If you are in the search for your wedding day jewelry or some great pieces for your bridesmaids, then you’ll definitely want to check out Stella & Dot! Chic stylish jewelry that all the magazines are raving about!

Much of my personal jewelry collection is Stella & Dot – I just love their items and love to mix delicate pieces with bold statement pieces. You can even host a Stella & Dot party and EARN your own wedding jewelry in hostess credits – what better way to have a destination bridesmaids girls getaway before your departure.

Whether your destination wedding is on a beach in the Caribbean or you’re hosting an Italy destination wedding – you’ll be sure to find pieces great for the girls in your destination wedding party!

If you need a great Stella & Dot stylist in Edmonton – be sure to check out my personal stylist: Michelle Weisgerber, a fab stylist that loves everything Stella & Dot!

April 2012 | Resort: Dreams Palm Beach | Ceremony & Reception Location: Jellyfish Restaurant

So today I have a video of K&R’s wedding day and trash the dress session with Jakfoto – talented videographers based out of California!

I absolutely fell in love with their idea to have a sunrise ceremony on their wedding day – it truly allowed them a full day of celebrating with family and friends!

You can view more at the Jakfoto blog of K&R’s punta cana destination wedding! I can’t wait to see even more from this wedding!

You can see more Punta Cana destination wedding sneak peeks from Nordica Photography (Vancouver) & Benfield Photography (Arkansas) on our Wander Love Weddings Facebook page!

PS. The bride has also published a blog review with more photos of her day & all she did to make her punta cana destination wedding truly reflective of her & her husband : read it now

I had the pleasure to have lunch aboard the William D. Evans – the crew and catering team provided a decadent meal with incredible presentation and white glove service…your guests will surely love this distinct venue just off of Bahia Hotel.

{ Bahia beach on mission bay | site inspection }

{ harbor docks at Bahia | site inspection }

{ steamboat | site inspection }

{ the galley of the steamboat set for luncheon | site inspection }

{ gorgeous stained glass in the galley | site inspection }

{ dessert time | site inspection }

The steamboats allow you to travel the beautiful Mission Bay, have dinner and dance the night away with 60-80 of your closest family & friends. This is a stunning and unique San Diego destination wedding location!

San Diego is a beautiful destination and a great place to start off with a honeymoon cruise afterwards too!

Although a destination wedding may be easier because you’re possibly dealing with 50 guests instead of 250 guests – it does come with some challenges…

Today, on Preston Bailey’s blog – a bride discussed her frustration with her destination wedding hotel lying to her about a promotion…

{ Preston Bailey's blog highlights' a bride's issue with her destination wedding }

Sadly, when dealing with a foreign country – where english isn’t their first language – and a country where contract laws are often different than is what we have back home…planning can get frustrating.

With a destination wedding – you often still have just as many details to oversee – flowers, cake, dress, attire, music, photography, video and on and on…you just have fewer guests to plan favors for or arrange a seating chart for.

Choosing a wedding planner for your destination wedding will help alleviate any pitfalls in contracts and details with your resort, will ensure you know the pros and cons to bringing vendors or using the local vendors, and will help you source any decor beyond package A, B & C the resort offers you! A wedding planner is always a sound investment for peace of mind and ensuring your destination wedding day is as stress-free as you envisioned it to be!

And here is the next round of challenges that they could really use your support for:

Feb 18th Hot Seat– Kingsway – 1PM-2PM
We’re bringing back the classic Newlywed Game with a Virgin twist. The 10 grooms will be put in the hot seat for a round of questions on how well they know their bride-to-be. The Groom with the most correct answers wins their wedding bands from Crowley Jewellers!

Feb 25th Signature Dress– Kingsway 1:30-2:30
All of our Brides-to-be will get a second hand wedding dress . We’ll give them 3 hours in a mall, whoever gets the most signatures on their dress wins their perfect wedding dress valued at $1500!
{Farren} We would love to see you there and sign my dress!!!!

March 3rd Virgin Bride Wrap Up Party – The Public House – 8PM-10PM
We’ll have all the brides come down to The Public House for the Virgin Bride Wrap-up party and do a backwards draw – The last name called wins an all inclusive trip for 2 for a dream honeymoon to Catalonia Royal Tulum Beach and Spa Resort, Adults Only 18 plus, located in the Riviera Maya, Mexico from Signature Vacations! Valued at $4000!

{ J&D's wedding | punch of color for destination weddings | photo credit: Jolyn }

Need some more color inspiration? Follow our ‘Color Inspiration’ board on Pintrest! Oh, and be sure to follow the rest of our Pintrest boards while you’re there!

So tell me – what colors are you thinking for your destination wedding?

I want to share with you a destination wedding guest book idea we did for H&B’s wedding…

{ H&B's wedding wine bottle | destination wedding guest book | photographer : Picture That Photography }

Create your own destination wedding guest book with a wine or other liquor bottle:

• Buy a bottle of local alcohol (know your customs restrictions for size on bringing it home)…one wine bottle will usually comfortably hold 30 or so signatures.
• Bring with you – a bunch of ‘paint pens’ markers that are actually paint – you can buy them at most major craft stores. White or metallic gold/silver seem to work best.
• The paint pens take a moment to dry – so assign someone to watch your bottles so guests don’t smudge any signatures drying.
• Safely pack your bottle in a ziploc bag, wrap well in your luggage for safe arrival home.
• PS. don’t pack in your carry-on, as it can confiscated if you have a connection before flying to your home destination

On the first anniversary of your destination wedding – clink the glass and enjoy savoring a drink that will whisk you right back to the memories your destination wedding! The empty bottle will always serve as a great destination wedding guestbook keepsake!

{ Virgin Radio Wedding Contest Finalists - Farren & Brad }

Farren already won the cake eating contest – now here are the upcoming activities that need your support:

Feb 4th Bottoms Up – The Public House 8PM-10PM
Our brides will create and name a cocktail. We’ll invite our listeners to The Public House to try them all and the bride that sells the most wins her stagette valued at $500!
{Farren} “We would really love to see as many people as possible here buying some drinks! I’ll make sure they are tasty 10765 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, AB”

Feb 11th Picture Perfect VBride Comp – Bridal Debut (Sherwood Park) – 9AM
We are going to give our brides-to-be 104 secs to put together a bridal outfit, we’ll take a picture, post it on Facebook and whoever gets the most “likes” wins engagement photos or Boudoir shoot from Sempre Studios valued at $900!

Feb 12th Grooming Grooms – Spasation Londonderry 2:30PM
We’re not going to let the guys sit back and watch this year. Our brides-to-be will have to roll up their sleeves and wax their grooms legs. First one done wins a couples spa package from Spasation valued at $640!

Feb 16th Runaway Bride – Flaman Fitness (8910 Yellowhead Trail) 6PM
Virgin Brides will start at low speed with full incline on a treadmill. We’ll increase the speed every 104 seconds! Last bride standing wins a new treadmill from Flaman Fitness valued at $2000!

I’ll post some more of the challenge dates soon – they’ve still got lots to go through!

So if you need your wedding fix and a guaranteed fun time – be sure to go down and support Farren & Brad – we love them and hope you do too!

Bride B shares her very emotional experience on finding ‘the dress’! You can read her entire story here:
{ Just For You Photography } I felt beautiful; a Kleinfeld’s experience

{ Consultant Kristyann | Bride B | Randy }

Finding ‘the right dress’ is so important for many brides. I hope all my couples can truly love and feel beautiful in the dress they choose. We’ve had many brides pass through the doors of Kleinfeld’s and so excited that each one has loved their experience just as much!

Thank you B for sharing your story! Can’t wait to see you rock that dress in Hawaii next year!!

Last week we posted this video to our Facebook page – and it bears sharing – because sometimes you have no choice but to put ‘Plan B’ into motion and make the best of a not ideal situation…watch the transition of this couple as they chose to get married “come hell or high water”…

For any of our couples planning a destination – always be flexible and open to having the need to switch to PLAN B if required. If you are planning your destination wedding in hurricane season in the Caribbean or east coast…well, this is just a great reminder that although many weddings do go on..some will be affected by the tropical storms and hurricanes that pass through the region.