Destination Weddings at Home?

My brother and his fiancé are in the process of getting a grip on what they want for their wedding, and with budget issues first and foremost in their minds, they are seriously considering a destination wedding. When he told me over the phone that he figured they could get away with a $5000 wedding that way, I tried to remind him that there would be additional costs still in doing this. That yes, you could do it for $5000, but you also have to factor in attire, jewellery, guest favours, and resort activities to show your guests how much you appreciate their $5000 contribution to your big day. I started thinking...always a sign of trouble ahead...

So, with the way we have made the world a smaller place, we find ourselves with access to loads of new locations to visit, and tons of places to see. And it’s all so accessible, that we tend to forget what is readily available and what we may have never taken the time to appreciate in our own backyards.

Canadians in particular, have been incredibly attached to cottage country all throughout history, and yet, at the first opportunity we get, we tend to hop into a cab, wait for hours at the airport, fight the hustle and bustle of strangers in every direction to go through customs, and find our way to teeny, tiny little seats made for toddlers, eat crummy freeze dried food, rehydrated to only slightly resemble what a chicken breast should look like...to find ourselves laying on a beach, getting sun burnt at a resort, because the drinks and the food flow freely. This is how so many people are choosing to host their destination weddings, and really, I’m not all that opposed to heading somewhere tropical (I love travelling), but the exaggeration is meant to polarize the other side of the concept.

In Canada, we are blessed with many different corners, cultures, many different landscapes, all of which change with the seasons, and bring at least 4 very distinct characteristics to our lives. In this post and in select future posts, I hope to inspire local Canadians and future travellers, to consider Canada as a viable and interesting destination wedding option. In the long run, you’ll have a wedding that is unique to other destination options, AND, you won’t have had to spend all that much more money to keep revenues and resources local. Not only will it be welcomed and appreciated by your friends and family, BUT, you’ll be supporting your local economy. Travelling in country may take on a whole new meaning for some of us.

So, my first inspiration for you may be completely expected, but giving things some thought, could really take it up a notch! And you may just find it to strike the right cords.

Consider dock side on a lake in Northern Ontario or Quebec. The country side of Central / Northern Ontario & Quebec offer lush green landscapes, serenity, calm, and solitude. In fact, I think they offer more romance & solitude than you will find on an all inclusive beach resort in the Caribbean.

Cottage country has so many cottage resorts to choose from that having a small guest list, and asking your guests to rent cottages with you lake side for a week in July, could be just the ticket for great family fun. This kind of affair can mean just as much R&R for you and your guests afterwards...AND, now you’re talking about it being a BYOB (Bring Your Own Booze) week too! Don’t get me wrong, I think you should definitely be prepared to shell out the money for wedding drinks, and you should plan to do this with a whole lot of flair and elegance, but in the grand scheme of things, you’ll find that it’s more economical to do this and not have to pay for your outdoor wedding set up at a fully decked out “wedding venue”.

Make the details a bit richer by choosing a cottage resort on a lake with a fabulous name. Marrick’s Landing as an example, is a pet friendly property with 5 or 6 cottages on the shores of Lovesick Lake in Burleigh Falls, Ontario (photo above). Now imagine getting hitched on a dock over Lovesick Lake with the family dog, let’s call him Spot, carrying your rings down the dock to you...couldn’t get more romantic or intimate than that right?

In our next instalment, we’ll look at the option of vista settings watching the sun go down over the mountains on the West Coast!