Destination Wedding Decor – To Bring or Not to Bring?

Planning a destination wedding can be so much fun. Working with a travel agent to find the best location, picking your venue, choosing all the exciting stuff…and then you find out how much decor really costs.

I won’t sugar coat things for you – destination weddings can add up, especially if you want beautiful displays of florals or stunning centrepieces. Fortunately, decor for your destination wedding is one of those things you can do yourself on a budget, if you’re allowed!

One of the questions to ask your destination wedding coordinator is if you’re allowed to bring your own decor to your wedding.

Different venues and resorts have different rules surrounding decorations, fake flowers, candles, and the like. Many of them don’t allow faux flowers, which is understandable given the environmental risk they can potentially pose. So what’s a bride to do?

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Let the location speak for itself

This is a piece of advice I’ve been saying for a decade: the location is the decor! 

What can be stunning views of the water from a white sand beach amidst swaying palm trees? 

You don’t have to go all-out on decor, centrepieces, and florals. Are they nice? Yes. But do they really matter in the end? No! 

Your guests will remember being at a jaw-dropping location having the best time of their lives, not what your centrepieces looked like. Do you remember the decor of any other weddings you’ve been at?

More and more brides are opting for a more minimalistic look, and keeping with what the wedding package includes. You don’t have to go all out to make a huge impression!

Remember: sometimes less is more, and in this case, this certainly applies. Don’t blow your budget on decor when you can use it for something else, like a photographer or fun welcome bags!

Ps. I’m totally not condemning decor for your destination wedding. But if you’re stressing about your budget and questioning if you really need all these add-ons, I’m here to tell you that you don’t!

Ways to Save Money on Destination Wedding Decor

If you have your heart set on certain items, there are ways to compromise without totally losing out on your vision.

For our own wedding in Mexico, I only wanted two things: chair sashes and a floral arch for the wedding. Those were my splurges because I really wanted them. But even the sashes added up and we ended up only doing the back row of chairs. At $5/chair it added up!

My point is, things will always add up. Sit down and think about what you really want, because when that quote comes in, your dreams may quickly be tossed aside with the price tag.

Decor Tips for Destination Weddings

Here are some of my best tips I’ve collected over the years. These are intended to ease some of the financial burden associated with the added costs of decor. Believe me, I know how hard it can be to digest how much resorts can charge for simple things like plate chargers!

Compare Venue Pricing vs Outside Vendors

When it comes to budgeting and planning your destination wedding, you will be presented with a book of available decor options. 

And to be quite honest, these can be outrageously expensive. You’ll also have to tack on a setup fee, taxes, and gratuities. 

If there are a few things you have your heart set on, you can look into a local outside vendor to provide these services for you. 

While there will be an outside vendor fee with this service (unless if it’s something you can meet them at the gate of the resort for) it can still end up being much less than if you were to source it through your wedding venue.

Repurposing bouquets and florals

Thankfully we were able to reuse the florals from our ceremony arch for our reception decor, so that saved us a ton of money. Be sure to ask if you are able to repurpose any of your ceremony decor for your reception.

Many destination wedding packages include a bridal bouquet and even bridesmaid bouquets. If not, see if you are able to connect with a local vendor who is able to deliver your bouquet(s) for less than what the resort would charge you. 

Alternatively, you can also bring your own faux flowers from home, if you are able to. There are tons of stunning Real Touch Bridal Bouquets on Etsy that are cost effective, too! Just be sure to ask about bringing these for your wedding ahead of time.

You can easily use these bouquets for centrepieces at your reception and save a ton of money!

DIY where possible

Some items you can easily bring with you (that will make a big difference!) are photos in frames (without the glass, in case it breaks), cake topper, guest book, table runner, and place card settings.

These are the most popular things past brides have brought to their destination wedding – myself included!

Final words of advice

Just remember to verify all details with your on-site wedding coordinator prior to buying/booking/paying for any decor or floral services. You want to be sure you are actually able to have these services before it’s too late!

And never, ever ship any decor to your resort. This is huge!

Resorts and venues don’t have the space to accommodate your decor (think of all the weddings they have, and if every couple shipped items – where would it all be stored?).

There’s also a good chance your items won’t make it past customs or even arrive. It’s best to pack your wedding items in a dedicated suitcase or split it up amongst family or your bridal party.