Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

5 Reasons to Plan a Destination Wedding in Jamaica

Dominiq Gallagher asked:

Are you getting ready to plan your upcoming wedding? If so, your first thought may be to have a beautiful ceremony back home. Yes, this is nice, but have you considered destination weddings, like in Jamaica? If not, now is the time. Although most couples don’t need convincing, you may wonder what makes a destination wedding better than a traditional wedding back home.

1 – The Weather

If you live in New York and plan a wedding in the middle of July, you are likely to find warm hot weather. This is great, but the heat and humidity may leave it feeling too hot. With the Caribbean and the island of Jamaica, you don’t just get warm weather, but tropical weather too! Then, there is the rain. The weather is somewhat unpredictable all around the world, but you are more likely to find scattered showers and thunderstorms in New York and many other areas of the United States than in Jamaica.

As with a wedding back home, you have many venue choices. Some Jamaica resorts have onsite chapels, but most give you many choices. If you opt for a garden or beach wedding, the beautiful, warm, sunny, and tropical weather makes your wedding ceremony nothing short of picture perfect.

2 – All-Inclusive Resorts

There are many all-inclusive resorts on the island of Jamaica. You may wonder what impact this has on your wedding ceremony. These resorts are the perfect place to have a destination wedding. Most give you many ceremony options. If a small wedding chapel is not found onsite, you may get to choose from a garden, the beach, or a banquet room.

Most importantly, some all-inclusive Jamaica resorts give you a unique opportunity. That is to have a free wedding ceremony. Yes, a free wedding ceremony! Many luxury resorts extend a free standard wedding to guests who meet a minimum stay requirement. This stay requirement varies depending on the Caribbean resort in question, but it is usually three, five, or seven nights. After examining a resort’s free wedding inclusions, you should like what you see. Luckily, affordable upgrades are available if you want more.

3 – The Ability to Combine Your Wedding and Honeymoon

Planning a wedding is a joyous experience, but it can also be stressful and time consuming. Not only that, but you must later plan the honeymoon. The island of Jamaica gives you another unique opportunity. That is to combine your destination wedding and honeymoon into one. Since the island is home to all-inclusive resorts, great restaurants, lots of activities, beautiful beaches, and tropical weather, you will have the honeymoon of your dreams. For your destination wedding, you may have intended to stay two nights. Extend your stay until seven nights for your honeymoon. Plus, this makes it easier to qualify for the above mentioned free wedding that may be offered.

4 – Your Friends and Family Can Come Too

One concern that many couples have about destination weddings surrounds guests. Whether you live in New York, California, or Florida, you may wonder if your guests will make the extra trip to the Caribbean. Honestly, some may not, but you may be surprised how many jump at the opportunity. Not only do they get to attend your wedding, but they get their own Jamaica vacation! Most all-inclusive resorts have a few free guests passes and additional available for sale. This means guests staying at a different resort can attend your ceremony without complications.

5 – It Will Be Cheaper Than You Thought

As previously stated, many couples automatically write off destination weddings due to complications of planning and cost. Don’t make this mistake. As previously stated, you can save money by opting for a resort with a free standard wedding ceremony, combining your wedding and honeymoon into one trip, looking for discount travel packages, and so forth. There are many ways to trim the cost of an otherwise expensive wedding. As for ease of planning, most luxury all-inclusive Jamaica resorts have wedding planners available. They will help you plan the wedding of your dreams, even though you may be thousands of miles away.

Tips For Planning a Destination Wedding in the Caribbean

Boris Ralston asked:

Are you gearing up to plan your wedding? Although many couples opt for a traditional wedding back home, you may have another thought. You may want a picture perfect fairytale wedding in the Caribbean. If so, you want a destination wedding. Unfortunately, most couples mistakenly believe destination weddings are not only too costly, but too difficult to plan. Luckily, the entire process can be a lot easier and cheaper than you originally thought. How?

The first step is to decide on an area. The Caribbean includes many islands. Two popular choices include Jamaica and the Bahamas. If you are worried about costs, price compare. If you have a little bit of financial freedom, make your dreams come true. Opt for your first choice. Regardless, you will be presented with luxury hotels, tropical weather, and beautiful beaches!

Next, you must decide on a date. When doing so, give yourself time. Although you will have a Caribbean destination wedding, you still likely want a few close friends and family members to attend. Not only do they get to attend your wedding, but they get their own tropical vacation too! Still, it likely wasn’t a vacation they anticipated on taking; give them a reasonable amount of time to save money. Also, you and your guests need passports. Give these time to arrive too.

Once you have an ideal destination and date in mind, you will start to examine wedding venues. Your first look should be at all-inclusive resorts that offer free weddings. Yes, really free weddings! Many resorts provide guests with a free standard wedding, provided they meet a minimum stay requirement. The stay requirement varies depending on resorts, but it is reasonable, such as a 3-day or 5-day stay.

What else should you look for in a Caribbean resort when planning a destination wedding? The ability to have your wedding onsite. Not only that, but a choice of places. A large resort may give you the option to use their wedding chapel, a banquet room, garden, or their beach. You also want the ability to upgrade your free wedding package. Right away, Caribbean resorts claim you get a “standard wedding.” Look at the inclusions and you will be surprised, because it is actually a lot. Still, have the ability to include a tux rental, in-room hair and make-up, professional photography, and more.

Have your destination wedding double as a Caribbean honeymoon too. As previously stated, many all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean give you a free wedding with a minimum 3, 5, or 7-night stay. It will not take that long to plan your wedding, so meet the minimum required stay by combining your wedding and honeymoon. Choose a luxury all-inclusive resort, one with great onsite activities, a mixture of restaurants, and upgrade to a suite. You won’t feel as if you are shortchanging yourself. You still get the honeymoon of your dreams!

Contact the resort in question. To prevent scheduling conflicts, you may want to do this before officially booking your travel arrangements. Let them know you not only want to stay onsite, but have a wedding too. In most cases, you will be put into contact with a wedding planner, even when making use of a Caribbean resort’s free wedding. This wedding planner makes it easier to plan a destination wedding when you are located hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Order destination wedding invitations for your guests. You may also want to include information on area hotels and resorts. As previously stated, your destination wedding guests are unlikely to attend your wedding and leave. Many will use the opportunity to have a tropical vacation. For that reason, it may be a good idea to point them in the direction of other hotels and resorts. Your honeymoon and their Caribbean vacation may overlap. You love your mother, but do you want her sitting next to you at the pool on your honeymoon? Luckily, most free weddings include a couple of guest passes for those staying offsite. Additional passes should be available for sale too.

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Take you Russian Fiance to An American Wedding Before you Get Married

John Kunkle asked:

When I saw my friends later on, they would say to us, “what a beautiful wedding.” By American standards, it was pretty good.

My wife would remain silent when they made such comments. I would remain silent. From my wife’s Russian viewpoint, our wedding was a miserable failure.

My recommendation is to take your fiancé to an American wedding before you get married. I don’t care if you know the people well at the wedding or not. Crash a wedding if you have to.

My wife knew none of the customs here. She didn’t know where to shop. She had no friends to help her. I planned the wedding. I lined up the church, the reception hall, the priest, the music, the cake — everything.

I asked my friends to cook roasts and turkeys and asked other guests to bring food like a potluck. They all came through for me big time. They set up the reception hall.

I had to help my wife order her wedding dress so much for not seeing the bride before the wedding. We covered ten stores and one hundred miles to get her wedding shoes.

When we finally found a pair that she liked and that fit her, I was a little heavy handed about insisting on buying them. She wanted to keep looking for more shoes.

I was the bridegroom, the wedding planner, mother of the bride, all rolled into one.

I did the best job I could. My wife grudgingly acknowledges today that I did a pretty good job. However, she still holds it against me because it was not a proper Russian wedding.

Expectations have everything to do with happiness. If you expect one thing and get another, no matter how nice it is, you aren’t happy. My wife was expecting a proper Russian wedding and got a hybrid American wedding instead.

Many couples have two weddings one in the West and one in the East. My wife and I had planned to do something similar, but by the time she made it back to Belarus, she was four months pregnant and didn’t fit into her wedding dress anymore.

Her family had a nice celebration for us to welcome us to the family instead. We also had the baby baptized in Belarus with a celebration to follow.

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The Pros And Cons Of A Maui Destination Wedding

Melissa Aldridge asked:

Have you recently become engaged? If you have, you may want to get started with your wedding plans right away. Before you get started, you may want to take the time to examine destination weddings, namely Maui weddings. These types of destination weddings are rapidly increasing in popularity and Maui may be the perfect destination for you.

As with any wedding choice that you will make, you will find that there are a number of pros and cons to having a destination wedding in Maui. Before automatically deciding that a Maui wedding is right or wrong for you, you will want to take the time to examine some the many pros and cons to having one. A few of the most influential plus sides and downsides to destination Maui weddings are outlined below for your convenience.

As for the pros or plus sides to having a destination Maui wedding, you will find that there are an unlimited number of them. For starters, weddings in Maui are often picture perfect. This is due in part to the beauty of the land. Whether you decide to wed in a Maui church or along the coast, you will have a beautiful backdrop. This picture perfect scenery will not only help to create great wedding pictures, but it will also help to make your wedding more memorable, not only for you, but for your guests as well.

Another one of the many pros or plus sides to having a destination Maui wedding is the fact that your wedding and honeymoon can be combined. Although many interpret the cost of destination weddings to be quite high, you can actually save yourself a considerable amount of money in the long run, with destination weddings. For example, many Maui vacation resorts offer wedding packages, enabling you to get married right onsite. On the other hand, if you book a stay at a private vacation rental, like a Maui villa, you may be able to have your wedding right onsite. These two options are just a few of the many ways that you can save money with a destination wedding.

Although there are a number of reasons why you should have a destination wedding in Maui, you will also find a number of cons or downsides to doing so as well. One of the biggest concerns of brides and grooms to be is guest attendance. Many believe that a large number of their hopefully wedding guests would be unable to attend a destination wedding. While this will likely be true with some of your guests, you may be surprised how many would be willing to make the journey to Maui.

Many wedding guests actually prefer destination weddings. You may find that many of your guests look at your destination wedding as an opportunity to have the vacation of their dreams. The only thing is cost. That is why you will want to preplan a destination Maui wedding well in advance and inform your guests of your destination early on. This will give many of your guests the opportunity to save money, to afford the cost of travel, as well as overnight accommodations for your destination wedding.

Another one of the downsides, as previously stated, is the cost of a destination Maui wedding. Depending on where you reside, it could be costly for you to travel to Maui, let alone book a Maui vacation rental or a venue for your wedding. Unfortunately, the cost of a destination wedding automatically makes brides and grooms look at closer alternatives. As previously stated, there are a number of steps that you can take to minimize the cost of a destination Maui wedding, while still having the wedding of your dreams. One of those options includes booking a stay at a private Maui villa and having your wedding there.

The above mentioned pros and cons are just a few of the many that you will find associated with destination weddings. Even if you are unsure if a destination Maui wedding is right for you, you may still want to take the time to give it a look. If you are like many other brides or grooms to be, there is a good chance that you will like what you see.

Wedding Planner

Mandy Chagger asked:

ing is one of the critical points of one’s lifetime. It is both a celebration and a starting point of a new phase in our lives. Most of all, it is a gathering of families and friends acknowledging your joy, as they give you the support that you need to wake up the next morning ready to build your family. That is why there is so much pressure in wedding planning, and when the tasks get over our head, a wedding planner can help calm us down.

Where Do We Start?

Planning your wedding is definitely a tall task compared to organising other events. One reason why would-be brides get stressed over wedding plans is that they intend to do this only once. Since weddings can only be done so many times, couples try to build the most memorable event ever.

The first thing a bride would ask is – where do we start? This is an easy question with a lot of answers. Planning a wedding can easily be overwhelming if you do not start at the right places. A wedding planner will tell you that a wedding is just like any other event, and if you have managed a party before, you should draw on that experience to help you start your wedding plans.

The first thing that you should do is hire a wedding planner. Some would-be brides prefer to plan on their own, thinking that by hiring a wedding planner, they will have less to do with the wedding. In fact, a good wedding planner should allow you to be involved in the process as much as possible.

Describing A Wedding Planner

Planning a wedding is no easy task. If it was easy, then wedding planners would be out of work. Even simple decisions like the theme of the wedding, the flower selection, and the number of guests can be excruciating without the right guidance.

Their job is to put all your ideas and implement them feasibly. The key in wedding plans is that it should be your idea, and that your wedding planner is only there to guide you to the right direction. Trustworthy wedding planners always seek your opinion, and they rarely make big decisions without your final word. With a wedding planner, your input and ideas will be organized, so everything can come together nicely on your wedding day.

Planning Tips

A wedding planner is not enough to throw a great wedding party. You and your close friends should lead the planning and visualise what you really want out of your wedding. The easiest advice for engaged couples is to schedule the wedding smartly. The agreed wedding date should give you enough time to plan everything. If you want a large wedding, it is best to plan six months to a year in advance. For simpler weddings, three months is a good time frame.

Once you establish a date, start enlisting friends and loved ones that are committed to throwing a perfect wedding. Some friends may share your enthusiasm, but they might not be committed enough to spend time organising the party. If your friends lend you their time, show your appreciation with a nice gesture.

After enlisting your friends, it is time to hire the right professionals to help plan your wedding. Of course, first in the list is the wedding planner. You also need to hire a wedding photographer, a band for the reception, a chef, venue finders, wedding tailors, and designers. Your first priority above all else is to hire an excellent wedding planner. You can then ask the planner to hire the professionals for you, or give you a list of contacts, so you can decide for yourself. Assemble the best team at the right price. As much as you want to do all the planning, learn to delegate and give them room to work.

The most important aspect of all wedding plans is the budget. There is only so much you can do with the budget that you have. New couples are surprised when they realize how much it costs to run a wedding. It is very crucial to sit down with your partner to talk about the financial cost of the wedding. Have your wedding planner explain what kind of wedding is possible with the budget that you have. Settle with a definite budget as early as possible. Even if you feel that you have more than enough savings to spend on a wedding, you have to consider if the savings could be more useful if you invest it for the future.

The real wedding experience starts with laying out your wedding plans. Consult with your wedding planner for guidance. It also helps if you become a student of the craft. A good relationship with your wedding planner will lead to a great wedding finale and a nice start to your marriage.

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Uk Asian Wedding Photographers

Mandy Chagger asked:

omes to Asian weddings, such important events should not be left in the hands of amateur photographers! Even if your cousin or your aunt takes excellent photographs, a wedding is just too important to ask someone you know and love to take pictures for you. It is very necessary to turn to the services of a qualified, trained, and professional asain wedding photographer if a soon to be married couple wants any assurance that the wedding photos will be nothing short of excellent. Friends and family should be enjoying the wedding, not taking photos of the ceremony and events. You don’t want one or two people left out of your wedding pictures because those one or two people were taking photos the entire course of the wedding and reception! UK asain wedding photographers offer superlative services for couples who intend to wed in the near future. When it comes time to locate one or more UK wedding photographers, the couple needs to examine the credentials of the photographers, the years of experience that the photographers have, the UK wedding photographers’ photographic portfolios, the packages supplied by the photographers, and the overall level of professionalism that the photographers exude. While it is only necessary to choose one photographer or one team of photographers out of all the UK wedding photographers considered, the weighted significance on a couple’s selection cannot be over emphasized. Since a wedding is a once in a lifetime experience which will be cherished for many years to come, the couple will want to hire the best of the best when it comes time to choose one of many UK wedding photographers. UK wedding photographers are certainly in abundance but that does not mean that every single photographer delivers the types of services a couple might expect. The bride and groom will need to clearly locate UK wedding photographers that are intimately familiar with the type of traditions one will maintain in a wedding and reception so that such traditions and moments of incredible importance can be properly captured in beautiful photographs. Here the style used by the UK wedding photographers will need to be thoroughly examined and questioned; a couple will want to know what type of photographic approach that the UK wedding photographers utilise when taking photographs at the wedding and reception. Understanding the significance behind tradition and familial values is part of being a good wedding photographer. For example, if the couple is having an Indian wedding ceremony, the photographer will need to be able to recognize some of the typical traditions and events that occur in Indian weddings worthy of photographic attention. Thus attention to the type of wedding ceremony being held is crucial for the photographer, and the couple will want to question the photographer’s experience when it comes to various wedding traditions and ceremonies. UK wedding photographers will vary in terms of the packages offered to couples, so what is included in packages will need to be carefully reviewed. In addition to formal photographs of the bride, groom, the in-laws and the wedding party, the couple might also have an interest in outdoor photos, photos of the wedding location, and the reception area, and of friends and family enjoying the ceremony and reception. Posed photos are sometimes desired by couples in addition to spontaneous or candid captures of the wedding. The UK wedding photographers’ portfolios will reveal the exact style that a photographer or studio leans toward and the couple can even suggest that they would like similar poses or captures identified in the portfolios they view. Couples may want to spend a bit of time on the Internet browsing different UK wedding photographers websites too. The web presence established by professional UK wedding photographers makes it truly convenient for couples to seek out qualified wedding photographers while relaxing in the home environment. This step should, however, not exclude the act of making sure you go to visit the studio of a photographer; a meeting should be had with the photographer in person so that portfolios can be viewed, packaging options can be discussed, and so the photographer can provide the couple with information about his or her services. At this meeting, the couple can then determine if the UK wedding photographer has the type of personality that is conducive to the wedding: one that will come across as warm, professional, friendly, and approachable. The couple will have a chance to review the images captured by the UK wedding photographers hired and to choose the images that are most appealing. Some UK wedding photographers offer wedding album compilations services as well; the images are all placed into a pre-selected wedding book for the bride and groom. This saves the bride and groom an extra step after the wedding of having to place all of the photographic captures into a protective wedding album. It also ensures that the photos will be in an album suitable to photographs: one that will look after the longevity of the images captured on the couple’s wedding day.

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Wedding in India – Give the Best Value for the Best Package in India Wedding

Sumit Singh asked:

Are you getting married next year? Have you planned your wedding venue yet? Choose India as your wedding venue and absorb the ultimate fun of the exotic locales. Your India Wedding and Wedding in India would be the most memorable event of your life!

India is a blend of culture and religion. This land’s diversity and uniqueness can be witnessed in the various Indian wedding rituals. This endless merry-making occasion during Indian weddings is something you can not miss. Not only is the rituals remain etched in the memory of the bride and the groom, but everyone who attends the wedding party enjoys their hearts out.

The different parts of India follow different rituals and customs during their wedding. The Indian rituals are a set of ceremonies that are passed on from one generation to another. These rituals signify a happy married life ever after. This auspicious event is accompanying by colorful attires, well decorated mandaps, flowers, lights, music and dance. Indian weddings are specially distinguished by bright colors like red, orange, golden, maroon and violet and flowers like marigold, carnations, gerberas, orchids and roses.

The kind of wedding depends on the culture and religion of the bride and the groom. The various types of Indian weddings in the country are:

Punjabi Wedding

Telugu wedding

Hindu Wedding

Jain wedding

Jewish Wedding

Oriya Wedding

Tamil Wedding

Sikh Wedding

Sindhi Wedding

Parsi wedding

Kannada Wedding

Marwari Wedding

Bengali Wedding

Kashmiri wedding

Buddhist wedding

Muslim Wedding

Gujarati Wedding

Christian Wedding

Malayalee Wedding

Maithil Brahmin Wedding

Maharashtrian Wedding

You can choose from a range of exotic wedding locations in India like the wildlife Sanctuaries, on mountains, and in temples. Choosing the perfect location is the first step get make your wedding special.

The next factor to consider is the wedding preparations. India wedding and wedding in India is remembered for years to come. For that you need to make the preparations for the wedding perfect. A huge amount of planning is needed prior the auspicious day. Right from inviting guests to the wedding dress and jewelleries- an Indian wedding involve a lot of reparations.

The steps you need to follow to make your Indian wedding perfect are:

Deciding the venue

Booking the caterer and florist

Preparing a wedding budget

Getting invitation cards made

Selecting the music and gifts

Shopping

After getting all these things in place, your job of getting the wedding done becomes easy. The ceremonies that are generally followed by most if the Indian weddings are:

Mehendi ceremony

Sangeet ceremony

The pheras

Exchanging of Garlands

Tilak

Puja

To make your wedding all the more special, various wedding planners choose various wedding themes. These wedding themes can be either traditional or ultra modern. The Indian wedding themes are planned according to the venue and budget. Some of the wedding themes are royal, fantasy and romantic. These themes are reflected in the home décor, attires of the bride and groom and also the rituals.