Source locally wherever you can. The best destination weddings lean into the place rather than freighting a look across borders.
Ship only the few pieces that truly cannot be found or rented at the destination, and price the freight and customs honestly before you commit.
Your planner and a local prop house will almost always solve a styling problem faster and cheaper than a shipping container will.
For most couples, the right answer is to source the bulk of your decor locally through your planner and a regional rental house, and to ship only the small, sentimental or impossible to find pieces. Local sourcing is cheaper, greener and avoids customs risk, while shipping suits heirlooms, bespoke signage and items unavailable at the destination. Plan the split early, since freight, duties and a customs hold are the things that catch couples out.
A simple order of operations for getting the look you want at the destination, without an expensive shipping mistake.
Before you plan to ship anything, ask your planner what local rental houses, florists and prop suppliers can provide. In mature wedding destinations the answer is usually almost everything, from tables and glassware to lighting and lounge furniture.
Write down only the pieces that are truly sentimental, bespoke or impossible to source locally, such as a family heirloom, a specific signage set or a particular tableware you cannot rent. That short list is what you actually consider shipping.
Get a real quote for sea or air freight both ways, plus import duties, taxes and a customs broker. Sea freight is cheaper but needs eight to twelve weeks, while air is fast and far more expensive. Factor the return leg if items are hired.
Use a freight forwarder experienced with events and temporary imports. Prepare a detailed inventory with values, since customs assess duty on declared value, and ask about a temporary admission route for items that leave the country again.
Ship to arrive at least a week before you need it, and agree a local backup for anything critical. A held shipment the day before the wedding is the nightmare scenario, so never let a single container carry an irreplaceable element.
Decide before the wedding what comes home, what is donated and what is disposed of locally. Shipping a container of spent decor back across a border rarely makes sense, so plan the wind down as carefully as the build.
A shipment can be held, inspected or charged unexpected duty, and the timing is never in your control. This is the single biggest reason to source locally and to ship early with a proper broker if you must.
Once you add freight both ways, duties and a broker, shipping your own furniture is often more expensive than renting equivalent pieces at the destination. Run the numbers before you assume your own decor saves money.
The pieces worth shipping are the ones that carry meaning, a grandmother's candlesticks, a hand made sign, a specific heirloom. For everything else, the local version is faster, cheaper and lighter on the planet.
Fresh flowers should almost always be sourced locally and seasonally. Importing blooms is costly, fragile and often falls foul of agricultural rules, so lean on a local florist and the season instead.
Shipping decor abroad has no single price, but a useful frame is this: sea freight of a modest pallet runs into the hundreds to low thousands of pounds each way, air freight far more, and duties are charged on declared value at the destination's rate.
Add a customs broker, insurance and local handling, and a shipped look can quietly cost more than renting the same pieces at the destination. Local sourcing through a planner avoids all of it and supports the regional suppliers who know the venue.
The honest budgeting rule is to treat shipping as a premium you pay only for irreplaceable pieces, reviewed May 2026, and to assume customs and timing will cost more than the quote suggests.
Figures are indicative ranges reviewed May 2026 and will move with season, guest count, and exchange rates. Confirm directly with each venue.
A destination planner is the person who knows exactly what can be sourced locally and what genuinely needs to travel. They save couples from expensive shipping mistakes and turn a styling brief into pieces on the ground, which is why they are the first hire.
Mature wedding destinations have professional prop and furniture rental houses with tables, seating, glassware, lighting and lounge sets. Your planner will match the right one to your look, usually for a fraction of the cost of shipping.
If you do ship, use a forwarder who handles events and temporary imports, not a general courier. They prepare the paperwork, advise on duties and reduce the chance of a customs hold at the worst possible moment.
Tell us your destination, your date and the look you want. We reply within 48 hours with the right planner and local suppliers to build it, at no cost to you.
Usually only the sentimental or impossible to source pieces. For most decor, renting locally through your planner is cheaper, faster and avoids customs risk. Reserve shipping for heirlooms, bespoke signage and items you genuinely cannot find at the destination.
Sea freight typically needs eight to twelve weeks each way and is the cheaper option, while air freight is days but far more expensive. Whichever you choose, plan to arrive at least a week early to absorb any customs delay.
Often yes. Customs assess duty on the declared value of goods entering a country, and shipments can be held or inspected. A temporary admission route may apply if items leave again, so use a customs broker who handles events.
It is rarely a good idea. Fresh flowers are fragile, costly to ship and frequently restricted by agricultural rules. Source flowers locally and seasonally through a destination florist instead.
Pieces that carry meaning or cannot be sourced locally, such as a family heirloom, a hand made sign or specific tableware. Everything generic, from furniture to glassware, is almost always better rented at the destination.
Images are licensed editorial stock for illustration. They do not depict a specific venue.
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