IS YOUR MOST IMPORTANT LIFE EVENT A D.I.Y. PROJECT?

Seriously, a YouTube video DIY Destination Wedding?

There are great home-town Wedding Planners and there are Great Destination Wedding Specialists; the overlapping terms are used interchangibly and incorrectly.

Destinaiton Wedding Specialists should come from the Travel Industry, where licensing and insurance related to travel matters is required. Logistics such as, lodging, transport, guest movement, providing local resources that need to be legally managed is a full-time specialty, not a hobby. Protecting your event, your finances and your guest finances is equally important as dresses, cake and flowers; but vastly different.

Can one be an expert at both local and destination events? Unlikely unless your local planner is subcontracting from a Destination Specialist or visa versa. Not bad as long as you know they are subcontracting and adding additional markup, correct, sometimes twice the markup.

Travel and guest logistics require actual knowledge of the travel industry, specific licenses, location and venue knowledge, vendor contracts and above all, a willingness to work alongside the key parties involved, be it Wedding Planner, Bride & Groom, family to master-plan the options, reservations and handle guest finances.

Where's the stock wedding photo? Isn't that expected on a wedding website? That's what the wedding industry has trained you to believe and to expect; 30% white space, 40% stock images of fairy tale weddings and models are generally stock photos. They won't show photos of a destination wedding booked in the right destination in the wrong season, rainy or hurricane season. Nope. What you see is generally 30% content, yes, remainder is 70% fluff. 

Who doesn't love to be sold, a good story, pretty picures, sunset and chairs set on the beach, perhaps an arrow that points to "picture you here". Great brochure idea. There are many businesses wanting to sell you something, tell you what you want to hear, take advantage of you, your budget, spend plan, maybe your parents, excitement and naivete.

Your wedding is not about us, its about you and we're at our best when invisible, behind the scenes; there to expect the unexpected, plan for little snafus so you don't need t worry. Everyone has a job to do - we do ours exceptionally well!

Your Officiants; pastor, counselor, spiritual leader, JP or Judge, Mayor are important in their own domain; to tie the knot in a meaningful ceremony for you; emotionally, spiritually, legally. We can help with local officiants and sorting out destination laws.

We've got a full check list of where we start and where we stop for our obligations, however each step is coordinated with your local host location, planner and yourself so nothing is overlooked. Wedding attire, we don't do it; but we can tell you what to expect when transporting your dress or tux and local services available. 

Destination Weddings is a HUGE Business and requires negotiations and management skill; this is our business and our specialty. We negotiate for you with our licenses and contracts. You never pay retail and always get extra services or products. 

Big plans and high expectations for your destination wedding and guest experience requires considerable logistical skill and flawless knowledge of the destination, the local scene, vendors, customs, laws and most importantly, simple and honest communications in a language you can understand.

Coaching: Few are willing to work hard to educate, coach, lead you in the things you need to know; how to buy and plan a destination wedding while you remain in the drivers seat so things don't spin out of control. If you've got someone to write a big check to make it all happen, we're probably not a match because we work with average people who are willing to put in some effort to make decisions affecting the outcome of their big week.

You don't outsource your decisions, we evaluate options together; you decide. We're here to work with you, along side you, partner witih and for you; together.

Our ideas will blend based on experiences, hidden locations, business knowledge and most important, contacts you won't have.

You know your guests, we know the rest. We will work with your local wedding planner to help hold each party accountable; #1 Don't expect what you don't inspect.

Accountability:  Is the company booking your wedding providing any additional value other than the booking convenience? Booking online DIY? How much are you leaving on the table that could be part of your wedding budget. Are you really sending your guests to DIY at an online travel sites? Lets be respectful; they are just another electronic business; they are taking a commission for what, being online? Making you think you get the best price, not! Its a farce and you will end up with guests not paying attention to small and hidden details, oops, long flights, layovers, missed dates. Picture herding cats before your wedding ceremony? Where are your people? People off on their own tours and arriving late?

Are you expecting a home-town wedding planner to be expert in destinations and languages necessary to pull it off simply because they attended a two hour seminar and kept a brochure? What are the fees, what are the commissions being earned, whats included, whats not. These are the things you need to know to put your budget to best use.

Are you aware that just hotel room commission for an average destination wedding of 30 people can be ~$12,000 USD, not including events and extras? That can be used or thrown away if using an online site. You better be getting your money's worth and Its no wonder everyone wants the commission without doing any work; who wouldn't? We wouldn't!  If you book online or recommend your guests do so you are leaving it all on the table. Its business, a big business and knowing how it works is your wedding advantage. We're decidedly pro small business. We think there are too many middlemen taking profits instead of providing value.

Isn't it time that you know whats really available for you and your party to provide the best value and service options? 

We think transparency should be an integral part of your planning; fees, profits, excesses and options should be open and available. You are a part of the business plan, part of the production, the star and main act; your visibility to all things related should be open and available.

Think about that for a moment; what could you accomplish working with an experienced company that works with and negotiates for you? 

Its not only the 20-minute event, its the the beginning, the middle and the end, a series days; the pre-and post vacation time for guests, logistics, options, guest experiences, getting to the ceremony on time (or doing a little blocking and tackling so they don't get stuck on an all day fishing trip, get sunburned or banged up mountain climbing). Its how it begins and how it ends and everything in between that matters.

Your amazing event, your plans built from the ground up using the latest technology in event planning, production, guest management and printing, just for you.

We will work along side you and your other partners on all aspects of guest management and logistics, accommodations, transfers, tours, finance, billing, payment nags and reminders, all from a custom wedding website. We produce a custom Wedding Brochure for you and your guests PDF format; suitable for printing at Kinkos or FedEx, Staples.

If you made it this far, you need to know this;

WE DO NOT CHARGE YOU OR YOUR GUESTS A FEE FOR SERVICES

Our Services are based on commissions to the trade, that's us (this is unavailable to you even if booked directly) and we think that's fair compensation for our efforts. Book directly and you throw away any extra services.

Now you can relax and enjoy that photo of new beginnings that started with a Costa Rica RIU Palace Wedding.

Ask about your Private Wedding Planner Website and how we work together to build your custom plans.