DESTINATION WEDDINGS Making marriage work

Destination weddings attract couples looking for ease and romance.
By SARAH WEBER
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
When Dawn Holod and her fianc & eacute; were discussing plans for their May wedding, she wanted to get away to some exotic locale, just the two of them.
However, Jason, a design engineer at Widmer Engineering and graduate of Youngstown State University, wanted his family to attend. They struck a middle ground and decided to get married at a Las Vegas resort, taking a small group of friends and family with them.
"The idea of a big extravagant wedding was not for me," Holod, a self-employed professional massage therapist, said.
Destination weddings are those held at an exotic or special location. They have been growing in popularity, not only because they can provide adventure and romance, but also can help eliminate some of the planning and expense of traditional weddings.
Despite travel expenses, destination weddings end up being reasonably priced for the bride and groom, according to Vicki Stankewich, owner of Howland Tours & amp; Travels. She said that, depending on the location, many couples can get married somewhere exotic for a much lower overall cost to the family than having a large wedding ceremony and reception.
"You can get away for a week, get married, have your honeymoon and stay at a nice place for about $5,000," Stankewich said.
The savings comes from family and friends' paying their own travel expenses and from the smaller and simpler ceremonies that are characteristic of destination weddings. In some rare cases, couples who have a big wedding budget pay for travel and accommodations for all their guests.
Who attended
Though the guests -- maid of honor Gloria Shaw of New Middletown; best man Michael Bradley of Lordstown; the groom's parents, Mollie and David Holod of Johnston; the bride's mother, Lucy Burtner of Petersburg; and other family and friends -- paid for their own travel and accommodations, the bride and groom picked up the tab for dinner after the wedding in lieu of a reception. Holod said her stepfather, Dan Burtner, was unable to attend.
Kathy Pahanish, a travel consultant who specializes in honeymoons and destination weddings for Executive Travel and Tour, said that after one of her clients loved a wedding she attended in the Riviera Maya, Mexico, so much, the client decided to change her own wedding plans.
"She said she had $40,000 invested in a wedding that would last 6 hours," Pahanish said. "So she asked how many people she would be able to take with her, and she ended up paying for everyone to stay for four nights and five days in the Riviera Maya."
Stankewich said the location that's most requested at her agency is St. Lucia, a Caribbean island, though Pahanish says most brides she works with want to travel to Mexico or Hawaii. One thing that seems consistent -- everyone wants warm weather.
The drawbacks
Both Pahanish and Stankewich warn that a destination wedding is not for everyone. Couples who chose a wedding away from home are not able to customize every detail like they could for a local wedding. On-location wedding coordinators often take care of getting the flower arrangements, cake, center pieces and other wedding necessities.
Though leaving your wedding arrangements in the hands of someone else can be nerve-wracking, Holod said she didn't mind leaving some of the details to the coordinator in Las Vegas.
"If you're able to let someone else be in control, it's for you," she said. Not having to single-handedly plan every detail was one way Holod said she kept the arrangements stress-free.
"A lot of my brides say that the best thing to pick is the wedding gown, and they still get to do that," Pahanish said.
Holod said she fell in love with her dress, a white sheer, strapless gown with beading at the empire waist, at a local gown retailer.
Sweating the details
While this hands-off approach seems risky, Holod said the only thing she found unsatisfactory was the limousine that transported the wedding party from the ceremony to dinner. Because the wedding took place during prom season, the limousine company was stretched thin and sent a limo with no air conditioning.
"The guys in tuxes were down to their last layer and they were still baking," Holod said. "We were going to drive around the strip for a little bit before going to dinner, but it was just too hot."
Stankewich said getting a satisfactory wedding away from home has a lot to do with the quality and experience of the coordinator at the location. So far, she said, her brides have been happy with their experiences, except for one minor mishap that was quickly fixed.
"A few family members booked far in advance, and the flight got changed. They would have been there an hour before the wedding on the new flight, but the travel company was able to put them on a different flight," Stankewich said.
Even from afar, Stankewich said brides like to have a hand in the planning of their wedding details. She said the bride can arrange specifics over the phone with the location's wedding coordinator.
Once the couple arrives at the resort, they get a walk-through of the various locations the ceremony can take place. The bride can also pick her flowers and cake when she gets to the resort if her coordinator hasn't already done so. After the ceremony, couples typically stay at the resort a few additional days for their honeymoon after the guests leave.
"The brides who do this are usually graduating or are in school," Pahanish said. "The beach is a really popular destination wedding because brides of today don't want to have to plan a big wedding."