Finally hit the wall (sorry! a little long)

keep in mind that while you gave your guests a good deal, a TA would charge a service fee, so think of that as the paypal fee. I would tell your guests that they will need to add a certain amount (by the way on $60 it only took $1.50 from us-we did this when our guests paid us for the wine tour we did)

PM me if you need more info (my hubby is a paypal expert)

I also think it might take less of a % if you are a preferred paypal person.

I really do appreciate all of the input from you ladies on this. I guess I just have to do more research to find out what the best option is going to be.

The reason I don't have a travel agent is because my FI started his own travel business at the same time we got engaged (YTB or Your Travel Business). He really wanted to act as the TA for our wedding so we could get commissions on the group booking for the resort.

Initially, this was a HUGE fight for us because he knew NOTHING about being a travel consultant, the business was new and I didn't want him "learning" on our wedding! At the same time, I was having all this trouble with destinationweddings and was having to negotiate with the resort myself. After a while, I thought about it and figured that for that part, I'd already done everything a travel agent would have done with the contract negotiation, etc. so it started to look attractive to me for us to receive a commission on the wedding booking too. That's the only reason I did it.

I figured that the paypal buttons would make payments easier, but I didn't consider the fees. I think I will take a few days to explore my options because as time ticks closer, I'm already feeling overwhelmed with both work and planning this wedding and I know that I'm going to be CRAZY by February!

I would love to just be able to pass all this sh** off on someone else and be a carefree bride!

That's ironic...I was just referred to someone with Your Travel Agent. It wasn't very personable - the agent told me to go to him site and put in my info and make my reservation. I found it quite confusing because I don't want the basic packages, I need adjoining rooms, discounts for minors and to be able to get all of the early booking discounts which are out there which some of the other TA's are offering

I have finally decided to find a good TA and hand all of the responsibilities over to them.

Good luck and let me know what you decide to do!

Thanks Mo. I think I will.

The funny thing about trying to support FI in his business endeavor is that while he's very business minded, he's not "business literate" (probably not even a word! LOL!!) I'm trying to say that he is not very computer literate (and his business is web-based...)

He wants to be in charge of collecting the money, et al but do you think I trust him to maintain spreadsheets and detailed information on our guests, etc. That would be BIG NO!! This is the man who didn't know the difference between a MS Word document and the internet.

I guess I just have to find a way around this problem. I do realize that it's quite a lot to take on as the bride. (What was I thinking?!?!?!) I didn't think that a TA wouldn't be interested in helping me without the promise of a commission. I guess I just have to check around and see what's feasible.

Another thought might be to contact Tammy, the host of our forum. She has her own business and specializes in DW's. She is a lovely person and would never ask anyone to "book it yourself"! You can PM her with the name "host".

If nothing else, she can advise you of what to do!