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In 2024 and 2025, we’ve seen a massive shift in how couples plan their lives. From creating recipes to writing resumes, the use of Artificial Intelligence is on the rise – and the wedding industry is not excluded.
We’ve seen our own articles referenced by ChatGPT, met clients who have used AI to virtually try on different wedding gowns, and even found wedding vendors using AI to create inspirational images.
For so many couples, destination wedding planning can be stressful. You’ve got all the aspects of a wedding to consider, as well as the added challenges of planning them in another country. AI can be a tool to help manage the stress and overwhelm that lots of people feel. Instead of searching the web for hours to look for information, you can ask AI to do the research for you and create a short and digestible summary.
We can see how tempting it can be to let AI help you plan your destination wedding. You type “Plan a 7-day elopement itinerary for the Amalfi Coast in October” into ChatGPT, and within seconds, you have a neatly formatted schedule. It feels like magic. Perhaps you don’t need to spend $5,000 on a wedding planner after all. But here is the hard truth: AI cannot feel, it cannot negotiate, and it definitely doesn’t know that the ferry to that “must-see” island stopped running two weeks ago.
While AI is a powerful tool for many things, handing it the keys to your wedding or elopement is a risky game. Here is why you should think twice before letting an algorithm plan the most important day of your life.
Where AI Can Be Helpful For Wedding Planning
Before we dive into the why we are sceptical about the helpfulness of AI for destination wedding planning, let’s first take a look at where AI is commonly being used by couples today:
Brainstorming Ideas & Vendor Research
Many people turn to AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT or Gemini, to help them brainstorm an idea. It’s completely possible to do this for your wedding or elopement, too. For example, you could ask it to help you narrow down the most budget-friendly beach wedding locations in Europe, create a budget for a winter wedding in the Swiss Alps, or give you an overview of which European countries would allow you to get legally married there, based on your country of residence or citizenship.
Writing Text and emails
Lots of people are outsourcing writing to AI. From using AI to help them create the perfect wording for invitations, helping them word tactful messages to a guest explaining that the wedding is adults only (and that their 4-year old twins are not invited), or writing emails to wedding vendors to ask about their services.
We’ve even heard of people using AI to write their vows and speeches (although we really hope this one isn’t true)
As an elopement photographer, as well as the editor of European Elopement Guide, I’ve definitely seen an increase in people using AI to write their initial enquiry emails. This can save couples time, as they can copy/paste text right from the AI Chatbot; however, most people can spot AI text over genuine written responses. However
Creating Moodboards
AI moodboards are the new Pinterest boards for many couples. Lots of people are turning to AI to create moodboards to share with their vendors their vision for their wedding day.
Instead of sharing examples of other people’s weddings and trying to explain that you like certain aspects but want to change others, couples are using AI to create moodboards and mockups of their visions that are highly customised to their vision. This can be a useful tool in showing your vendors what you are looking for, rather than trying to explain it (especially if you are also worried about things getting lost in translation too).
Trying Different outfits, makeup, and hairstyles
There are so many apps out there now that allow you to test out different styles without even leaving your couch. You can virtually try on different wedding dresses by uploading a full-body image, or take a selfie and see how you’d look with different hairstyles or makeup.
For couples planning a destination wedding, where having a hair & makeup trial with your makeup artist might not work in your schedule, testing out some different looks with AI could help you get a better idea of what will suit you. Likewise, some people find dress shopping overwhelming. Using AI to help you narrow down styles can help you quickly filter down what you’re looking for.
Creating Playlists
Some couples are turning to AI to help them create playlists for their wedding day. A number of platforms now let you type in a few prompts, such as the genre, with examples of your favourite music, and they will create a playlist for you, whether that’s an easy-listening playlist for during dinner, or a collection of floor-fillers to get everyone up and dancing.
The Pitfalls of Using AI in Destination Wedding Planning
When you are planning a wedding in your hometown or a location that you’re familiar with, you can fact-check AI easily. The likelihood of you knowing someone who used the same florist, or knowing that traffic between your preferred ceremony and reception venues is a nightmare at certain times of day, can help you instantly spot flaws in the information that AI gives you.
However, when you are planning a destination wedding, AI’s blind spots can be disastrous. So let’s explore why you might want to hold back from letting AI plan too much of your wedding day:
AI Affirmations, Hallucinations & Outdated Information
If you’ve ever used an AI chatbot, you may have noticed that they love to please you (because this keeps you talking). This means that they often tell you what they think you want to hear – regardless of whether the information is correct.
Sometimes the information is factually correct, other times it’s completely made up. These made-up facts are known as “hallucinations” – they confidently present false information as fact. Even when you know they are wrong, and you point it out, AI will affirm that “you are right” but may still go on to present more false information as fact, because it thinks that this is the information that you want.
It’s important to acknowledge that many AI models are trained on data that’s 2-3 years old. So there’s a very high chance it will give you information on businesses that are no longer operating. It can also quickly send you into a budget meltdown, with inaccurate pricing estimates that often severely underestimate actual costs.
An Example: For writing this article, I asked ChatGPT to make me a list of the “Best wedding photographers in the Dolomites for an elopement” (this is my local market, so I know it pretty well). I was shocked that while some of the results included local photographers, including myself, some of them were not in the Dolomites at all. Not only that, when I clicked on my business, it created a summary that used images that were not mine, and a text summary of my business that stated I offered services that I do not, but the link did redirect to my website.
If you are using AI for research, make sure you also fact-check the information you are getting. Sometimes a simple Google search will provide you with more accurate results.
Inspiration that can’t meet reality
Above, we talked about how using AI as a tool to communicate your vision, via a moodboard or mock-ups, it’s important to acknowledge that sometimes these dream scenarios are complete works of fiction. When you generate an image with AI, literally anything is possible. You can control everything, from the colours of the flowers to the lighting in the location.
But sometimes these AI visions are not possible to recreate, whether that’s due to budget restrictions, seasonal or geographical availability of certain items, venue restrictions, or even something uncontrollable like the weather.
For example, a local florist might not be able to create the exact arrangements from your moodboard due to seasonal availability, or because the flowers you want won’t last an hour in the climate at that time of year. Inspiration can be helpful, but not if it’s not based in reality.
If you are using AI to create a moodboard or share to share your vision, it’s important to talk through the reality of how it all translates to your wedding day, and what is and isn’t possible. This is where the expertise of wedding vendors really shines.
Unrealistic Locations or Timelines
Many European destinations are highly seasonal. There are high and low seasons, not just dictated by the weather, but also seasonal closures. Some destinations “go dark” for a month between summer and winter seasons, where almost all hotels and restaurants close. Others may still have available accommodation, but when you arrive, you may discover that all the places you want to visit are closed.
We’ve seen AI create wildly unrealistic timelines, such as suggestions visiting two locations that were, on a map, relatively close together, but not accounting for the travel time and logistics of moving between the two locations.
Local and expert knowledge wins here too. A local planner will make sure you don’t plan your Lake Como ceremony too early if you’re getting married in June (because it’s so hot during the day), or too late if you’re eloping in Scotland in November (because it gets dark really early). They will advise you on realistic rather than idealistic timelines to make sure your day is stress-free.
A Potential Legal Nightmare
We’ve already seen examples in the news of travellers getting turned around for not having the correct visa. This would be devastating for any trip, but if it’s your wedding, that’s unthinkable. If you’re planning a destination wedding, you might not only be researching visas for travel, but also looking for information on getting legally married.
We tried an experiment, where we asked ChatGPT a few different questions about legal marriage requirements in different European countries, such as “which countries in Europe allow non-residents to get married” and “Which European countries allow same-sex marriages“? And guess what – while some of the information was correct, a lot of it wasn’t.
For example, ChatGPT told us Italy allows same-sex marriages (it doesn’t – it only offers civil partnerships), and that foreigners can get married in France (which is only partially true – they need to be resident there for a minimum of 40 days, which is unrealistic for most couples).
Can you imagine planning your whole wedding, booking a venue and vendors, and then finding out that the legal ceremony you wanted to have isn’t actually possible, or that your marriage won’t be recognised when you return to your home country?
Presenting tourist traps as hidden gems
AI operates on existing internet data. Have you ever read an article about “Top 10 hidden gems in X” and when you get there, you find that they are actually pretty crowded?
AI is taking all of the data it finds on the internet, and it recommends what is already popular, even if you specifically ask for hidden gems. The result – what AI is telling you is a secret spot may, in fact, be a tourist trap. Not only does this put immense strain on local infrastructure and fragile environments, but it also potentially ruins your wedding experience when you turn up to a “secret spot” to exchange wedding vows, and you find 50 other people there.
Instead of using AI to help you find locations, this is where we think local vendors are worth their weight in gold. Local vendors can often show you locations that can’t be found online, or are only available via local connections within the community.
Ethical and Sustainability Concerns
Beyond the logistics, there is a deeper reason to avoid AI-planned weddings: the impact on the planet and the people living on it:
Body-Image Insecurity
We mentioned how there are AI apps that allow you to try on different styles of clothing, hairstyles, and makeup. And while this can help some people with decision overwhelm, we think it’s also important to speak about the potential darker side of these apps for your mental health.
I had a client last year who was using AI to see what different alterations would look like for her wedding gown – long sleeves vs. short sleeves, lace vs. tulle. She shared the images with me to ask my opinion, and they blew my mind (and not in a good way). Compared to the original photo she had sent me of herself in the dress, the AI “improvements” didn’t only change the dress. They changed her whole body. When she asked AI to show her what the dress would look like with long, lace sleeves, it didn’t just make those changes. It also edited her body to make her look taller and thinner.
This immediately raised red flags for me. How can you see what a style is going to look like on your body if AI changes your body? How many people will use AI to choose a style, or make changes to an outfit, and then, when they go to try it on, find that it looks completely different? At least, that could be disappointing. But worse, it could potentially make you feel incredibly insecure about your body.
The Environmental Cost
The use of AI comes at an enormous environmental cost. Every query you send to a large language model (like ChatGPT) consumes significant energy and water for powering and cooling data centres. Many of these data centres are built in or near vulnerable communities, where land prices are low. But instead of bringing jobs to boost the local economy, they are mainly responsible for rising energy costs, pollution, and water shortages.
The Impact on Small Businesses
European destination weddings support a vast ecosystem of small local businesses: florists, planners, photographers, caterers, musicians, stylists, and family-run venues, all of whom have a deep understanding and respect for the local culture.
Stolen Art
Using AI to create your wedding invitations instead of hiring a graphic designer might seem like a no-brainer when it comes to saving costs. But AI doesn’t get its artwork from nowhere. AI art is created by taking the work of existing artists, photographers, and designers, often without their knowledge or permission, and essentially plagiarising it, forcing many small, independent artists out of business.
Giving Your Data to Big Tech
Another ethical concern raised with the increased use of AI is what these companies are doing with your data. For example, images of your face may be used to train facial recognition software or generative AI models.
Where to use AI in Wedding Planning
We think AI can have value in the following aspects of wedding planning:
- Brainstorming ideas and initial research
- Creating checklists
- Dividing up tasks between you and your partner
- Creating spreadsheets to manage your budget, guest list, travel plans etc
- Helping with wording on websites, emails, invitations, etc
- Transcribe meetings
- Help you understand contracts
- Translating information
Where humans are better
We believe these aspects of wedding planning are better with a human touch:
- Writing your ceremony & vows (because nothing screams true love than asking a robot to tell someone how much you love them)
- Creating your wedding day timeline
- Choosing your vendors
- The legal ceremony paperwork
- Choosing your perfect venue or elopement location
- Explaining local customs
The Verdict: Use AI for Spreadsheets, Not Soul
If you want to use AI to format your guest list spreadsheet or convert currency exchange rates, go for it. That is what computers are for. But your wedding is a human experience. It deserves empathy, intuition, and “on-the-ground” knowledge.
AI can give you a list of 10 florists in Tuscany, but a Human knows which florist just had a baby and isn’t taking bookings, and which one specialises in sustainable, locally-grown wildflowers.
We love weddings and elopements because they are a wonderful celebration of humanity. They are too meaningful to be planned by a robot. Instead, take the stress away by working with amazing local vendors who can plan your dream wedding day for you.
