Friday Destination Wedding Inspiration

Is it hot enough for you? Atlanta has been having record heat combined with our normal summer mugginess and this mama has been surviving on icy cold popsicles. 

Wouldn't popsicles or ice cream be a great addition to a tropical destination wedding? Perhaps to close out the evening? Look at this lovely selection spotted on Ritzy Bee:

Take a 'Charity Honeymoon' as featured on the Today Show.

Did you see this proposal? How creative! I'd love to see how this couple follows up this great proposal with what will surely be a special wedding:

Luxury All-inclusive Honeymoon Package

Pssst! Guys, this ones for you! Need a great idea for the perfect honeymoon getaway after your Destination Wedding? Book the Royal Retreat at Royal Plantation in Ocho Rios Jamaica and if you stay at least 3 nights before December 22, 2011, your room will be booked at 65% off.

The Royal Retreat is a kicked up version of all of the luxurious packaged offerings at the Royal Plantation... it includes everything from spa credit to a fun night on the town. Read all about it right here....

Enter to Win a FREE Honeymoon @ the Westin in St. Maarten!

In celebration of the new design we launched on our travel website, CaribbeanJourney.com, the Westin Dawn Beach in St. Maarten is giving away a FREE HONEYMOON to one lucky couple! There's no catch, no strings attached, simply enter to win! 

I visited the Westin Dawn Beach in St. Maarten in June. It is my favorite hotel on the island and a great choice for St. Maarten Destination Weddings too! 


Located just minutes from the Princess Julianna Airport, The Westin Dawn Beach Resort & Spa, St. Maarten is nestled into the lush hillside and embraced by miles of blue hues, acres of tropical colors, and sandy white beach.

Enjoy,

Does Your Honeymoon Hotel offer a Honeymoon Package?

Many hotels offer a range of honeymoon packages available to add on to your trip. Some off complimentary packages and others offer more comprehensive packages, with more inclusions, at a set price. It is important to check with your hotel or your Caribbean travel consultant and inquire what proof, if any, you will be required to show to receive the honeymoon perks. Usually, a copy of your marriage license is all that is required. Since most of us depart on our honeymoon without having received the official license back, it is important to add a copy of the application to your travel document file and carry along.

Last week, I had a bride host a Destination Wedding at a resort on one end of an island and honeymoon at another resort a few hours away. She had sent all of her legal paperwork back to the states with her mother, forgetting that she might need to prove her wedding date at the honeymoon hotel. If I had remembered to tell her this tip prior to her wedding, I would have saved her mother a few hours of trying to track the important document down.

Interview with a Pro from TheHoneymoon.com

I have long been a fan of TheHoneymoon.com and my clients have really enjoyed the ease and offerings of their honeymoon registry website. So, I decided to have a chat with the founder, Scott Ellingboe in hopes of learning what inspires him and what's new!

LAURA: Was there a personal experience in your life that gave birth to the idea of a honeymoon registry?

Scott: Yes. I was on the phone in 1998 with an acquaintance who was a supplier to our business and he was getting remarried in his mid-forties. His fiancée was getting married for the first time and she was registering for all kinds of things they just didn't need. As he was telling me this he said, "I wish we could just register for our honeymoon to Italy because I don't need another blender." It was an "ah ha" moment.

LAURA: What would you consider the most exciting feature of TheHoneymoon.com right now?

Scott: The most exciting feature right now on our site is our digital magazine. It's a fully interactive magazine that will come out quarterly and features great honeymoon destinations and other interesting articles for couples interested in honeymoons and/or destination wedding information. It also has interesting articles on traveling "green" as well as some interesting facts about rum, which is used in many of the most famous tropical drinks. We also profile real couples to give readers a peak into someone else's honeymoon experience.

LAURA: From my own experience, I know most clients aren't willing to sacrifice their honeymoon but I assume more and more couples are seeking help in paying for the trip and adventures. Have you seen an increase in usage on your site as the economy weakens?

Scott: Yes. We have seen an increase in the number of transactions versus the same period last year. However, the average dollar amount spent per gift purchase has dropped from $117 to $102. Wedding gifts fall under discretionary spending, which is usually the first to be affected by the economy. The fact that individual gift purchases are up is proof that more people are choosing this type of registry and that wedding guests are responding.

LAURA: Have any really outrageous registries come across your site and have they been filled?

Scott: I'm not sure what qualifies as outrageous, we've had some outrageously bad registries from people who just didn't get that a honeymoon registry has to be fun, filled with gift items that will give the couple a more memorable experience. Getting to a destination is a small part of the overall experience -- it's what you do when you get there that defines the memories you will cherish forever. There is one registry from about seven years ago that was pretty outrageous at the time -- the couple registered for Viagra, "for those last few honeymoon nights!" That got a laugh out of everyone who saw it.

That's all folks! Check back for more fun interviews!

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.