Are you asking yourself where the very best destination wedding locations are to run off to and have your dream wedding?

As I'm sure you can imagine the answer to this question will vary greatly depending on who you ask, how far from home you want to travel (and even where home is to begin with), what time of year, how many guests you'd like to have and, of course, how much you want to spend on your wedding.

I ran into this very same problem when I was trying to figure out where we were going to get married too and it can be simply overwhelming! I'd start by making sure I've read our article on Destination Wedding Planning  and our page on Destination Wedding Location first and that should get you started.

I don't know how anyone could tell you the best destination wedding locations because what's important and desirable for each of us is going to be totally different and our budgets can vary too (see our Destination Wedding Budget Poll).

I will share the locations we were considering before ultimately deciding on Tulum, Mexico:

Places that we put on our "maybe" list right away:

• San Diego (North County)
• Santa Barbara
• Hawaii
• Mexico
• Antigua
• U.S. Virgin Islands
• Texas Hill Country

Again, ultimately it's up to you to decide and we're here to help in any way we can. Please ask any questions you have in the comments section below and if I don't know the answer I will help you find an answer ... probably from one of the awesome vendors who are here on our site. Let us hear from you ... so we can all learn from each other! *SmiLes* Suzanne

If you're having a destination wedding and you're looking for tips and ideas you've come to the right place! 

The Destination Wedding Site is a site dedicated to helping brides learn all they can about destination weddings by offering all kinds of tips and ideas. You can follow along and watch me plan my own destination wedding and hear from many other brides who have already had a destination wedding and that way you'll gain all of the knowledge you need to plan the perfect wedding trip for you and your guests.

We look at everything from destination wedding etiquette, how to choose a destination and a wedding site, who to invite, who should be in your wedding party, what to wear, how to save money by trying some great DYI projects ... and much much more!

Have a look around the site and let me know if you have any questions by using our contact us form where you can ask a private question or submit a question for our Q & A section.

Introduce yourself below and let us know you're having a destination wedding ... we'd love to hear from you! *SmiLes* Suzanne

Knowing that we really wanted to have a destination wedding, and with Mexico quickly becoming our top contender, we decided we'd better start getting all of our travel documents ordered.

If you are traveling someplace that requires a passport (you now need one for Mexico) you will need a certified copy of your birth certificate with a state seal.

My kids and I had a house fire a few years ago so I knew I needed to get all of our birth certificates. It turned out Ken needed to order his and his kids' as well. We were able to order the California birth certificates by downloading a document online, having it notarized (which is necessary for the certified copy), and mailing it in with a check (or money order). Ken was able to order his kids' copies (Texas) online.

Meanwhile we found out that to get passports for minor children you need either both parents present or a document signed (and notarized) by the parent who will not be present. Oh boy, here we go!

Ken and his ex-wife did not have an amicable divorce. They don't get along at all and they only communicate via email. Ken emailed her and told her that he'd like to get passports for the kids so we could travel this summer ... her reply? "No, I'm not signing anything!" As you can imagine this was devastating.

We had decided to get married in Mexico and I now had my had my heart set on getting married at Dreams Tulum in Tulum, Mexico (about an hour and a half from Cancun). I had a feeling that this was just her bitchy reaction and that there was a chance she'd sign the papers but could I really risk it? Not only did we need her to sign the paperwork for the passports we'd also need her to sign and notarize a document giving us permission to travel out of the country with minor children. So even if she agreed to sign for the passports ... we could pay for all seven passports, book and pay for a trip and she could refuse to sign the travel documents. *sigh* Not at all surprising but extremely frustrating.

As Ken spent the next week going back and forth with his "ex" I spent my time (crying) looking for destinations that wouldn't require passports or permission from her. We looked at San Diego, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. After about a week or so (and after getting her parents involved) she agreed to sign the paperwork for the passports (and the permission documents once we had our destination and dates chosen).

Now we had a decision to make ... book Mexico and hope she would honor her commitment or take the safe route and change destinations. Well, we decided to take our chances and book Mexico and we couldn't be happier. It worked out just fine. We now have everything signed and we are back on track to take our dream family vacation and get married on the beach in Mexico.

Are you planning on a destination that requires passports? Do you have one yet? You can read about the requirements here on the U.S. Department of State website. If you've put this off and you need to put a rush on it you can try a service like RushMyPassport.com.

Are you traveling with children? Have you had any drama dealing with either of your "ex's" while planning your wedding? Share your thoughts and stories ... it's probably therapeutic LOL and if it's unresolved maybe we can give you some advice ... or at least some support and a big hug! *SmiLes* Suzanne

Our Destination Wedding Budget

One of the most important aspects of your destination wedding planning is your budget.

Truthfully, we had absolutely no rhyme or reason to our budget. Ken asked me if I could set up a nice destination wedding for $15,000 and I said, "I think so."

This amount is intended to pay for the travel for all seven of us (we have 5 kids), our accommodations, our food and drinks, spending money, the wedding and reception, dress, shoes, everyone's wedding clothing (the seven of us), jewelry, passports, decorations ... well ... everything wedding related.

When I agreed to this amount I had NO idea what everything would cost and as I'm sure you can imagine it "went" really fast. I've found myself stressing out ... especially once I figured out that it was going to cost about $7,000 grand just for our travel, accommodations, and food and drinks (we chose an all-inclusive). I've done OK with this amount and I'm cutting costs in the areas where I feel I can and we'll see how I do when all is said and done.

I know how much it helped me to see other people's budgets that they posted online so I've decided to post mine (what I have so far). I hope it helps others ... but of course each item is such a personal decision so I'm not totally sure how much help it is. I will write a post about what's included in our "wedding package" and once it's done I'll link to it.

Let's have a look at where I'm at so far:

I am certain that I will "need" things that are not on here yet ... and we don't know yet how many guests we're having so some of the items could go up once we have that number. Some of the numbers might look funky so please ask me questions if you want to know about something specifically.

Let's do a poll too:

Are any of you willing to share your destination wedding budget? Do you have any questions, comments or suggestions for me on my budget? I'd love to hear from you ... and remember your comments help others too.

It's always fun to see where everyone else is having their destination wedding isn't it? Please take the poll (if you've decided on a destination) and then leave a comment below so others can ask you questions too. Remember what a huge help it is if we all help each other out with our wedding planning ...
View This Poll

Were you surprised at the locations that others are choosing? If you've decided on a destination be sure to add you comment below ... it's a great way to help out fellow destination brides who have selected their destination yet. *SmiLes* Suzanne