they handle, and what happens if something goes wrong the day before.
Save the dates go out eight to twelve months ahead for a destination wedding, with a realistic total cost per guest stated plainly. People need to budget and book time off. A guest list that shrinks after you have signed an attrition minimum is the expensive version of this mistake.
We are building this market by market, and a listing goes live only once we have enough real specialists to be worth your time. Two listings is not a directory, so until it is useful it stays closed.
Usually not directly. Most are paid commission by the resort or supplier. Some also charge a planning fee of $200 to $500, which tends to make their recommendations less dependent on which property pays best.
They source properties, negotiate and hold the group contract, manage every guest booking individually, arrange flights and transfers, and act as the escalation point when something goes wrong.
Yes. Like hotels, resort group contracts set a minimum number of rooms or room nights your group must book, with you liable for the shortfall. Ask about the drop date, often around six months out.
It depends on the country. Many have residency requirements, document translation or apostille rules that take weeks. Marrying legally at home and holding a symbolic ceremony abroad is common and entirely normal.
Eight to twelve months ahead, with a realistic per-guest cost stated plainly so people can budget and book time off.
Next: hotel room blocks, wedding venues, or all 24 vendor categories.