Why ALL of your guests should purchase Travel Insurance!

I'm taking inspiration for this post from one of our destination wedding travel consultants who is currently working feverishly to relocate a Destination Wedding scheduled for an island that was hit by Irene last week. The damage caused the host hotel to temporarily close. The guests who purchased travel insurance will be refunded and can use their refund towards booking the new location. However, those who didn't purchase insurance, are facing the hard fact that the host hotel's cancellation policy will only compensate them by allowing them to return to the same resort within the next 12 months - no exceptions. This is not unique to this hotel, but an industry standard. 

This leaves those guests who did not purchase insurance, forced to pay for an entirely new trip and being stuck with 3-7 nights pre-paid at the host hotel without knowing if their schedule will allow them to use these nights within the 12 month period. 

Anytime there is a hurricane and flights are cancelled, we hear how grateful our clients are to be able to call us with their concerns and changes in travel arrangements, rather than spend hours on hold directly with the airline. Just another reason why it is a good idea to book your Caribbean Wedding with a Travel Agent! 

Best,

The Truth About Group Airfare

{no, this photo is edited! this is the view from Maho Beach in St. Maarten on any given day!}

Every bride who comes our way, inquires on how to secure the best airfare price for her guests. While group rates are available from just about every airline, the rules usually don't work for a Destination Wedding. Group airfare rules require that all guests travel from the same city, on the same day, on the same plane, in order to be booked at the group rate. Airlines consider "groups" to be 10 persons - 10 seats. In today's busy world, it is very rare that 10 people will be able to arrange their schedules and travel together to a wedding. Also, many of us are somewhat transient and have families spread out all over the country, if not the world. Therefore, having 10 guests traveling from the same city is impossible. 

Being aware of these group airfare facts prior to beginning to plan your Destination Wedding, will keep you from being disappointed when your wedding travel consultant gives you an answer you weren't expecting or wanting to hear!

Cheers,

How to Secure Group Airfare Rates for your Wedding

During our process of helping a bride and groom plan their Destination Wedding, we are always asked,  "How does one go about securing a group discount on airline tickets for wedding guests?" Most couples are frustrated with our answer... there simply isn't a solid source for group flight discounts anymore. In today's culture, our families are more spread out and many weddings are attended by guests living in multiple cities across the country and even the world. Standard airfare group discounts apply when 10 or more passengers are flying on the same airline - from the same city - on the same date and time. Despite our best planning efforts, rarely do 10 guests travel together and therefore any benefit of a group discount is lost.

One solution we have found, is from American Airlines. If you follow this link, you will come to American's Wedding Travel Page. Look mid-page and you will see the option to request a group code for wedding travel. If you complete this form, a representative from AA will contact you with a group discount code of around 5% that couples may offer their guests who chose to fly American. The primary qualification is that you must have 10 or more guests traveling - but they can originate from any city served by American! The feedback from past clients is that this discount of 5% often isn't a huge savings, but it does let your guests know that you made every effort to provide them with the best possible travel options for attending your destination wedding.

Cheers,

Happy Endings - Don't Skip a Honeymoon!

Many Destination Couples put all their effort into planning a fabulous event for their wedding and often overlook the honeymoon. Or some feel that after paying for a Destination Wedding, there simply isn't room in the budget for a honeymoon. I am a lover of romance and a true believer in the importance of a honeymoon. Most traditional wedding couples take a honeymoon so why shouldn't Destination Couples? Let's compare for a minute. Yes, a traditional wedding is stressful and requires almost as much planning, but usually the bride and groom are only hosts for the actual wedding ceremony and reception and perhaps a rehearsal dinner. With a DW, we play host to guests for the length of their stay - 3, 4, or even 7 nights. This can be exhausting and all the more reason to carve out some one-on-one time before heading back to domestic bliss as man and wife. Sometimes my clients want to honeymoon at the same resort as their wedding. I sway them away because usually there will be wedding guests still on property for a few days. Moving to an entirely new resort is recommended and a new island is even better! A few airlines make this possible... Air Jamaica offers flights between the islands, as does Liat, and a few smaller airlines fly between Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. If you can't tack your honeymoon on to your Destination Wedding travel, waiting a week or two is okay too. The purpose of a honeymoon is solidly important - to spend quality time together before being faced with the changes marriage brings! We waited 2 weeks after our Jamaica Wedding to head to Thailand for 10 days... Picture was taken at the Suan Lum Night Market in Bangkok.

Thinking of Getting Married in Aruba, Bonaire, or Curacao?

Aruba is a popular choice for Destination Weddings because of the abundance of airlift to the island from most major US Gateways. As it is common for Destination Brides to get married on one island and honeymoon on another, many of my Aruba bride have voiced their complaints that there simply is not an easily accessible island once you are on Aruba. To visit most, you must fly back to Miami to change planes. So, I am thrilled to report that it is now easier to island-hop between the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao). While these islands are relatively close together making a ferry service seem like a logical answer, there is no such service. Up until a few years ago, inter-island flights were infrequent and unreliable. This year, I have found two small airlines to service my clients. Both Insel Air and Tiara Air fly between Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. Tiara Air recently announced that they were adding more flights and now flies between all 3 islands multiple times a day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.