Brooke and Brandon had always wanted to go to Australia so they pulled out all the stops for their honeymoon. They visited Cairns, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, and spent three nights in each city.
Brooke and Brandon loved that each place they visited was very different and are glad they were able to see so many destinations. Brandon had never been outside the US and loved that Australia didn’t feel as intimidating as other international destinations they were considering for their honeymoon. We didn’t experience any culture shock, it didn’t feel overwhelming, and it made for a great experience! says Brooke.
Another highlight of the trip were the hotels. All the hotels were beautiful! They really made it feel like an extravagant trip. Their locations were great, making it easy to tour the cities. The staff were always very friendly, easy to talk to, and ready to help, says Brooke.
Their favorite moments were spent scuba diving, walking through the cities and visiting a wildlife sanctuary in Sydney where they could pet and feed the animals.
Brooke and Brandon offered some great tips for couple considering going to Australia for their honeymoon: With only three days in each city, we had to prioritize what we really wanted to do. Talk to the staff at your hotels, the people you sit next to on the plane, or even waiters/waitresses and employees at the stores you shop at for local attractions or fun restaurants and activities you wouldn’t normally hear about. The people we ran into were very nice and definitely made a difference in the trip!
Interested in visiting Australia for your honeymoon? Contact us!
I was so honored when Christina Wright from Simply Modern Weddings agreed to share her advice for planning a fabulous destination wedding! I love how much she incorporates couples’ interests and personalities into the weddings she plans, and she explains that the same can be done when planning a destination wedding.
Be sure to visit her blog to see some of the amazing weddings she has planned!
(1st Row – left to right): Church: Alec & T Photography, Invitation Suite: Thoughtful Day Invites, Gown: J-Crew
(2nd Row – left to right): Bouquet: Jo Ann Manolis Photography, Necklace: The Knot, Tequila Bar: Victore Sizemore Photography
Exotic tropical resorts, countryside villas, rustic haciendas. If the sound of these intrigue you much more than your local hotels, golf clubs, and grand ballrooms, a destination wedding may be the perfect fit for you! Not only does it open up endless possibilities of exciting places to tie the knot, but it also makes for a memorable experience for you and your guests! But before you grab your fiancé, passports, and rush to the airport, here are some tips to help you personalize your destination wedding, while keeping your sanity.
Planning Your Day
There are many logistics that go into planning a wedding abroad, so the first thing that you’ll need is a planner in your hometown that you trust to be the liaison between you and the location, as well as to help bring your vision to life.
Couples looking for a simple approach will find that many resort properties offer wedding packages, which help with the basics of having your wedding. However, having a separate planner will guide you through the planning with the resort, in addition to helping you infuse your personal style into the wedding. This way you are able to make it your own vs. a “one size fits all” template.
A planner can also do research to help you think outside the box for guest activities: you can host a welcome bonfire for everyone on the beach, enjoy traditional dancers during the reception, arrange a group tour with your guests to a local historical site…the sky is truly the limit as far as making your wedding memorable!
Creative Cost Savings
Let’s not forget the $$ factor! Many times, your destination wedding can cost much less than planning a traditional wedding in your hometown. This savings is not just limited to the smaller guest count. The beauty of destination weddings is that the location itself can add such a statement to your day, along with helping your budget. Getting married on a majestic clifftop in Hawaii? Then you don’t need much besides you, your fiancé, and the officiant…the jaw-dropping backdrop will serve as all the ceremony décor that you will need.
Be sure to embrace the local culture with regards to food and décor. Some examples of this would be to serve traditional dessert in lieu of a wedding cake or shopping in the local markets for items that can be used in the décor. I love the idea of bringing local flavor into the wedding design: conch shells as floral decor, traditional fabrics as table overlays, wood carvings as focal decor pieces. Anything you can imagine!
Important Planning Tip
One thing I can’t STRESS enough is the importance of bringing on a photographer that you love and trust for your destination wedding! Although the resort packages do include photography services, trust me when I say this is definitely something you want control over. Bringing on your own wedding photographer means that you will be able to select someone skilled at capturing those images you want creatively, where many of the resort-included photographers may not have that same artistic eye.
Many brides think having a destination wedding means they can’t afford to bring a great photographer with them, but just as with local weddings, photography is the one thing you should never skimp out on. Especially since your wedding will be like a vacation with your family and closest friends; you are definitely going to want to cherish those memories!
Thank you again Christina for the wonderful advice!
Interested in honeymoon planning assistance? Contact us!
I am thrilled to feature the fabulous honeymoon that Patrick and Nicole recently took to Antigua! They stayed at one of my favorite places, Coco’s Hotel. There are just 26 individual cottages on a hill overlooking the ocean with two private beaches. Each cottage has ocean views and a balcony with a hammock and outdoor shower. The hotel is also all inclusive, so the price you pay ahead of time includes all of your meals, drinks, taxes and gratuities.
This hotel is perfect for couples looking for a relaxing honeymoon on a beautiful beach, and want somewhere quiet and intimate. I hope you enjoy reading about their honeymoon!
Look at that view!!!
How did you decide on this destination?
There were so many reasons! All inclusive resort for adults only, private bungalows on a hillside just a short walk from the beach- perfect for honeymooners, as well as the beautiful views and teal waters of Antigua.
Did you like where you stayed?
Absolutely loved it! The food was amazing, the employees were very accommodating and were eager to get us whatever we needed. The other guests were our fast friends!
What did you think about the destination?
The beach and water were clean and the local residents we extremely friendly!
Did you receive any special honeymoon amenities or upgrades?
The resort provided a “honeymoon dinner” with complimentary champagne as well as a complimentary 30 minute massage.
What was your favorite part of your honeymoon?
Relaxing on our private porch in our bungalow enjoying cocktails (the resort kept our room refrigerator stocked) overlooking the ocean, lounging on the beach laughing with the other residents enjoying the fruity drinks the beach bartender Acare provided, and dinner was always delicious!
Do you have any suggestions for other couples going on a similar honeymoon?
If anyone plans to attend during hurricane season, expect sand flies. They are tiny bug that are impossible to detect, and the bites are very itchy! Bring itch cream- the resort does supply everything you need to keep them away, however that does not work during the wettest season.
What 3 words would you use to describe your honeymoon?
Dream honeymoon destination!
Interested in planning your honeymoon to Antigua? Contact us!
I am thrilled to announce that I have been snagged for the Hitched Event in Palm Springs! There are so many incredibly talented vendors and I am truly honored to be a part of it! The event is on January 30th at the fabulous Ace Hotel.
The last event was an absolute blast so I hope you can join us! Grab your tickets here before they sell out!
I am so excited to share the amazing honeymoon that I planned for Daniel and Angelica to Bali! It was featured in the latest issue of Utterly Engaged, and I wanted to include it here too. They recently spent 2 ½ weeks in Bali, and stayed at 4 different hotels in different areas of the island. They had some truly unique, memorable experiences. It was a perfect balance between relaxing, being active, and experiencing the Balinese culture.
One thing I loved about working with this couple is that Daniel planned a number of surprises for Angelica. He surprised her with two different private dinners on the beach, scuba diving lessons off Menjangan Island, and an over the top luxury resort for the last 3 nights of their honeymoon. These surprises throughout their honeymoon were so thoughtful, and Angelica certainly appreciated them.
I hope you enjoy reading about their incredible honeymoon!
1. Please provide a brief description of the two of you.
We live in Oakland, California and love to travel, but we don’t get to go other places as often as we would like. We’re both civil rights lawyers and actually met working on a case together. Daniel is a rabid Oakland Raiders fan. Angelica is a karaoke aficionado. Although our interests often diverge, we both really enjoy relaxing, feasting, and exploring new places together. We got married on September 4 in the Bay Area.
2. What did you want for your honeymoon?
After planning the world’s best wedding, we knew we’d need some downtime to relax and enjoy each other’s company. Because Angelica likes variety and Daniel likes to take things easy, we knew we needed a place that offered a mix of activities and a lot of relaxation. We also wanted to be able to live it up a little bit in luxury, but not break the bank. So good value was very important to us.
3. What made you want to go to Bali?
We had a couple of friends who had been to Bali and had a great time. It met our needs in terms of offering a range of things to do – from scuba diving to cooking classes to getting pampered – and being relatively affordable. Bali is also far enough away that we knew we wouldn’t be able to head there for a weekend getaway.
4. So how was it?
Awesome, romantic, everything we were looking for.
Daniel: In addition to spending so much time with my new wife, I really enjoyed our bike ride with Banyan Tours in the countryside of Ubud and a hike that we took in that area through the Ayang River. These were things we decided to do pretty last minute and felt very off the beaten path.
Angelica: The food, the massages, and the scuba diving. The food everywhere was so delicious — very flavorful. We had an amazing private dinner on the beach at the Amankila and even took a cooking class in Ubud to be able to learn how to make some of the dishes ourselves. I loved all the massages we got everywhere that we stayed–the Balinese really know how to pamper people, and are so excited to meet newlyweds. Daniel also surprised me with introductory scuba diving in Northwest Bali off of Menjangan Island–the experience was amazing.
6. What did you think of each place you stayed?
In Kerobokon (southern Bali, near Seminyak), Daniel booked us a stay at the Dewani Villas — a small family run inn in the middle of rice paddies. The rooms were very traditional and comfortable — we stayed in an upstairs suite with an outdoor shower and amazing thatched roof. It has a lovely pool and a delicious breakfast. It was simpler than the other places we stayed at — but the other places we stayed at were very luxurious. The first night we were unexpectedly upgraded to a private villa with Novus Bali Villas in Kerobokon. The suite was beautiful and great for relaxing after a 20 hour flight. We had breakfast right by our own private pool.
In Pemuteran (northwest Bali) we stayed at the Matahari Resort, which is a five star resort. It was a little bit over the top in terms of the decor, but the amenities were beautiful, especially the spa. We got massages both at the spa and by the ocean that were just heavenly. Our suite had both an indoor and outdoor shower — and the shower head was shaped like a stone dragon. We also really enjoyed the buffet at the beachside restaurant on our last night there. The service was terrific.
In Ubud, we stayed in a private villa at the Komaneka Tanggayuda for five nights. This was far and away our favorite place that we stayed. The service was great–everyone learns your name–and we just loved the architecture of the villa (which was all windowed walls) overlooking a small infinity pool with a view of the rice terraces. Every morning we had breakfast in our private bale (small hut) by our pool. We also really enjoyed the free tea and Balinese snacks every afternoon. The spa services here were great as well — loved the soaking tub carved from volcanic rock. It rained every day we were there, and was so nice to have our dinner or tea brought to the room.
Finally, in the town of Manggis (east Bali), we stayed at the Amankila Resort for three nights. This place was our biggest splurge. The resort is situated on a bluff overlooking the ocean. It was tastefully luxurious in every way. While we were there, we just relaxed in a cabana by the pool for three days straight. The infinity pools are beautiful — and the service is also top notch. We had a romantic dinner on their private beach–it was a truly memorable feast. We would highly recommend it to other couples. Our package included a snorkeling cruise aboard the Amankila XVI–the boat was great with beds to lounge on. We did have one sleepless night when we were tortured by a very noisy gecko, but the hotel took care of the problem when we complained.
7. What did you think of each area you stayed in?
We stayed in South Bali first, not too far from Seminyak. We thought it had some really nice looking beaches and a variety of things to do, especially if you’re looking for nightlife. But we felt good just spending three nights there and that it might have been too touristy for us to stay the whole time.
Then we hired a driver to bring us up to northwest bali and stayed in Pemuteran. This is a very sleepy side of the island, and from what we gathered, most people are there to go diving or snorkeling off of Menjangan island. We did two days of diving and were really blown away by the beauty of the reef and the sea life. The rest of the time we spent at our resort.
Next, we headed to Ubud, in the mountains. We really enjoyed our stay here — even though it’s not near a beach — there was just so much to do. We visited the monkey forest, took cooking classes, did a cycling tour, and had some incredible food and the restaurants there. We really found it to be the most dynamic city we stayed in.
Finally, we relaxed before heading home in Manggis, where the Amankila is–it’s just a few miles from Candidasa, where we headed for dinner one night. We mostly spent time at our resort here so can’t say too much about the area. It was a convenient place to stay to be able to reach the airport. The snorkeling we did was pretty good although not as spectacular as in the northwest.
8. What advice would you give others who want to go to Bali for their honeymoon?
Go! It was such an amazing place for a honeymoon. The Balinese people are so welcoming and excited to meet newlyweds. The island is rich with culture and beauty. The food is so tasty. The massages are heavenly. And there are so many great places to stay and things to do. While the airfare is a major cost, it’s definitely possible to find lovely accommodations for a very reasonable price.
Interested in going to Bali for your honeymoon? Contact us!
