By Angelo Garini, architect, event designer and wedding planner
Destination wedding or wedding destination are two similar definitions that, however, indicate two fundamental aspects of a couple’s marriage who choose a location far from home for their wedding.
Let’s begin by clarifying their specific meanings.
“Destination wedding” is a marriage that involves a considerable relocation from the usual place of residence for the celebration and festivities of the wedding itself;
“Wedding destination,” on the other hand, is the location chosen for the ceremony and subsequent celebration.
These are two inseparable aspects of the topic, but they entail different scopes, skills, and operations.
While on one hand, there is a couple deciding, for various reasons, to marry in a location far from home, often in another country or even on another continent, on the other hand, there is the location that must be ready to welcome the couple.
Working towards promoting destination weddings, therefore, means, first and foremost, working on the destination, without which no wedding “from afar” would occur; this is why it is crucial for territories aspiring to cater to this type of tourism to prepare to welcome the influx of people, transforming into an attractive destination.
I purposely mentioned tourism because it is important to bear in mind that what we are discussing represents a real sector of tourism, the so-called wedding tourism, which involves not only the couple but also the entourage of families and friends who will be guests at that wedding. Therefore, it is a sector that requires specific skills,
adequate accommodation facilities, and facilitated accessibility.
Today, given the economic volumes generated as well, many places aspire to become wedding destinations, but this will only be possible in the face of an offer characterization that meets the demand of a specific sector.
There are those who choose Italy for its art, history, culture, those for design and the exclusivity of certain destinations, and there are also those who choose Italy because it is the place of origin of their family, the place of their roots.
Those who make such a choice are seeking traditions, customs, rituals that may have been lost over time, but that the territories that have experienced the phenomenon of emigration the most must rediscover in order to offer future spouses an emotional and cultural journey into their past.
Therefore, hospitality above all, because it is the only key that can open the door through which significant flows of couples can arrive, paving the way by being collaborative and proactive and working in a network of professionals and suppliers who declare their solidity, competence, and seriousness
