Planning a wedding from Norway, in a country where you don't live, sounds like a cost-saver on paper. In practice, it's rarely that simple. Contracts in French or Greek, vendors who don't reply to emails for weeks, and local customs you didn't know existed – this is where most couples spend more time, money, and worry than planned.

The most common hidden costs:

- Extra trips to the destination to view the venue and meet vendors you would otherwise have had to trust blindly.

- Deposits paid to vendors who turn out not to deliver.

- Interpretation or translation services for contracts and correspondence.

- Time – hours and evenings spent on research instead of with each other

It is often the small things that reveal the difference: the right time to book a venue in Provence to avoid the sun shining directly in your faces during the ceremony, or knowing which local vendor actually delivers the images promised on Instagram. This is the kind of knowledge that is difficult to Google – but which ensures that the day turns out exactly as you envisioned it.