Best Tas In Toronto (Ontario)

[Ruzanna]

Hi Ladies!

So I've researched some resorts myself, but I feel that a good TA could definitely help. I'm looking at Riviera Maya Resorts in Mexico.

Do you know anyone good or how to find a good TA in Toronto?

 

Thank you!

[snswedding2016]

I highly recommend my TA! I LOVE her - honestly this was the best decision I have made during our wedding process!! 

 

I randomly came across this DW event in Toronto that they were hosting and thought I would drop by. I wanted to know more about the Barcelo properties and they were being featured at the event. I started chatting with one TA and then Karen (my TA) who also runs the company came over and we started chatting. She wanted to know about me and my fiancé, the vision of our wedding and within minutes she was coming up with great ideas outside of the box to make my dream wedding come true and stay within my budget. 

 

Choosing her was a big decision for me and not because I wasn't sure about her. It was because my mom had a travel voucher of $3000 that she was going to give me as a gift for the wedding but I had to use a specific Travel Agency. I spoke to this place before going to the above mentioned event and was slightly underwhelmed with the service. She seemed a little slow to get answers from and while she had done a lot weddings, that travel agency doesn't specialize in weddings but more so general travel. After meeting Karen I really wanted to go with her but that meant giving up $3000 off of our wedding. Trust me it was really hard to walk away from after only meeting and talking to Karen for a short period of time but my gut instincts were telling me she was the way to go and I don't regret my decision at all! It was the best thing I could have done.

 

She really worked with me to figure out what my needs were, where I wanted to spend money on and where I didn't. She made several different budgets for me for the resort I initially was interested which ultimately didn't work and wasn't the right fit. She then brought several resorts to the table that I hadn't originally known about and presented me a way to have my dream wedding within my budget. It was amazing and she also got us a great rate. Communication is awesome - she is very quick on email and very reachable by phone. I booked my wedding within two weeks of meeting her and leading up to that we were on the phone daily (sometime multiple times a day). 

 

Most of all it feels like working with a friend. I really feel that she has my best interest at heart and I completely trust her. I think that is what we all look for in a TA. 

 

Her name is Karen and the company is myweddingaway.com, you can find them on Facebook as well. 

 

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about working with her - I'm more than happy to help!

[Moments That Matter]

Welcome to the boards, Ruzanna and Congrats on your upcoming Mayan Riviera destination wedding!!!

 

Great job on choosing our magnificent Mayan Riviera - it's a super popular destination choice for so many wedding couples, there have to be some great reasons! Here are a few to show you what I am talking about (a picture is worth a thousand words after all

 

...taken from the Grand Palladium Colonial Wedding Album:

 

 

 

...or these from a Jungle Trash the Dress Session:

 

 

Wishing you happy research, and that your find the perfect TA in TO for you!!! cheers! team MTM

Edited May 14, 2015 by Moments That Matter

[Ruzanna]

@@snswedding2016 thank you! I will be contacting her! Let me PM you for some info

[krystalball]

@@Ruzanna While I'm sure Karen will do an awesome job for you, I would make sure to get quotes from other TAs as well in order to test the market and make sure you're getting the best price for you and your guests. You can use other quotes to get the TA you want to work with to price match (so you get the service you want and the best pricing).

 

Karen was the first TA I contacted when I started looking for pricing and she was lovely and gave me some good insights on locations I might like, but in the end the pricing for resorts seemed soooo much higher than I thought it should be. I got a referral for another TA from a friend at work and her quotes for the same resorts were almost $200 cheaper. 

 

Even though I love my TA and she has worked like a dog for me (emails returned within the hour, she even did deposits for guests over the long weekend), I still got my MIL to ask her TA she uses for regular travel to get a quote once we had settled on a location and date. That quote was $20 less, but I just got my TA to price match since she's great to work with.

 

Sorry for the long essay here, lol. I just found this whole TA business and the lack of transparency in the markup of the rates from the airlines to be frustrating and stressful. I would be happy to share my TA's info if you want it, if even just to price match if you hit it off with Karen 

[ChocolateBride]

snswedding2016 I feel like you're experience is mine minus the fact you located another TA. I went to a Wedding Destination Event in Brampton and I met two TAs. The first one I felt a great connection with her because she seemed to know the exact type of questions to ask me. I felt like she sincerely understood me and wanted to learn more. Then I entered a drawing where I may have won 3600$ credits, I say "may" cause she needed to verify if I qualified for it since my wedding isn't until 2017. Well this TA mainly focuses romantic getaways and not weddings. And she's very busy so she really isn't "after me" like the first TA was. You know what I mean? She didn't ask me all the pertinent questions yet. She's very professional and friendly and she seems to love her work, which is what I like about her, she's passionate, but I don't think she's passionate the way I would want my wedding coordinator/TA should be. Am I crazy? I mean it's 3600$! I initially fell in love with Beach Palace but changed my mind because of the resort credits but HRRM isn't as alluring to me as BP. I'm torn and confused! My gut is telling me one thing but my budget and fiancé is telling me something completely different! Lol

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ruzanna]

@@Ruzanna While I'm sure Karen will do an awesome job for you, I would make sure to get quotes from other TAs as well in order to test the market and make sure you're getting the best price for you and your guests. You can use other quotes to get the TA you want to work with to price match (so you get the service you want and the best pricing).

 

Karen was the first TA I contacted when I started looking for pricing and she was lovely and gave me some good insights on locations I might like, but in the end the pricing for resorts seemed soooo much higher than I thought it should be. I got a referral for another TA from a friend at work and her quotes for the same resorts were almost $200 cheaper. 

 

Even though I love my TA and she has worked like a dog for me (emails returned within the hour, she even did deposits for guests over the long weekend), I still got my MIL to ask her TA she uses for regular travel to get a quote once we had settled on a location and date. That quote was $20 less, but I just got my TA to price match since she's great to work with.

 

Sorry for the long essay here, lol. I just found this whole TA business and the lack of transparency in the markup of the rates from the airlines to be frustrating and stressful. I would be happy to share my TA's info if you want it, if even just to price match if you hit it off with Karen 

 Thank you @krystalball . I will PM you for the TA's info. Also I noticed that you booked Grand Sirenis! We are thinking about GS too! which package did you get?

[krystalball]

@@Ruzanna I would love to see another GS bride from Toronto! When are you thinking of having your wedding?

 

We are just going to use the free (silver) package and upgrade from there. We're going to have the ceremony in the palapa by the beach and I can't wait!

 

If you haven't already, check out calgarybride's planning thread, her review and pictures of the wedding were what sold it for me.

[snswedding2016]

@@ChocolateBride are you entitled to use the credits for another vacation like maybe your honeymoon? I totally know what you mean…the connection with your TA is so important. 

 

@@krystalball @@Ruzanna I agree - definitely do your research and get quotes. While my search happened very quickly, I did get a couple of quotes and ultimately for the our top resort picks Karen was able to get me the best quotes overall. Our price quote still beats out anything that other guests have found (we booked in Nov) - so I'm really happy about that! This maybe had to do with where we booked as I know Karen works a lot with the Karisma brand and is a GIWC.

 

I think the relationship you have with your Travel Agent is so important as you'll be doing the most communicating with them and your resort throughout your planning so you want to be confident and trust what they can do. Do your research, get quotes and see how you get along …hopefully all things line up and you find the right TA for you! Happy planning!!

Edited May 20, 2015 by snswedding2016

[Ruzanna]

@@snswedding2016  @@krystalball thank you for info!!!

 

Krystal Most likely we'll have the wedding September 2016. I've been to GS before and loved it! @calgarybride gave an amazing review and when i saw the palapas for the reception, it just gave me chills LOL 

I love their Presidential package, it's expensive but it covers everything we need! We love the 4 hours private dinner at the beach (which i'm sure can be changed to the palapas), 4hr DJ and 10 passes to the spas which will be used for our bridal party and parents. 

My only problem is that it's for maximum 10 people. I'm not sure how much will it be for more people (we're expecting to have 30-40). Any info would be much appreciated!