Resort: The Fives Beach
Wedding Date: April 22, 2023
Lindsay and Isidro knew from the start that they wanted a destination wedding. Coming from a large family, spread out across the U.S., most of their wedding guests would need to travel for the wedding. A destination wedding was the perfect solution and provided a wonderful experience for the entire group to spend time together creating memories.
Some of Lindsay’s priorities were to create an experience for her guests and for the resort to have a wow factor. She also wanted the destination to be easy for her guests to travel to. Being able to add her personalized touches for her ceremony and reception was important as well.
The Fives Beach fit the bill and provided a relaxed atmosphere with some activities for those who wanted them. The wedding department brought Lindsay’s vision of a semi-formal wedding event with delicious food, an open bar, and a DJ with an awesome playlist to life.
“We used Kate as a group travel agent for our April 2023 wedding. She came from a recommendation from a coworker of mine and we’re happy we chose her. Having a travel agent was great and something I definitely recommend any destination wedding couple has, as it was one less task for us to do and made things much easier for our guests.” – Lindsay
Wedding Q & A with Lindsay & Isidro
Why did you choose Kate’s Travel?
After doing some initial research on our own about destination weddings, it was recommended that we use a travel agent. Kate was a referral from a coworker at the time, after having a few introductory calls with her and some other calls with other potential agents/planners we chose Kate based on her specialty in weddings, rather than just generic travel. It was helpful talking with her and giving her our list of wants, don’t wants, and such in a resort, and she came back with us with options, she was upfront about the pros and cons of each.
What led you to choose a destination wedding?
We chose a destination wedding because we wanted our wedding to be a week(end) long experience and not just one day. Due to where we live, a lot of guests would have to travel, and we decided why not make it a fun destination to go to. On top of that, we wanted a small(ish) group, we knew having a destination wedding outside the US would limit our number and that those that attended would actually want to attend not just feel obligated.
Describe what it was like working with the wedding coordinator at the resort.
I had a very detailed vision for my wedding, so throughout the process, I was very clear about what I wanted and what I needed my wedding coordinator to do. Communication was a challenge at times and it would often take a week or more for a reply. Once I realized this though, I was organized and thorough in my emails so we could get multiple things crossed off with each email.
Were your guests wowed by the resort and the all-inclusive concept? What was their reaction upon arrival?
The all-inclusive concept wasn’t new to a lot of our guests or ourselves, so no surprises there. The biggest difference we noticed from other resorts and that our guests noticed was the villa style and how big the resort was. We really enjoyed this as other places we’ve been on vacation were just huge buildings where you could see for miles, I liked the villa style and how spread out everything was, so depending on what you wanted that day (chill, exciting, etc.), you could find a spot to accommodate that.
Tell us about your wedding – did you have a traditional wedding with a cocktail hour, dinner reception, and dance? What was different about a destination wedding compared to a wedding at home?
Some parts of our wedding were traditional while other aspects were unique. We did the typical ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception, which is what we wanted, but we sprinkled some fun elements into each.
What is your favorite memory of your wedding experience?
My favorite memory of the wedding experience was just how fun the entire week was, for me and for all our guests, everyone just had a great time. While other weddings are just a single day of fun, ours was basically a week of different activities and fun every day.
In what ways did Kate’s Travel make the planning less stressful for you?
Having Kate handle the room reservations allowed me to focus on other important things. It was nice to compare her rooming list, versus the RSVP list, and then work through the discrepancies and also remind people who we knew were coming but didn’t book their room to do so. Or, for those that booked their room but hadn’t RSVP’d yet. We also got some perks on our room working with Kate, while we didn’t get these until after the wedding and you don’t know what that value will be until then, it was a pleasant surprise.
Interested in planning your destination wedding? Reach out to us today at katestravel.com. We’d be thrilled to help bring your wedding dreams to life!
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