Lauren: Why did you choose a destination wedding?

Melanie and Chris: We chose a destination wedding because it was different from your traditional wedding. We wanted a medium size wedding and if we did a traditional wedding we would've had double the amount of people. At our wedding in Mexico it was intimate and we were surrounded by people who knew both me and Chris. 

Lauren: How many attendees did you have?
What kind of experience did you envision your guests having? 

Melanie and Chris: We had a total of 63 guests attend our wedding. We envisioned our guests having a vacation and enjoying themselves. We were adamant that our guests only had to dedicate one day to us, which was wedding day. 

Lauren: What was one part of planning your wedding that you knew you couldn't have done alone?
How did having a Destination Wedding Specialist help with that?

Melanie and Chris: One part of planning my wedding I knew I couldn't do alone was manage everyone's room and answer every question they could have throughout this process. Chris and I are very thankful for Lauren and how much she made our booking and searching for the right resort process so smooth. A plus was that she was also very helpful with transportation. Lauren had transportation for all guests set up from when they arrived to when it was time for them to depart. Another thing I couldn't do alone was communicate with the wedding department. I learned early on it was easier to get an outside wedding planner so they could handle all communication. I noticed once I hired my wedding planner Diana the resort would respond quickly to her versus with me I would wait anywhere from 2 plus weeks to hear back. 

Lauren: What piece of advice would you give to couples who are just starting the planning process?

Melanie and Chris: The groom's piece of advice is whatever you think it will cost it will probably become double so to always be prepared for that. Coming from a bride's perspective I would say to have an idea of what you want and then trust the process. A destination wedding is stressful but not as much especially when you have a travel agent and a wedding planner. 

Lauren: What’s one “extra” you’re super glad you splurged on?  What surprised you the most about your wedding? 

Melanie and Chris: The one "extra" we are super glad we splurged on was the Mariachi band. Our guests absolutely loved them, they definitely got the party going. Chris and I did our big walk in with them, they stayed for an hour, they were able to sing a song at every table during dinner and had time to put on a show in the middle of the dance floor after.

What surprised us most about our wedding was that every single guest danced all night long. Every chair was empty, all our guests plus us were so shocked when the dance party was over we were ready to dance all night! 

Lauren: If you could choose three words to describe your wedding, what would they be?

Melanie and Chris: Our three words would be Fun, Intimate, and beautiful 

Lauren: What is your favorite memory from your big day?

Melanie and Chris: Our favorite memory from our big day is when it was dinner time and we stopped to look at all of our guests to soak up all the love that was in the room. Chris and I could not get over that all these people traveled to Mexico to celebrate our big day! We felt so thankful and loved!

A Note from Lauren: I am so thankful to Melanie and Chris for trusting me with their big day! It was a blast to work with them! Also, I love this last photo and how Chris is looking at Melanie!

Lauren: Why did you choose a destination wedding?

Kiley and Austin: We both love to travel and wanted our wedding to represent us both as a couple.

Lauren: How many attendees did you have?
What kind of experience did you envision your guests having? 

Kiley and Austin: We had 30 people attend! Since most of our guests were couples we envisioned them enjoying this as a vacation for themselves and being apart of our wedding.

Lauren: What was one part of planning your wedding that you knew you couldn't have done alone?
How did having a Destination Wedding Specialist help with that?

Kiley and Austin: ALL OF IT! We have only left the country on a cruise so this was MUCH different. There are so many moving parts to leaving the country and throwing a wedding in the mix did not make it any easier. With all the back and forth between the resort and our guests I would have not been able to do this on my own.

Lauren: What piece of advice would you give to couples who are just starting the planning process?

Kiley and Austin: Trust the process! It can be overwhelming and communication with the resorts is slower than you would get with someone in the states. Planning over a year in advanced was a huge help.

Lauren: What’s one “extra” you’re super glad you splurged on?  What surprised you the most about your wedding? 

Kiley and Austin: Our DJ! We are huge music lovers so the perfect DJ was a must for us and we did not regret it. 

I was surprised at how smooth it went! 

Lauren: If you could choose three words to describe your wedding, what would they be?

Kiley and Austin: Stunning. Timeless. Romantic.

Lauren: What is your favorite memory from your big day?

Kiley and Austin: Finally walking down the aisle! I had so much anxiety getting ready that morning that it felt like time stood still. 

A Note from Lauren: It was so much fun to work with Kiley and Austin to plan the wedding that they have always dreamed of!

Lauren: Why did you choose a destination wedding?

Kathie and Adam: We attended our friend’s wedding in Cancun a couple years before and had the absolute best time. We’ve lived all over so have friends and family that would have to travel no matter where we got married. We also really wanted to have the opportunity to allow everyone get to know each other over a long weekend.

Lauren: How many attendees did you have?
What kind of experience did you envision your guests having? 

Kathie and Adam:  We had 85 guests! Fun and relaxing

Lauren: What was one part of planning your wedding that you knew you couldn't have done alone?
How did having a Destination Wedding Specialist help with that?

Kathie and Adam: Coordinating the rooms and all the guests. Everyone came with their own needs- Lauren did an amazing job accommodating each guest (even if it meant booking a different hotel for them). It’s exhausting enough to plan just the wedding, it’s so helpful to have a travel advisor help with all the other stuff.

Lauren: What piece of advice would you give to couples who are just starting the planning process?

Kathie and Adam: Send out invites early to get a head count.  We did not expect so many guests to come.

Lauren: What’s one “extra” you’re super glad you splurged on?  What surprised you the most about your wedding? 

Kathie and Adam: The “all in” package for the wedding ceremony/reception.This saved a lot of headaches and number crunching. Most surprising thing was how great of a time our moms had 🤪 We also really enjoyed all the pre-wedding events we had at the hotel. 

Lauren: If you could choose three words to describe your wedding, what would they be?

Kathie and Adam: joyous, loving, beautiful 

Lauren: What is your favorite memory from your big day?

Kathie and Adam:  Our good friend Matias being our officiant and marrying us.

A Note from Lauren: Planning this gorgeous Destination Wedding in Cancun with Kathie and Adam was so much fun! I was actually able to go do a tasting with Kathie before the wedding and the food was phenomenal. It was so much fun to be able to help this amazing couple and friends plan this once in a lifetime event. Congratulations to Kathie and Adam on a beautiful ceremony!

Lauren: Why did you choose a destination wedding?

Tammy and Jhony: We decided on a destination wedding because we were on a budget. We wanted an affordable wedding with an open bar and we knew a destination wedding would check all of our boxes. Also, a destination wedding allowed us to have an intimate ceremony and reception with our family and close friends.

Lauren: How many attendees did you have? What kind of experience did you envision your guests having?

Tammy and Jhony: We had 24 guests total attend our wedding. We envisioned our guests having a great time and enjoying the open bar all through the night.

Lauren: What was one part of planning your wedding that you knew you couldn't have done alone? How did having a Destination Wedding Specialist help with that?

Tammy and Jhony: We wouldn’t have been able to choose a resort without the assistance of our travel agent! She provided us with so many resorts to choose from based on her own personal experience, which was extremely helpful. We decided to go with an adults only resort, which was a great decision!

Lauren: What piece of advice would you give to couples who are just starting the planning process?

Tammy and Jhony: Book a knowledgeable travel agent and physically travel to the resort. This will allow couples to personally meet with the wedding planner to ensure it’s the right resort/fit for you.

Lauren: What’s one “extra” you’re super glad you splurged on? What surprised you the most about your wedding?

Tammy and Jhony: We were glad we splurged on the flowers. They were beautiful and were used for both ceremony and the reception. The weather was surprisingly great! Our previous visits to Mexico always had rainy weather; however, this trip and our wedding day had the best weather.

Lauren: If you could choose three words to describe your wedding, what would they be?

Tammy and Jhony: Fun, Memorable, Affordable!

Lauren: What is your favorite memory from your big day?

Tammy and Jhony: The whole day was great! The ceremony was short and sweet and we had a blast drinking the night away at our reception.

A Note from Lauren: Planning this gorgeous Destination Wedding in Cancun with Tammy and Jhony was an absolute pleasure. This was a true testament to perseverance and flexibility as this beautiful couple was truly tested during the constant waves of the pandemic. In the end, they got to celebrate along with ~25 of their closest friends and family in what turned out to be a truly magical ceremony. Congratulations to Tammy and Jhony on a beautiful ceremony!

If you are dreaming of a destination wedding, then your head is already swimming with resorts, wedding packages, and potential costs. We are here to help you sort this out and provide some much needed stress relief!

Coordinating travel arrangements for your group of guests requires careful planning. As a Destination Wedding Travel Planner, I will help you find a destination, resort, and wedding package that matches your wish list and spending plan as closely as possible. Once I narrow down the options for you and you make your resort choice, normally, I will assist you in confirming your wedding date and wedding package choice with the resort through a wedding day contract. From there, I will assist you with confirming a group rate for your wedding room block and begin educating and assisting your guests on how they can book their room in your contracted room block. To ensure the best fit for you and your guests, two contract options are available to accommodate your type of group, number of travelers, and flexibility of schedule.

Check out part 1 of my destination wedding series here.

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WHAT IS A ROOM BLOCK?

Typically a group of 10 or more guest rooms that resort puts on hold at a specific “negotiated” rate for a group of people. While room blocks normally need at least 10 rooms or more to qualify for the potential special rates or concessions, some hotels will actually provide this with only 6 rooms.

These “negotiated rates” are typically a standard rate (sometimes discounted) set by the hotel or management company for wedding groups. So..in essence, they aren’t really negotiated haha.

Once this has been set up, you will either be given a link or promo code for your guests to book into your group. As a Destination Wedding Travel Agent, I would help all of your guests with booking and coordinating details for travel.

Traditional OR CONTACTED groupS

This is the perfect booking option for travelers that are traveling on the same itinerary who need a flexible payment and cancellation policy for the entire group. This option typically has more perks associated as there is a contact made with the hotel or tour operator.

A traditional group typically consists of:

• 10 or more rooms (20 or more people)

• All traveling together (but with various date combinations)

• Set price for all travelers with pre-reserved room block inventory!

This option requires a signed contract with the resort in order to pull guest rooms out of inventory. In this contract, you will need to guarantee that a certain amount of the rooms will be sold or you’ll have to pay for them regardless. The contract will state the nightly rate based on occupancy, the amount and type of rooms available to book, and the repercussions of not booking all of the rooms in the block. This consequence is often called an attrition clause.

An attrition clause is when a group doesn’t live up to the room block agreement and payment is required to make up for the rooms not booked. For example, some high traffic hotels might have a 90% guarantee, meaning that you must book 90% of the total rooms in your block. So, if you’ve requested the resort to block 10 rooms in the contract, then you will be financially responsible for 9 of them, even if they are not booked by your guests.

As a destination wedding travel agent, I will oftentimes negotiate something called a “drop date”. A drop date is normally about 6 months or so before your wedding. This allows you to return any un-booked rooms in your room block, with no penalty, so you’re not responsible for them. This is my job so try not to worry too much about it!

Flexible and courtesy Groups

They're ideal for small groups of 10 or more who want to vacation together at the same resort, yet need flexibility with their travel dates, flights, length of stay, or who may be traveling from different cities.

• No need to sign a group contract!

• Guests can book from any origin and the hotel will still see them coming as one group

• You can customize every booking to the clients' individual travel needs

Sometimes resorts will offer what is called a Courtesy Room Block, which is a block of a certain number and type of rooms that the hotel has set aside for you as a “courtesy”. You’ll sometimes be given a special rate for these rooms, but not always. These rooms do not have to be financially guaranteed that they will be booked by you or your guests. Even though you are not financially responsible for these rooms getting booked, you may still be asked to sign a contract.

The contract outlines that the hotel will hold these rooms for you at “x” rate and the date the rooms will be released to the public. After the rooms are released, your guests will not be able to book a room at the terms offered in your room block contract. Generally, hotels will offer 10 or so rooms on a courtesy room block, but it all depends on the specific hotel.

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Why CHOOSE a Contracted group when a Courtesy or flexible group has no penalties?

• Courtesy room blocks may not be offered at the resort that you have chosen for your wedding. Mid to higher end hotel chains and most all-inclusive resorts will not offer a courtesy room block as an option. This is most likely found at a lower end hotel or resort.

• Another reason to book a contracted room block is that the hotel or resort is at risk of booking up leaving your guests with no room availability for your wedding date. This could happen due to booking a busy hotel that fills quickly or the date chosen is during a busy week or weekend. Unfortunately, most guests will wait until the last minute to book their room. If you didn’t set up a room block, then they may not be able to come to your wedding.

• You require several rooms for your wedding group. Again, if your guests wait until the last minute to book, the rooms may be gone, and they may not be able to come to your wedding. Couples sometimes think that blocking a large quantity of rooms will give them negotiating power. If the number of rooms that guests book are not guaranteed, there is more risk from the resort’s perspective. The more rooms you request, the less favorable the contract terms will be in most cases.

WHEN SHOULD WE SET UP THE ROOM BLOCK?

Once your destination wedding location is confirmed, you should set up the room block for your group. The booking rate and payment terms are likely to be more favorable the sooner you contract your wedding room block with the resort.

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More questions? Check out part 3 of my destination wedding series with some frequency asked questions here OR email me at lauren@thatblondetravels.com.

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Why Choose ME

Lauren Bailey Travel and Event Co. (That Blonde Travels, LLC) is dedicated to ensuring your experience, as well as your guests, is seamless from start to finish. When reserving your destination wedding with us, you'll enjoy:

• Flexible deposit, payment, and cancellation options

• The best vacation prices—including hotel and activities

• Complimentary room upgrades and money-saving offers based on group size

• Customized itineraries and group activities

• Group Travel Protection Plan, protecting your travel investment

• You'll receive professional, personalized one-stop-shop service

To get started schedule your complimentary consultation today!