Catherine & Seth ~ Couples Swept Away

Bride and Groom: Catherine & Seth
Resort/ Venue: Couples Swept Away
Photographer: AquaSun

Travel Agent: Terrah Rominger

~ Bride Interview ~

What made you decide on having a destination wedding?
The lack of stress is what made us opt for a destination wedding instead of a BIG traditional wedding, which is what we were originally planning until it became too overwhelming.


What made you decide on the resort/venue?
We actually had never heard of Couples Swept Away Resort in Jamaica. When we contacted Terrah with Legacy Travel, she highly recommended the resort to us. So that's what we went with, and we're very glad we did!

Who was your photographer, and if you had one, your videographer?
The photographer and videographer both contracted out of the resort. The name of the company was Aquasun. They did an awesome job in capturing our very special day!


What was the biggest difficulty in planning your destination wedding?
Honestly, I can't think of any difficulties that we ran into while planning our destination wedding. It all came out perfect!


What was the highlight of the experience?
I think the highlight of the experience was getting married on the beach at sunset! It was a breathtaking scene!

Biggest surprise?
Our biggest surprise on wedding day was the weather! Right after our wedding ceremony and while we were taking pictures, it started pouring down rain. We had to wait under a hut for only about 30 minutes, and then we were able to resume our pictures. The rainstorm actually made a great backdrop in our wedding pictures because it made a beautiful display of the sun breaking through on the water and beach.


If your best friend were planning a destination wedding what would your advice be to her?
Just do it! You won't regret it! You will have the most relaxing wedding day! I highly recommend getting married in PARADISE!

Amanda & Rickie ~ THE ROYAL Playa del Carmen

Bride and Groom: Amanda and Rickie
Resort/ Venue: THE ROYAL Playa del Carmen
Photographer: Kyla Jenkinson
Travel Agent: Terrah Rominger

~ Bride Interview ~

What made you decide on having a destination wedding?
We both love the beach, and loved the idea of a stress-free planning process that would be a relaxing experience. Once we started pricing traditional church and hotel ballroom receptions, it made the decision to have a destination wedding that much easier. Plus, we loved the idea of a weekend-long celebration with family and friends!

What made you decide on the resort/venue?
We had visited The Royal in Playa a year before, and loved everything about it. While we were there on vacation, we saw 2 other weddings take place. At the time, we joked about coming back the next year to tie the knot. Who knew we would actually return 1 year later to do just that?!

Who was your photographer, and if you had one, your videographer?
We used our own photographer, who flew down with us to shoot the entire weekend. We were extremely pleased with the results, because of her creativity and some of the great shots she captured. The resort did have their own photography staff, however, and their work was also impressive. We opted not to have a wedding video, and may regret it on down the line.

What was the biggest difficulty in planning your destination wedding?
The only difficulty was accepting the fact that not all of our family and friends could be there for the wedding. We knew this would be the downside to a destination wedding, so to make up for it, we had a post-wedding reception at home a month later. This allowed family members and other friends to celebrate with us.

What was the highlight of the experience?
I (the bride) was surprised at how calm I was the day of the wedding, even leading up to the ceremony itself. I even hung out at the pool with the girls that morning, and had a casual, relaxing morning before getting ready for the late afternoon ceremony. The wedding coordinator came up to the room and met us, and was very organized about the whole event, so that was very reassuring.

Biggest surprise?
So many of my friends commented about their wedding days being stressful, their ceremony being a "blur", and their reception being overwhelming. Often times, these friends would say "If I have it to do over again, I'd definitely go the destination wedding route."

We were surprised to find that our wedding was none of the horror stories of "traditional weddings"! It was a relaxing weekend with friends, and great memories that we'll have forever.



If your best friend were planning a destination wedding what would your advice be to her?
Don't feel obligated to book several events for your guests throughout the weekend. Remember that this is a weekend getaway for them, too. We love The Royal because it's a small resort and everyone could easily congregate at the pool, lobby bar, etc. We opted not to plan a nightly schedule of events and times, but instead let everyone enjoy the weekend.

Plan your destination wedding at least 4-5 months in advance, to give your guests plenty of time to save up for their trips and take off from work.

Put together a goodie getaway bag for your guests to send out to them a few weeks before the trip. We sent a beach back to each couple with a note from us, a CD with Mexico-themed music, Flip Flops, fun stuff, etc. It was a big hit and got everyone in the mood for the trip!

Don't buy a traditional wedding dress with all of the layers and corsets. It's so hot and humid at the beach, that you'll be miserable all day. Grooms, opt out of the Tux look. The linen shirt and flip flops were the most comfortable for us!

Finally, don't get stressed about details! The wedding coordinators at the resorts are professionals, and often times coordinate several weddings every week. Flowers, food, and all the little details they can take care of ... so don't stress about the details!

Kristina and Ian ~ THE ROYAL Cancun

Bride and Groom: Kristina and Ian
Resort/ Venue: THE ROYAL Cancun
Date: May 2nd of 2009
Photographer: Funever Photos
Travel Agent: Terrah Rominger


~ Bride Interview ~

What made you decide on having a destination wedding?
We both love the beach and wanted to be near it for our special day.

What made you decide on the resort/venue?
We had no idea what to expect from the resort. We were nervous because we've stayed at some not-so-nice resorts in Cancun before. Terrah made the recommendation and promised we would not be disappointed- and she was right. The resort was amazing!

Who was your photographer, and if you had one, your videographer?
We didn't have a videographer, but we did hire Funever Photos and our photographer was Arturo. He was so nice and worth every penny. He had great ideas for poses and our wedding album is really nice.

What was the biggest difficulty in planning your destination wedding?
Trusting that everything will be taken care of when you get there. As a bride, you want everything to be perfect and most of the time you're going off of pictures to choose how you want everything set up.

What was the highlight of the experience?
It's hard to narrow it down to one but I'd have to say the highlight of the experience for me was the dinner we had at the resort after the wedding. The food was great and the restaurant gave us a private room. We all had blast just talking about the weekend.

Biggest surprise?
I think we were most surprised with how beautiful the gazebo was and how close it came to the beach. It created the perfect venue for our wedding day.

If your best friend were planning a destination wedding what would your advice be to her?
Consider a small guest list. It's easier to keep up with everyone when they're staying at the same resort as you and it's less stress for the bride. Half of our guest list canceled their trip two days before our wedding because of the swine flu scare but it ended up working out for the best. The weekend flew by stress-free and we were able to spend quality time with all of our friends and family that attended.

This is a classic picture. LOVE it! haha!

Dawn and Robert ~ Wedding at the Excellence Punta Cana

Bride and Groom: Dawn and Robert
Resort/ Venue: The Excellence Punta Cana
Date: March 25th of 2009
Photographer: Photo Souvenir
Travel Agent: Terrah Rominger


~ Bride Interview ~

What made you decide on having a destination wedding?
We knew we wanted a tropical wedding and we wanted our special day to be as stress-free as possible.

What made you decide on the resort/venue?
It was really just a process of elimination. We wanted to experience a new place together, and we're both pretty well traveled, so we ended up choosing the Dominican Republic. We provided the travel agent, Terrah, with a few things we thought were important to us as a couple, and the resort we ultimately chose was one of a few Terrrah suggested based on the criterion we provided her with. Terrah was a huge asset! Absolutely no regrets! Great choice!

Who was your photographer, and if you had one, your videographer?
Both photos and video were provided in-house by Photo Souvenir. The entire staff was great!

What was the biggest difficulty in planning your destination wedding?
Nothing. Perhaps just managing to take off work during the dates we wanted. :)

What was the highlight of the experience?
The entire wedding day. As the bride, EVERYTHING was taken care of for me - from breakfast in bed, champagne, hair, makeup, getting dressed - you name it, it was taken care of - and with great class! From the groom's perspective, he was also a bit pampered. The resort offered a complimentary groom's suite the night before the wedding. He had a wake up call, all his clothes were pressed, and he was updated every minute until the horse drawn carriage delivered me to the isle.

Biggest surprise?
Just how extremely stress-free the entire event was - trust me, this is a HUGE statement coming from someone who stresses over just about anything. EVERYTHING went off without a hitch - even including the brief rain showers both right before and right after the ceremony. The biggest surprise to me, the bride, was that it truly was the happiest day of my entire life - no worries whatsoever! I just smiled!

If your best friend were planning a destination wedding what would your advice be to her?
Don't take anyone with you! Share your intimate moment with friends and family once you get home via the reception(s). We had two receptions in the U.S. after we returned. We showed the wedding video at the beginning of each and wore the same clothes (i.e., gown, etc.) for about the first hour. This created an opportunity for proper wedding photos. We also did the bouquet/garter toss at each reception and the traditional "cut the cake" ritual. I got to wear my gown (and have my hair and makeup done) THREE times - who gets to do that?! Basically, we had three weddings. I know it may sound a little unorthodox; however, our friends and family members all expressed how they felt they were still truly a part of our special day! As a bonus, we ended up making great friends at the resort and had about 16 people attend our ceremony and reception in the Dominican Republic. As a result, we now have extended "family" in both Canada and the UK! We have all kept in touch and about half intend on returning to the resort next year for our anniversary. :)

Anne and Kevin ~ Wedding at the Dreams Cancun

Bride and Groom: Anne and Kevin

Resort/ Venue: The Dreams Cancun Resort & Spa

Date: July 10th of 2009

Photographer: Juan with Juanphotos.com

Travel Agent: Terrah Rominger

~ Bride Interview ~

"I want to start by saying thank you for all your help with making my dreams come true with my destination wedding. When I first came into your office I was so stressed I did not know what I was doing or how I was going to do it. By the time I left I had a place, date, and time. I had a contact to the wedding coordinator to start the plans. I was so relieved and excited. You followed me through the whole process – you were patient with me and all my family and friends as we tried to work out all of the travel arrangements for everyone. As many times as I called you and emailed you – you never made me feel like I was ever bothering you.

The website you set up for us was awesome with a link to the hotel brochure for everyone to see. The Hotel was awesome, the staff was excellent, the wedding coordinator was absolutely wonderful, the photographer was awesome and the food was great! It could not have been more beautiful and perfect!"

Thank you so much for your kind words Anne! It was truly an honor to be part of your special day. Okay, first question, what made you decide on having a destination wedding?
Kevin has been married before and I have not. We decided to do something different. I have always dreamed of a ocean side wedding and this was perfect and absolutely beautiful!

What made you decide on the resort/venue?
We had visited Dreams Cancun Resort and Spa once before and loved it. Terrah gave us many options with hotels but decided Dreams Cancun was it.

Who was your photographer, and if you had one, your videographer?
Juan w/ juanphotos.com was our photographer. He was great. He met with us a few days before the wedding to talk about what kind of pictures we wanted. On the day of the wedding he made sure we did not feel rushed and was patient with everyone. He and his staff started taking pictures before everyone started the seating and did not stop until he felt like he had captured everything. His staff handled the Video as well and it was awesome. They made sure to put the music we requested to be played while people were seating before the ceremony on the video.

What was the biggest difficulty in planning your destination wedding?
Deciding on the place!

What was the highlight of the experience?
The Wedding of Course – I was so nervous – I was actually a mess – it was perfect – thanks to Terrah and Legacy Travel, Claudia, Juan, and the whole staff of Dreams Cancun Resort and Spa!

Biggest surprise?
Working with Claudia, the Wedding coordinator on all the specifics – She was great . We were a little apprehensive on making wedding plans with someone so far away. Claudia made those fears go away quickly. We emailed back and forth and talked on the phone during the whole planning process. With her no question was a dumb question. She met with me on several occasions when I got to Mexico to make sure everything was going as planned and made sure all my last minute changes were accommodated. She was awesome – she made sure.
I did not have to worry about anything. I was very surprised on how easy she made this for us.

If your best friend were planning a destination wedding what would your advice be to her? Plan ahead – the Earlier the better and Call Terrah with Legacy Travel – she will make everything happen.