A great video by Randy Russell of Couple's Resorts

Randy talks about Couple's Resorts in Jamaica for honeymoons, destination weddings and honeymoon registries!! Worth a watch and DO check our Couple's Resorts for your honeymoon, destination wedding or romantic getaway!

Please click here to view video

Your Destination Wedding Can Help a Non-profit!

Destination weddings are the fastest growing trend in weddings! There are so many good reasons to choose a destination wedding.

How wonderful would it be to have a fabulous, romanic destination wedding knowing that a percentage of your destination wedding/honeymoon package is donated back to help a non-profit? If this idea appeals to you, check out www.giftoftravel.com!

Gift of Travel and their Travel as as Fundraiser program makes it so easy to plan and book destination weddings! Gift of Travel has partnered with Apple Vacations who can provide wedding couples with a destination wedding expert to book their destination wedding to such wonderful places as Jamaica, St. Lucia, the Bahamas, Hawaii and other fabulous places. Couples can choose one of the non-profits that has partnered with Gift of Travel and 4% of the pre-tax cost of their destinatnion wedding or honeymoon package will be donated to the non-profti. It's a win win for everyone!

Here are 6 more reasons to consider a destination wedding.

They offer a more intimate and personal experience for you, the groom and all your guests. Every detail can be hand crafted and customized to ensure the experience is exactly what you want.

The Experience…That is exactly what a destination wedding is…an experience. One in which your guests get to participate in creating the memories that will stay with you for a life time. They are very much a part of customizing the details!

Destination weddings give people an excuse to splurge and take a vacation. In today’s economic climate most people look forward to having a reason to get away and relax. If having your guests participate and attend your wedding is really important to you then consider their needs when choosing a location. Your dream may be the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, but do consider if the guests you would like to have at your wedding will be able to attend the destination you choose. Keep in mind the costs, the travel expense as well as accommodations.. If children are involved is the location kid friendly or is it all adult? If your destination is international all your guests will need passports. Always give your guests at least 8 months notice to plan for your wedding.

Destination weddings usually cost less and allow more to be spent on you and the guests experience at the wedding.

One of the biggest reasons to consider a destination wedding is the ease of limiting the number of guests attending and cutting your costs. Typically, people don’t expect to get invited to destination weddings. So, that 3^rd cousin on your dad’s side of the family that is loud and always embarrasses himself at the family reunion…you can get away with not inviting him by saying you are having a very small group of close family and best friends in an exotic locale.

Many resorts such as Couples, Secrets and Dreams, offer wedding packages to make planning a destination wedding easier. Some basic wedding packages are even free! Resorts often have on site wedding planners to assist you with your destination wedding.

A great airplane read for your honeymoon!! I just finished reading the BEST book!! Granted it's about surfing (my newest obsession) but it's MORE than just about surfing. It's called "KOOK, What Surfing Taught Me About Love, Life, and Catching the Perfect Wave". (A Kook is newbie surfer) The author, Peter Heller..., is an adventure/travel writer for Outside, National Geographic Adventure and others and tells his real life journey of traveling the Baja and mainland Mexico coast for 6 months in a spiritual quest to go from Kook to shredder in just 6 months - and the life lessons he learned along the way. I laughed, I cried, and I couldn't put the book down until I was done!

Top Ten Travel Tips You’ve Never Heard

Hello HoneyLuna Honeymoon Registry Clients and HoneyLuna Blog Readers -- I thought you might enjoy this Top 10 list as I did. This was written by a Travel Writer's Association member Barbara Bunce Desmeules aka Travelling Booky http://www.travellingbooky.com/

Top Ten Travel Tips You’ve Never Heard

1. Make sure your suitcase is within your lifting capabilities. There is nothing worse than heaving and grunting under excess weight, the suitcase’s not the owner’s. My problem is that I am such an expert at rolling and bagging all of my clothes that I can fit in twice as much as I should. The items might fit but it makes for a suitcase I cannot lift from the airport baggage carousel, cannot lift onto the bus or lift onto any surface for unpacking. My husband dropped it on his foot trying to hoist it out of the trunk of the car and had trouble walking for days.

2. Never read “What to Pack” lists. They inevitably suggest an item or two that you never would have thought to bring. Now I absolutely need a bandana, inflatable hangers and a universal sink stopper! (See http://www.onebag.com/) I have never removed an item from my list after reading these helpful aids.

3. Do not accept the little gift packs some airlines give you. It’s free, I know, but takes up unplanned space. Who needs flimsy earplugs and extra eye masks? Be tough. Just say no.

4. Bring a book you don’t mind leaving behind. Never bring a library book. Not only will you have to take good care of it but you will have to lug it back home. A cheap paperback you can leave behind is your best bet. You can even join http://www.bookcrossing.com/ and perhaps see who picks it up.

5. This tip is mostly for men but can apply to women. Do not bring all of your shirts (tops) in the same shade. Blue is nice but no one will notice that one has micro stripes in red or that the other has tiny checks in grey. It all looks the same in a picture. Vary the colour scheme. And, please remind me to read this pointer to my husband on the next trip.

6. Never try to crack a joke with either a border guard or a French waiter. Both are humourless and can make your life miserable.

7. Never promise any one back home a specific souvenir. I looked all over South-western France for the perfect scarf for my mother. I could not find one the right colour, size, price or fabric. I came back with a bracelet.

8. Never have raw oysters on an empty stomach and a half-hour before going for a boat ride on choppy waters.

9. If you have a rental car that is manual, please try out every manoeuvre before heading down the highway. At our first pit stop, we couldn’t figure out how to go in reverse, i.e. get out of the parking spot. Thanks to a kind Spanish tourist, and my smattering of Spanish, we managed to learn how to go backwards in France.

10. Finally, here is the last and the most important tip: put your house keys in a safe and reachable place. Do not throw them recklessly at the bottom of the largest suitcase and then forget about them. The worse place to think about how to enter your house is when you are in a taxi, five minutes away. Leaning into the trunk of the taxi, searching through suitcases while your husband holds the umbrella over your backside, is not the best way to end a vacation. Fighting about who has, or had, the keys is not pleasant either. The only one who gets a good story and laugh out of this experience is the taxi driver. Oh yes, it’s also very expensive to drive across the city to go to that someone’s house who has a set of your keys.

Questions: will you remove one item from your list after reading this?

Get all your travel books and reading for your honeymoon!

Great Guide Book on Hawaii

Wedding Spending increases in Q1 2010

In the first half of 2010 the average cost of a wedding increased 21.9% from $19,581 (2009) to $23,867....

So USE HoneyLuna's honeymoon registry to have a longer, more luxurious honeymoon!!!

www.honeyluna.com

Surfs up in Waikiki for just $619 WITH air and 6 nights hotel!!

Can you travel to Waikiki August 17, 18 or 19? Then you MUST click this link!! 6 nights ocean view room at Park Shore Waikiki WITH air, transfers and lei greeting from $619 per person!!! I wanna go!!






http://www.applevacations.com/showStatic.do?command=showStaticPage&targetPage=/static/promotions/00490sp_oceankommotion_kp/index.jsp&agentId=99900022

What makes a "real" honeymoon registry?

Hello brides and grooms! I wanted to take a few moments to express my thoughts about HoneyLuna and other honeymoon registry companies that provide a "complete" honeymoon registry experience for brides and grooms -- as well as for their wedding guests. When I say complete, I mean a honeymoon registry that provides a shopping experience just like a guest would receive in a department store. They offer customer service, they accept credit cards, and they don't tell you to just go give cash to the couple.

I founded HoneyLuna in 1995 and was the first honeymoon registry online in 1996. When I launched HoneyLuna in 1995 honeymoon registries were virtually non-existent. I spent years creating this market and creating it in such a way that the honeymoon registry was as “traditional” as possible to other bridal registries offered. It was – and still is – very important to me that honeymoon registries are respectful, well regarded and not considered “tacky”.

We have strived over the years to offer the best customer service possible – to both the bride and groom as well as their guests – to insure that they have a VERY positive experience with the honeymoon registry. There are very specific things that I feel set companies like HoneymoonWishes.com, Traveler’s Joy, The BigDay.com and HoneyLuna apart – and make them true honeymoon registries.

· The guest never gives cash or a check to the couple. If they wanted to do that, why would they even need a honeymoon registry? Would a couple register at Target but then say “oh just give me cash”?

· We make it as seamless as possible for the wedding guests by accepting credit cards – and yes, that does create a fee that we have to cover. But many many guests do not have paypal accounts that other companies suggest guests use -- and this is a true hassle for them.

· We all have toll free #s for both the bridal couples as well as guests to call because we offer a service. And because we offer this level of service we do have expenses to cover.

· We do not cover our expenses with unwanted ads.

As a result of the hard work of Traveler’s Joy, HoneymoonWishes.com, HoneyLuna.com and TheBigDay.com, honeymoon registries are now an acceptable bridal registry option according to the Emily Post Institute of Etiquette and honeymoon registries are now 12% of the bridal registry market and growing.

Thus, it is very important to us that the integrity of the honeymoon registry concept is preserved – and not tainted, by companies that do not adhere to the same standards and level of service as the rest of us and tell your friends and family to "just write you a check".

Nancy Williams, Founder

HoneyLuna.com

415 786 5862

nancy@honeyluna.com

GETAWAY to Punta Cana or Cancun - 3 nts all inclusive with air from $449 per person!

Take a MINI Break! Want a prewedding romantic getaway or just a break? Check out these great 4 night getaway deals 3 nights ALL INCLUSIVE to Punta Cana or Cancun -- WITH AIR!!! from $449 per person

http://www.applevacations.com/showStatic.do?command=showStaticPage&targetPage=%2Fstatic%2Fpromotions%2F00439sp_minibreaks_kp%2Findex.jsp&agentId=99900022

Close to Home Honeymoons in America's National Parks

Close to Home
Honeymoon Ideas ~ America's National Parks

A fabulous honeymoon doesn't have to be in a tropical paradise far away from home. A honeymoon doesn't have to be expensive or far away. The United States is filled with fabulous destinations for honeymooning "close to home" or honeymooning somewhere within the 50 United States.

And even if your honeymoon is close to home or it is within the United States, you can still register for the items and activities of your honeymoon with HoneyLuna as wedding gifts!

Honeymooners have registered with HoneyLuna's honeymoon registry for nights at a lodge in Yosemite, car rental for "day trips" from one national park to the next, white water rafting trips on the Colorado River, horseback riding in the mountains, and yes, even spa treatments!

The advantages of honeymooning close to home are many! National Park honeymoons are:

• Affordable!


• Offer a chance to see some of America's greatest and most beautiful scenery that is often overlooked.


• Many national parks are close to home so you can drive - not fly!


• Offer fun items and activities for honeymoon registries!

Take advantage of the adventure and the splendor of America's national parks!

Consider a honeymoon in:

• Yosemite (CA)
• Yellowstone (WY)
• North Cascades National Park (WA)
• Acadia Natioanl Park (ME)
• Mammoth Cave National Park (KY)
• And yes, there is even a national park in the Virgin Islands!

Have a fabulous (and affordable!) honeymoon with memories that will last you a lifetime!

For more information and ideas about planning a honeymoon in one of our great national parks, visit the National Parks site at http://www.nps.gov/index.htm and read Outside Magazine's article "This Stash is Your Stash" (an oldie but a goodie!)

HoneyLuna Honeymoon Registry Must Haves....

If you don't already have these -- GREAT Flip camcorder and easy point and shoot digital for your honeymon!!




Don't forget the tripod to get pictures of the TWO of you together on your honeymoon!




I have this camera and LOVE it!

SURF lessons in Waikiki for your HoneyLuna Honeymoon Registry

So I finally had the opportunity to fulfill a much anticipated "to do in my lifetime" bucket list item... SURF lessons!!!!

And yes, that is ME -- standing up on a surf board. Ok the waves are small and ok it's a big wide HUGE "beginner board" but I'm doing it! I'm surfing!!

The lessons were a blast - so non-threatening and so easy. Basically you get about a 5 minute briefing on the sand and then boom, you're in the water. The instructor is always with you, helping push you onto the wave at the right time, and then yelling at you when exactly to stand up. This is where my years of gymnastics training came in -- balance by looking up at the beach instead of down at my feet (just like on the balance beam - only there was no beach then!)

I had so much fun I rented a board by myself the next day (I renamed the beginner board to "evolving surfer chick" board) and I would like the record to show that I got up on the board many times BY MYSELF! No push from the instructor on to the wave, no one telling me when and how to stand.

I highly recommend SURF lessons for all - especially in Waikiki. It's so "gentle" - not scary at all. There are kiosks up and down the beach and you can walk up to any one at any time and sign up for a lesson then and there. Group classes where I went (up to 5) were $40 for a 1 hour class. Semi-private (2 people) was $60 / hour. And really, an hour was enough. It's hard work when you're not in shape!

You can also just rent a surfboard -- $15/hour for a better "evolving surfer chick" board.

Put "SURF lessons" on your HoneyLuna honeymoon registry -- then you too can have a cool photo to post on your FB page and your blog page and share with all of your friends!!

Great Honeymoon Ideas of Jamaica - LOTS AND LOTS OF ROMANCE!

Jamaica - a GREAT place for honeymoons!!

Looking for a tropical, romantic, affordable (or pricey too if you want) honeymoon destination? Jamaica has it all! Jamaica tops many of the “World’s Best Honeymoon” Lists every year. And, Jamaica has an amazing inventory of fantastic hotels with a variety of styles – no matter what your romantic preferences may be.

Here are just a few of the many wonderful choices available to you. Let us help you plan your romantic honeymoon to Jamaica!

Goldeneye, once the home of Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming, is now a resort run by Island Outpost ( http://www.islandoutpost.com/), a collection of five distinct small properties located in Jamaica and the Bahamas. Created by Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records and Palm Pictures, Island Outpost tries to create environments reminiscent of staying at a good friend’s home. Among its Jamaican properties are Goldeneye, Strawberry Hill and The Caves, all wonderful choices for romance. Throughout the resort’s 40 acres are beaches, a tropical forest, caves and secluded nooks. Five villas stand on a bluff over the Caribbean Sea, while Fleming’s former home overlooks a secluded cove.

The Caves, Island Outpost’s haven in Negril, is situated on a volcanic cliff honeycombed with grottoes. One such grotto is candlelit for dining, another features a hot tub. The Caves underwent extensive refurbishments, including upscale in-room extras and new facilities.

Negril’s Couples Swept Away is one of four Couples (http://www.couples.com/) properties in Jamaica. This 234-room, 18-acre all-inclusive resort situated on one of Jamaica’s best beaches is highlighted by its spa and by five quality restaurants specializing in cuisine from Jamaican to Asian to Mediterranean. The mood is set by the private hammock that hangs outside each suite, in-suite Jacuzzis and the hors d’oeuvres that are delivered each evening to couples who wish to enjoy them with a glass of wine on their private balcony. The resort also has a special in-room dining menu available nightly. The property’s 10-acre fitness complex specializes in body shaping, yoga, Pilates and abdominal workouts. Other popular programs for those looking to grow a little closer are Soca dance classes, cocktail mixology and the Couples Resorts’ signature massage course. Here, couples learn the art of a romantic massage.

Half Moon (http://www.halfmoonweddings.com/) recently added a Romance Concierge program, staffed by specialists who help plan weddings. A Romance Concierge is prepared to coordinate florists, chefs, spa therapists and other wedding services, as well as offer creative suggestions. Among the details he or she can arrange are gourmet picnic baskets or a champagne beach ride on horseback, with a private breakfast on the beach just after dawn. The Half Moon resort stretches across two miles of beaches, featuring manicured gardens, a semi-enclosed chapel, a spa and restaurants. Accommodations include suites, cottages and villas. Half Moon also features a recently renovated Robert Trent Jones, Sr.-designed 18-hole golf course, the Half Moon Golf Academy, 13 lit tennis courts, an equestrian center, fitness center, 51 swimming pools, a Dolphin Lagoon and more. Fern Tree, The Spa at Half Moon, recently opened with beachfront spa suites, hydrotherapy swimming pools, yoga pavilions and a host of treatments.
The 74-suite Royal Plantation Ocho Rios (http://www.royalplantation.com/) is Jamaica’s only member of Leading Small Hotel of the World. The adults-only resort was originally opened in the 1950s, and its elegant British Colonial plantation style still recalls a time when luxury was much more exclusive. The resort sits on a bluff some 25 feet above the sea, with 74 suites looking out over the ocean. The “Royal Plan” allows guests to receive the added convenience of an all-inclusive.

Last November the resort won a World Travel Award as the Caribbean’s Leading Honeymoon Resort. The resort offers such activities as private cooking classes or a couple’s treatment at the Red Lane Spa. Set on 17 manicured acres, its flagship accommodation is a private, 3,000-square-foot, three-bedroom villa with a private pool and dedicated household staff. The resort, a Sandals property, underwent a complete renovation in 2004.

Round Hill Hotel and Villas (http://www.roundhilljamaica.com/), is a luxury resort in Montego Bay. The resort sits on a former pineapple plantation on a 110-acre peninsula, where guests may be accommodated in either the 36-room Pineapple House Hotel (recently designed by Ralph Lauren) or in one of the 27 individually owned villas with suites overlooking the sea. The resort features gardens, a secluded beach and a spa in an 18th-century Great House at the edge of the sea. All suites have huge verandas, air conditioning, ceiling fans and Jamaican antiques.

Sandals (http://www.sandals.com/) spent $6 million and four months renovating its Whitehouse Hotel European Village Spa on the south coast of Jamaica, a project completed in December. Sandals Whitehouse opened in 2005 with government participation in order to bring tourism to a part of Jamaica that sees few visitors. Set within a pristine, 500-acre nature reserve, Sandals Whitehouse comprises three seaside European villages—French, Italian and Dutch.

The resort’s 360 rooms and suites in nine categories, all with beachfront views, are complemented by eight restaurants and six bars; the largest freshwater pool in Jamaica; and a European-style square, complete with duty-free shops, formal gardens and more. As with all Sandals Resorts Luxury Included vacations, Whitehouse offers exclusive butler service in select room categories, unlimited premium-brand wine and spirits, and championship golf, among other amenities.

Sandals offers many other stunning properties in Jamaica!

SuperClubs (http://www.breezes.com/ or http://www.superclubs.com/) rechristened three Jamaican properties to the Breezes brand. Breezes serves a value-conscious market that’s every bit as interested in romance as the high-enders are. The Grand Lido Braco became Breezes Resort & Spa Rio Bueno. The Breezes Resort & Spa Rio Bueno houses within its grounds the Braco Village at Rio Bueno, a “hotel-within-a-hotel.” The Village includes a separate au naturel section with 52 beachfront suites and a 24-hour clubhouse serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Au naturel, or nude, bathing is offered at many Breezes resorts, but it shouldn’t be confused with the sort of market that Hedonism is reaching out to. It’s more akin to the kind of bathing you find on the Mediterranean. All guests receive Rio Bueno’s Super-Inclusive amenities, including complimentary rounds on the resort’s golf course, a selection of dining options, room service in suite accommodations, cooking classes with the culinary team, and access to the sauna as well as the fitness center with floor-to-ceiling views of the beach.

Jamaica Inn (800-837-4608, http://www.jamaicainn.com/) is an independent property that has been operating in Ocho Rios since 1950. This little jewel of 47 suites and cottages offers lodging without TVs, radios or clocks for the couple who seeks to get away from it all without forgoing luxurious comfort. Every suite and cottage has sea views that can be appreciated from balconies or verandas that are fitted out with a large sofa and breakfast table. The cottages are free-standing suites with oversized bathrooms featuring a separate shower and tub, and marble floors. Each has an outdoor shower and an infinity pool for plunging, just off the bedroom.
Cottages Three and Four are exclusively private, with their own entrances to the sea. A wet bar is located in the living room of each. Cottages are available by request only.

Win a 5 day / 4 night honeymoon at the Stunning Chaa Creek Resort in Belize!

Win a 5 day / 4 night honeymoon at the Stunning Chaa Creek Resort in Belize!

The Lodge at Chaa Creek, Belize’s award-winning luxury eco-lodge in the jungles of Central America, is offering free 5 day all inclusive Honeymoon Vacation Packages to the lucky winners of our Belize Honeymoon Vacation Sweepstakes.Wedged between Mexico and Guatemala on the Yucatan’s Caribbean coast, English speaking Belize is a melting pot of cultures creating a unique blend of vibrant people living in a land of endless beauty.

This tiny country, steeped in Maya history and surrounded by nature’s bounty, is only a few hours’ flight away from most major North American cities. Chaa Creek is offering the opportunity to explore the best that Belize has to offer by celebrating your honeymoon in one of our luxurious suites and villas surrounded by lush tropical gardens in the foothills of ancient Maya Mountains. Enjoy a bottle of fine champagne in your private Jacuzzi, share a candlelit dinner under the huge thatched canopy of our well appointed dining room, engage in numerous adventurous activities within our 365-acre private reserve, and relax with a personalized assortment of professional treatments in our hill top Spa. Whether you are dreaming of a romantic honeymoon vacation getaway, renewing your vows, or celebrating your anniversary, this unique honeymoon vacation package is guaranteed to create memories of something rich and timeless!

To enter the Belize Honeymoon Vacation Sweepstakes, an essay (minimum of 300 words) must be written explaining why you would want to celebrate your honeymoon in Belize and at The Lodge at Chaa Creek. The essay must be submitted via email to marketing@chaacreek.com and will be published anonymously on the Chaa Creek Travel Blog. The Chaa Creek Team will then send you a link upon receiving your essay to access a short list of questions about Belize and Chaa Creek.

All of the answers to the questions can be found on the Chaa Creek website at http://www.chaacreek.com/. You must score a minimum of 85% in order to be entered into the final sweepstake drawing. The Belize Honeymoon Vacation Sweepstakes closes on May 1st 2010. All qualified entries will be placed in the drawing barrel and the winning tickets for the five prizes will be drawn by the children of St Andrews Primary School and monitored by the Board of Directors of Chaa Creek Limited in the Cayo District of Belize. Winning vacation packages accommodate two persons and are inclusive of cottage accommodation, food, transfers, tours and activities, and spa treatments.

Belize Honeymoon Vacation Package or Maya Wellness Rainforest Vacation Package

A Four Night/Five package for two

A 50% discounted Four Night package for two

A 40% discounted Four Night package for two

A 30% discounted Four Night package for two

For more information about the Belize Honeymoon Vacation, contact the property at 877-709-8708, marketing@chaacreek.com or visit the web site at http://www.chaacreek.com/.

Disclaimer: Please note that vacation prizes are good for one year, non-transferrable, and cannot be used for existing reservations.

Easing through pre-flight security

You don't want to start your honeymoon stressed out in the security line. Unfortunately long lines might be hard to avoid but once you DO get close to the "gate" so to speak here as some tips on getting through pre-flight security.

1. Have your documents ready before you get in line: It always surprises me when I see people pulling out their documents WHEN they get up to TSA agent. It's not like most of these people haven't already been in line for 20 minutes or more. Why then do they wait until they get to the agent to then begin digging around in their bags for their passport? Keep your passport, boarding pass and other travel documents in one place, where you can easily find them and give the right documents to the right person as quickly and orderly as you can.
2. Choose who you line up behind: The speed in which you can get through the line depends most on the speed of the people ahead of you in the line. You need to do some profiling of the people in front of you before you join a line. Avoid families and the elderly - they take too long to get their jackets, shoes and bags into and out of the scanner. Avoid anyone carrying anything metal (crutches, canes, prams) - there will inevitably be delays in them putting them through the scanner. Avoid large groups of people (school kids, tour groups, sporting groups, air crews) - they will be taking too much time helping each other out and sorting out who owns what. Basically look for other packs of travelling alone and serious looking business travellers.
3. Select the right toiletry pack: The obvious advice is do not pack anything in a bottle larger than 3 oz and put them in a clear zip lock bag. But that is a given. Here are 3 other pieces of advice for you. Firstly - carry a spare zip lock bag. If you lose your original or it breaks you will need a spare. Secondly - be selective as to which toiletry bag you use. Thirdly - keep your liquids to a minimum. (ex: Don't pack shampoo- use those provided by the hotel.) F
4. Slip ons not laces: Your shoes should be slip ons not lace ups to speed on and off;
5. Put everything in your bag: Before you get to the line (ex: at check-in or in the taxi) put your wallet, coins, mobile, blackberry, pens, everything in you pockets into your carry on bag. Don't keep things in your pocket as you will just have to take them out and put them back in again;
6. Smile: Security people get frowned at all day. Give them a smile.
7. Afterwards - relax and enjoy knowing you're on your way to your honeymoon!

Los Cabos Solmar Resort w/ Air from LAX from just $212 pp

Must book this by Saturday, January 23, 2010!!

Consider a Destination Wedding

Destination weddings are the fastest growing trend in weddings! There are so many good reasons to choose a destination wedding. Here are just 7 reasons to consider a destination wedding:

1. There are an endless number of spectacular destinations for you to consider for your romantic, perfect destination wedding!


2. They offer a more intimate and personal experience for you, the groom and all your guests. Every detail can be hand crafted and customized to ensure the experience is exactly what you want.


3. The Experience…That is exactly what a destination wedding is…an experience. One in which your guests get to participate in creating the memories that will stay with you for a life time. They are very much a part of customizing the details!


4. Destination weddings give people an excuse to splurge and take a vacation. In today’s economic climate most people look forward to having a reason to get away and relax. I f having your guests participate and attend your wedding is really important to you then consider their needs when choosing a location. Your dream may be the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, but do consider if the guests you would like to have at your wedding will be able to attend the destination you choose. Keep in mind the costs, the travel expense as well as accommodations.. If children are involved is the location kid friendly or is it all adult? If your destination is international all your guests will need passports. Always give your guests at least 8 months notice to plan for your wedding.


5. Destination weddings usually cost less and allow more to be spent on you and the guests experience at the wedding.


6. One of the biggest reasons to consider a destination wedding is the ease of limiting the number of guests attending and cutting your costs. Typically, people don’t expect to get invited to destination weddings. So, that 3rd cousin on your dad’s side of the family that is loud and always embarrasses himself at the family reunion…you can get away with not inviting him by saying you are having a very small group of close family and best friends in an exotic locale.


7. Many resorts such as Sandals offer wedding packages to make planning a destination wedding easier. Some basic wedding packages are even free! Resorts often have on site wedding planners to assist you with your destination wedding.