Before a bride and groom become husband and wife, they must start with a budget to determine how much they can spend on such things as the florists and flowers, wedding dress, catering and food, transportation such as limousines or rental cars or the wedding venue itself such as a destination wedding.

Destination weddings are the latest trend in weddings with something like 40 percent of the 2.3 million weddings every year taking place at a location other than the couple’s hometown church or synagogue.

Couples are urged to thoroughly research a destination wedding before booking their wedding date because most places such as a castle, a garden or a museum will need to have caterers and a cleanup crew brought in which adds to the overall cost of renting the venue.

There are wedding locations Michigan that offer beautiful flower gardens of various styles and shapes that bloom year-round so that a bride and groom could have a winter wedding or a traditional spring wedding.  This type of venue or destination wedding will already be working with a catering company or could recommend several different caterers in which a couple can choose from that know how to work at this particular type of wedding location.

There is a beautiful old castle right here in the United States located in Michigan which offers a wonderful destination wedding package that includes castle tours for the guests, your choice of rooms or outdoor gardens for the wedding ceremony and an additional set of rooms for receptions.

After the budget has been set and the destination has been thoroughly researched and booked for a day far enough in the future that allows perfect planning, the next thing to do would be to start a guest list.  The guest list often becomes a point of contention within families and between the two families.    If you have not seen or talked with a person in a long while, there is no need to invite them.  This will help keep costs low, especially with the destination wedding, which should only include close friends and family.

Another way to stretch a wedding budget is to consider off-peak times.  Morning weddings are very big in Europe and with a morning reception the food is much cheaper than a dinner reception.