Say Yes to a Beach Wedding! Talking Destination Weddings with Will Medina

SPEAKER_01: Hey guys, welcome back to the podcast.

This is Kevin Lowe, and you are listening to episode number 28, where we are diving into destination weddings.

We are continuing a series in the month of February on all things romance travel, and well, it's time for us to go ahead and get married.

But we're not getting married at home, no.

I'm thinking more like the sun-soaked sands of Mexico, or maybe tucked in amongst the rich, lush tropical vegetation on one of the Hawaiian islands.

Doesn't that sound like a little bit better wedding venue than uh the local spot at home?

I think so.

Anyways, I have an awesome person here on the podcast today to join me in on this conversation.

And his name is Will Medina.

Will specializes in destination weddings.

And well, that's why I said, you know what?

If I'm talking about destination weddings, he's the guy I've got to have on the podcast.

So, without any further delay, let's go ahead and get on with the episode.

But hold on, before you say I do, let's get a word from our sponsor.

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Well, well, well, we have Will Medina on the podcast.

Welcome to the Lowdown on Life and Travel, Will.

Hey Kevin, thank you so much for having me.

It's a pleasure to be here with you today.

Oh, well, thank you so much.

Well, I wanted to bring you on because we are in this uh series here in the month of February on the podcast talking about all things romance travel.

And I know you as the uh the guy for destination weddings.

Is that not correct?

SPEAKER_00: That's correct.

That's my jam.

SPEAKER_01: That is my jam.

Wonderful.

Wonderful.

Well, awesome.

Well, let's go ahead and get rolling.

So I think first thing I would love to ask you is why do you feel couples may consider a destination wedding over a traditional wedding that they may have, you know, somewhere close to home?

SPEAKER_00: Oh my God, Kevin.

There are so many reasons, but I'm gonna try to like narrow it down to three of them if I can.

First of all, like a lot of the couples that choose destination wedding, they are just they like to travel themselves, right?

It's just natural.

They've never really imagined to have the big ceremony and reception for 400 people at home.

They have wonder lusts in their heart.

They want to go.

Perhaps they met traveling.

One of the things that I've noticed a lot with my couples that actually choose destination wedding is that they got engaged somewhere.

So they've always had that vision of like a beach wedding.

So, number one, I would say people that already love to travel.

Number two, it is other people that their family and friends do not live nearby.

So I'm gonna give you an example.

We actually had a destination wedding ourselves, of course, right?

So I got married in Mexico in 2017 and we had already moved to Florida.

Most of our families were split between Wisconsin and the Dominican Republic.

And yes, you heard that right.

Those two extremes.

And, you know, for us, it was like if we had a wedding here in Florida, not only would it be super expensive, but also people would have to travel no matter what, right?

So that's very common when you have couples that live, you know, 100 plus miles away from their hometown or or their family and friends, and people have to just travel anyways.

It just makes it super, super easy for people to all gather one place as beautiful as Mexico and or you know any other part of the Caribbean and kind of like be together all in one place.

And then number three, it is definitely the couple that is a little bit more cost conscious, right?

They've been together for a long time, they do not want to spend all this money to get married, whether it is a local church or a local hall, for four hours, and they just want to go somewhere with their friends and family and have this memorable weekend, which now expands instead of you know half a day for these whole shebang, it's three to four days in paradise with your friends and family.

And listen, most importantly, if you have been to an all-inclusive before, or if you love all inclusive resorts, you understand that yes, people might pay a little bit more to get there, but once they get there, it's like all the shots are on you as the bride and groom, groom and groom, bride and bride.

And you don't have to worry about, you know, paying for all of these extra meals for the rehearsal dinner, for the welcome party, and things like that.

So it just lends itself to a really unique experience for your friends and family that is not your typical wedding that every other cousin has had in your hometown.

So those are kind of like the three top reasons that I see my couples pick a destination wedding for.

And, you know, those are like the ones I experience the most in my business.

SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.

That's awesome, wonderful, wonderful.

Now, some of your reasonings, they kind of lead into one of my next questions I had for you is do you see certain types of couples choosing a destination wedding over others?

Like, say those younger couples, older couples, same-sex couples, have you seen any trend as far as I mean, obviously, if you're listening and you don't meet any criteria, of course, it's your decision.

But I'm just curious if you've seen any uh specific trend in those who choose a destination wedding.

SPEAKER_00: Yes, you know, it's surprising all over the place, like surprisingly all over the place, because you do get people, you know, in their 50s, they already had their kids, and they, you know, they just this is their second marriage and they just want to go, they don't want to have to worry about the the drama, if you will, that may come with a traditional wedding.

They're super busy professional.

In my experience, my average couple is, you know, between it's in their early 30s, they've already lived together for a while, they have amazing careers, or like this past year, I got quite a few people that were going to, you know, medical school and like they were just going for advanced education.

And they, again, they just did not have the time to spend over the next year stressing over everything that entails a local wedding.

So I would say couples in their 30s that are a little bit established, they do not need, you know, the pats and pans as their gift.

So again, they want to go away and have that experience with family and friends.

Most of my couples don't have kids yet.

So, but it's something that is like, you know, upcoming.

And then I said there is a smaller percentage of those second marriages or you know, others.

We've done some that they've been together for 10 years.

They got married in the courthouse, you know, because their kids were coming or or whatever the case might be, but they never had that chance to like walk down the aisle and just have that the, you know, have the party, like have that moment for them.

And literally, we plan what we call a symbolic.

In that case, we call it a symbolic destination wedding or vow renewal, which means there's no legal value of it in the destination because they already signed their paperwork a year, two years, or 10 years ago.

But we just come down and we plan everything else because you still get to have your ceremony, you get to exchange your vows, you get to walk down the aisle, the first dance, and like you can do it, you can do it at destination wedding as traditional as you want.

Or listen, if you just want to do like a taco dinner at the beach, we can do that too.

SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.

I love it.

Love it.

That's so wonderful.

Now, you kind of referenced earlier like Caribbean and Mexico and stuff.

I wanted to ask you, do you see any other trends in like top destinations that people choose?

Or if somebody comes to you, they know they want to get away.

Do you have any that you recommend that you think are exceptionally uh well for destination weddings?

SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.

So, destination weddings, like I think travel in general, it's very much like being a lawyer or being a doctor, or like perhaps even owning like your own shop for cars, right?

Like you have different cars that you specialize in for whatever reason, whether because you love them the most, because you you know the dealers to get the parts and all that good stuff.

And in travel, it's the same thing.

We have different specialties, we have different niches.

To me, destination weddings is something that always got my attention.

Number one, because I was really good at the logistics of planning group travel, and number two, because I'm cheesy and romantic and I love beach weddings.

Like there's no way around that, right?

So, in my part, like I specialize in destination weddings very specifically to Mexico and the Caribbean.

So there are four places that I work with the most, which then it's number one, Mexico, Dominican Republic.

We have Jamaica, then, and then lastly, it is Costa Rica.

Yes, I know that's not Caribbean, but it is one of those few locations that have a couple of all-inclusive resorts.

It's very unique because it's not your typical beach destination, but it's for the couple that, you know, once eco-friendly or loves the you know, the rainforest, or they want, you know, all the greenery and just a different backdrop, if you will, for their destination wedding.

So those are the main four that we work with.

Of course, in the Caribbean, there are other islands that are amazing and gorgeous.

They just tend to be a little bit more remote, or the offering on the old inclusive might be a little bit like slim.

And that causes, for some couples, depending on where they're coming from, that causes the cost to rise, where for their guests it becomes a little bit difficult, you know, to get to a place where, well, you know, my flight is nine hours with a layover and it's$900.

It's very different than going to let's let's say Cancun for, you know,$350 per person average.

That lends itself to we can choose a much better, like quality resort.

And I'm not mentioning like other islands by names because it depends where you live, right?

I live in Florida, I can jump to you know all these other like less popular islands like in a in a hot minute, because we have a lot of non-stop flights from here.

If you if you're coming from Milwaukee, right, or if you're coming from Iowa, if you're coming from like it, like a lot of different places in the states where you perhaps even need two connections, it just becomes a little bit more difficult.

That being said, my area of focus are those four countries, again, primarily because it's what I really know and and love.

And second of all, because since I started my company out of Wisconsin when I lived there, that was like my market was the Midwest, right?

So it was really, really vital for my couples to have a to pick a destination that didn't cost $900 to get there, like just the flight, and that wasn't gonna take their guests coming for three, four nights an entire day.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

Yeah, aside from that, you know, Italy is always gonna be a super hot and luxurious and amazing destination for destination weddings.

I feel like it's the ultimate dream for so many humans to go to Italy and just get married in those hills.

But then again, we are right back to it depends on what's right for you as a couple, and you know, you are likely not going to get 80 people going to the Amalfi coast for your destination wedding, where you know, if flight is gonna be a little bit more on the you know, a thousand dollars area, and of course, there's not all inclusive, so people are gonna have to kind of figure out their own plans, and also the time factor, Kevin, right?

Like going to Mexico, going to like the Caribbean, it's like three nights, perfect, no problem.

You're going to Europe, like you likely need a week, and then it just becomes a little bit more involved.

But it's super popular, Greece, Italy.

One place that I've been and I absolutely fell in love with is like in Portugal.

Like, I think the weddings there will be stunning and cost effective.

But I find that for most Americans, time is a problem.

Like, we just don't like to vacation, you know, like the Europeans do.

So the minute you tell people that the minimum to attend the wedding is a week, it's like, oh.

Yep.

You know, and then automatically the group becomes smaller.

But the world's beautiful.

It's like you can literally get married anywhere, you know, Thailand.

Like, I would love to do weddings in Thailand, but again, get a bunch of 50 Americans to go to Bali and and you know, for 12 days just for a wedding.

Like it's it's just it's a it's a different market and not my specialty.

SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.

And you know what though, I think what you say, I think is such a vital importance, whether it's a destination wedding or or any type of big group trip, that you do have to really take into consideration how important is it that you have every member of your family be able to come.

You know, because like you said, prices, I mean, it it's your wedding, it's not your cousin Bobby's wedding.

You know, he doesn't care as much as much about it to, you know, to spend maybe as much as it would cost to go to somewhere, you know, like Thailand or something, you know.

So so I think I think what you bring up, it it does.

It you kind of have to think a little bit, you know, of importance for you, you know, is are you willing to maybe compromise on doing somewhere that would be a little bit more cost effective so that more people can come?

I just know for myself with uh group trips that I have planned in the past, I've had to do that, you know, and and it was more important for me that more of my family and friends could come than for me to go to some you know far-flung destination.

So indeed.

SPEAKER_00: And you know, okay, I think that's like the the number one thing that our couples they come to us and like first of all, they think they know, and then they have five countries in mind.

Let's start there.

But like everything in my business is starting, we do a free planning session because again, I want to help them understand like how that affects, you know, where you pick, how that how does that affect your like the guests that are gonna be able to come, right?

And what I've learned after 11 years of doing this is that my couples, believe it or not, their number one concern it is for them to make it convenient and affordable for their guests.

Now, affordable means different things for for different folks, right?

We have some hotels that is$300 a night per person, we have some hotels that is$130 per night per person.

So again, keep that in mind.

Affordable means different things for different people.

But, you know, it's like the number one thing that we do during that one hour is to help them understand how far can their their money go at XYZ destination, and how is that gonna impact the number of people that come to their wedding?

Now you'll be surprised to find that some couples come to us and they really want everybody, which we know not everybody's gonna come, right?

I say roughly about 60% of your guest list actually comes to the destination wedding.

And you know, that's a really good number when you're inviting 100 plus people, 200 people, that's a really good number.

And a really good number also to entertain when you're in the destination.

You don't have 300 people for that wedding.

But some couples come and they want everybody to come.

And I've actually worked with couples that they choose a destination wedding because they want to reduce the guest list, so they are not worried about making it super easy and like you know, the cheapest possible for you.

They want they want what they want, and you know, like they know that the core people will come.

And there's nothing wrong with either one of those things.

And for those of you out there that may not be, you know, super like cozy with destination weddings, I will tell you, people always talk about brazillas, like even in the industry, agents are like, I don't want to deal with brazillas and whatever.

And I always say, my brides have moments, most of my brides genuinely are not brazillas.

What I want to say with that is people might think that a destination wedding is, you know, oh, that's selfish, you know, you're making people travel, what's whatnot.

And the truth is that 95% of my couples are concerned first and foremost about their guest being able to attend and being something that they can afford to bring their family to the wedding.

SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, absolutely.

Wow.

Okay, so now I want you to kind of break down, and and I assume obviously it's as you kind of said earlier, you can kind of customize how it looks, but kind of painting a picture for for somebody who's thinking about this and they're listening to this podcast, they're going, you know, maybe this would be a really good idea.

But they're just wondering what could they expect as far as the actual wedding ceremony, the rehearsal dinner and stuff.

How would you best kind of compare and contrast that to what they could just have at home?

SPEAKER_00: Oh, yes.

Okay.

So the first thing is what you can have at home.

Like, I don't want to take away anything from the beautiful locations that we have within the United States, right?

You can have just about everything that you can have in a destination.

And I'm specifically talking about the all-inclusive market and the places that I talked about in the States, perhaps in your home state, perhaps you can come down to Florida and have a stunning wedding in the Keys, or right here in Fort Lauderdale Beach or Hollywood Beach that has a gorgeous resort over here that, you know, it's it's basically looks just like the ones in the Caribbean, except that it's not all inclusive.

So, what it comes down to is let's talk about like the timeline for the day, right?

If people are coming to you, they're driving, they're flying, or whatever the case might be, but they're not in that destination, you are going to entertain them for that half a day of the wedding, ceremony, reception, and you know, then they go back to their hotels and whatnot.

And perhaps you do a dinner the day before for those people that are coming from out of town, which is very, very typical.

That's like on the state side.

Now I'm gonna take you and I'm gonna have you dream about this.

So if you want to close your eyes, I don't care, but I want you to picture like we are, I'm gonna give you this example actually.

I got married February 2017.

So we landed in Cancun Airport January 31st of 2017, and we got ready.

We went to meet with the wedding coordinator.

We arrived to our beautiful resort.

It was a five-star, all-inclusive, adults only.

It was exactly what I wanted, a brand I trusted and knew that it was gonna nail it.

And we landed there, and we just like there was champagne waiting for us.

There was, you know, like we were the wedding couple.

So you're not just arriving to the venue and dropping things off the morning off for them to set up.

Like you're arriving to your wedding with four or five suitcases of you know, welcome bags and things like that.

You are coming to your wedding plus a vacation.

So we were greeted, champagne in hands, and then we went to the wedding department and we met with our coordinator.

Her name was Paulina, and she took us in the little golf cart.

Now it's 80 degrees, it's February, it's Mexico, right?

She took us in the little golf cart all the way down to our ceremony location where the ceremony was gonna be.

And we took a look at it, we walked through it, and we just kind of like, okay, this feels good, great.

After that, we went to have lunch.

So imagine ceviche, you're having now a couple of cold cervezas.

We're not gonna talk about corona.

We were having at the time it was not a problem to have corona, but we were having you know, dosekis and like just like fresh fish, and like just literally all taking it in while we wait for our room to be ready.

Then after that, we went to our room and we just kind of had the night to relax and prepare for you know mentally and like enjoy the grounds, have dinner, went to the show at the resort and had quite a few shots.

Then the next day, most of our guests start to arrive.

Now, I don't have to worry about my guests because it is an all-inclusive resort.

So my guests are going to be checked in, like the guests of the resorts that they are at, right?

They paid for a vacation.

So they arrived, and you know, some people created a WhatsApp group.

At the time we had a little Facebook group, and all we did that day was like, hey guys, we're gonna be hanging out by the main pool.

Find me at the swim up bar.

And people were just coming in, dropping their stuff off, and coming over and like jumping right in the pool with us, right?

So we're on day two of this wedding, quote unquote, right?

And we are super relaxed.

We're excited, people are coming.

Remember, we don't live in the same hometown as you know our family and friends.

So it was double the excitement because we were reuniting with these people that we love and we haven't been able to see.

Some of them we had seen for Christmas, which was you know a month and a half before that.

Others we hadn't seen, you know, we didn't have time to see them at Christmas or whatever, so we haven't seen them in perhaps a year.

So they joined us in the swim bar, and we just hang out for the whole day until it is time for us to go to our first event of the weekend, which was a welcome party that I highly recommend.

This is a super low-key way for people to hang out and you know, mingle with each other and like low key, there's no stress of like makeup and anything like that.

So we had a white beach party, it was bare feet in the sand.

We just had like regular, you know, table with a stand.

So we didn't spend a lot of money on that either.

We had some tiki torches.

Again, if you can imagine, now it's like 75 degrees, Mexico, ocean front, the wind is blowing, and you have all these tiki torches and music playing in the background, right?

And your loved ones.

We have 55 guests.

Am I painting the picture yet?

You have painted the picture extremely well.

So that was like night two for us.

And you know, night one for everyone.

Like our families were leaving the snow behind.

Like some of them even had flight delays that day because it was snowing so much, you know, in the Midwest.

And now they're in Mexico, toasting sand, relaxing, and getting ready, you know, to celebrate our I do's.

And again, the night ends, everybody's drunk, everybody's happy, everybody's, you know, had dinner, whatever.

And then next day, people go do again, they do whatever the hell they want because it is their vacation.

And then the wedding day comes, and once again, go do your thing if you're gonna do makeup, if not, dress however you want, like, and then just come in 20-minute ceremony because it was symbolic, right?

20 minutes, super quick ceremony.

They showed up, 4 30 was our ceremony.

Of course, I was late, guys, 10-15 minutes, but that's okay.

You built in that time in there.

So they showed up 4 30, beautiful gazebo right on the beach.

You know, we just walked down the aisle, the music, say the vowels, and then the ceremony ends, five o'clock starts, and we had a band of mariachi.

This was my mother-in-law's only requirement.

She wanted a mariachi band of nine players.

She had never been to Mexico, so this was her first time to Mexico, her first time out of the country in like 15-20 years.

So it was like super special for us to make that happen, right?

So we had the mariachi band, and we had like the best cocktail hour, just like you know, pineapple mojito, super refreshing.

Again, people having shots, and then after that, you do the pictures right at sunset, which is what most people like about the beach wedding, and then you go on to your reception dinner, which is like ours started like at 7 p.m.

And then you know, that's like a three hours ordeal.

You have a DJ, we had a live singer because we love live music, and that was like the end of that night.

Next day, 10 o'clock in the morning.

Hey, hang over as heck.

If you want to meet us at the pool, do so.

If you want to go on a tour, do so.

If you want to go to the beach, do so.

If you want to sleep in and order room service, do the damn thing, whatever you want, right?

So super low-key, super stressful.

My family was not running around trying to see what they needed to finish.

That was all handle.

Nobody had to turn, like, help us clean up after the wedding.

That was all handle.

Like when the wedding was over, we went to the show at the club of the resort and kept the party going until two o'clock in the morning with Don Julio, tequila, by the way.

So, my point is you can hopefully you get the picture of like what our event uh was like.

That is exactly the experience that we try to deliver for every single one of our clients.

So, whether you are thinking, oh hell no, I do not like to walk in the sand, I need to be ready to wear my high heels, we got you.

That are terraces, that are sky terraces, that are rooftop terraces, that are garden gazebos, that are these beautiful mirror aisles that we can actually put right on the beach so that everybody else is in the sand, but not you, because you don't want to be in the sand, and that's okay.

Then if you want to do like our reception was pool side, uh one of those, like those palapas that you see, you know, those like imagine like a tiki hot, but obviously like restaurant size, right next to a pool with floating candles.

I have couples that don't want that, they want to be inside a ballroom because they don't want to sweat, and that's okay.

Others want to do it right, right in the sand.

And we just put those little bistro, like those Italian lights that you see at the cafes in the movies, right over the beach, right on the dance floor, and everybody just like literally no worries, just dance the night away, and that's what they want to do.

So, my point is that no matter what you like how you envision your wedding, literally, there's a venue out there for you in any of these destinations that we work with.

And then on top of that, add the magic word here, which is all inclusive.

They don't have to pay$17 for a martini, they don't have to pay $22 for guacin chips, they don't have to pay their pay$19 for you know ceviche or you know,$14 for an order of wings.

It's all included.

And room service too.

So, that being said, how it is different than at home is it just is.

You just cannot, from my experience, if you were to plan that same event that I just described to you that I had in Mexico, I would need at least $100,000.

And it still would not be the same because I would have to tell the bartender that when we hit the top limit for that day to cut it and send everybody to the room instead of keep serving them shots, right?

And it might sound like I'm an alcoholic, guys.

Like, it's okay if you think that.

I like I like drinking.

But my point is like all inclusive, it's all about like it's an experience, right?

It's not about why Mexico when you can do, you know, Miami Beach or why, you know, you could do it in like Michigan or whatever.

It's just a much more cost-effective option to have an experience and to give your guests an experience that we do not have the luxury of having at home because all inclusives are not a thing in the United States.

And even the two places that exist in all of America that say that they are, they are support.

I've been to one of the two, never will go back again, like no interest, and still three times the cost.

SPEAKER_01: So I'm just loving listening to you because anybody who listens to this podcast knows that I'm always trying to get my guests to paint a picture.

Because what I love about podcasting is everybody who listens to a podcast, they're like me.

They're blind, they can't see.

And so you, there was no please paint a picture for us.

Go into detail, try and make us feel like we were there.

OMG.

I am like, oh my gosh, so Jonesing for a trip to Mexico right now.

SPEAKER_00: You know what, Kevin?

I think I did that for myself.

Like our fourth wedding anniversary is coming up, and I just like put myself right back in that spot.

I'm like, oh, like I think I'm due for a trip to Mexico now.

SPEAKER_01: That was absolutely incredible.

And if you are still pondering, wow, I don't know if it's for me or not, if you're not at this point saying, oh, by all means, yes, there's nothing wrong with you.

Just say it, just say it.

So oh my goodness.

Well, so one thing I wanted to ask you was what about for the couple who's listening to this and they think it sounds great, but they're wondering, do we still get a honeymoon?

Ooh, oh my god.

Why are you gonna go there?

What do you what do you say?

I mean, because I would think there could be options they could, you know, if they wanted time alone, you know, at the end they could maybe extend their stay wherever they are, or you know, maybe go somewhere different.

I mean, do have you ever run into that situation?

Oh, yeah, I got stories for you.

Okay.

Oh, okay, sure.

We we have you you gotta let it let it loose.

Right, right, right.

Like what do they call it?

Spilling the tea or sipping the beer.

SPEAKER_00: Spilling the tea just for you and your listeners.

So, number one, yes, you can get a honeymoon.

Now, a lot of people, again, focus on their guest, and they say, We do not see these people often enough.

We are all going to fly back home to our you know respective cities or countries, and we are not gonna be able to see each other for another year or so.

So I want to spend as much time as possible with them.

That was our case.

We do not live close to you know family, so we really wanted to spend every waking moment with our guest.

Okay.

Some of our couples don't do that.

They are like, nope, I'm gonna bounce.

And then what we normally do is you can, of course, based on how much time you have.

By the way, if you are strapped for time, the minimum time that you are required to be in destination to have a destination wedding is three nights.

So, literally, if you just want to be there for three nights and fly to a different island, you can island hop, you can go to another resort, or you can simply come back home to work, right?

To real life, because you're going on your honeymoon next month.

So it's it really is a personal decision.

What we see most often is that couples that do a destination wedding that is considered like you have it a little minimum built-in in there because at the end of the day, you're on vacation, right?

And you are going to be in the destination oftentimes for seven, eight nights.

Uh, some couples do 10 nights.

So there are a couple of different ways that you can do this.

Number one, as I said, you can either like go for the three, four days and fly back home because you are going to like intentionally, or you're going to intentionally go on a honeymoon next month when your vacation resets or you know, for your one-year anniversary, whatever the plan might be, but that that has already been determined that you are going to have your honeymoon.

Number two, it is again the couple like us, we decided to stay there because we really wanted to be able to stay with our family.

We did stay for eight nights, which is eight nights, uh, nine days, and we didn't expect a lot of people to be that entire time.

Therefore, like we were hoping for a couple of days alone, and that didn't happen.

We ended up having people staying longer than us, believe it or not.

So it was fine.

Like, we didn't care because again, we don't live, like we don't have family nearby, so we really wanted to spend time with them.

And then number three, it is the couple that says, Okay, I'm gonna do a split stay.

So, what they do is they go, usually five days, they go because that way that allows them to welcome everyone and kind of like be at the resort a day after the wedding, which by the way, to me is my favorite day of the entire thing, because you're able to just hear the stories and the memories that were built over the weekend from your friends and family while you are at the pool, hang over, doing shots, mimosas, or whatever the case might be.

And you're able to hear and visualize your wedding from an angle that you couldn't, right?

Because as the couple, you are like in it and with all the emotions.

So it's super fun to hear your friends and family talk about their amazing experience the next day.

So, so some people do those five days, and then after that, they just we book them to another resort in the same destination.

So, and this is very popular with couples that have to choose a family hotel, meaning that they allow kids either because they have kids or you know, family and friends are bringing kids.

And then what we do is we book the next three or four nights, like as a minimum, on like in a completely different resort that focuses on adults only, and it's a little bit more romantic and whatnot.

It changes the pace of you know, you having to be the host all the time while you are at that hotel, and it also changes the dynamic because now you are it's a new room, it's a new resort.

This is now seven to ten different like different restaurants that you have to try.

It's just a whole different mood.

So that one is one of the most common options.

Now, the real tea here is that don't do it like Will.

So we decided to stay on destination for eight nights because we were supposed to go on our honeymoon for to Italy, and here we are four years later, and we still haven't had my honeymoon in Italy.

So I am the travel agent that had an amazing destination wedding that had it kind of like a built-in mini moon at the same hotel, but I did not have my honeymoon yet.

And it's a tender spot, it's a tender discussion here in my household.

But, you know, we we we have excuses.

We we flew back from the destination, and like three days later, we were closing our first condo.

Then, you know, two years later we decided to upgrade the house.

So we kind of like, well, instead of doing the bathroom, let's just build a house.

So we kind of sold that and bought something else.

So you there were kind of like adulting decisions that we made to like push it, okay, next year.

And then COVID happened, and then you know, it's probably gonna be year five by the time I do my dem honeymoon, but such is life.

SPEAKER_01: Such is life.

SPEAKER_00: Take it from me.

If you are going to postpone it for the future, like you know, six months from now, or like for your one-year anniversary, make sure he books the dem honeymoon before you leave for the wedding.

Like put a deposit down.

Like, I I think our deposit, and it was a really first of it was an amazing honeymoon, right?

Obviously, I planned it.

And with an amazing like travel supplier, and it was like it was a sweet honeymoon for like 11 days, and the deposit was like $400.

So make him put the deposit down before you fly down to your destination wedding if you want to not have my same result.

SPEAKER_01: I love it.

Absolutely love it.

You're the best.

Oh my gosh, you're the best.

SPEAKER_00: So priceless advice.

I just got I just got mad.

I just got mad again.

SPEAKER_01: All right, okay, well, we're gonna switch gears from that topic.

Oh my goodness.

So funny.

So funny.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, funny not funny, but okay.

SPEAKER_01: Okay, you you calm down?

Yeah.

So, next question I have for you is thinking back memory bank, is there any destination wedding that you designed that you put together that stands out in your mind above all the rest?

SPEAKER_00: Oh my god.

You know, I have two, and I'm only gonna give you the story for the last one because it was so unique.

Okay.

The first one was like my first destination wedding that I was invited to as a guest, which was super, super special.

This was uh, I want to say like 2013 or something like that.

They were a referral from a friend.

I was still living in Milwaukee at the time.

It must have been 2012 because I was, anyways, it was like back there, like almost 10 years ago.

And they invited us to the wedding, and it was like super special because you know, it like for a client to get that close to you, you know, that you didn't know before, and like to invite you to the wedding.

Now, that happens quite often nowadays, but that was like that one was like just super special.

So we they actually ended up getting married at the same hotel that we got married at like a few years later, and of course, we invited them to our wedding.

So they were super cool and they were like, she's like my ideal client to this day because it was like a sweet couple, smart, fun, easy going.

My favorite part about that one was that she because it was an adults-only resort, she ended up making her grandma the who it was the cutest lady ever, Grandma Gail.

She ended up being like the flower girl, and it was like super special.

And they asked me to be the ring boy, like the ring bearer, like, and I'm like, well, it was like the the funniest thing, but it was like super special for me.

Oh, that's so cute! I love it.

That one will forever be like have a piece of my heart, not to mention that a group of friends were like the most fun people in the planet, so like we spent those four days like having a blast in destination, and we all became friends.

That's that's awesome.

I love it.

Yeah, but I think the most memorable one was a recent one that we had, and again, like I'm all about being timely, and sometimes you're trying to have conversations and like you know, like you don't want to mention COVID, but then it's like having a conversation like with friends at a bar and not mentioning Facebook or Instagram, right?

It's either, oh, I saw it on Instagram or oh yeah, I saw it on Facebook.

Like, like it just part of a life, right?

So, just like social media, COVID will be part of our stories for for decades to come.

This particular wedding was super fun couple from Miami, and I've never met them before.

They were a guest of a previous wedding that I planned, and they're like, Oh my god, this is exactly what we want for us.

So they got engaged following a year and higher.

So, what was unique about that wedding was that they we had to postpone it because that was, you know, like in the middle of COVID, it was supposed to happen in May, and then obviously the world was closed at the time.

So we had to postpone the wedding to October of 2020.

So we moved the wedding, rebooked everyone, you know, handle everything.

Oh my god, Kevin.

The week of the wedding, there were two hurricanes that hit Mexico.

That hasn't happened, like Cancun, Mexico.

That hasn't happened in like 25 years, according to them.

So there was first one was like supposed to be like a cat five, whatever, whatever.

It didn't do a lot of damage.

It came down like as cat one, and it didn't do a lot of damage, but they flew down the day after because you know nothing big happened, so you just you push forward, right?

But of course, there were some you know glass shatter at the resort, there were some trees down and things like that.

The hotel was still picking up.

Lo and behold, I forgot the name of that hurricane.

I remember one of the two, but anyways, uh, that was Zita.

Then lo and behold, my couple arrives the next day.

They are given the room, hotel's still picking up and whatnot.

And a day after their arrival with like 20 of their guests, we had Hurricane Delta coming down again, spiked it as a cat five.

Now, I have half of this group, it was like 60 some people.

I have half of this group in destination already, like at the resort, and I have half of these people still in transit.

Some leaving tomorrow from Miami, others were already in Dallas, and the flight got canceled, and it was like OMG.

So I'm like, wow, my bride, it's chill, you know, and nice and whatever.

So next day, after the hurricane like makes makes landfold and we have to reroute everyone, change flights and all that shenanigans that go with that.

We cannot get a hold of anyone at the hotel because the wedding department, you know, it was closed.

They didn't have a wedding that day, I guess, but they were closed because people were stranded in their homes without Wi-Fi, like the the employees I'm talking about in Cancun.

And it was like, oh MG, I literally cannot get a hold of anyone.

So I ended up having to book myself like on the very next flight, the next morning.

I'm like, I'm gonna fix this.

Because I just knew at this point, right?

My bride was like, What the hell?

Like, what else could happen?

And these were like exactly her words like, come on, Kelvin, to your kids.

Like, what else could happen?

And she was so cool that I'm like, no, this cannot, this is not gonna happen on under my watch.

So I went there and we ended up like making sure that everybody got there safely, of course.

And I got there, we go to the rooftop location of this wedding that where the wedding was supposed to happen.

And I was like, no, this no, like this needs to like there were you know some lights hanging from the wind and whatnot.

So I was like, girl, listen, you need to hear me out.

We need to move your wedding a day up.

Like, I already checked the guest list, everyone is here the next day.

So imagine like the wedding was a Thursday, right?

And the the welcome party was Wednesday.

We're just gonna say that.

Then everybody was still in town, like at the resort on their vacation through Friday, like they were there.

So I get there, I think it was Thursday.

Okay, like, well, you know, my welcome party didn't happen because whatever.

Now I'm supposed to get married like tomorrow morning.

I'm like, no, this isn't like no, this is not a good idea.

Your nerves are shot, they need a little bit more time to fix these things, so let's move the wedding.

She's like, I really wanted that location.

Let me talk to the wedding department.

So we go talk to the wedding department, and you know, like they really did an amazing job, and they're like, and I'm like, you need to promise me though that if we move this, we are going to be able to keep our location and it's going to be fixed.

Of course, I walked seven times up to the location to make sure that that was true.

But long story short, we ended up moving everything.

So I was like, listen, everybody's here now.

You're not getting married tonight, so let's just have the welcome party tonight, right?

Like just the dinner.

It was like a white dinner as well.

And then tomorrow you're able to wake up a little bit more relaxed.

I'll take care of everything.

We'll move the wedding to tomorrow, Friday, or you know, to Friday, whatever day that was.

But it was like the wedding was like we moved it to Friday.

And we ended up with the most beautiful wedding.

You know how they said, like, the calm after the storm?

We ended up with the most beautiful, sunny, and like blue water day that we could ever dream of, like, after that damn hurricane.

My point is, it will be the most memorable for life because I ended up having to go and become the planner without really, you know, like that was not a package that she had, so to speak.

But it just really, it was really, really an amazing experience to be able to bond with them and take them from I give up whatever effort to wow, we really made this happen.

And they're like, it was worth every minute because my guest raved about the experience once the dust settled.

So that will be special because again, it was such unique circumstances.

First time I had all of those, you know, issues in one wedding.

And we were able to not only pull it off, but literally wash away everything else that they had to go through to get there.

And like that couple, it's like now forever one of my favorites because their attitude was everything.

Like it's really important for me to work with people that trust me, right?

And of course, they trusted me from the beginning with the service that we were providing, which is you know, the group travel planning and you know, booking their guests and things like that.

Obviously, even at the beginning, helping them choose the hotel, but to be able to trust me that I landed there and like we are going to re we're gonna rework this thing and shuffle things around.

We'll take care of your guests and you just can we do this?

Do you trust me?

Yes, we'll go ahead.

And to be able to pull off that beautiful wedding.

And then, Kevin, one of the things that is has become really, really important for me during COVID is to have a safe event to be.

Able to have that in the middle of all of this, 60 people and everybody, you know, like just a safe event, like everybody came back good.

It was just it was amazing.

SPEAKER_01: So wow, that's absolutely incredible.

And I'm sitting here, you know what?

If anybody has ever contemplated, you know, whether using a travel advisor who specializes in destination wedding is worth it versus just doing it alone, I feel like you just answered that question.

So, and then also at the same time, I'm sitting here thinking, I own my own travel agency, I love booking travel, but you know what?

If I ever find a beautiful bride and I'm doing a destination wedding, I think I'm gonna be calling you.

So no, that that's just awesome.

That's so awesome.

SPEAKER_00: It's a lot, you know, people don't realize, like it's it's especially at the beginning when you're trying to to when you're working with clients.

That's why that free consultation for me is so important, like that free planning session.

Because the truth is that in the end, it's just like, oh, oh yeah, we just need a travel agent that specializes in destination wedding, but what does that mean, right?

Like, what does that mean?

Anybody can say that they specialize in destination weddings, or someone that does that on the side, or you know, there are so many variables that people should consider.

And it's just for me, it's just like an education opportunity to show you what it is and at what level I got your back.

SPEAKER_01: You know what?

And I think to be honest, more than finding someone who specializes in anything, it's finding somebody with a passion for it.

Yes.

And as I listen to you, you have that passion, that love where those couples' destination wedding, it was just as important as your own.

100% you know what I mean?

And I and I feel like that's it.

I feel like, you know, like I said, no matter what type of trip, you know, you may be thinking about planning and you're looking for a specialist who specializes in that particular destination or whatever.

At the end of the day, when you met with them, did you feel like they connected with you?

Do you feel like you're passionate about their work?

Because that's who you want to choose.

SPEAKER_00: Yep.

It's it's the passion is is super important, you know?

And uh it's something that I believe in, it's something that I preach, and it is something that, yes, you know, I do feel that the the right couples get it, right?

Because even in that story that I just gave you, like hotels, of course they offer like they call it an on-site coordinator with like all of their packages and whatnot.

Well, could she even reach them during that weekend?

And of course, and I'm not blaming them because these were very, very unique circumstances, right?

It is not your like I live in Florida, we we have storms and hurricanes.

So if those cell phone towers go down and I can't use WhatsApp to communicate with a client, you know, I mean, maybe I'll figure out I'll figure it out, right?

Like, I'll figure it out.

Like, that's just who I am.

But for them, like, you know, like I just don't know what was going through their minds.

It's like like this what it means tomorrow.

And you have people like you're supposed to have a a welcome thing tonight.

Like, how do we just like go through that?

As I don't know, like again, they ended up doing an amazing work, so I'm not like attacking them.

Amazing partners, but my point is that at the end of the day, it just pays to have someone that works for you, right?

Like, I work for my couples, I don't go to a hotel that wants to give me a promotion for this or promotion for that and whatever.

The promotions I seek out are the promotions that are best for my couple and their guests.

So I work for my couple, so when I have to curse a hotel out, I will do it.

And I speak Spanish.

So listen, I have an international plan.

When I gotta call Mexico and just like tell them, you should ask that planner.

Like, you know, we became BFF, but like, like when I when I needed those answers, like it it was not pretty.

I love it.

It was not pretty.

I was gonna make it happen.

So, yes, definitely, you know, if you are it it goes both ways for any for any travel advisor listening to this, you know, it's is romance travel is one of the things that they tell you, oh, you know, everybody should do it and whatnot.

But it truly takes a huge amount of commitment to understand that this is not just a vacation for two people, this is not just a quick getaway.

You literally have the experience of 30, like in that particular wedding, I had the experience of 31 families, you know, that were trusting me to make this happen.

And most importantly, I had the trust and the responsibility of making sure that this couple was able to like look like rock stars to their family, because if if their wedding was a fiasco, you know what was gonna happen, right?

Like, this is the one trip that everybody's gonna talk about for the next 10 years, and it's always gonna be with that memory.

So you need to make sure that that memory is the best possible.

SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.

I agree, agree 100%.

That's awesome.

No, I have to ask you with with such a passion for this, what got you into the travel industry and and especially destination weddings?

Like what what what started that?

SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's a good one.

So I am Dominican.

I was born and raised in the Dominican Republic, so Punta Cana.

And obviously, like one of the biggest sources of like income and whatever the economy in that region of the DR is tourism, right?

We have probably close to 100 resorts now, you know.

So all inclusive, it's like that like Punta Cana and Cancun area are like the parents are of the all-inclusive resorts.

Like it's just something that we've done for decades.

You know, we've we've done it first and best, I believe.

And, you know, it's just like there's just there's always been like you just always knew that as long as you could learn a little English, you could work at a resort doing something.

It doesn't matter what level of of education you had, because there are 7,000 positions, right?

It could be in sales, it could be in gardening, it could be, you know, as a maid, like whatever.

So I went to school for hospitality in the Dominican Republic because my dream, believe it or not, was to own a travel agency.

But I'm talking about the early 2000s, where in overseas, where becoming a travel agent, it was not like, oh, I'm just gonna become a travel agent and do this or that.

It was like, oh, you need a million dollars for an IATA card.

You need this for the like the insurance, and you need this for your bond.

Like it was like crazy money.

But my plan was to go to school for uh hospitality management, was gonna be my major, and then I was gonna work at resorts, right?

Until I could like go up the ladder and eventually someday own a travel agency.

Like it was a really, really long plan.

But I was determined.

So I was studying English at a private school since I was like 13 years.

So I finished high school English Academy, and uh, you know, back in the days when people used to go to school for like MSOS, like for a computer, essentially.

Like you had to go to school to get like a one-year certificate in order to work somewhere and prove that you knew how to work a computer.

Like, I did that.

So damn, I just dated myself.

But well, I like I said, early, like early mid-2000s.

So that's what started me in hospitality.

Like, I always wanted to go to school for that.

One of the requirements for me to be able to get a master in like in hospitality is you needed to know at least two other languages in like besides Spanish.

So I did those three years of English, and then I studied French for a little bit, and then I quit because I was moving to the States.

But my point is like I was, you know, well en route to be able to accomplish that.

So what I started me in hospitals in travel really was the fact that because I worked at a couple of resorts, like in concierge department, I was in charge of like planning the honeymoon dinners for like those guests that arrived and like they had just got married in the last 30 days.

Like I would plan all that.

If you've ever been to an all-inclusive resort, like you know, you know when they deliver like those like flu like fruit platters, if you're celebrating like a special occasion or like a bottle of wine or whatever, like that was my department.

So I did that for a little bit, and then I worked at the Punta Cana International Airport as well for a couple of months, once again, and then at 19 I moved to the States.

So I started really, really young in that arena.

I used to work also at a gift shop for a few years, like selling, you know, when you go on a tour at any of these destinations and they have like a like a stop at a shop for you to like, oh, go use a restroom, drink some coffee in the DR, it's very common.

Like, you know, have a shot of Mama Juana and come then buy some Latimar or some Amber or some paint or whatever, like souvenirs.

So I used to work there for a couple of years, like since I was like 15 years old.

So I was kind of kind of like always in the in the in the hospitality segment.

Like it was just my passion.

And then, but I didn't start in the travel segment itself until 2008, nine, excuse me, 2009, when I was living in Wisconsin and I was working at a call center for you know, Visa MasterCard, nothing to do with hospitality, you know.

And one of my colleagues and I were talking about like dreams and passions and whatever, and I said, you know, and and then I shared that story, like, oh, you know, I used to go to school for hospitality, like I really wanted to own a travel agency, and but you know, like there are no resorts in like Milwaukee.

Come on now, like we we got a lake, we don't have beaches and you know, like a um a tropical feel and whatever.

So I had kind of like giving up on that.

And I remember him just telling me, so why don't you become a travel agent?

And I'm like, what do you mean?

Because again, remember, in my country, for you to do that, you needed like a gazillion dollars.

And I was like, What do you mean?

And he's like, Oh, you know, like just people are always asking you here in the call center, like, where should they stay when they go to the DR?

And I always knew because every vacation I will pick a different resort and I would just go.

Like, that was just what I loved.

And then I that was a Saturday, I'll never forget.

We were working over time.

That was a Saturday, and it just it just piqued my interest.

Kevin, I spent the next two months researching how to become a damn travel agent in America.

And literally, I eventually started to like find out, you know, then at the time, that's when like host agencies were becoming a thing where they were making it a little easier for you to start as an agent.

And I literally two months, I was like, I'm not paying my money for like just anybody.

So I did my research, reached out to a couple of people.

Facebook groups were not as big and as they are accessible as they are today, but I reached out to a couple of people and you know, got good reviews and whatnot.

And that's how I signed up with that host agency at the time and had an amazing relationship for a decade, like zero regrets, got me started.

Like I ended up working for them down the road, you know, mentoring some agents.

And literally, literally, that's like how it all started.

It was just like a conversation at the call center.

And then to tie in on how I started with destination weddings, it was like by mistake.

I did not even know, you know, what destination wedding was when I started as a travel agent.

But a year later, I opened my agency trying to plan a group trip to my country.

Like I wanted to show people Punta Cana, like, come with me, this is what I know.

We'll choose a hotel, whatever, whatever.

So I took like 16 people with me on that trip in 2010, I want to say.

And two of my friends that went to that group, they fell in love with Punta Cana.

And they're like, We want to get married here next year.

And I was like, What?

And like, sure.

And I literally planned a wedding clueless, zero systems, worked harder than I work hard now for 10, you know, for 10 different weddings because I just didn't know, right?

And there was not a good training at the time.

So I was kind of like thrown into it.

And after that, I was like, this is really cool.

You mean 70 people can go on this one trip, and then the pictures were stunning, and they just wouldn't shut up about their amazing experience.

And I was like, I like this.

And then it took me like two more years to like really seek out a little bit of training and and like try to like learn it, and and like, okay, now I specialize in this thing.

And then it just became like I freaking love this.

It's like literally the best of both worlds.

Like, I love weddings and I love travel.

Like, hello, destination weddings.

That's what started me was that one group and that feedback.

And then after that, I just you know did the work and showed up every day and tell everybody and their mama like I plan beach weddings, and and that's what all I do today.

SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.

I love it.

Absolutely love your entire story.

That's so awesome.

Oh my gosh.

Very cool.

Well, I think one of the last things I wanted to ask you before we talk about how people get in touch with you is if there's a couple listening today and they're like, you know what, we want to do a destination wedding, do you have any advice to them where to even get started?

SPEAKER_00: This may sound biased, but I promise it's not.

If you are considering a destination wedding, your very first stop should be to find a destination wedding agent, so a travel agent that specializes in groups and destination weddings, like myself.

And I'm not saying that it doesn't have to be me.

They don't have to be local either.

I have clients nationwide.

Technology is amazing these days.

We have been doing consultations on Zoom, like that free planning session that I talked about way before Zoom was popular.

I used to do them in Skype back in the days.

I used to do them in FaceTime.

But like, make that a commitment to yourself that you're gonna take that one hour to meet with an expert and you're gonna just share with them your hopes, dreams, and you know, wish list, and most importantly, your budget, right?

And let them help you narrow down and educate you a little bit about the process.

When you skip that part, what happens is that you end up going directly to hotels, and now you have actually seen this exact comment.

You end up going to a resort or to you know 27 different resorts and emailing all of them.

And the first thing that happens is that they bombard you with like 47 pages PDF for every single one of them, and now you have no freaking idea, right?

Resorts are amazing, but the truth is that they're not all creator equal.

There's something for everyone out there, and also sometimes you fall in love with a hotel that is just not for you, not because of you, because of your guest.

We just had a couple like this, they're friends of mine, actually, and we started working together, and you know, they had fallen in love with this particular hotel in Costa Rica, and it was beautiful.

But when I started doing the research, it was first of all, isn't it was not all inclusive.

So it was like$650 a night for their guests, which was definitely not what they wanted their guests to pay.

And they were super difficult to work with, right?

At the end of the day, your agent is gonna become an essential part of your team, and our goal is to guide you to the best resort for you to keep in budget, but also for the resort where your guests are gonna have the best likelihood of attending because they can't afford it.

And listen, not everyone is gonna come to your destination wedding, and that's okay.

But until you understand like how it works, right?

People, for example, that would think, you know, like, oh, I need to stay under this amount of money for seven nights.

Most people don't go to your wedding for seven nights.

So why stress about that?

Let's let's talk about the nightly rate, right?

And as I mentioned before, sometimes you fall in love with a resort that is the furthest away or the most expensive plane ticket for your guests to get there, which means it's just, you know, cost prohibitive for them.

So if it's an elopement and it's just the two of you, fine.

You can probably do that on your own.

We do those, but again, like I get it.

Some people like to plan their own thing.

But I say the first stop, it's you want to talk to someone that is gonna simplify this process for you and that is gonna explain and it's gonna answer to you based on your needs.

What is it that you need, right?

What is it that you have in mind and when do you want to do this?

Even though timeline sometimes is it's hard to like just read a blog about it because you can plan a destination weddings in four months.

I've done it, but if your guests are not on board, we need a year or we need 18 months, right?

So your first stop, I don't care where you are in the world, is to find someone that specializes in this and be able to and be able to have that one conversation and see if this is something that is doable for you.

Otherwise, you're gonna spin your wheels for the next three months, give up on it, get super overwhelmed.

So consultations are free.

Talk to someone.

It doesn't matter if you don't know when you want to have the wedding, it doesn't matter if you're not sure where, it doesn't matter like if you're not ready to start planning just yet, right?

I say if you're planning a destination wedding within the next 24 months, right?

You are probably a good candidate to make an appointment and talk to a destination wedding expert.

And if that's me, you can find me at willmedinaevents.com or on Instagram, destination weddings expert.

And you can daydream before you're ready to talk to me, right?

Just go follow me.

I travel the world finding the best places for my couple.

So go follow me, look at my stories, look at my real like testimonials from people, look at the pictures, and daydream.

And then when you're ready, again, just to schedule your free planning session, there's links there that you'll be gonna be able to get on my calendar and book an appointment.

So we can just grab a glass of wine virtually and talk about your dreams.

SPEAKER_01: Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

Well, and you know, and I just want to add to that real quick is I feel like I don't care what trip you're thinking about doing, whether it's a destination wedding, a honeymoon, a weekend getaway.

I'm telling you, I always say, as our job as travel advisors, is our job is to simplify every other step of the process.

Yes.

You know, and so that's what I absolutely loved your answered answer to that question, because I do think it literally our job is to be your assistant, as your personal travel assistant to help you with everything.

And I mean, I just think the way you explained that was perfect.

SPEAKER_00: And you know what, Kevin?

You're absolutely right, like any kind of trip.

But here's one thing that I've noticed over the years that I educate people a lot when we start working together.

People think that hiring someone to plan their travel andor their group travel and/or their destination wedding, they feel like they're gonna give up control and they're just gonna be pushed to, you know, X, Y, Z.

And I'm gonna speak for us, right?

Like people have different business models, which is why you want to interview people and actually get a feel for who they are and what they do and how they do it, right?

But the biggest piece of advice that I can know, or the biggest piece of like uh the biggest tip that I can give to anyone is that think about your travel agent as someone that you're going to collaborate with.

I don't believe in giving up control.

In fact, I make sure that every step of my process, we do it together, right?

Like you're not giving up control.

I'm not choosing a country for you, I'm not choosing a hotel for you, I'm not unless you're that person.

You're like, I'm super indecisive.

I'm we're down to these two, to these, you know, two or three.

Which one would you pick?

I'll tell you my opinion, right?

But I'm gonna help you.

Like, we're gonna collaborate through this planning process as a team.

It's not about giving up control and like, oh, letting someone do it, because that's just not how it works.

So, and I believe this will be true for honeymoons, destination weddings, like any type of like travel, as you were saying.

It's kind of like your personal assistant, right?

Just, hey, these are the things that I want.

And hey, some people even come to me already with a hotel chosen, like they already have the wedding date deposited, but they want help with like everything else.

Help me understand these packages, help me book my guests, like help me, you know, keep my sanity essentially.

So take that away with you if you're listening and this is something that you've you're like, well, but I'd like to plan my own thing, it's a collaboration.

So you can plan as much as you want with me because I'm gonna let you.

SPEAKER_01: And to be quite honest, if you're seeing a travel agent that you're visiting that is not treating you like that, treating you as co-working together as your guide, if they are doing anything other than that, do yourself a favor and go find a different travel agent because it's not their vacation, it's not their destination wedding, it's yours.

We are merely here to guide you, to help you choosing the best options, making it all come together so that at the end of the day, it's exactly what you want.

SPEAKER_00: 1000%.

SPEAKER_01: Perfect.

Will, it has been an absolute pleasure.

SPEAKER_00: Likewise, I had a blast.

Thank you so much for having me.

I love talking about these things like day in and day.

I mean, it's what I do every day, anyways, but I love any opportunity to just blab about destination weddings and help couples simplify it and make it attainable, you know.

There's so many moving pieces, and it can feel so intimidating and it can feel so expensive and out of reach and celebrity-like.

And it is not like that whatsoever.

So the more people I can convince to have the wedding of their dreams instead of what they think they could afford at home or instead of what somebody in their family wanted just to drive them crazy and invite, you know, uh everybody that that ever worked with their mom before they retire.

I'm here to talk to you and help you understand how you can make that shift and just, you know, say yes to a beach wedding.

SPEAKER_01: I think that's a beautiful ending to this conversation.

Just say yes to a beach wedding.

Yes.

Thank you, Will.

SPEAKER_00: Thank you.

Take care, Kevin.

SPEAKER_01: Hey guys, this is Kevin.

I just wanted to pop in real quick.

Oh my gosh, is Will not amazing or what?

And I don't know about you, but if you're not saying yes to a beach wedding, well, then you definitely did not just listen to what I did.

Because, wow, it's definitely uh has me excited for for you listening.

I hope you got a lot out of today's episode.

Again, Will's contact information, along with my own contact information, as always, is in the show notes.

Plus, I have even written a blog on the topic of if you should choose a destination wedding.

So check that out also, as I will link that in the show notes as well.

And other than that, well, I guess in the words of Will, say yes to a beach wedding.

SPEAKER_02: And that's the lowdown on life and travel.

If you enjoyed today's episode, please leave a review.

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