Long Distance Romance | A Travel Themed Wedding by Caitlin Gerres Photography

Kelley and Chris’s story is the epitome of a long distance romance. She’s from Northern Virginia and he’s from Newcastle, England and they met as counselors at a 9 week summer camp in New York. Their relationship took them from New York to Australia to California to Great Britain and everywhere in between.

The couple’s long distance relationship was evident in their wedding day details as well. Guests enjoyed their signature drinks - The Englishman and The American Girl - and picked up British and American flags to wave on the dance floor.

Kelley created a seating chart from a world map, naming each table after places that she and Chris had either lived in or visited together. And at each place setting, a luggage tag served as both a place card and a favor. On the bag of the luggage tags were the coordinates for the wedding venue. Guests signed vintage postcards the couple had purchased online in lieu of a guestbook, placing them in a vintage suitcase for the couple to read later.

Appropriately, Kelley and Chris danced to I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles). For much of their relationship, much more than 500 miles had separated them.

Kelley and Chris shared a sweet first look together before taking portraits. Kelley had to show off the pockets of her wedding gown and they both took a few moments to catch each other up on what they had been up to since they last saw each other the night before. Later, they shared vows in front of their family and friends in an outdoor garden space. Kelley wore her mother’s pearl necklace and Chris completed his wedding day look with an engraved pocket watch and tie clip, also a gift to each of his groomsmen.

Kelley’s sister put together all of the floral elements. Kelley made her own wedding cake, a two layer lemon rosemary confection and she and her parents baked all of the sweets on the dessert buffet. The best man and most of Chris’s groomsmen were pals from England, so the best man speech naturally contained several lighthearted jabs about Americans and the fact that Britain ‘used to own the place’ as well as a light roasting of the groom, complete with photographic illustrations of people Chris resembles: Prince Harry, Ed Sheeran, and Beaker from the Muppets.

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Caitlin Gerres Photography | Photography
Norfolk Botanical Gardens | Venue
Ava Laurenne Bridal | Bridal Salon
Best Face Artists | Makeup
Blue Steel Lighting Design | Lighting
Chef By Design | Catering
Cherry Blossom Planning Factory |  Wedding Planning
Curry's Leather Products, Inc | Weddings Favors + Gifts
DJ Taylor Haycox | DJ
Men's Warehouse | Menswear
Minted | Wedding Invitations
Monique Lhuillier | Wedding Dress Designer
Orange Peel Transportation | Transportation

Selecting A Destination

Let's just start off by saying this...I am not an expert in the destination wedding arena. While I have planned weddings in my area for brides who are coming from out of town, and I have planned weddings for brides in other states, I have never planned a wedding outside of the country. But I will tell you this, I do know of some tips on what to consider when choosing a destination for your wedding so here it goes!

1. What is the meaning of "destination" to you? My wedding was 45 minutes from my house and all of my guests had to at least travel an hour and a half to get there, the other half flying in from Northern California or other states. So while this was a destination for most of us and not exactly close to my house, I wouldn't personally consider my wedding a destination wedding. So how far do you want to go?

Across the state? Another state? Across the country? Across the world? Make sure you have the answer to this question before you start any searching.

2. Now this is extremely important and probably the most important part of choosing a destination wedding. What is it that you are looking for that you cannot find in your hometown? Now this is the reason many of us travel to have a wedding - because we don't have what it takes to achieve our wedding vision. So consider why you are choosing a destination for your wedding. Do you want a beach setting? Do you want a rustic setting? A lot of redwood trees? Or do you just want to get away for a vacation??

3. What theme are you looking for? Going off of number 2, you need to consider your theme or vision. I have had so many brides come to me and say, "Jenn, I want a destination wedding. Where should I go?" Well there is no way I can possibly answer this question because you are the only person (and your fiance, of course...well...maybe) who knows what you want! Jamaica is going to be a completely different destination than London so make sure you have a vision before choosing that destination.

4. Budget. Of course, everything always seems to come down to budget. Why can't we all just win the lottery and have our dream Pinterest wedding?? Well, that's another topic we can talk about another time. But of course, budget is going to come into play no matter who you are. And it will, of course, differ based on where you live! A New York destination wedding is going to be more expensive for us over here in Southern California than it will be for those of you in Massachusetts. And the reason is airfare! Airfare is expensive and you just can't get away from it! So when considering that destination, remember that you will somehow need to get there before actually having the wedding, and this is a cost that may or may not be very significant!

5. Are you inviting guests? If you are going to be inviting 250 guests and you want them all to attend, unfortunately this is probably not going to happen if you are getting married on the other side of the world. So consider your guest list when choosing a destination. While everyone wants to be there for your big day, not everyone can afford to just take a week vacation and fly their entire family to the other side of the country. If it is just going to be the two of you and/or close family and friends, then make sure everyone who you couldn't get married without will have the chance to attend. Just remember that we all have jobs and families and finances that we need to take care of!

Once you have all of these answers in place, of course there are going to be millions of destinations you can choose from. But at least you have it narrowed down a bit!

And I know I have mentioned it before, but I would HIGHLY recommend visiting www.everafter.com if you are considering a destination wedding. They help you plan your destination wedding FOR FREE! They will help with costs, refer you to destinations that fit your budget and vision, and best of all, they have been to all of these destinations so know EXACTLY what you will be getting! If you can't afford to travel to check out the venues, they have already done this legwork for you! So there is no need to worry about showing up at a venue on your wedding day that no longer exists...and yes, that happens :/

Hope this helps a least a little bit to help you narrow down that wedding destination!