Destination Wedding Planning: Sending the Invitations and Travel Information
March 3, 2011

 

STEP FIVE: Invitations and Travel Information

Again, this is something not pertinent to my destination wedding, but it will be crucial to the success of yours if you want people to attend! Now that you have your date set and your destination wedding resort booked, you can send out the invitations and travel information to your guests. You may have already sent some initial information to them to give a heads up to those needing to block off vacation time or to save up that well earned bonus from work to pay for the trip, but you now have the specifics in hand. You will want to get your invitations out well ahead of what a traditional wedding timeline suggests, as you have booking deadlines to meet with your travel agent and it takes a lot of preparation to travel, especially to an international destination.

(more…)

Read More
No Comment

announcement

Destination Wedding Planning: Finalizing the Travel Package
March 2, 2011

 

 STEP FOUR: Finalizing the travel package

Once you have narrowed down your destination and your date, you will need to work with your travel agent to find your ideal destination wedding resort. You may not actually marry on the resort property, but you will need to find a place for you and your guests (again, if you are inviting any) to stay during your event. The travel agent will most likely recommend a few different resorts that fit your tastes, needs, and budget, so it’s wise to take time to go through those recommendations and see which resorts stand out the most to you. You want to make sure you have a good feeling about a place when you look at the pictures and read reviews online. Once you have taken the recommendations and narrowed them down to 1-3 resorts within your chosen destination, have the agent provide you pricing.  If you qualify for group pricing (10+ rooms), the pricing process will be a bit more complicated and will take longer as rates need to be negotiated with the properties. If group air is to be included, contracts will also have to be negotiated with an airline. Your package may also include some customizations for your wedding, such as a private island dinner reception or private transfers for your guests, so all of that has to be taken into account during the negotiations, if available to be booked upfront. Typically, resorts only offer travel agents access to a few pre-packaged ceremony and reception options, with even less options for customizations. If you are looking for a completely custom package, or want to add on more than what the agent is able to offer, it’s best to book the travel portion with your agent and then work with the wedding planner at the resort to design your special day (more on that below!) If your wedding group is just you, the lucky couple, fewer than 10 rooms, or you just want the standard wedding package, the pricing process will be a little less complicated and time consuming. A lot depends on the destination chosen, but expect South Pacific or Asian destination weddings to be far more complex to piece together than Caribbean or Mexican destination weddings.

(more…)

Read More
No Comment

announcement

Destination Wedding Planning: Choosing the Date and the Destination
March 1, 2011

 

 

STEP THREE: Which comes first- Choosing the date or the destination?

I’ll admit, I haven’t gotten there yet. We’re struggling with choosing the destination. Some destinations we are considering are Fiji, Tahiti, Mauritius, Australia, Malaysia and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Talk about some tough choices! However, for some couples, the date may very well be the most important aspect if you want to get married on a date that is significant to you as a couple. So, there really isn’t a right or wrong answer to the big question. My advice is that if the date is more important than the destination, choose your date, then contact a travel agent to discuss which destinations will best suit your needs, wants, budget, and chosen date. You certainly do not want to get married in Asia during monsoon season. However, a big caveat- try to have your destination choices narrowed down a bit before contacting the agent. With the whole world to choose from, it will be hard for an agent to help you choose the right place if he/she doesn’t have some examples to go on. I know that I work hard trying to figure out the personalities and tastes of my client based on past travel experiences and resorts that have caught their eye.

  (more…)

Read More
No Comment

announcement

Destination Wedding Planning: Establishing a Budget
February 28, 2011

 

STEP TWO: Establish a budget

Even though having a destination wedding is often much less expensive than having a traditional wedding, it’s not always the case. The destination and how much assistance you provide to your guests (if you are inviting guests), will play a huge factor in how much your big day will end up costing. So, sit down and look over your finances. Be realistic and don’t feel as if you have to go into debt, because you certainly do not have to do that! Establish how much you think you can feasibly spend on your part of the wedding. In some cases, it’s just the travel costs- airfare, hotel, food, etc., since some hotels offer free wedding packages. Then, if you have chosen to share your big day with your loved ones, try to establish a reasonable budget for what you think they will need to spend during their stay to attend your wedding. Keep in mind, the bride and groom typically stays longer than their guests, so don’t assume your cost will be the same as the guests’ cost. Also, be sure to check with your “VIP” guests, such as parents, siblings, and grandparents, to see if they are open to traveling. It would not be ideal if you desperately wanted to get married in the presence of your mom but mom refuses to travel!

After talking about your finances, be completely honest about your budget with your travel agent and take your agent’s advice as to what can and cannot be done feasibly within that budget. As I mentioned above, different areas of the world have different costs, so keep in mind that when you ask for a traditional Fijian or Tahitian wedding during high season, but your guest budget is only around $2500 per person, your choices will be extremely limited or not even an option at all. Also, try to maintain a consistent budget throughout the planning process. Travel agents understand that things come up and you might have to make cuts, but telling your agent that you have $25,000 to work with and then slashing the budget to $10,000 after the agent prepared several proposals creates a lot of frustrations on everyone’s part.

Remember, budget is a very personal thing and everyone has a different idea of what their limit is, but for us, we know going in what is feasible and what is just not going to fly. We’re using research tools such as hotel and airline websites, as well as my agent expertise, to see what areas of the world and resorts fit within our target price. You would be surprised how many resorts publish their wedding packages online!

Read More
No Comment

announcement

Destination Wedding Planning: Traditional Wedding versus Destination Wedding
February 25, 2011

Yay! I’m engaged! Now it’s time to start planning the wedding of my dreams and, for once, I get to book travel for my own wedding. I’ve laid my destintation wedding planning journey out in steps, based on my own experience and the experience of booking other destination wedding packages for my clients. Everyone’s experience, needs, and wants will be different, but hopefully the information provided will help serve as a guide of what to do, what not to do, and any interesting stories along the way.

(more…)

Read More
No Comment

announcement

The Wigwam Resort Phoenix – February 2011
February 1, 2011

 

We went to Phoenix/Litchfield Park for 4 days in early January as part of a “reconnaissance trip” to purchase a new home. We purposely stayed close to several developments we were interested in and lucked out finding an amazing resort just a few minutes away. As with most small trips, we booked everything on our own through American Airlines and the Starwood Preferred Guest website.

(more…)

Read More
No Comment

review

Westin Kierland Resort & Villas, Scottsdale, AZ- May 2011
January 26, 2011

I first stayed at the main Westin Kierland Resort back in 2005 when I first moved out to Arizona. I have continued to stay at the main resort since then because it’s far enough from home to call it a vacation, yet close enough to not be stressful; it happens to be next door to one of my favorite shopping centers, and it is home to one of the best mojito bars in the Valley. As I stated in my upcoming trip annoucement, my mom made good use of my Starwood Vacation Ownership week at the villa side of the resort this time around. I had previously toured the property, but oddly enough, had never stayed there. I thought for sure that we would find ourselves over at the main resort almost everyday since it would be far superior to the villas, but we only ever went to the main resort to enjoy our mojitos at Deseo’s! The rooms were quite nice- we were lucky enough to enjoy a two bedroom lock-off the first night since I had booked one night for myself before leaving my family to their vacation for the week. The premium one bedroom side of the lockoff is amazing: a huge kitchen, living room with fireplace, double vanity sinks in the bathroom with a giant walk in shower and jetted tub, and a nice Heavenly king bed. We commented that it would be a nice one bedroom condo for retirement! The smaller one bedroom side was similar, but did not have the larger kitchen, the fireplace, the walk in shower or the double vanity sinks. The bedroom also had a queen bed instead of the king. Our rooms were in Building 2, on the 3rd floor, which overlooked the activity pool and was next to the lobby area. There were absolutely no noise issues at all.

Courtesy of S. Chobert

 

(more…)

Read More
No Comment

review

Destination Wedding Planning…For Myself!
December 17, 2010

It has been an honor and a privilege to have helped several couples plan their dream weddings at their favorite exotic location away from home. From Jamaica to Tahiti, I’ve often sat while planning a couple’s “weddingmoon” package and day dreamed of the day when I would be the lucky bride planning their big day somewhere fascinating and breathtaking.

(more…)

Read More
No Comment

announcement

Mamanuca Islands, Coral Coast, and Denarau Island, Fiji, December 2010
October 8, 2010

Fiji is an incredibly HOT destination right now, with an excellent exchange rate, ultra exclusive private island resorts, a recent article featuring Wakaya Club in Conde Nast Traveler, and Oprah Winfrey’s recent visit to Laucala Island following her highly publicized Australian tour! While we all can’t travel like Oprah, Fiji offers small, intimate, all-inclusive luxury resorts for less than you may think! It’s actually more affordable and a similar itinerary will cost less than Tahiti in most cases. So, imagine my excitement to have been a part of this year’s Tourism Fiji Matai Familiarization Trip!

 

(more…)

Read More
No Comment

review

St. Regis Monarch Beach, Dana Point, CA – September 2010
August 5, 2010

Just back from a long holiday weekend at the St. Regis Monarch Beach (NOTE: now Monarch Beach Resort and not affiliated with Starwood). The resort is gorgeous, the food was excellent, and the staff was very friendly and helpful, but the clientele, specifically the younger clientele, leave much to be desired. The resort was overrun with children! With rooms running over $400/night and a hotel that bills itself as Forbes Five Star and AAA Five Diamond, you expect glitz and glamour, not screaming and crying. I could go on about this for awhile, however I won’t and I’ll just note the good stuff!

(more…)

Read More
No Comment

review