Category: AIW

Knowing if a place is right for your destination wedding

The following questions are key to establishing whether a place is right for you and your group:

How many rooms does the hotel have, and how many are available for the days you want? The answer to this question tells you whether your hotel is intimate (under 100 rooms), medium size (under 250 rooms), or large — and consequently, what percentage of it your guests will fill.

What types of guest rooms are available? Usually hotels have a combination of single rooms and suites with a separate living room and bedroom. If families are traveling together, they may need these bigger rooms or adjoining ones. Some resorts have private villas with multiple bedrooms, which can be ideal for a small destination wedding party.

What facilities does the hotel or resort have for a wedding? Are there scenic areas, an outdoor terrace, an indoor ballroom, or special suites for smaller parties? Do they cater banquet meals?

Does the hotel or resort have a standard wedding package? Can it be customized? Do you have an on-site coordinator?

What recreational facilities are onsite? Is there a swimming pool? Golf course? Spa? What about tours of area attractions? Does the hotel arrange them? You may favor a resort that offers guests a variety of recreational activities during their stay.

What are the best rates available for a party of your size? Ask the hotel whether it offers a group discount or special accommodations for the bride and groom.

Does the hotel hold a reservation? Hotels will set aside a group of rooms for your guests to book by an established date. However, the hotel only holds those rooms for so long, so you need to find out the date by which guests must book to secure a room, when is a deposit required, and how much. What is the cancellation policy? What if some guests pull out? What if the event has to be postponed or cancelled? You need to know what costs you may incur if your plans change.

What is unique about your property? This question gives the hotel or resort rep an opportunity to bring out points that you may not have been aware of

Cruising on a Love Boat? Deciding whether a wedding at sea is right for you? We can assist in working out the details of your cruise wedding or hosting shipboard and portside weddings, obeying marriage laws where you sail, celebrating your honeymoon on the water.

Picture yourself and your honey exchanging rings on a cruise ship deck as your closest friends and family stand nearby. The breeze blows in your hair, and you smell the saltwater. What could be more romantic?

Getting married at sea is one of the simplest ways to have an affordable destination wedding. This fact alone may convince you to get on board: The average cost of a shipboard wedding with a two hour reception for 100 guests on a premium cruise line is $7,000. The average cost of a land-based hometown wedding for the same number of guests is close to $27,000.

In addition to being cost-effective, a shipboard wedding allows couples to combine their ceremony and reception with a cruise honeymoon. (In fact, a bridal couple must sail if they want a cruise-hosted wedding.) Are you tempted to board a cruise ship for your wedding? If so, this chapter reveals what you need to know.

Sailing into Matrimony: The Benefits of a Cruise Wedding

Cruise weddings range in size from intimate ceremonies with bride, groom, officiant, and witnesses to parties of, well, titanic proportions. In addition to the affordability of cruise ship weddings, this type of destination wedding also offers marrying couples the following:

Extensive amenities. On the newest ships, amenities are equal to those of fine resorts: spas that pamper, swimming pools, and even concierge and butler service. In ports of call, you can participate in land and water sports, tackle an extreme adventure, tour historical and cultural points of interest, and shop for duty-free goods.

Before you contact an agent and book a cruise wedding, ask yourselves these questions. Doing so can make it easier for the agent to tailor recommendations based on your needs.

Who is sailing with us? Do we expect family and friends to join us on the cruise? If so, the travel agent may be able to secure a group discount. You may even get a free cabin for yourselves if you meet the cruise line’s definition of a group.

What is our budget? Knowing what you can spend helps identify the most affordable cruise lines for you. Keep in mind that the cost of the cruise is separate from that of the wedding.

Where do we want to sail? Caribbean itineraries are popular with Easterners and Midwesterners. Cruises to Alaska, Mexico’s Pacific coast, and within Hawaii are most convenient for West Coast residents. But that needn’t affect your decision. If you’ve always dreamed of sailing to Tahiti or through the Panama Canal, go for it!

When do we want to sail? Although cruises leave from ports year-round, summer is prime sailing season, and you have the widest choice of ships and itineraries at that time of year.

How long a cruise should we take? Budget is a factor in the length of any cruise. The more you can spend, the longer you can sail. Itineraries range from overnight cruises “to nowhere” to 100-plus days at sea on a round-the-world cruise. Most voyages are in the five- to eleven-day range.

Working with the pros

Cruise weddings are as close to a turnkey affair as a couple can get, yet a lot of planning still goes into the simplest affairs. Having a wedding coordinator onboard can make you grateful to have someone to help guide you through the process.

Look to your coordinator to handle all the wedding details from booking to bon voyage. The responsibilities that fall to the wedding coordinator include

Answering your questions

Informing you of the legal requirements, helping you to get required documents, and making sure that your ceremony will be valid in the port you choose.

Is there enough going on around your preferred location to prevent you and your guests from becoming bored over the course”

Destination Wedding Budgets: Money Saving Tips

1. The destination you choose will make or break your budget. The destination will also make or break your guests’ budget. The path you choose is up to you!

You might be dreaming of an exotic, off-the-beaten-path destination for your special day. However, that might also mean uber expensive flights and long, complicated travel days for your guests. If accommodating many guests is your goal, it may be wise to reconsider the uber-exotic location.

However, if you are trying to LIMIT the number of guests who attend, a far-flung place can be just the ticket. We promise we won’t tell! There are many locations that are unique and exotic, but for a variety of reasons are surprisingly easy and affordable to get to. A professional travel expert can be a great guide to finding these not so well known locations.

Please don’t forget to also pick a location you love! Regardless of your budget, this is your day and you want to have nothing but joy-filled memories of your wedding.

  Choose a destination that you both love and that appeals to your aesthetic, way of life, and look and feel of your wedding. You want your guests to go home feeling like the entire event was completely your style!

2. Take Advantage of Wedding Credits & Perks!

As we mentioned earlier, hotels and resorts that cater to weddings will offer credits based on the number of rooms booked for your event. TAKE ADVANTAGE! At some destinations, it may be possible for your wedding to be completely free based on the size of your group.

Wedding credits can be applied towards your costs, such as your accommodations, special events, or extra perks like VIP check in for your group, resort credit, a bottle of champagne or a romantic catamaran trip around the island. Just like airline miles and credit cards perks, some perks are much better offers than others. A travel agent who specializes in Romance Travel can help you choose a property that will give you the most bang for your buck.

3. Be Open to a Mid-Week Wedding vs. a Saturday

Many venues offer lower rates for weekday weddings. You and your guests are already likely taking some time off for the wedding, so planning a destination wedding during the week is typically much easier than trying to schedule a traditional wedding during the week.

4. Choose flowers, food and favors that are easy to find locally

Shipping or traveling with your flowers, food or wedding favors is expensive and can be a real hassle. You might even run into restrictions when it comes to fresh flowers or foods depending on where you are traveling.

Forget the hassle and choose items that are unique to your destination. Choose flowers, food and favors that are easy to find locally, saving stress and money. Part of the beauty of a destination wedding is choosing items that match the theme of your destination. Looking for wedding favors? Local souvenirs make the perfect gift for wedding guests. Find a local, high-end gift shop that sells tasteful souvenirs or consider giving local delicacies – wines, coffees, nuts, candies… almost every location has some culinary treat that they are known for.

One pro tip: Make sure to check tourism or customs regulations for what is allowed to be transported back to the U.S. You don’t want to set your guests up for an airport search!

Another idea: Bypass the gift bag and favors all together and plan a group excursion for your guests. We rented a private catamaran for this very purpose and our guests are still talking about it!

A quick online search or conversation with your travel agent can help brainstorm a wonderful, memorable wedding favor your guests will love.

5. Talk to your Travel Agent about how to communicate your group terms to wedding guests…

…and make sure your guests understand how to book under your contract!

Your travel agent is an invaluable resource when it comes to negotiating group contracts with destination wedding venues.

Remember, a group contract means freebies and amenities for you and your guests!

However, these amenities are based on the number of rooms promised in your group contract. If your guests do not book through your group contract, this can all go awry!

There is nothing worse than negotiating an AMAZING deal with a resort and realize it was all for naught when half of your guests don’t book under your contract.

To maximize your perks, you MUST communicate with your guests and help them understand that booking with your travel agent benefits the entire group. Your bookings must go through the travel agent to count towards the guaranteed minimum number of guests for negotiated perks.

One item to note: there are some resorts that even charge the couple for guests that don’t book inside the negotiated group contract. Ouch!

As your agent and advocate, we can help you communicate this clearly to your guests. Our goal is to treat each and every guest to the exact same luxury experience that we will provide to you  

Destination weddings are such a new phenomenon, it’s easy for a bride to get confused, carried away, or overwhelmed by the things she feels she should or shouldn’t do. Without traditional wedding etiquette and/or planning books to fall back on, what’s a bride to do? Just as important, what are the things a bride shouldn’t do? Here are some dos and don’ts to guide you to destination wedding success!

Dos

Do send out save-the-date cards about six months before the wedding, especially if it’s planned around a holiday weekend. Give everyone time to make their travel arrangements.

Do view your week away as a vacation, but don’t overlook the fact that you’re getting married! It’s not just another getaway, after all. Take some time to connect with your fiancé and appreciate the magnitude of the event after you’ve unpacked your bags.

Do plan on spending time with all of your guests. That’s why you invited them to this weeklong wedding party, after all.Do take the time to talk with your onsite wedding coordinator and/or wedding vendors before you book them. Ask all the questions you can think of, and get (and check!) referrals.Do let your attendants know upfront what they’ll be expected to pay for. Traditional wedding etiquette holds the bride and groom responsible for attendants’ lodging expenses, but in reality, many bridesmaids and groomsmen end up paying their own way.

Don’ts

Don’t announce your wedding and/or talk excessively about it to those who aren’t invited. The one exception is if you’re having a teeny, tiny wedding with immediate family members only.

Don’t get in way over your head financially. Yes, you only get to do this once, but honestly, lots of couples plan beautiful, relatively inexpensive weddings. It just takes time and research.

Don’t plan on paying for all of your guests’ expenses unless your last name happens to be Moneybags.

Don’t drink too much the night before the wedding. Sure, all you have to do is put on your dress and walk down to the beach in the morning, but you don’t want to look green, tired, or puffy-eyed in your wedding pictures.

Church Bells or Sea Shells?

Before you can even think about making appointments at dress shops and trying on gowns, you have to know where you’re headed for the ceremony. Your destination is the number one factor in deciding which kind of dress you’ll wear.