Destination wedding bells are ringing louder than ever. About one in five couples embraced a destination wedding, with 91 percent choosing a U.S. location, according to the 2022 Real Weddings Study by wedding planning website The Knot. The trend vows to continue: As many as 2.5 million engagements are expected in 2024, according to information in the digital publication Brides. That’s good news for wedding planners and the economy; experts put the cost of a destination wedding at about $35,000, with the destination wedding market bringing in nearly $30 billion last year.
The South is filled with engaging wedding backdrops, from white-sand beaches to mountain locales, coupled with a temperate year-round climate—a pivotal factor in choosing a location—that makes it the perfect place to say “I do” without breaking the bank or needing a passport. In honor of Valentine’s Day, we propose some popular Southern spots to tie the knot and launch a happily ever after.
Creating experiences
A destination wedding transforms a milestone day into an adventure for everyone in attendance. Couples favor unique locations that are new to them and their guests, says Tanya Wilbon, founder and CEO of The Event Group International, with four locations including Atlanta; Reston, Va.; and Washington, D.C.
“The concept is let’s find a place that’s an experience and a destination for all,” says Wilbon, who has 32 years of experience planning and designing weddings and events. “We can vacation together, celebrate this magical moment, and still have it be that we’ve created experiences for our friends and family.”
Couples like destinations that are centrally located to their friends and family and that offer a get-away-from-it-all atmosphere with a variety of onsite activities. Scenic wineries and any location overlooking the water are perennial favorites, Wilbon says.
“Brides want to bring their families together and keep them on the compound and do multiple activities,” she adds. “You travel to a place, and you feel tucked away from the normal hustle and bustle. They’re doing … all types of things where you can get out in the elements and learn about each other and have fun and celebrate the couple getting married.”
Historic to hi-tech
Several Southern venues are among the best U.S. wedding destinations, according to Brides and The Knot, including:
- Biltmore Estate, an 8,000-acre compound completed in 1895 by George Vanderbilt, is set amid the Blue Ridge Mountains in Asheville. N.C. The estate offers multiple indoor and outdoor venues, spectacular gardens, luxury accommodations, dining, shopping, a winery, and the 250-room French Renaissance château known as America’s Largest Home.
- The historic Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels, Md., fittingly had a cameo in the movie Wedding Crashers. With a strong nautical heritage, a unique offering of this Chesapeake Bay-area venue is its fleet of five sailboats, a 55-foot yacht, and a 63-foot 1902 oystering skipjack. The award-winning waterfront property includes a spa and golf course.
- The Dewberry in Charleston, S.C., is set in the landmark L. Mendel Rivers Federal Building (circa 1964). Appropriately located on Meeting Street, the property exudes elegance, from its brass-and-crystal palmetto chandelier in the first-floor ballroom to the intimate ivy-covered Charleston Walled Garden to its eighth-floor River Room and terrace with views of Charleston Harbor and the historic city.
- The Forbes Five-Star Cloister at Sea Island in Georgia opened in 1928 as a small hotel and has evolved into a luxury venue with a boutique lodge and seven cottages. The 50-acre property is among the Peach State’s Golden Isles and is set on a private resort island surrounded by a river, salt marshes, and the Atlantic Ocean. With the iconic arches and red tile roofs of Spanish Mediterranean-style architecture, The Cloister includes a five-mile stretch of private beach and the complimentary use of a BMW.
Other top choices from Brides include Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tenn., offering luxury amid 4,200 acres in the Great Smoky Mountains with a focus on wellness, fine wines, and farm-fresh food, including house-made cheeses and baked goods; and the Western charm of Camp Hideaway in Fredericksburg, Texas, with indoor and outdoor venues amid 25 acres of Texas Hill Country, including a 4,500-square-foot event hall with a rustic, down-home feel.
Urban settings offer a variety of venues and lodging with easy access and much for the wedding party and their guests to see and do. In Miami Beach, Fla., W South Beach blends relaxing beach life with the bustle of a vibrant city. A highlight of the Marriott property is the hi-tech Great Room with 3D projection mapping capability. Touted as a first for a North American hotel, the recently renovated 4,300-square-foot space has built-in presentation projectors that allow customizable colors and images to surround guests with 360-degree technology.
For outdoor weddings, the hotel’s Atlantic Ocean setting can host a barefoot beach ceremony or natural nuptials in a French-inspired baroque garden. With nearly 150,000 square feet of event space, the hotel hosts destination weddings for couples from around the world, some with 200 guests and multiple days of activities, from a welcome event to the ceremony and reception to a farewell pool party, says Kate Marquez, who represents the property through Quinn PR.
Disney dazzle
For a magical wedding destination that appeals to all generations of guests, you can’t beat Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla. With four theme parks and two waterparks, the resort offers dining, shopping, entertainment, and attractions, and dozens of venues that host fairytale weddings for about 1,500 couples each year—not to mention being a popular honeymoon spot.
“Disney and Orlando are a big draw for destination weddings,” says Kate Harrelson, director of sales for Levy Restaurants’ Paddlefish and Terralina Crafted Italian at Disney Springs in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. “We do a ton of destination weddings here.”
Part of the appeal of Paddlefish is its paddlewheel steamboat look and setting in the water of Lake Buena Vista with three decks, two of which offer outdoor areas. Demographics for weddings at Disney Springs, an entertainment complex that is part of the resort, run the gamut from brides and grooms in their 20s to middle-aged couples renewing their vows or celebrating an anniversary, Harrelson says.
The resort is a popular place for fun non-traditional themes that create unique and memorable ceremonies and events. “We get a ton of Disney fans, and they loop that into their wedding festivities,” Harrelson says, including those who take inspiration from Disney movies such as Up and The Princess and The Frog.
Sometimes only the bride and groom dress in costumes, but sometimes the guests join in the fantasy, as well. “We’ve seen Star Wars themes,” Harrelson recalls. “Guests dressed like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, things like that.”
Plan ahead
More good news for planners: The Knot reports an increased reliance on wedding professionals. For such planners, the process begins about 18 months to two years in advance of the event, especially if the couple has a specific date and venue in mind, Wilbon says. The desired date and venue are the first things Wilbon discusses with her clients. Peak wedding season is late spring to early fall, with October’s pleasant temperatures and colorful foliage boosting it to the most popular wedding month. Keep in mind, too, that many couples like dates with symmetry, such as 4/2/24.
While The Knot notes that 70 percent of couples who married in 2023 stuck to their original budget, destination weddings add travel costs. Transportation and lodging fees, along with being onsite together for several days, make it vital to encourage clients to refine the guest list and notify people as soon as possible.
“Invite people who have sown into your relationship, who helped you become who you are and who you just can’t imagine getting married without,” Wilbon says. “The people who love you the most, who are going to be in the trenches with you in good and bad times, those are the people who should be there that day.”
Many large properties offer help with planning, catering, music, flowers, photography, and the all-important cake. For couples choosing smaller venues, Harrelson advises working with a local wedding planner.
“We partner with a few wedding planners, and we highly recommend it,” she says. “These couples are planning from afar. … I point them in the direction of a planner who will be here that day and coordinate for them.”
Wedding trends
Many Gen Z couples are incorporating technology into their weddings and prioritizing photographers and videographers. Eco-friendly weddings in natural settings also are booming. Some people are opting for weekday weddings to save money and lessen the competition for venue space. And most couples place food high on the list.
“Couples are less interested in having formal sit-down dinners and a look-at-me dance,” Wilbon says. “They just want to have a blow-out party. They want to get people up and moving, and the food plays a role.”
For today’s wedding F&B, anything goes. “People want to create amazing food experiences,” Wilbon says. She has seen smoking cocktails, servers covered in sushi, women in body suits dressed as living topiaries posing with food, and mood lighting to complement the cuisine.
“If my clients like it, we make it happen,” Wilbon says. “Food is part of the experience.”
While Wilbon is seeing many couples try to trim expenses by handling some aspects of the wedding themselves, such as flowers and music, she advises against that, noting it can create more stress and added expense than hiring floral designers and deejays.
Ultimately, Wilbon says, what couples want is a personalized, meaningful celebration.
“What’s important to me is this day reflects the couple,” she says. “We want everyone to leave feeling like it couldn’t have been anyone’s wedding but theirs.”
