1. PCD can serve as your Wedding Consultant and Travel Consultant. We will walk you through every step of the process, from recommending a resort to negotiating wedding packages, to negotiating terms and setting up your room block to ensuring that the resort is held accountable for all of their commitments.

2. PCD will design a complimentary travel website for each couple to share with guests. The site will incorporate any themes, hashtags, weekend itineraries, dress code, RSVP date, and pictures. We will incorporate all of your preferences into a FAQ page for your guests or into the main travel page. Ask us to show you an example wedding website.

3. PCD will keep you and your guests informed and up-to-date on any wedding updates. As people RSVP, we’ll send you a tracking sheet so that you’re aware of who has made their deposit and also, who has reached out, but not formally RSVP’d as of yet.

4. PCD will ensure that both you and your guests obtain very competitive pricing and flexible payment plans on travel arrangements. The ability to make payment plans is HUGE because it makes travel in general affordable for you and your guests. (Payment plans are optional, you’ll have other guests that prefer to pay their balances in full, and that’s totally ok.)

5. PCD is very attentive – we pride ourselves on being detail-oriented. If there’s ever anything that you can think of that we should add to our list of commitments, we are happy to explore the idea. Ultimately, we want to continue to be a market leader in concierge-level service on destination weddings and international group travel.

6. PCD’s dedication to brides, grooms, and their respective guests is our pride and joy. Retaining the best travel coordinator and wedding coordinator is the most essential thing that every couple planning a destination wedding should take into consideration. Additionally, we are very proud of our Price Match Guarantee. You’ll always pay less by booking with PCD.

7. PCD charges a one-time non-refundable service fee for travel planning and/or wedding coordination services. This will be discussed during your free consultation. Some destination weddings that are more complex will require a larger up-front retainer.

Many brides and grooms take different approaches. Overall, most are interested in the best cost-effective option for themselves and their guests. Making a wedding trip memorable and affordable for your guests was essential. Having a budget in mind will help to narrow down options/destinations. Some of the most popular (economical) all-inclusive wedding destinations are Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica. For couples that know exactly where they want to get married, we will recommend a resort based on the vibe that you’re looking for. We highly recommend setting a ‘max’ per-person guest budget and 2 tentative wedding dates – this can help you to narrow down the date/destination/venue very easily.

It’s best to reserve venues between 12 – 18 months in advance keeping in mind that Saturday weddings are in high demand.

PCD recommends researching venues (resorts and their wedding locations) about 1-1.5 years prior to the wedding date or as early as you have chosen a wedding date. If you are set on a certain date, the earlier the better – Saturdays and Sundays and especially afternoon weddings are most popular and certain dates can be taken as early as 2 years in advance. If you are flexible with your dates, 1 -1.5 years in advance will most likely work out well giving you lots of time to plan the fun stuff!

Most hotels will allow a courtesy hold of 1-2 weeks on a wedding date. Once your desired wedding date is on hold, it is best to also reserve the room block. Due to Covid, many hotels/countries are limited to 50-60% of their room inventory – so the earlier you block the number of rooms you’re estimated to need, the better (PCD will guide you through this process).

For the actual wedding planning, we recommend gathering your ideas and writing them down and visuals are always a plus! We highly recommend securing a wedding planner to help start the whole process about 1-1.5 years out (for availability reasons), the actual detailed wedding planning can start around 6 months prior to the wedding. Resorts will most likely not reach out until 2-3 months prior and their response times are sometimes delayed (island time if you will) – so if you care about details, don’t skip on the wedding planner.

This is a MAJOR advantage of having a destination wedding. More intimate weddings may have around 50ppl while other weddings will have 300ppl. When you’re having a destination wedding, naturally, some people may not be able to make it, and that’s understandable. We always remind guests it is manageable when using PCD’s flexible payment plan options.

This depends on your budget and appetite.FYI – some venues offer complimentary weddings, so no matter how big or how small your wedding is, we will make it what you envisioned. On average, most of the weddings that I’ve planned cost between $5K – $15K. One of the biggest factors that determine cost is the reception – if you’re looking for a ceremony + private reception with a DJ, expect to spend at least $5k. If you are looking for a beautiful scenic ceremony and would rather have dinner at an on-site restaurant and then party at the on-site disco, you will spend much less.

Remember – your guests have NO expectations. They are coming for the vacation and to celebrate with you, and with a destination wedding – the wedding itself is 5% of the actual vacation. Always keep in mind that with destination weddings, your guests will have the time of their life EVERY DAY, not just the wedding day.

Secure a reputable squad/company – There are tons of travel agencies around, but not all specialize in destination weddings. Some may say that they do and in reality don’t, so be careful – do your research. Retaining an amazing travel agency is crucial and it will save you time, money, and efforts down the line. Destination Weddings are a specialty niche area of travel coordination that requires expertise, relationships, and most importantly – PASSION! (Not all travel agencies are created equal in this regard.)

Consider also securing an independent wedding coordinator. This person will have the ability to start wedding planning and helping to arrange your intimate details immediately. Most resort’s “on-site coordinators” do not proactively start wedding planning with couples until 90 days prior to the wedding. Your independent coordinator can serve as the middle man between you and the resort, get answers for you quickly, and they can be there for GAME DAY to ensure that everything that you’d planned and dreamed of for the past year or so comes to life! They will work side by side with the resort’s on-site coordinators on your wedding day!

Set a realistic budget and ask your travel agent or wedding coordinator the question – “Realistically, how much “wedding” can I have on $$this$$ budget?” Remember, we can plan weddings on any budget!

Be kind and be patient. Remember that there are not many REAL emergencies when planning a destination wedding. Your wedding is not tomorrow and not next month, and with destination wedding planning – your every dream can come through as long as it’s in the plan at least a month prior to your wedding.

Choose your date and location before jumping into planning out the actual wedding. Deciding on a date and location is the biggest decision you’ll have to make!

Easy – As soon as invites go out! PCD can make that happen very quickly for you!

Yes, we recommend room blocks to ensure fixed pricing, availability, and rebates for our wedding couples. Ask us about Room Block 101 – We developed an entire Q&A for brides and grooms to learn all about room blocks in preparation for this milestone of wedding planning.

After the hotel deposit is made, the resort will assign an on-site Wedding Coordinator. This person is the wedding expert and will handle all of your intimate details. They can handle your photography, videography, floral, decor, DJ/MC, entertainment, food, desserts, lighting, photo booth, favors, gift bags, fireworks, etc. A huge benefit of having a destination wedding is that you can potentially deal with fewer vendors. You can make the selections and they will execute it for you and handle all communications with each of the vendors. You can write one check, and hold one person accountable. You can literally “show up” to your own destination wedding and everything will be handled for you, exactly as you’ve imagined! With a traditional wedding, you have to manage multiple vendors and vendor payments and deposits. With a destination wedding, there’s typically one vendor, the resort!

(We recommend an independent wedding coordinator to assist you as well. The resort’s on-site coordinators do not typically start planning in the nitty-gritty until you’re 90 days away from The Big Day.)

If you opt for a legal ceremony, this means that you’d be legally getting married during your destination wedding. Most couples chose the symbolic ceremony to avoid having to return to the United States and prove the legality of a marriage. It also saves time and money because you will not have to arrive at your destination days in advance to satisfy the requirements of a “legal marriage.” You can check with your local county’s probate court to obtain the procedure for obtaining a marriage license and marriage certificate. So technically, most couples do not LEGALLY get married in their preferred destination, but get married in the presence of family and friends.