Destination weddings have become extremely popular over the past few years as a way to extend the wedding celebration beyond just the wedding day and go to an exciting location. Even through destinations are more popular than ever you need to keep in mind the different factors when planning a wedding away from home. Here are some tips for finding a perfect destination location:

1. Check out real wedding stories on The Knot, this is one of the first places I went before I decided to get married in Maui. Also, check out The Wedding Channel both sites have great profiles of destination weddings with information on the locations.

2. Speak with a travel agent who specializes in honeymoons.

3. Pick up a few travel and weddings magazines they usually list great honeymoon spots, which are often great wedding spots, too.

4. Finally but not least surf the web for great destination wedding spots. Lots of resorts are marketing themselves this way, so you should find some great options.

As some of you may or may not know I had my wedding in Maui, Hawaii. It was a lovely wedding yet, hotter than anticipated. A tip I wish someone would have given me when planing a destination wedding would be to do  extensive research for a wedding planner and look for reviews or testimonials from past brides. The glue that will hold the wedding and your sanity together will be this person since they probably will be  in the location of your wedding.

Make sure you have a good connection with the planner because you will be in constant contact with them to the point of annoyance when your wedding date becomes closer. Like I’ve said in the past check out the knot.