If you have a destination wedding to attend — or are planning one of your own — booking a destination wedding flight is one of the most daunting tasks. After all, 2024 is expected to be another busy year for air travel and it’s already breaking records. So if you’re planning your vacation, when is the best time to book your travel for the lowest price?
According to experts, the best time to book flights for a destination wedding is usually between one to eight months in advance. That’s a large window of time, but it breaks down depending on a lot of factors.
For example, whether you’re traveling to a domestic or international destination and what time of year the wedding takes place. Plus, we’ve got some tips to ensure you never overpay for a destination wedding flight again.
The best time to book domestic flights for a destination wedding
If you’re attending — or hosting — a destination wedding within the US, you’ve generally got a bit more leeway in finding cheap flights. According to Kyle Potter, executive editor at the Thrifty Traveler, the ideal window for booking domestic flights begins at least a month or two months in advance.
Meanwhile, senior product operations specialist Willis Orlando from Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights) suggests booking domestic flights for a destination wedding between one and three months in advance.
Generally, you don’t want to leave your flight booking until the last minute; hence, you should start looking no later than one month in advance. But airfare varies based on numerous factors, so it’s always worth checking the cost of your flight a number of weeks in advance and monitoring the cost to ensure you’re not paying too much.
The best time to book international flights for a destination wedding
When it comes to an international destination wedding, experts advise that you give yourself a bit more time to find flights. According to Potter, you should start looking for those flights at least four to five months in advance of the wedding date. Meanwhile, Orlando suggests that guests or hosts begin looking even further ahead at about three to eight months.
However, if the wedding takes place during the summer or on a holiday weekend, you’ll want to take different advice into account. Orlando recommends adding an additional month to the above timelines if the wedding is during peak season or on a holiday weekend. Potter says adding extra time onto this window is key when booking travel during summer, when “prices are more likely to go up than down.”
Tips for booking destination wedding flights
Knowing when to start looking to book your flights is one thing to master, but there are plenty of other tips out there to help you get a deal on your destination wedding flights without breaking the bank.
How much notice should you give guests for a destination wedding?
If you’re planning a destination wedding, try to give guests ample notice to ensure they can make the necessary arrangements to attend.
Most experts recommend providing at least six to 12 months of advance notice, with some suggesting even longer periods of 10 to 18 months. This extended time frame allows guests to save money, request time off work and make travel arrangements. The minimum recommended notice is around six to eight months, but providing more time is often appreciated.
When deciding on the notice period, it’s worth thinking about factors such as the destination’s accessibility, the potential cost for guests and the time they might need to arrange time off work. Ultimately, the consensus is that more notice is generally better for destination weddings to allow guests to properly plan and budget for attending your special day.
Do guests pay for their flights to a destination wedding?
Typically, guests are expected to pay for their own flights to attend a destination wedding.
This is the standard practice and generally understood etiquette for these events. While the couple getting married is usually responsible for the core wedding expenses like the ceremony and reception, guests are expected to cover their travel costs, including flights and accommodations.
Since guests are incurring significant travel expenses, the expectations for wedding gifts are often lower for destination weddings. In some cases, if the couple is financially able and has guests they absolutely want present who can’t afford the trip, they may choose to assist with travel costs, but this is not expected or required.
While not covering flights, some couples may choose to arrange group discounts for accommodations or provide transportation between the airport and the wedding venue as a courtesy to guests. The key is clear communication about expectations and understanding that not all guests may be able to attend due to the associated costs and time commitment of a destination wedding.
How much should guests expect to pay to attend a destination wedding?
Before beginning a flight search, Orlando advises setting a budget for yourself. What is the maximum you can spend on a plane ticket for this destination wedding?
Once you have a number in mind, start looking for flights and keep an eye on prices. Potter recommends setting Google Flights price alerts, which will send you email alerts when prices change. When you see a good drop in price, he advises booking right away.
Book changeable fares
So, you’ve finally found a flight at a price point that suits your budget. When it comes to actually booking the ticket, it may be worth it to buy up to a higher fare class that allows changes down the line.
This means if you see an affordable — and flexible — fare outside the suggested purchase timelines, buy it. You can always change it later if the price drops. “There’s little harm in locking in the first ‘acceptable’ fare, then continuing to monitor prices, making a change if the price drops further,” Orlando says.
It must be said that you should be extra careful with basic economy fares or low-cost carriers. “Most main-cabin economy fares can be changed free or canceled for a voucher,” Potter says. “On most airlines, that’s no longer an option with the cheapest basic economy fares.”
When we caught up with Potter in June 2024, he mentioned that this advice is even more important this year. He told us that Thrifty Traveler has seen huge price drops as travel draws closer, even for flights to Europe in August.
Be flexible with travel dates
When it comes to traveling on holiday weekends and peak dates, guests should think about taking an extra day off work to minimize flight costs. “Staying an extra day on either end of the weekend could potentially save you hundreds,” Orlando says.
Or take more than just a day for an entire vacation of your own. Brides and grooms should consider tacking on their honeymoons here too. “Going a few days earlier or later — or even extending your trip after the wedding — could result in some big savings,” Potter says. “There may not be a cheap day to book, but there are cheap(er) days to fly. Getting on the plane on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday will almost always save you some money.”
Plus, building in a few extra days for your trip on less-crowded days often comes with additional perks like fewer airport crowds, empty seats on your flight and maybe even an airport lounge all to yourself.
Use travel rewards when prices are too high
Orlando highly recommends using travel rewards to book destination wedding flights, especially if the wedding is on short notice, on peak dates or located in a hard-to-reach destination.
“Miles are at their most valuable when cash prices are high,” he says. “When you’re constrained to your dates and destination, it often makes sense to book with miles, where prices are much more stable than cash prices and where fares are almost always changeable and often fully refundable.”
When it comes to building up your travel rewards accounts, the right travel credit cards are a great place to start. With them, you can earn transferable points which are more flexible than standard airline miles.
For example, if you collect American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards or Citi ThankYou Rewards, you can transfer your points to dozens of airline and hotel partners, putting you well on your way to nearly free travel.
Don’t book flights as a group
While it can be tempting to book flights for your entire extended family or friend group, don’t. “Airlines sell their tickets in fare classes with a specific price … and have a set number of fares available at that price,” Potter says. In other words, there may not be eight tickets available at the lowest price, but there could be two or three.
“If you’re traveling as a group of six and there are two tickets to Paris left at $500 round trip and six left at $1,000 round trip, they’ll charge you $1,000 for all six tickets,” Orlando says. “If you play around with the number of passengers, you’ll often find that sweet spot where you can book those last two tickets at $500 round trip before shelling out the higher price for the others.”
For those with large immediate families, Potter recommends searching for your flights sooner than for single or double travelers. “It might be helpful for a big family to book even further in advance to make sure there’s still enough inventory of the lowest-priced fares available,” he says.
Book direct with the airline
Save yourself the headache and book directly with the airline, even if it’s a bit pricier. “While you might save a few bucks by booking through a third-party website, you may regret it if plans change or you need to alter your flight,” Potter says. That’s because third-party online travel agents often can’t fix problems quickly if something goes wrong, whereas the airline can quickly figure out alternative options within its own system.
If you’re having a destination wedding, help your guests travel affordably
The bride and groom should send out destination wedding invitations or save-the-date cards with plenty of notice to ensure their guests have time to find and book affordable travel.
“We suggest sending out save-the-dates for destination weddings taking place in Mexico anywhere from a year to 10 months in advance of the wedding date and following up with an official invitation with the RSVP deadline of three months prior to the event date,” says Anastasia, co-founder of Mango Weddings & Events, a company that plans destination weddings in Mexico.
This way, guests have time to prepare their budgets, monitor flights and snap up the best fares. And brides and grooms, if you’ve snagged your own cheap airfare, do your guests a favor and drop them an email with the details, encouraging them to book soon to get the same or a similar price.