Sunset Kiss

My upcoming Rarotongan wedding is not the first wedding I have planned. In fact I got about half way through organising an entire wedding in Central Otago Region of New Zealand. Mr W and I had researched everything, quotes had come and the dollars signs kept going up. The location was my mother’s Cherry Orchard in Cromwell, a beautiful place with mountains looming on one side and a pristine icy cold lake on the other.

It was at the end of last year after a hectic discussion with my Mum that we realised my parents may have to sell by the time we got married. To be honest, I freaked out, I cried a little and then, like the cliche, decided to turn my lemons into lemonade.

Plan B I thought to myself. What else could we do, where else could we go?

Rarotonga Forest

People always talk about the stress of weddings, the organisation, the costs. Planning the first wedding I realised just how stressful this was going to be. Eloping wasn’t an option for us, but after a while I realised there was a happy medium, a destination wedding, in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

Things to consider if planning a destinaton wedding

  • A lot of people may not be able to come, be prepared for this and decide whether you can deal with it.
  • If you have a theme make sure that your destination can cater for this. You can’t have a ballroom wedding, in the middle of a cow paddock!
  • Research thoroughly before making your decision. There are so many fantastic forums with brides that have been there, done that and are more than willing to offer advice.
  • Once you have decided on a location, find some contacts on the ground (in my case the wonderful Andrea from Wedded Bliss Rarotonga) or do a research trip.
  • Get a wedding website together. When having a destination wedding there is so much information that you usually cannot fit it all into a invitation. A wedding website gives you the opportunity to store all this information and create a community for those invited, to ask questions and discuss details together.

Rarotongan Beach Wedding

The hardest part is making the decision and letting your loved ones know. For those that do come, your wedding becomes more than a day it becomes a holiday with all the people you care about most in the world.

Images supplied by Wedded Bliss Rarotonga

Ms Gingham says: What’s not to love about a destination wedding? One big party and when the wedding has finished you get to keep on celebrating!

Melanie says: “I’m a kiwi girl who lives in regional Queensland and am planning a wedding in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. Come with me as I experience the perils of organising a destination wedding in one of the most beautiful places in the world.”

You can read more about Melanie’s wedding planning journey so far here.