More and more couples are choosing destination weddings and the international travel company Kuoni is reporting a 14 per cent increase last year in couples flying overseas to tie the knot.
One of the factors influencing the trend is technology. Web-based resources have made it far less intimidating to organise a celebration far from home. You can go on a 3D online tour of the hall before you book, read reviews of every hotel and café and see on Google Earth exactly where you will be going.
Everyone is connected and you can bombard people with questions and get instant responses, even if they are thousands of miles away. But the DIY event is not for everyone and top event planners report booming business. Even if people are taking advantage of technology to see places and find out about suppliers, many still want someone on the ground getting everything organised.
“The main advantage of taking an event planner is you have someone who has the advantage of working in the Israeli market,” says Debbie Nussbaum, who specialises in Israel-based celebrations for English-speaking Diaspora Jews.
“I can cut down a lot of their time, knowing the venues and the vendors and I can also navigate everyone in Hebrew and translate contracts. People do speak good English here in Israel, but there are still a lot of communication problems.”
She has connections in the weddings sector in Israel and can secure discounts — and passes these savings to clients, charging only a fixed fee. A wedding planner with local knowledge, she says, can save hosts money.
In some cases, Nussbaum believes she is actually able to stop people being overcharged, saying some venues quote lower prices to Israelis than to overseas clients.
She can also save on travel costs. If people want to fly to Israel to see their options before a celebration, she makes the trip more efficient.
“I always say to clients: ‘I’m not going to schlep you around ten venues; I’ll take you to four that suit you,” she says. ”I do the legwork.” Her British clients tend to make a short Israel trip before their celebration, while others brief her extensively but leave final arrangements to her. “Most of my American and Australian clients don’t come at all during the process.”
One of the other advantages of using an professional planner is that, when travelling, people rarely see the wedding as a one-day event. Nussbaum works with travel agents to build an itinerary for an entire trip — including touring and family events.
“People often say to me the main reason they come to get married in Israel is they want a different atmosphere and this often means celebrations that continue,” she says. “When you fly in, it’s not just a day, it’s a week of partying.”
