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| Photo courtesy of dir.coolslips.com About a year and a half ago, I had a very busy 24 hour period rescheduling destination wedding guests. Yes, it took me a total of 24 hours nonstop to rebook seven guests travelling to a destination wedding in Jamaica! Thanks to a fog in St. Johns, Newfoundland, we had seven destination wedding guests have their St. Johns leg cancelled departing from St. John's via Toronto on their way to Montego Bay, Jamaica. Adding to the problem was that the Juno Awards were being held in St Johns the same weekend, which resulted in most flights flying to the mainland being oversold. To complicate the situation further, Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull Volcano erupted causing major disruptions to flights in Europe. Travel websites and call centers througout the Western Hemisphere were jammed causing a two to three hour wait time to get through on the phone lines to rebook passengers. The stressed bride was so upset that her immediate family may not be at her wedding that she couldn't stop crying! I was able to get three of the guests on a flight to Jamaica the next day. However, one family of four did not answer their phone at 3:30 am, and missed the next flight that I was able to book for them. In the end, they missed two days of their seven day vacation but got to Jamaica a day before the wedding. What a nightmare! |
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| The happy wedding guests at the Gran Bahia Principe in Jamaica. |
So many of us take for granted that there will be no problems when we book our flights. Some feel that travel insurance is too expensive! Perhaps you should think again! Here are some ways that might save you a lot of frustration and money in the long run. Do you make enough money at you job that you can afford to lose a week or even two week’s pay?
When planning a destination wedding, realize that the unexpected can happen. The travel chaos caused by unexpected, natural events such as Japan's tsunami or Iceland's volcano, or for health reasons such as Mexico's H1N1, show why booking with a travel agent is the best way to book the travel for your destination wedding guests. Thousands of people were stuck in situations like this when they didn't want to be, struggling to sort out their plans, and trying to rearrange flights for their trip. Those with a travel agent were able to make one phone call and have their agent sort out everything for them. Those who booked on line had to struggle to rearrange their plans themselves and wished that someone else was taking the six to twelve hours plus on the internet or the phone to do it for them.
Here are a few ways that you can deal with the unexpected crisis or travel complications regarding your destination wedding:
First, be sure to allow enough time to make your connecting travel arrangements. In most cases, you should allow two hours between flight connections to be safe. If you are connecting with an early morning flight or cruise, you may want to arrive a day early just in case there is a problem with the weather or your plane has to be cancelled due to mechanical problems or late arrival. It might cost a bit more to stay in a hotel over night but you can save yourself from a lot of stress.
Second, plan you wedding later on in the week so that wedding guests who have delays will still have time to get to the wedding. Many countries have a residency requirement so, as the bride and groom, make sure that you leave yourself enough time to get to your destination.
Third, the unexpected does happen and be ready for it! Try to remain calm even though you are worried and upset. If you are having a destination wedding, you already know that you need to be flexible and that there are many things regarding the destination wedding which you have no control over. You can’t stop the plane’s mechanical problems, the bankruptcies, the natural disasters, such as hurricanes, volcanoes, landslides, or even the weather. If your guests are going to be a day late for your destination wedding week, don’t let it upset your whole week. Don’t let the little things get in your way. Relish every single moment up to your wedding date and “don’t sweat the small stuff”.
Also, be sure to purchase cancellation insurance so that if there are problems, you can get some of your money back. The couples that I was talking about in the above scenario fortunately had purchased cancellation insurance so they were able to get compensation for the days they missed out of their seven night vacation package.
Finally, use a travel agent who can be your human contact on the other end of the phone when things do not go as planned. Give your agent a phone number where you can be reached 24 hours a day and keep that phone turned on day and night! If you book online, there is no one you can contact. We, as travel agents, know what to do regarding travel arrangements and can contact the wedding planner at the resort to solve the problem. Remember, all you have to do is make that one call to your destination wedding agent and we will handle the rest.
Muriel’s Destination Wedding Advice
If you are planning a destination wedding in the near future, book through a destination wedding consultant. Yes, H1N1, bad weather, or some other crisis are probably not going to affect your travel plans, but what happens if they do? Are you prepared to spend hours on the phone trying to rebook your travel? You have enough to worry about with your upcoming wedding in a distant location . Have the peace of mind that someone else will deal with the travel chaos in case there is a problem. Happy travels!
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