The destination wedding planning checklist, in the order things need to happen

A destination wedding compresses a lot of decisions that a local wedding can make gradually into a tighter, more front-loaded timeline, since travel logistics, guest planning, and legal requirements all need earlier attention than usual.

12+ months out

Choose the destination and confirm legal marriage requirements there (residency periods, required documents, and translation requirements vary hugely by country). Send a save-the-date immediately once the venue is booked, since guests need maximum lead time to plan travel and take leave from work.

9 to 12 months out

Book accommodation blocks for guests, ideally with a range of price points. Confirm whether you're legally marrying at the destination or doing a smaller legal ceremony at home beforehand with a symbolic ceremony abroad, a common and practical workaround for countries with complicated residency requirements.

6 to 9 months out

Book local vendors, ideally ones with destination-wedding experience specifically, since they'll already understand permit requirements and local logistics that an unfamiliar vendor would need to learn from scratch.

3 months out and closer

Confirm final guest travel details, brief your officiant and vendors on the day-of timeline, and reconfirm every legal document requirement one more time. Destination wedding paperwork has a way of surfacing new requirements late, and this is not a step worth trusting to a single early confirmation.