A destination wedding package is a set price from a resort or hotel that bundles the core of your wedding: the ceremony setup, an officiant, an on-site coordinator and a few finishing touches such as flowers, a cake and a toast. Your flights, your guests' rooms and most of the reception usually sit outside it. Knowing where that line falls is how you compare one package with another, or with a wedding a planner arranges for you.
The package is the resort's own product. It turns the parts every ceremony needs into one price, so you can book from another country without hiring each supplier separately. The resort's wedding team then runs the day using its own venues, staff and approved suppliers.
That is different from a wedding planned around you, where a planner sources the venue, every supplier and each event to your brief, often across more than one property. The package is simpler; the planned wedding gives you more say over the place, the people and the price of each part.
Photo: Jonathan Borba (Pexels)
Inclusions vary by resort and by tier, but most packages cover these:
Ceremony location and setup: A standard spot on the property, with chairs, an arch and basic décor.
An officiant: Often for a symbolic ceremony, with a legal one costing more where it is offered.
An on-site coordinator: The resort's own wedding coordinator for the day.
Flowers for the couple: A bouquet and a buttonhole.
A small cake and a toast: Usually sparkling wine for a set number of guests.
A dinner or cocktail hour: Often semi-private, for a fixed number of guests and hours.
Travel and rooms: Your flights, your room and every guest's room are booked separately, usually at a group rate.
A private reception: A beach, terrace or ballroom for your group alone is normally an upgrade.
Extra guests: Each guest over the package number is charged per head.
Photography and video: Packages may include credits, but a full photographer is usually extra.
Music, lighting and a dance floor: A DJ or band is rarely in the base price.
Outside suppliers: Bringing your own photographer or florist can attract a fee.
Legal costs: Documents, translations and registration where you marry legally.
Service charges and taxes: Check whether quoted prices include them.
Some all-inclusive resorts waive the package fee when your group books enough rooms or stays a minimum number of nights. The package is still paid for, through your guests' rooms. Before you count it as free, check how many rooms and nights it needs, whether your guests can meet that, and what happens if some cancel.
Before you hold rooms, read what a wedding room block commits you to.
Many resort ceremonies are symbolic: the vows are real, but the marriage is registered at home before or after the trip. A legal ceremony abroad means meeting that country's paperwork rules, which can take months and may need translated documents.
Ask the resort which kind its package covers. For Italy, our legal guide to getting married in Italy sets out the documents step by step.
Put these to the resort's wedding team in writing:
How many guests does the price cover, and what is the charge for each extra guest?
Is the reception private or shared with other diners?
How many hours of drinks and dinner are included?
Which ceremony locations are included, and what is the wet-weather plan?
Can we bring our own photographer, and is there a fee?
Is the ceremony legal or symbolic?
Do prices include service charges and taxes?
How many other weddings could the resort hold on our date?
Photo: Andrea Prochilo (Pexels)
A package suits a smaller group happy with the resort's settings and suppliers. If you want a particular villa or chateau, several events across a weekend, or suppliers you choose yourself, a planned wedding gives you that control. For examples of what packages look like in one country, see Italy wedding packages and what they include and what Lake Como packages include.
Our destination wedding packages start from where you want to marry rather than a fixed bundle. An advisor arranges the venue, styling, cake, celebrant and the timings for the day, with the ceremony, the reception and your guests' rooms in one plan, across venues and hotels in nine destinations.
For guests, your advisor shortlists hotels near the celebration in three price ranges and shares them through Wonderland Studio. On stays booked through us, Wedded Privileges add breakfast, hotel credit and early arrival or late departure at the properties that take part. Some partner hotels add wedding extras too, such as nights in a pool villa or a couples' spa treatment, with prices on enquiry.
Where you marry sets the season, how far guests travel and the paperwork. Start with our wedding guides to Italy, Greece, Bali, Thailand, Fiji and Mexico, then use our destination wedding checklist to plan the months ahead.
Written by
Senior SEO Specialist, Wedded Wonderland
Mark Tuason is the Senior SEO Specialist at Wedded Wonderland, where he writes and refreshes the brand's guides to destination weddings and cultural wedding traditions. He starts with the questions couples search for, checks the answers against trusted sources, and shapes each guide to help them plan, compare and book with confidence. Based in the Philippines, he specialises in content strategy and on-page SEO.
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