Always dreamed of tying
the knot in a far-off locale? So,
make the fantasy happen!
The Zero-Drama Guide toDestination Weddingsdestination weddingsAfter 12 years of dating, we finally
got around to getting engaged last
winter. Somehow the orthodoxy of a
big Manhattan event where Ashley
and I were the center of attention
had always felt too conventional for
us. Then we started toying with the
idea of vows in a land far, far away.
Destination wedding is a loaded
term that can intimidate even the
most ambitious couples. Why add
travel to the endless pile of complica-
tions inherent in your nuptials?
Why go thousands of miles away and
add a language barrier on top of
it? But when Ashley spied an ad
for a small hotel in the Alentejo
region of Portugal, we took the bait
and emailed. A few days later, they
got back to us with pricing. It was
half of what we had considered
spending in New York City! That
revelation started the wheels spin-
ning. The world opened up its arms
to us and said “Do it!”
We aren’t the only ones being
beckoned. Once a couple realizes
that a destination wedding doesn’t
take a bottomless stash of cash,
choosing a spot is a romantic
endeavor. Tara Sowlaty Lehrer,
cofounder of the lifestyle blog »A world’s-eyeview on whereto say “I do”100
august + september 2019 brides.com