Love Is in the Air
Spring Wedding & Honeymoon Season Means Start Planning Now
The Signal - Business Section, February, 2005
Spring is on the way, and so is peak wedding season. If you are among the many headed down the aisle this year, but want a non-traditional ceremony in a unique location, have you considered a destination wedding?
From Tahiti to Timbuktu, couples are taking their wedding and guests on location to host exotic, relaxing, adventurous, and certainly memorable, celebrations. And they are relying on their local travel agent for help planning the matrimonial details. Even if you decide to stay closer to home for the big day, a good travel agent can make all the difference between fine and fantastic in your honeymoon travel experience.
With everything that needs to be done, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the wedding planning process. So before you work yourself into a panic over the guest list and selecting a China pattern take a deep breath and dial for help. This wedding 911 call is what many travel agencies specialize in dealing with. An experienced honeymoon and wedding travel consultant is trained to talk you off the ledge and offer useful suggestions for places to go and things to do for your special day and vacation.
Sun destinations like Hawaii and Mexico, Fiji and the Caribbean, are always leaders in the honeymoon and destination wedding category. The warm island beaches, tropical sunsets and outdoors activities are a big draw for romantic travel and getaway paradise. Whether flying directly, or enjoying the process of getting there onboard a cruise ship, couples planning their special event during the middle of winter are, more often than not, dreaming of anything but snow.
However, mountain and ski resorts are also romantic for weddings and honeymoons. Some of the most luxurious resorts and spas are built around popular ski destinations nestled in beautiful snow-capped mountains. Skiers, hikers and adventuresome types may even plan to exchange their vows on top of a mountain or in front of a roaring fire in the lodge. Whatever you prefer, wherever you hope to visit, now is the time to get planning for this special event.
Even theme parks like Disneyland and Disneyworld are sought-after wedding and honeymoon destinations. The selection of venue and location are as unique as the couple to be married, and reflect their distinct personalities. Underwater, atop the rainforest, skydiving or on horseback, getting married is big business.
To get a little help from friends and family, many couples have discovered the way to defer honeymoon costs by registering not for toasters and towels, but for travel. Here’s how it works. Once you and your travel agent finalize the details of your honeymoon or group wedding block the travel details are posted as a bridal vacation registry on the agency website. The personalized pages of the registry are password-protected for guests and are accessible by the names of the couple.
Just like a traditional bridal registry at a department store, all of the travel expenses, including airfare, accommodations, ground transportation and sightseeing, are featured as gift-giving options for wedding guests to purchase. Special extras like spa treatments, champagne service and other upgraded amenities may also be added to the registry upon request.
You’ve got to love this concept. Unless of course you really do need another blender, who wouldn’t want to receive the ultimate self-picked travel experience for a wedding gift?
With love in the air this time of year, wedding and honeymoon planning is in full swing. This is the most memorable vacation of your lifetime, so make sure every detail is in place. Rely on your travel agent to help turn your big day into the perfect travel experience, and a lasting partnership.
Commentary provided by Eric Maryanov, president and founder of All-Travel.com, the Los Angeles-based travel management company with an office in Valencia. He can be reached at 661.775.7511..
For more information
contact Nicole Stinson, Public Relations
(310) 312-3368
