If you are planning a destination wedding to a site where guests will have to travel a good distance, the sooner you can share your plans with them, the better. While costs are considerable for any travel, they can be astronomical if the venue is an exotic island or out-of-the-way hamlet. The sooner your guests can start making their travel arrangements, the less it will cost them. A long lead time also allows them to arrange for time off work and perhaps even plan a family vacation around the wedding. This doesn’t mean you should send out wedding invitations a year in advance. A telephone call, a note, or a “save the date” notice is all your guests need to begin planning; the written wedding invitation to follow. A destination wedding guest list is often smaller than that of a wedding held at a traditional location-simply because of the logistics and expenses of a destination wedding.