Clueless Canadian Bride

[Sara1603]

Congratulations. I booked through Sunwing and they provided 5 hours with a wedding planner

[SuchALady777]

I'm sure it'll be great!

[calgarybride2015]

I found a travel agent thru a friend here in Calgary, AB.  She is not local, but she has done alot of leg work for us.

 

I think a travel agent is your best start -- she can guide you in a good direction on what to look for with resorts, prices, departures, airlines, etc.  Mine also did the initial leg work with the resort on their packages, then once I was ready to book I started contacting them myself.

 

The hardest part is finding a resort you love that has a good price point for your guests.  It left my head spinning, but thankfully my travel agent did alot of quotes and helped steer me in the right direction of resorts she knew would come back in my price point. 

 

I've had a couple glitches -- we booked 9 months in advance and the airlines schedule changed so we have had to make some adjustments but I hear that is very common and can be par for the course when you book so far in advance.    I had pricing done a year in advance, so if someone tells you they can't, they can!!

 

I am not sure how it works with USA and CDN guests, but I know in Canada they can make you several gateways as a part of your package - I have Calgary and Toronto.

 

Good luck!

Welcome!! A few of us Canadian girls have been THRILLED with the service level and help that our TA laurielee rosser (laurielee.ca) has been. She has amazing relationships with both the resorts themselves as well as the tour operators that handle AI travel in Canada. She managed to get me amazing pricing nearly 2 yrs out while other Ta's were saying pricing wasn't available yet... All due to her relationships. I strongly reccomend calling or emailing her and asking her for help. She specializes in destination weddings and has been a God send! She set up pricing for my Canadian guests as well as several family members located from Hawaii, Korea and Texas!


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If I would have seen this post 4 months ago I would have called her. I had a heck of a time finding a TA -- noone at Flight Centre would ever get back to me, so I ended up using my friend's friend who is a TA but is in BC!!!!

[TinkerSofi]

I did ask about Wright doing arrangements for canadians and I was told that they can, but don't have the same access to the charter companies the way they do for the resorts through the US. Generally canadians go on all inclusive packages, which are much less common in the US. They're becoming much more popular from what I can see, but years ago my husband and I couldn't believe the number of US travellers that weren't on all inclusives.

 

There are different TAs that I've seen recommended here. The one that @@kmk2016 mentioned seems to be catching on for a few people so I think worth a look. There are others that have had success with other agents so it seems to be a matter of preference. I used Marlin Travel when I got married but am doing preliminary info through Tripcentral.

 

I would suggest talking to a couple of them and see what kind of vibe you get and what works for you. Good luck!

I agree! We're using LaurieLee as well and when we met with her we didn't have to shop around. We just got a really good vibe from her. Just meet up with a few people and see what happens!

 

 

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[AGM13]

Hey everyone! Just thought I should update,

 

I decided on going local and i'm doing everything through a Marlin Travel TA. Her name is Petra Buding and she has been amazing.

 

We decided on the Grand Bahia Principe Akumal. Just waiting for the contract to go through and then i'm paying my deposit. After a slow and confusing start things finally seem to be moving! The hardest part is starting, I basically talked to about 4 different TA's  from various companies. Petra was the most attentive and quickest to respond so we went with her.

 

I noticed some of you posted about having guests come in from the US. What our TA is doing is giving us land only rates for everyone coming from outside Canada. Land only includes hotel (all inclusive) and transfers. It would be up to our guests to find flights. It's not a perfect solution but a good alternative.

 

Happy planing fellow Canadian brides!

[MJTK]

That's the hard part finding where you want the wedding..now that you have done that you can focus on all the extras. ..happy planning

[Smellsey]

I am using a lady from Algonquin Travel Plus here in Winnipeg and I absolutely loved her! She is so experienced

[tehopper]

Brand new as well! I feel like I'm kind of in the same boat! Newly engaged and I know I want a destination wedding. I'm thinking Mexico possibly November 2015, but I have really have nothing past that. I'm not even 100% set on country yet. But we do want all inclusive. I'm from Canada as well (Regina, SK) and unfortunately we don't have as much access to companies as the larger cities, but there are travel agents.

 

I really need advice! Would people recommend talking with a travel agent first about possible packages and then deciding on a resort from there? Or the opposite, pick my resort and sort out travel later. I'm a little worried since all inclusive travel companies from Regina are limited (Westjet, Sunwing). I will also have guests from various Canadian cities and I'm not sure if I can get a group package if people come from different locations.

 

Any advice or input is greatly appreciated!

[kmk2016]

Talk to a TA that specializes in destination weddings. Ask them for their recommended options based on what you are wanting- and then research their suggestions and choose the one that fits your needs the best! You are in a great place here... And will get lots of support and answers once you narrow things down!

 

Congrats!

[MJTK]

@@tehopper yes go to a TA first..they will often give you some ideas at what resorts from their experiences are good. Mine gave me books to look at and recommended 3 resorts within the area we were interested in. We wanted the Mayan Riviera because it's the carribean side of Mexico and it's our favorite area. So I guess it was easier for her to select 3 because we had kind of narrowed down a little. But that's what the TA can do for you as well..discuss what your looking for with her and she will be able to guide you in the right direction. We came home and Google the resorts and we were able to make decision.

Yes you still get the group rate if there's different departure places even in different provinces. Our TA was able to give us the deal through sunwing for every 10 ppl that book the 11th person was free. We have some guests who chose to book themselves because e they are partial to westjet so we didn't get them in on our seats but I never told anyone about our deal and didn't pressure them to book with us..I was just happy they are coming no matter who they book with. We earned 2 seats free