Creating a Local Guidebook for your Destination Wedding Guests | Southport & Oak Island Weddings

Planning a destination wedding is stressful enough without having to entertain guests all weekend. Giving your guests a local guidebook will take the pressure off of hosting pre-wedding events and give them the freedom to choose their own adventures while they’re in town. It’s also a great way to share you and your fiancé's favorite places! Follow these simple steps to create a personalized travel guide that will help your guests feel like locals before they leave town.

Step 1: Choosing your Categories

Start with the categories you’ll include in the guide - what types of things will your guests enjoy? Are they mostly families, young couples, party animals or are they in bed by 8pm? Regardless of age and interests, you’ll want to include a food category because everyone needs to eat! From there, you could include places to drink (coffee or cocktails), sights to see, places to enjoy a rainy day (hint: shopping, museums, movies), and anything else that fits your crowd. If there are local events, festivals, or concerts happening while your guests are in town, be sure to include those too! Including tips on what to order, best times to visit, or what makes these your favorite places gives the guidebook a personal touch, which your guests are sure to love.

Step 2: Determining the Number of Options

The next step is to determine how many options to provide for each category. You’ll want to take into consideration how long most of your guests will be in town. If they’re only in town for a long weekend, then four or five options per category is plenty. If everyone is making a weeklong vacation out of it, then you’ll need a few more. It’s most typical for the majority of guests to stay two to three nights. Just be sure to include options from various price points, as well as good options for sunny and rainy days. You can’t count on Mother Nature to cooperate and you want to keep your guests having a good time both rain or shine!

Step 3: Creating the Guidebook

There are lots of options for creating a travel guidebook. Canva is our favorite. It’s easy to use, free, and gives you the option to download the file or purchase printed copies. As far as formatting goes, you’ll want to decide how to present the guide. Digital, in print, or both? You could add a link to your wedding website to give folks easy access both before and during your wedding weekend. Or, if you’re providing welcome bags, you could print the guides and include them in each bag. For tips on other welcome bag ideas, click here for our free guide to creating an unforgettable wedding welcome bag.

Step 4: Sending the Guidebook

When should you provide your guests with your local travel guide? If you’re planning a destination wedding, the earlier the better. This gives folks a chance to decide on how long to make their trip. Who knows, after your guests see your awesome local travel guide, they may just decide to make a vacation out of your nuptials!

Step 5: Extras

In addition to your local travel guidebook, you could also create a map for your guests. Be sure to include any important wedding locations, like ceremony, reception, rehearsal dinner, and brunch venues. You could also include local landmarks and any “must-see” locations you included in the guidebook.

If you’re hosting a wedding in Southport or Oak Island and need a local guidebook for your guests, we’ve got you covered! We’ve created a local guide for each town with some of our favorites! Click here to sign up for our newsletter and get the guides. Our bi-weekly newsletter also includes a local events calendar, perfect for keeping you up to date on what’s going on around town. Who knows, your guests might even run into us at one of the local restaurants while they’re out enjoying themselves!

Need help with planning more than just the guidebook for your destination wedding. Contact us today to schedule a complimentary consult call.