1. Make sure the timing is good

You may love the idea of a summer wedding, but if you’re getting married somewhere that’s a big tourist draw – think Santorini, Tuscany or Nice – you may want to go for a shoulder month to avoid getting mobbed by tourists. If you’re getting married somewhere in the Caribbean, make sure it’s not during hurricane season.

2. Warn your friends and family

Don’t spring a destination wedding on your guests at the last minute – they have to be forewarned. And don’t be hurt or bitter if they have to decline your invitation. Travelling abroad for someone’s wedding is a luxury not everyone can afford.

3. Think about the language barrier

While your destination of choice may be super picturesque, it may be quite a drawback if English is not widely spoken as a foreign language over there. Considering the complexity of planning a wedding, will it be a problem to communicate accurately with vendors and suppliers?

4. Get everything in writing

This is like a sub-section of the language barrier point. If there’s any difficulty in communicating, your best bet is to get all contracts and promises of service written down in English, so there won’t be any doubt about who is owed what and what is expected of them in return.

5. Take as many planning trips as you can

Planning a wedding from a distance is hard enough so make sure you visit the place where you’ll be getting married as often as possible in order to get a sense of the space of the venue, the distances between one location to another, any potential difficulties (for example, a noisy road next to the church) and be able to plan accordingly.

6. Research local marriage requirements

Different countries have different requirements as to how long you have to have been there before you can get married there – for example, to get married in France, you have to have lived there for at least 40 days. You should also look into the paperwork you will need to present, to make sure everything is with you.

7. Choose a dress that fits the destination

If you’re getting married somewhere humid (even more humid than Malta) make sure you choose a dress that’s light and breathable. If you’re getting married somewhere that’s colder, you can opt for a dress made from a thicker and more elaborate fabric.

8. Get a local or experienced wedding planner to help

You’ll want someone you can trust to help you communicate with the locals, to suss out the best vendors and to help you deal with any issues you may come across. If you can’t get your hands on someone from that place, find a planner who at least has plenty of experience organising weddings in that particular location. Get everything in writing

9. Consider all costs

While planning a wedding away need not cost the earth, there will probably be more expenses involved than if you had gotten married at home – for instance, there will be items that you may have to pay to ship to the destination.

10. Relax

A hitch or two is bound to happen but you can’t micro-manage everything that happens when you’re not on home turf. As long as it’s not too terrible, just roll with it!