Inspiration – Where do you draw it from?

Written By: Jaime Valdes-Riench, owner of Travel & Events with Style
(photo credits: child's eye - With Style Designs; stock photos: fotolia)

Over the past few months our two companies have been equally busy with planning weddings and events and doing a lot of wedding invitations, graphic design work and photography. One of the mutual traits both have in common is that we must find inspiration to be able to do all tasks successfully and in a timely manor.

This brought me to think about how people get inspired in general. After talking to colleagues and clients, the more I hear, is it usually is by something influential such as a current media outlet or something peaceful and quiet, like walks in nature or a child’s blissful expression to our world. Now both seem like separate sides of the spectrum, but are they? The way I am able to articulate it is that it may be something small that peeks our interest, but it is the time we give the interest that makes it fully inspiring. It often takes us a few minutes (or hours/days in some case) to be in our minds to take a thought and make it something so much more. I believe that is the key! We pass so much in a day, that I am sure we could be inspired far more if we could slow down for a moment to absorb what is around us. Now, I know that is far easier to say vs. achieving, but it is something we need to take the time for in order to accomplish that creative cycle.

How does this apply to our vast types of clients? And why am I even mentioning it? Honestly, I have been asked numerous times how travel and event planning has any relation to graphic design and photography, and why run two business such as these at the same time? When I take a step back and look at all our services (and our industries in general) some how, some way, they need a creative outlet to begin from.

Now to bring it back to the subject of inspiration and how to make the most of a professional's creativity... Those who offer services in creative industries often want to hear their client’s thoughts and inspirations per say so they can learn from them and make them complete and into a reality. What I recommend is to take a moment to look carefully at the things that do catch your eye and take it one step further… figure out why they catch your eye. The “why” is usually the root of the emotion that you want to have evoked! The beauty is once we can understand what emotion or picture you want to convey.. then the true magic begins. I am continually impressed when we can connect with a client and understand their vision, even if it is a little blurry. There is no feeling like the feeling of taking a small inspiration and making it real. I love it when you create something or take a picture of a subject and it that took all the creativity from your soul. So every time you look at it, it gives you the shivers!

So my hope is that this post will inspire you (if that is not too redundant), and give you the fuel to do a little research before you make your next meeting with your wedding/event planner, graphic designer or photographer. Find those things that started your original inspiration and bring them with you to your meeting. They may be clipped pictures from magazines, a small item, or just a sketch or list. Anything and everything will help the process to assist your designer in creating your vision. But most all, be open enough to allow for the creativity to grow!

Getting the Best Price for your Destination Wedding in the Caribbean or Mexico

Written By: Jaime Valdes-Riench, owner of Travel & Events with Style

As more couples look for that dream destination wedding in a location such as the Caribbean or Mexico they often do not know where to begin or how to make their dollar stretch. No one wants to sacrifice quality, but everyone wants to get the best value for what they pay for. Being in a departure city such as Winnipeg gives less options for departure dates if their wish is to have direct flights to their destination.
Where to begin: It is ideal to start planning a year in advance, but taking a few extra steps in the planning process will aid in getting the most ideal price. Here are some tips on how to get the value for your up and coming nuptials in paradise:

1. Start looking at areas that you can see yourselves going to and look at what type of resorts might interest you. Are you looking for adults only, adventure, family orientated resorts, closer to larger city centers for more tour options, or smaller city centers for more privacy?
2. What would be your potential dates? If you are planning on leaving from Winnipeg, you may want to consider leaving between January and the end of March if you dislike connecting to different flights. Our prime winter vacation season starts just before the December holidays and usually ends at the end of March.
3. Once you have an idea what you might like, start collecting travel brochures or looking at them online at larger vacation companies. Remember, prices will change for the new year, but familiarizing yourself will give you an idea where to start your budgeting.
4. Be realistic about your budget. What are you willing to pay to go to the resort? What are you whiling to pay for your wedding? As the bride and groom, there are more costs involved. Consider your guests and their budget. What are they whiling to pay to attend your wedding? How many do you think will attend as guests?
5. Sit down with your destination wedding travel professional and discuss your likes and dislikes. The areas you are interested in and not interested in. Where do you envision yourselves, and what would the wedding look like. If they are experienced in destination weddings, they can start making suggestions. Often times, if a resort has under gone a lot of renovations, or a new resort has just opened, there may be additional sales you can take advantage of. One thing to remember is that if the resort is new, it may come with challenges. Some areas of the resort may not be fully developed or they may be understaffed until they know what their true needs are to function smoothly. If this is not a concern and you are aware of the risks, these resort options may be something worth looking at.
6. Send out save the date cards a year to 9 months in advance to get your group ready prior to June. Often times the bride and groom will assure that at least 30-40+ people will be booking the group rate, but when the time comes to put down the deposit , they barely are able to get 10 people to commit by the deadline. The month of June is an excellent time to secure your space with the vacation company for your destination wedding as they are just trying to project what their new travel season will bring sales wise. Usually there are large early booking bonuses, and final payment dates are often within 2 months. The vacation companies utilize this information when they contract the flight carriers to give them an idea of how many seats they may need to request for that particular destination.
7. As destination weddings increase in this area of the world, vacation companies are increasing their competiveness. Ask your travel professional what vacation companies offer specials such as ”bride flies free”, “guarantee one time reprice”, “no hassle cancellation wavers”, “book ten, hold ten seats”, etc. Signature Vacations is an excellent example of these group promotions. Some of your potential guests are often leery of booking early in case the price drops at the last minute. Some larger vacation companies are offering new options that are opening repricing doors so the unsettled feeling is put to rest. It is refreshing that we are now experiencing wedding groups that where able to have their entire wedding group repriced a few months in advance to departure and received additional savings to what was initially quoted. Also, new “no hassle cancellation wavers” are being offered where a person can cancel for any reason and receive all funds back minus deposits and insurance costs. If too close to departure, they can receive a credit for future travel. Depending on dates you choose, last minute may not always be available nor is it always the most inexpensive anymore. Most February and March dates fill up with popular destinations because of spring break and prime travel season. Booking early has now proved large savings and insurance that guests will be able to attend.
8. Now once you have decided on the basics such as approximately when and where, ask your travel provider to get group quotes and be flexible once you receive the quotes. Remember you will often pay more on the second week of February because of university “reading week” and Valentine’s Day. If you are interested in hearing optional dates such as the end of January, or the beginning of February you may be able to save a few hundred a couple!
9. Once you have your options, look to see what resorts offer pre-established wedding packages and look at their costs and what is truly included. Remember, a “free” wedding is often not totally free. Consider items such as extra guests, flowers, linens, music, etc. when you want to make the best decision of which resorts will take care of your needs and the needs of your guests. Some resorts will not just charge a surcharge for the extra guests, but may charge a surcharge premium for all the guests in attendance just because you went over the total permitted for that package.
   

Instinctively, we are often motivated by highly advertised low priced holidays. Remember, this is your wedding. You will want to find a balance between low cost and high quality. Even though you want to shop around for the best price, try to find out at the beginning if you think you will have a good relationship with your destination wedding travel professional. You are planning a wedding, you will want to work together as team to make your day unbelievable!