How to Become a Destination Wedding Planner Abroad

What is a destination wedding planner?

A destination wedding planner organizes, designs, and executes weddings for couples outside of their home countries. 

The “destination” part refers to the couple, not you. So if you’re Italian, you can plan destination weddings in Italy for couples who are not from or based in Italy. Equally, you can be Canadian based in Slovenia planning weddings for couples who are based outside of Slovenia. 

This is a great opportunity for expats who can combine their knowledge of their home country with that of their chosen country. You'll likely have an idea of what brides and grooms from your country are looking for and what your new home can offer them.

As a destination wedding planner, your duties may include:

• Searching for suitable destination wedding locations and venues 
• Tracking and itemizing the couple’s wedding budget
• Sourcing all vendors (wedding professionals) involved in the wedding day
• Managing guest lists and RSVPs
• Assisting with marriage license registration
• Creating a timeline for the wedding day
• Coordinating the wedding on the day from beginning to end
• Planning extra events like rehearsal dinners and after-parties
• Liaising with travel agents

Often, you’ll wear many hats to plan weddings but if you thrive on variety, this is truly a dream job. 

Sound good? Here’s how to get started.

How to become a destination wedding planner abroad

How do you become a profitable destination wedding planner abroad? Here’s what you need to know in this step-by-step guide, based on my personal experience. 

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1. Get experience

While you could take a destination wedding planning course, the key to becoming a wedding planner is to get hands-on experience. 

Important note: planning your own wedding is NOT wedding planning experience. 

While it may have been stressful and demanding to plan your own wedding, it’s nothing compared to the expectations of someone else’s wedding. 

I recommend reaching out to local wedding planners and offering to assist them at their events. This will also help you network with other planners who could refer work to you and vice versa. 

You may be working for free at this stage, but this experience is crucial. 

Learn what it’s like to run a wedding day with all the moving parts from a professional perspective before you build your business.

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2. Choose your country/region

Wedding planning is much like project management. You are essentially the curator and coordinator of great local vendors to execute your clients’ vision. 

Therefore, you need to be intentional about the countries or regions you operate in. 

I specialized in Portugal, as I have a strong command of Portuguese. There are planners that expand their reach to a few countries they feel comfortable operating in.

A quick note on international wedding planners

If you truly want no bounds—as in creating destination weddings anywhere in the world—you can become an international wedding planner. 

However, it’s tricky to build a trusted list of local wedding vendors in every country. You'll have to research local wedding professionals from scratch each time. Alternatively, you can reserve some of your income to hire local wedding planners to help you with key aspects of the planning process, like vendor and venue sourcing.

Tip: specialize in dream weddings in one country first, to build a portfolio, then expand.

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3. Decide on your niche

The niche for your wedding planning business is the intersection of what you do and who you do it for.

Choosing a country is not enough to define your wedding planning niche—it’s a little more complex than that. 

Unless you’re the only wedding planner in that country, you need to build a brand that stands out. 

For example, my tagline was “colorful destination weddings with Portuguese heart.” I wanted to specialize in strong color schemes in authentically Portuguese settings across the country. 

Other things that set me apart from my competitors, included:

• Being a native English speaker (Brit) with fluency in Portuguese
• Offering no exclusive contracts with vendors or venues
• Working with all local Portuguese vendors
• Working outside of the Algarve in more niche locations
• Assisting couples with mid-range budgets (€30-60k)

Think about your style and the couples you want to serve, then build your vendor list to suit.

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4. Build your vendor list

Once you know the type of destination weddings you want to create, you can start connecting with vendors that match your style and ethos. 

I wanted modern local Portuguese vendors with a good eye for color. 

When it came to venues, I wanted to link up with flexible hotels, resorts, and vineyards that allowed me to break free from local traditions. 

Regardless of your style and ideal couple, you want vendors who are:

• Communicative
• Reliable
• Punctual
• Within budget for your couples

Your curated list of vendors and venues is your lifeline as a wedding planner. Choose wisely.

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5. Define your wedding planning services

In the beginning of this article, I outlined some of the tasks you are expected to do as a destination wedding planner … but here’s the thing: you don’t need to do all of them! 

Most destination wedding planners offer full plans, which allows the couple to come to you at the very beginning. This service provides your couples with the assurance they need; you, their trusted wedding planner, will be taking care of all aspects of the wedding for them, from start to finish.

You can also offer smaller, one-off services, for extra income, such as:

• Venue sourcing
• Vendor sourcing
• Wedding styling
• Office hours/consulting
• Wedding coaching
• Travel planning for guests
• Last minute planning

I did not offer any on-the-day coordination services. I solely worked on full plans and partial plans. Therefore, I was involved in every aspect of the planning from beginning to end. I also didn’t offer any registration services.

You get to choose what services you offer. Now, it’s time to build your packages.

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6. Build your wedding planning packages

I know what you’re thinking: how much should I charge as a new wedding planner? 

Difficult question to answer but here’s the inside scoop. 

For full plans, most destination wedding planners charge 10-20% of the overall budget.

So, if a couple wants to spend €100k on their wedding, you take €10-20k. 

That way, your rate scales in line with the complexity of the wedding.

However, you must set a minimum price for your services. I recommend starting at what your competitors charge. You can increase as you build your portfolio.

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7. Register your business

Registering your business will highly depend on where you’re based, so I’ll keep this section brief. 

Just know that it’s important to have a fiscal location for your business and pay taxes accordingly. 

In some countries, you may have to get licensed or insured to offer certain event services too. Consult your local government guidelines on event coordination and planning. 

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8. Market your destination wedding planning services

Here's how to book your first destination wedding clients:

• Styled shoots: Stage fake mini destination weddings with your network of vendors and get them professionally photographed. Once you have the photos, use them for your portfolio or submit them for publications like Love My Dress or Bridal Musings. 
• Social media: Build a platform on visual social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook depending on your desired audience. 
• Referrals: Create a referral scheme among your wedding contacts to get your first clients.

What did I do? I focused on my talents for writing and design by guest posting and creating styled shoots. I had a YouTube channel too, which is still live today.

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Why I’m not a wedding planner anymore & what you should do differently

You might be wondering: why are you writing a guide to building a destination wedding planning business if you’re no longer in the industry?

Great question! Contrary to popular belief, it has nothing to do with “bridezillas” or “groomzillas”. I was extremely selective with whom I chose to work with and therefore had great clients throughout my career. 

I’m not a wedding planner anymore because I burned out. 

That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t become a destination planner if you want to. It’s a beautiful profession and I’m proud of my work.

But if you want longevity in the wedding industry, here are my top tips:

• Learn to delegate early: Hire an assistant as soon as it’s financially feasible to do so—even for a couple of hours a week. Getting accustomed to delegating and managing a team is a crucial skill if you want to expand.
• Price your services appropriately: Nothing screams burnout like being underpaid. Make sure you’re charging sufficiently to keep yourself and your business alive.
• Block off your holidays 18 months in advance: Sounds extreme but most clients will book you 12-18 months before their wedding (sometimes even earlier). The wedding industry works in long timeframes and you can’t surprise your clients out of the blue by going on holiday for two weeks. Block out your vacations early.

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Is destination wedding planning for you?

Becoming a destination wedding planner abroad is tough as you are dealing with the special days of stressed-out clients. But if you have a great eye for wedding details, an empathetic approach to couples, and a knack for networking, you can build a thriving business abroad crafting dream weddings. 

I had almost ten glorious years in the wedding industry that I don’t regret for a second. 

So if it’s in your heart to try, give it a go! I wish you every success.