Wedding Website
One of the first fun and exciting steps in your planning process is creating a customized wedding website that is designed just for your wedding. Details like the wedding location, booking information, and welcome letter for your guests are great to include so they know what to expect. Keep the website simple and easy to navigate by including just the pertinent information. Too much is overwhelming to guests. The purpose of the wedding website is first and foremost, a place for guests to book into your wedding group, but including some personal information and photos of the two of you really personalizes the experience for guests.
 
Welcome Party
Give your guests a chance to settle in before throwing them into the hustle and bustle of your wedding day. A welcome party is an excellent way to greet your guests and set the tone for your destination wedding. After all, that is why you were looking to get away, isn't it? So, invite your guests to kick back, have a drink, and stay a while.  ​

Welcome Bag
Go the extra mile and put together some welcome bags for your friends and family to pick up at the hotel's front desk upon check- in. Fill the bags with an official itinerary, resort map, water bottles, snacks, small gifts – maybe even a cute welcome note from you and your SO. This gesture will help your guests feel right at home and appreciated. 
 
Be Considerate
Work with your travel agent and wedding coordinators to ensure that not only your wedding is amazing, but the experience for your guests are as well. Be considerate not to book around holidays or dates that would be of conflict for everyone. Also, price is an important factor for most people, so consider coordinating a time of year that appeals to everyone's budget. 
 
Suggest Activities
Make sure to do the research for your guests.  A lot of all-inclusive resorts have activities that run throughout the day, so if you suggest one or two group activities for them to get involved in, they'll have the perfect balance of activity time with the group, and downtime alone, as well.  Your wedding coordinator will be a huge source of information when it comes to lining up fun and unique activities for your wedding guests.

Ready to throw a destination wedding everyone will love? Then, hit the button below to get in touch with one of our experts!​

P.S. Be sure to pin this post so you can refer to it later!

Wedding Date: February 2, 2022 ~ Resort:  Azul Beach Negril ~ Photographer: Caribe Photo ~ Bridal Salon: David's Bridal ~ Seamstress: Anniseau

Why did you choose Romance Travel Group?
We chose RTG because when we were looking for travel agents, they never would get back to us and never seemed like they were truly wanting to help us.  Booking with RTG, they were quick to respond and helped us and our guests every step of the way.  They helped us narrow down resorts in the area we wanted and worked with the resort that we chose. Any question or concern, they would answer.
 
What were some of your biggest fears about having a destination wedding?
Our biggest fears were Covid-19.  When we booked late 2020, we hoped most of the pandemic would be over by 2022.
 
How did you come to decide on your wedding date? Is there meaning behind it?
We didn’t pick 2-22-2022 for any specific reason at the time other than we didn’t want to go to Jamaica in the middle of their summer/hurricane season. It turned out it was an awesome date, because we got to get married 2 times, as we legally got married in the U.S. on 2/2/2022 and symbolically on 2/22/2022 on a Twosday.
 
Describe what it was like working with the wedding coordinator at the resort? What went well? Any challenges?
Our wedding manager, SueAnn, was amazing. She knew what she was doing and most definitely would not let anything go wrong on our day. Working with the wedding planner, Carla, before we arrived in Jamaica was more difficult. The wedding department did not seem to know we were coming on 2/16/22 but thought we were going to be arriving 2/18/2022.  
 
Tell us about your wedding dress – How did you find it? Who went shopping with you? How do you feel wearing your dress?
I found my wedding dress on a website for $109, brand new with tags from David’s Bridal.  It was a few sizes too small and had lace up around the neck.  I took it to a shop in Amery, WI called Anniseau.  She customized the dress for me and made it fit perfectly!
 
What were some of your biggest fears or things you worried about as your wedding date drew near? How did you get through this?
We were very worried, what if someone doesn’t make it? What if one of us can go and the other can’t?  We decided, if one of us couldn’t go, the other was still going and we would’ve had to do a Facetime wedding. Us and 28 guests made it safely to and from Jamaica.
 
Were your guests wowed by the resort and the all-inclusive concept? What was their reaction upon arrival?
Everyone loved the resort we chose. The beach, the staff, and the food were amazing. The staff was amazing and made it a more memorable because they got to know us and they were so nice and fun!
 
Tell us about your wedding – did you have a traditional wedding with a cocktail hour, dinner reception and dance? What was different about a destination wedding compared to a wedding at home?
We wanted to keep our wedding small and memorable and after a long 2 years of the pandemic, we wanted our guests to have fun and have their own vacation.  We had a dinner for all 30 of us the night before the wedding, as a thank you/welcome dinner.  After the wedding we had told everyone we hadn’t planned a reception but to go eat dinner and we would all meet down on the beach somewhere, and have our “own” party.  Fortunately, by the time we got down to the bonfire event the resort was holding, all our family was sitting on the beach waiting for the bonfire to be lit.  The resort staff asked us if we would like to light the bonfire, so we did together. And they had music entertainment and we got to have our first dance next to the bonfire on the beach with all our family.
 
What was the best part of having a destination wedding?
Getting to spend a whole week with our family and friends in paradise.
 
What is your most favorite memory of your wedding experience?
My favorite memory is having my mom walk me down the aisle to my best friend in front of everyone that loves and supports us and the sunshine rays shining through the clouds down on us during our ceremony.
 
In what ways did Romance Travel Group make the planning less stressful for you?
Knowing that all information that was needed for them to get to Jamaica was sent and we didn’t have to do anything.
 
What would you do differently? What advice would you give to couples just starting the planning process?
I wouldn’t do anything different. Don’t worry about who will and won’t come, invited everyone.  If they want to come, they will make it happen.  We were surprised by the ones that did make it and the ones that didn’t.
 
What surprised you the most about having a destination wedding?
How many people booked and came with us to Jamaica. We had 28 guests.
 
Would you recommend Romance Travel Group to other couples who are considering a destination wedding?
Yes, I would definitely recommend!

Wedding Date: December 4, 2020 ~ Resort: The Fives Beach Resort ~ Photographer: Meek Monster Media ~ Bridal Salon: Blue Bridal Boutique

Why did you choose Romance Travel Group?
We ultimately chose Romance Travel Group after our initial conversation with Lisa Ruchti. We were referred by a good friend who had nothing but positive things to say about her experience with Lisa and RTG. I knew immediately that Lisa was our person, and felt confident she would take great care of us and help guide us in our journey of choosing a destination wedding (and this was before the COVID-19 pandemic was even a thought!). 
 
How did you select the resort? What were the deciding factors?
We ultimately chose The Fives Beach because we wanted to make sure our guests were met with unparalleled service. We also needed a family-friendly resort but still wanted our adult guests to feel like they were able to escape and let loose. The numerous amenities, special events, and resort service were really what drew us to The Fives. 
 
What were some of your biggest fears about having a destination wedding?
Initially, I had no reservations or fears about a destination wedding. My husband and I had discussed what we wanted at length and included our family in our decision-making process. And then, the COVID-19 pandemic happened and we were already over 8 months into planning, with another 7 months to go. Understandable, we were a little stressed and uncertain about what this would mean for our December 2020 wedding. Lisa and our resort wedding coordinators kept us reassured throughout the planning process leading up to our wedding. Despite lingering uncertainties out of our control, Lisa and The Fives staff took great care of us and our guests and really made it a seamless process despite being in the midst of a global pandemic.
 
Describe what it was like working with the wedding coordinator at the resort? What went well? Any challenges?
Our wedding coordinators were wonderful. They began communicating with me very early on about the planning process and provided explicit deadlines to ensure we received what we wanted. They also made sure to go through every detail with us when we arrived at the resort. They were always checking in with us throughout our stay and really made everything easy on the day of our wedding. The only challenge we encountered was having separate rooms available in time on our wedding day so that me and my husband could get ready separately. This seemed to be more of an issue with the resort blocking another room, rather than lack of attention with our coordinators. 
 
Tell us about your wedding dress – How did you find it? Who went shopping with you? How do you feel wearing your dress?
When searching for a wedding dress I had two mandatory requirements - I wanted a low, open back AND it must be made for a long night of dancing. My mom went dress shopping with me and we went to five different boutiques in one weekend. Realistically, I found this dress at the third boutique we went to and I think both my mom and I knew it was "the one". Unfortunately, we had appointments at two other locations that would charge cancellation fees for our appointment, but it reassured me that my dream dress was back at Blue Bridal Boutique. The dress, and the staff, made me feel like a queen and I was so excited to order the dress. It was comfortable, and perfect for dancing - I even had it altered to wear at our one-year anniversary celebration.
 
Describe the booking process for your guests. Did they find that to be easy to navigate?
Most of our guests enjoyed the simplicity of the booking process. Lisa was also very attuned to our guests' needs and always made sure she was readily available for questions. This helped take so much pressure off me and my husband. Lisa and the resort were also very willing to adjust room rates for our guests as prices fluctuated following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Were your guests wowed by the resort and the all-inclusive concept? What was their reaction upon arrival?
Our guests absolutely loved the resort! Most of them were not expecting it to be such a big place! The wildlife (monkeys and a pig!) on-site was one of the coolest aspects that our guests raved about. They also enjoyed the poolside drink and food service which never disappointed! The variety of restaurants was another highly talked about amenity. Everyone really enjoyed their room accommodations, and we only had a few delays with some of our guests not having their room ready upon arrival.
 
How easy/difficult was it to travel with your wedding dress? Did you carry-it on, where did you store it? Did you get a lot of comments at the airport?
Travelling with my wedding dress was honestly very easy! I carried it as one of my carry-ons and the flight staff even stored it upfront for me in a small closet! I feel like travelling with a wedding dress turns you into a "VIP" passenger and people were very congratulatory to me and my husband while traveling. My wedding dress was slim-fitting which probably helped make it easy to carry around. 
 
Tell us about your wedding – did you have a traditional wedding with a cocktail hour, dinner reception and dance? What was different about a destination wedding compared to a wedding at home?
We had a traditional reception followed by the reception and dancing one hour later. We opted not to do a cocktail hour since it was an all-inclusive resort and we had a short time period between the wedding and reception. It also gave our guests time to freshen up or change clothes if they wanted to. Having a destination wedding made it easy for people to feel at home. Everything was in one place, and if a guest forgot something, it was easy for them to run to their room quickly. The resort had some amenities that we likely wouldn't have been able to find back in Texas (like having an on-site cigar roller!). Because the resort had a few on-site bars that were open late, we were able to keep the party going with our guests even after the wedding ended! Having our guests close to us during our wedding week was the big bonus - we were able to hang out with everyone much longer than just the 5-6 hours our wedding celebrations.
  
What was the best part of having a destination wedding?
Not having to worry about a lot of the little things! With very busy work schedules, me and my husband wanted something that was streamlined. Having a destination wedding really allowed us both to take a back-seat to most of the planning knowing that our coordinators were taking care of all the logistics. We were really able to enjoy our time with each other, as well as our family and guests, with minimal stress.
 
What is your most favorite memory of your wedding experience?
Both me and my husband do not have family close to us. Having all of our guests at the same resort where we could spend quality time before and after the wedding, was truly our greatest memory. The wedding day itself was everything we wanted - great weather, a meaningful ceremony (they were totally willing to do a customized script that we wanted), delicious food (our guests raved about the food), and literally danced all night long until they turned the lights on.
 
Would you recommend Romance Travel Group to other couples who are considering a destination wedding? 
Absolutely! I do not think we would have had such a great experience had it not been for Lisa and RTG. From the planning, to the travel, and everything in between - I always knew we had someone in our corner who was making things happen. It was also reassuring knowing that RTG travels to all the resorts they recommend to their clients, so they are able to provide an insider's point of view. While the relationships between RTG and the resorts are mutually beneficial, we never felt like we were being persuaded in a direction that was not aligned with our goals and needs.

​​P.S. Be sure to pin this post so you can refer to it later!