Destination wedding: what to tell guests travelling from abroad, and when

Send a save-the-date 9 to 12 months before a destination wedding and the invitation about 3 months before, ask for replies about 8 weeks before the day, and send final details about 2 weeks before. Guests from abroad also need what local guests rarely ask about: transfers, rooms, entry rules, information in a language they read comfortably and a way to send a gift from another country.

In short

• Save-the-date 9 to 12 months before, invitation about 3 months before, replies due about 8 weeks before, final details about 2 weeks before.
• Keep travel, rooms, the schedule and the dress code in one place, usually your wedding website.
• Write your own texts in each language your guests read, and ask a native speaker to check them.
• For passports and visas, send guests to official government sources rather than advising them yourselves.
• For gifts from abroad, give full bank details and say that the guest's bank may charge a fee.

When should we send save-the-dates and invitations for a destination wedding?

Send save-the-dates 9 to 12 months before a destination wedding, closer to 12 if many guests will fly long-haul, and the invitations about 3 months before, once times and venues are settled. Guests from abroad need that time to request leave, book flights and rooms, and sort out passports or visas.

Set the RSVP deadline for a destination wedding about 8 weeks before the day, or earlier if your venue, caterer or hotel needs final numbers sooner. Read your contracts first: your reply date has to fall before the earliest deadline in them.

About 2 weeks before a destination wedding, send guests a brief final message with timings, pick-up points, the weather forecast and one phone number that works on the day. Keep it short enough to read at the airport.

What do guests travelling from abroad need to know?

Guests from abroad need everything a local guest needs, plus the journey and the place: airports, transfers, rooms, money, weather and entry rules. Use this checklist for your website and invitations.

If you reserve a block of hotel rooms, show the booking code and deadline clearly: after that date, unbooked rooms go back on general sale and the group rate is no longer guaranteed. Before signing, ask whether it is a courtesy block, where unbooked rooms are simply released, or a contracted block, where you may pay for rooms guests do not take.

Tell guests which currency is used (Switzerland uses Swiss francs, not euros), whether cards are widely accepted, and what is usual for tipping. If you are already tipping the drivers or staff you booked, tell guests, so nobody tips twice. In Switzerland, Germany and Austria most shops close on Sundays, apart from those at larger stations and airports.

What should we tell guests about passports and visas?

Tell guests to check the entry rules for their own passport on official government websites rather than advising them yourselves. The rules depend on nationality and can change, and a well-meant guess can cost someone the trip.

Point guests to their own government's travel advice (GOV.UK for British citizens, travel.state.gov for Americans, the foreign ministry for most others) and to the embassy or consulate of the country you are marrying in. Visa-free does not always mean paperwork-free: the UK and the US, for example, require many visitors who need no visa to apply online for a travel authorisation (the ETA and the ESTA) before they travel. Link only to official government pages, since look-alike sites may charge more.

You could write:

Entry rules depend on your passport, so please check your own government's travel advice and the official website of [country]'s embassy before you book, including whether you need a visa or an online travel authorisation. Please also check your passport's expiry date against those rules.

How do we plan for guests in other time zones?

Write every time with the city it refers to, and for anything guests follow remotely, such as a livestream, also give the time where they live. Avoid abbreviations: "CST" can mean Central Standard Time in Chicago or China Standard Time in Shanghai. Write dates with the month in words, since 04/05/2027 is 4 May in most of Europe and April 5 in the US.

For example, a 15:00 ceremony in Lucerne on Saturday 12 June 2027 streams live at these local times:

Check your own date in a time zone converter: Europe and the US change their clocks on different weekends, so for 2 or 3 weeks each spring and 1 week each autumn they are an hour closer than usual. If the ceremony falls at night for some guests, share a recording afterwards.

How do we include guests who speak other languages?

Give each guest the essentials in a language they read comfortably, and plan the ceremony so nobody sits through the vows without understanding them. Keep dates, times and addresses unambiguous in every language.

At the ceremony, a printed programme in each language, a bilingual officiant and short readings keep everyone with you. The welcome, the vows and the pronouncement matter most to translate. At the reception, keep speeches short or print a translated summary, and seat guests near someone who shares their language.

Glenthea shows its own wording, such as headings, buttons, the reply form, dates and the messages it sends, in each guest's language, while the texts you write yourselves appear to every guest exactly as you wrote them. You can assign each guest one of 32 languages when you send the invitations (Arabic and Hebrew display right to left), and guests can switch language themselves. Because your welcome message, schedule notes and FAQ answers are never translated automatically, write them in each language your guests read and have a native speaker check each translation.

How can guests send a wedding gift from abroad?

The most direct way for guests abroad to send a wedding gift is a bank transfer. Give your IBAN, the BIC (also called the SWIFT code), the account holder's name exactly as the bank records it, and the account's currency. A US account has no IBAN, so give the account number and the bank's SWIFT code instead. Ask guests to put their name in the payment reference so you can thank the right person.

Be open about the cost of an international transfer. The guest's bank may charge a fee and apply its own exchange rate, and your bank may charge to receive the payment, so less can arrive than was sent. Guests can ask their bank beforehand how much will arrive.

Glenthea's gift registry uses bank transfer: a guest claims a gift and sends the amount to your IBAN. The registry charges no payment-processing fee and the money goes directly to you, although the guest's bank may still charge for an international transfer.

How do we look after older guests and guests with access needs?

Describe the physical side of each event honestly so guests can judge for themselves, and ask about access needs on the RSVP. Mention steps, slopes and the walk from the drop-off point, what is underfoot, and whether there is shade and seating during the drinks. On the day, keep seats for older guests near the front and out of the sun.

Long journeys are harder for some guests, so arrange step-free transfers early, recommend hotels with lifts or ground-floor rooms, and suggest arriving a day early to recover. Guests with reduced mobility, including older guests who find long walks hard, can ask for free assistance at airports in the EU, Switzerland and the UK. They should request it from the airline, travel agent or tour operator when booking, or at least 48 hours before the flight.

How do we tell guests about changes?

Update the wedding website first, then message every affected guest directly, in the channel they use most. Say what has changed, what they need to do and by when.

Date every update so guests know which version is current, and publish your wet-weather plan in advance. For a change of date or venue, call guests who have already booked travel before you update the website.

For example:

Update, 3 May: the coach to the ceremony now leaves the hotel at 15:30, not 15:00. Nothing else has changed.

To gather travel and directions, where to stay, the guest FAQ and the order of the day in one place, you can build your wedding website at glenthea.com.

FAQ

How far in advance do you send save-the-dates and invitations for a destination wedding?

Send save-the-dates 9 to 12 months before a destination wedding and invitations about 3 months before, with replies due about 8 weeks before the day.

Do we have to pay for guests' travel and accommodation?

No. Guests at a destination wedding usually pay for their own travel and rooms, and the couple pays for the events guests are invited to, such as the wedding itself and any welcome dinner or brunch. Tell guests from the start what you are covering.

Should guests who travel to a destination wedding still give a gift?

Traditional etiquette still expects a gift at a destination wedding, though a guest spending a lot to attend may give something modest. If you would rather have no gifts, say so plainly, and guests can take you at your word.

A guest needs an invitation letter for a visa. What should we do?

Ask the guest for the official requirements of the embassy or consulate handling their application, and provide exactly what those ask for. Leave any question about the visa itself to the guest and the official source.