Top 5 Destination Wedding Spots
by travel expert Sally Kilbridge
Movie-Star Mexico: Los Cabos
Hollywood A-listers looking for oceanside privacy migrate south to the tip of Baja, California, where a bevvy of new hotels—Four Seasons, Montage, Nobu, Viceroy—lure with Himalayan salt igloos, farm-to-table restaurants, and dockside check-in for those arriving by yacht. The wedding possibilities are mind-boggling, from sweet Spanish chapels to supersize thatched palapas to poolside decks that can easily host cocktails for 200.
What to Wear:
Capture the Cabo aura in a boho-glam dress with ample lace, floral embroideries, fringe, and embellishments; loose lines and transparency add to the effortless romance.
New England Classic: Nantucket
The timeless appeal of Massachusetts’ summer jewel—duney beaches, salt-weathered storefronts, and manicured gardens—make it a favorite for waterfront weddings with a view of billowing sails. In addition to lobster dinners and s’mores on the sand, the Wauwinet Inn lures bridal parties with gorgeously renovated spaces, including a house decorated by Serena & Lily. Proof that the island is flaming hot: Gwyneth Paltrow’s pop-up Goop shop.
What to Wear:
Maritime vows call for understated sophistication. Think about a structured column, a simple Meghan Markle-esque ballgown, or a streamlined bridal jumpsuit.
European Jewel: Santorini
Thousands of glasses are raised daily as the sun sets into Santorini’s watery caldera, which legend says hides the lost city of Atlantis. As famous as the Greek isle’s dramatic dusks are, its sumptuous boutique hotels which spill down the cliffs like sugar cubes, are stealing the drama. Some of Europe’s most romantic small weddings are masterminded by Astra Suite’s managing director George Karayiannis, who can organize it all, flower-crowned donkey to starlit reception.
What to Wear:
Set off Santorini’s white-on-white palette with color: a pale blue frock to echo the Aegean, scarlet or plum tulle to mirror the sunset, or embroideries as brilliant as Mediterranean flowers.
Caribbean Comeback: Anguilla
The vanilla sands and translucent seas are as seductive as ever, but post-hurricane Anguilla basks in an infusion of fresh luxury, irresistible to a couple who crave a wedding with every tropical luxury: massage in a 300-year-old Thai house at Zemi Beach House, 24-hour butler service at the tiny Q Hotel, Cipriani-approved antipasti and carpaccio at the Belmond Cap Juluca, grown-on-site botanical scrubs at CuisinArt, or Arch Digest-style interiors at the Four Seasons.
What to Wear:
Keep it breezy and cool with an empire-waist lace slipdress, a swingy crocheted A-line, or a many-tiered mini.
Indonesian Fantasy: Bali
Everyone from kayak.com to Forbes has voted this Indian Ocean paradise one of the year’s hottest tickets, thanks to celebrity visitors (the Kardashians arrived en masse) and an ever-growing supply of outrageously posh hotels. At over-the-top Banyan Tree Ungasan, you can marry in a pyramid-like glass chapel adorned with 300 white doves; the Bulgari Resort installs a transparent “carpet” over its oceanfront pool so you can exchange vows while walking on water.
What to Wear:
A feathered high-low gown, an organza-and-lace romper, or clouds of tulle provide a site-specific edge of the exotic.