Planning

There is some big news I'd like to share with you.  I hope most of you already know but for all those who don't, here it is.  Sean and I got engaged! We're so excited.

The goal is to host the wedding in the Caribbean next Summer and since the engagement I've been furiously emailing potential venues with requests for information.  There are a few challenges we're facing.  The first is clear - it's a destination wedding.  I am trying to plan an event that will take place many months in the future in a place I've never been to and probably won't get to visit until shortly before the wedding itself.  It's subject to all the usual issues that any other destination bride has to work with.  I need to depend on many different sources to get a feel for a location.  I can't take the resort's website at its word because everyone has one horror story about a destination not living up to expectations set by photos taken to show only the best possible angle.  Luckily with the recent rise in social media, getting a range of opinions is easier than ever.  And as long as I'm prepared to put in the time to investigate thoroughly and vary my sources I should be OK.

But there's another destination angle on all of this planning.  I also live very far away from most of the people that are interested in participating in the planning and want to be kept up to date with the latest findings and decisions.  I come from a family of planners all of whom are dying to help and share the fun of soliciting information, comparing options and making decisions.  While gathering all of this information about the destination (that I haven't even narrowed down further than "The Caribbean"), how do I share it with them?

Well, I'm going to try here.  At least to the extent that I can.  Here's a start.  As mentioned previously on this blog I'm a book buyer, a manual reader, a believer in the wisdom of others and not reinventing the wheel.  So what do you think is the first thing I did as soon as I said, "Yes!" and called home?  Of course I went to the bookstore.  Given that this is the biggest event in my life to date I gave myself free reign to buy as many books as I wanted, promising to donate them all to charity when I don't need them any more.  So here's the book list so far:

Frommer's Caribbean 2011
Destination Weddings for Dummies
Antigua and Barbuda: Island Guide
Your Wedding, Your Way
Explore the Virgin Islands
Destination Weddings and Dream Honeymoons Magazine

Frommer's Caribbean 2011 is fantastic for giving a brief run down on each island, providing an overall feel for the place.  It covers Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, The British Virgin Islands, The Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, The Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Saba, St. Barthelemy, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos and The US Virgin Islands.  Phew!  Who knew there was so much choice? 

In the past 3 weeks I have emailed more than 40 resorts on many of these islands and right now I'm sorting through replies and trying to add up the different costs based on what they have quoted me.  Many hotels send detailed outlines of all the possible costs and options but with "All items are subject to 18% service charge" and "There will be a surcharge for each additional item over those quoted," sprinkled liberally throughout it is nearly impossible to know what the final tally will be.

I am slowly finding myself attracted to one island more than the others and have just sent another 10 emails to all the hotels I can find on that island to make sure I really understand my options.  But I'm not telling you which island yet.  I want to reserve the right to change my mind and that's harder to do when you've written it down and published it on the Internet.

Watch this space.