Florida. Napa Valley. Newport. Belize. Hawaii. Bahamas. These are just some of the places that are considered to be premiere spots for a destination wedding. They’re beautiful. They’re romantic. And, if you plan in enough time, they are also a lot more affordable than you might’ve ever thought.

No matter how much time, effort and energy you put into the months, weeks and days leading up to your BIG DAY, if once your wedding day arrives, everything falls apart, it’s going to feel like all that planning was for nothing.

Other than June, the month that continues to be the most popular when it comes to weddings is October—and with good reason! The air is cooler, the trees are starting to turn brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow, plus there’s something about autumn weather than is so…romantic.

Last year, The New York Times published an article entitled “Want a Fabulous Wedding? Consider Eloping”. It’s a great reminder that while there used to be a time when having a small wedding was looked upon as a “poor man’s option”, no longer is that even close to being the case.

No matter how beautiful your wedding gown is, how many flowers you’ve ordered or how much you absolutely love your wedding cake, none of this is going to matter very much if you don’t have a wedding venue. Out of all of the places where you could get married, one that should definitely be considered is a banquet hall. It’s traditional. It’s (usually) large. And, it features the kind of accommodations that are ideal for a wedding.

Marriage is automatically beautiful and sacred. So, when two people make the decision to throw an eco-friendly wedding (and reception), pardon the wedding day pun, but it’s kind of like the icing on the cake. While they are making plans to formally profess their love and devotion to one another, in a way they are choosing to do the same thing to the planet. We can’t help but to totally be in love with the thought of that!

For better or for worse, this is the real world and here, we have to cover our expenses on our own—via a checking account, credit cards, etc.—and our wedding is not exempt.

There are certain things that test a couple. It’s a part of life. But if there’s one test in particular that easily can go into the Top Five, it’s wedding planning. Between putting together a budget, navigating through family issues and expectations and finding ways to make sure both of you are happy—it’s enough to take a toll on even the most organized individual!