Honeymoons & Weddings: 20 ways to please the lovers

Picture: Image Bank

It's not every day that clients entrust you with perhaps the most important event of their lives, but when they do it’s essential agents get it right. When booking a wedding and honeymoon, agents can find themselves travel organiser, surrogate mother and best friend all at once.

Travel Weekly spoke to some of the trade’s wedding experts to ensure your booking goes without a hitch.

1. Congratulate the couple. “It establishes a rapport and bond,” said Journeys à la Carte managing director Margaret May. Other touches the Uttoxeter agency adds include opening a bottle of wine for a celebratory drink once the booking has been made. “A congratulatory card is sent out with travel documentation and the date of the wedding always goes in next year’s diary for a follow-up anniversary card.”
   
   
2. Ask why they are getting married abroad. It may be the couple met there, have been married before, or one of them comes from the destination and the local family is planning to attend. Kuoni special services manager Phil Boswell said: “This gives agents a better understanding of their requirements and shows the agent is interested.” 
   
   
3. Make a list of requirements, including budget, type of wedding, destination and what the couple like doing on holiday. They may want a private ceremony with just the two of them, or they may want to bring along dozens of friends and family and need kids’ clubs. “You’ll need to bring in all your diplomacy skills,” said Journeys à la Carte’s May.
   
   
4. If a couple is travelling out with friends and family, it could be an opportunity to earn extra commission by managing the whole booking. Clients could benefit from better co-ordination and more peace of mind if the group is organised together. “It is a concern when a big party is involved but are not booked together and we have not been told,” said Virgin Holidays weddings supervisor Wendy Mitchell.
   
   
5. Research the destinations. “Never assume that people want beach destinations. Some couples want to get married in Lapland or Venice,” said Journeys à la Carte’s May. Thomas Cook specialist wedding agent Sharon Antill said there is a surprising variety of destinations on offer to couples wanting to get married, not just the obvious ones such as those in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean.
   
   
6. Check what type of wedding or ceremony is on offer at the destination. There is a great deal of variation in the ease of getting married abroad, depending on the chosen location. Therefore, in the case of certain places, it might be worth recommending a blessing rather than a wedding. Tropical Locations managing director David Kevan said: “For example, in certain countries, getting married can be complicated compared with a destination such as the Seychelles. For instance, in Thailand couples can get bogged down in red tape, which isn’t the best start to a honeymoon. We would suggest they get married elsewhere and just have a blessing in Thailand.”
   
   
7. Establish whether they want a civil or religious ceremony. Certain destinations have restrictions on religious weddings or only allow civil ceremonies. For an Anglican wedding in Cyprus, for example, at least one of the partners must have been baptised. In some destinations, couples requiring particular weddings might need to get a local priest to fill out forms. “Agents must point out specific conditions,” said Olympic Holidays weddings co-ordinator Fanoulla Spyrou.
   
   
8. Check that the necessary legal formalities are feasible for the chosen wedding. For example, if one of the couple is divorced, divorce papers may need to be translated and authenticated. Documents such as birth certificates, certificates of non-impediment and affidavits may be required to get married abroad. Virgin Holidays’ Mitchell said clients should be warned of these extra costs at the time of booking. Couples usually need to spend a residency period of a few days in each destination before they can get married.
   
   
9. Don’t stick to the basic wedding package. Extras don’t just have to run to a photographer or champagne breakfast – clients could require a full-blown reception party. Thomas Cook’s Antill said: “We’re currently organising a barbecue reception for a wedding in Antigua.”
   
   
10. Is the booking a surprise? If so, make sure nothing is sent to the unsuspecting party’s home address and they are not called at home, just in case they find out. Kuoni’s Boswell advises only taking the client’s work phone number and address. “With one couple the groom booked a holiday to Africa and I had to liaise with the bride’s best friend to ensure she packed all the right clothes,” said Journeys à la Carte’s May.
    
    
11. Clarify what name the bride will be travelling under. The bride may have a romantic notion of seeing her married name for the first time on her travel documents, but this is likely to clash with the name on her passport. “Changing names could be another hassle the couple could do without before the wedding,” added Journeys à la Carte’s May.
    
    
12. Advise clients to book early, especially if they have a specific date or destination in mind. “Clients should have a first and second choice of date, otherwise it can drag out the process with more liaising if the first date isn’t available,” said Virgin Holidays’ Mitchell.
    
    
13. Give clients dress advice. “If they’re getting married in the tropics, make sure the bride’s not planning to wear a big, heavy dress. Advise something simple in a cool fabric,” said Kuoni’s Boswell. “The couple won’t want to be hot, red and blotchy in their wedding pictures.” Likewise, advise the bride to have the dress professionally packed at the shop it’s bought from and phone the airline to check whether it can provide any special access, such as a place to hang the dress.
    
    
14. Check the best time of day to get married. In the Indian Ocean or Caribbean it will be too hot for the couple to get married at midday. “In a hot climate we always recommend a 4.30pm wedding,” said Virgin Holidays’ Mitchell.
    
    
15. Advise clients to arrange vaccinations early. “The bride won’t want a swollen arm on her wedding day because of a yellow fever injection,” said Journeys à la Carte’s May.
    
    
16. Suggest the couple book someone to video the wedding for friends and family who can’t attend. Resorts such as Amaryllis Beach Resort in Barbados offer live webcam broadcasts of the ceremony. “It’s a good way of appeasing friends and family who can’t go,” said Kuoni’s Boswell.
    
    
17. Tell the couple to befriend the local wedding co-ordinator at the destination. “The co-ordinator will go out of their way to help them. Clients should think of them as a surrogate mother,” said Kuoni’s Boswell.
    
    
18. Check clients have the right insurance. Europ Assistance deputy director of travel and leisure Fiona McDonald said: “A standard policy is unlikely to give enough cover to replace a lost or delayed wedding dress. Encourage customers to buy a wedding insurance upgrade that provides cover for lost or delayed baggage, lost wedding rings or damaged photos.”
    
    
19. Be prepared for a lenthy process in booking arrangements. “People tend not to walk in and book there and then; it takes time to plan,” said Thomas Cook’s Antill.
    
    
20. Pick a trusted operator – you’ll need all the support and expertise you can get.~
    
    
    
    

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