This past weekend my cousin got married on one of the beaches in Islamorada, Florida. Over a thousand miles from their home, they shipped everything they needed and coordinated their special day. Family members and friends from all over flew in to celebrate the happy couple. My cousin proposed to her on a beach in the Dominican Republic, and they decided to rent out an entire resort overlooking a marina for the special day. After seeing the events of the wedding unfold, I could only imagine the stress and anxiety of planning a destination wedding. However, all the hard work and effort was definitely worth it. Here are four benefits to having a destination wedding.

1. You get to have your wedding all in one place.

Paradise is the perfect backdrop for gorgeous wedding photos. You don't have to worry about finding the perfect place to take pictures because the perfect place is ready to go. You get a venue for the ceremony, pictures, and reception. No need to worry about driving and changing venues, you have the whole resort to yourself!

2. You get perfect weather

If you are from the northeast, you know how bipolar weather can be. We are all from Ohio so we understand it the most. It can snow in April and be seventy degrees in January. Having a destination wedding allows you to not worry about the weather. If you want a beautiful snowy day, you can go to a ski resort in Montana, but if you want a romantic sunset, you can go to a beautiful island in the south.

3. You get to get away

A destination wedding creates a perfect stress free environment. You get to get away form the hustle and bustle of the city and escape to paradise. The happy couple and their family and friends get to travel to an incredible destination to celebrate. Everyone can even make a vacation out of it and spend more time celebrating with the couple! You can party all night and not have a care in the world. After all, you are on island time.

4. You're on Island Time

There are no stress about time. You have the entire resort booked so you don't have to worry about being cleaned up and out of their by 3am. You get plenty of time to party and celebrate. Since you have to travel so far, you free up your schedule more than you would for a local wedding. You get to travel and get away from all the stress and just focus on celebrating the happy couple. This isn't your typical office: this is island time.

You can't beat watching the couple dance to the first song on the beach while fireworks are going off just fifty yards in the distance. And you can't beat the delicious seafood, miraculous ocean breeze, and gorgeous sunset. And most importantly, you can't beat the happiness and love radiating from the ecstatic bride and groom as their special and memorable day unfolds.