Shot-gun Destination Wedding Trending For 2022

 

Shot-Gun Destination Wedding Trending For 2022

Over the last two years, many engaged wedding couples have had their dreams squashed, postponed and delayed due to the pandemic. With limited indoor gathering restrictions and travel advisories in place, tens of thousands of wedding plans in Canada have been left in limbo. Now that Covid-19 restrictions are lifting nationwide, wedding couples are now finding a massive backlog on local wedding venue availability, with no space available until sometimes, 2024 and into 2025.

A new trend in "Shot-Gun Destination Weddings" is forming in the post-pandemic world. Engaged Canadians, who no longer want, nor can afford to wait, are pressing ahead with booking destination weddings in record planning windows of only 3 months, from the standard 8-14 months. 

Laurie Keith, President of Romantic Planet Vacations, says, "the couples we are hearing from now aren't even waiting a year to wed. We have such an influx of destination wedding inquiries for travel this Spring, Summer and Fall like I've never seen." She adds, "I feel people are tired of waiting and their guests are eager to escape too after being cooped up for so long."

Keith, who has been certified destination wedding specialist for over 18 years, has recently booked three destination wedding groups to travel within the next 3 months. A busy restaurant-owner couple from Hamilton, Ontario booked their destination wedding on March 4th, 2022 to Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun to depart on May 4th, 2022. They already have 30 guests booked and attending and all wedding details have been arranged. Another couple also started planning their Sikh destination wedding in March but to travel the next month in April. "We've been waiting two years and now my sister is pregnant and can only travel before May 1st so we're going for it!" says Jasleen Dhaliwal from Toronto. She and her fiancé had 19 guests with payment ready to go. They were able to find availability for their wedding at the Barcelo Maya Grand Resort on April 25th, 2022 and the final details of their Sikh ceremonies including the Mehendi with professional Henna artists, Sangeet, and Mandap decor, are being finalized with Barcelo's Dharma and Karma pre-arranged wedding packages for South Asian weddings.

Though it's not always easy to plan a wedding in less than three months, especially in less than one month, it is not impossible. Keith offers the following tips to plan a Shot-Gun Destination Wedding for Canadians;

1) Ask your immediate friends and family if they can attend before embarking on the research journey. Most travel packages are under $2,000 to a nice all-inclusive beach resort and under $4,000 to Europe so keep it general. Select an approximate week of travel and ask who can make it. Once you have your answers, you can decide if it's a green light or not. It's important to note, that not everyone will be able to attend but you can always celebrate with a larger group when you return.

2) Definitely work with a certified destination wedding travel expert. They will make recommendations based on your wedding vision to the ideal venue and resort and price out discounted group rates with group benefits like complimentary passenger credits and more. They'll check on the availability of the wedding date and air/hotel space. They'll coordinate the travel arrangements for everyone in the group and guide the wedding couple every step along the way. 

3) Set up a wedding website for guest inquiries and online booking technology. Since time is of the essence, this will greatly help in answering your guests' multiple questions and process their bookings and payments in a timely manner.

4) Most Canadian tour operators can hold 30 seats for 90 days or up until 60 days before departure with only a small $600 group deposit. Each guest then usually pays $200 deposit per person. Final payments for everyone will be due within 45-60 days before departure. 

5) Secure cancel-for-any-reason insurance within 72 hours of booking. This allows you to cancel with a full refund up to only a few days before departure. At around $50 - $70 each, it's well worth the extra cost. Add medical travel insurance including Covid-19 insurance for only around $100 - $150 per person.

6) Work diligently and promptly with the onsite wedding coordinator. Their pre-designed packages make it easier to coordinate everything quickly, but most are fully customizable. Choosing a symbolic ceremony will also save you time and money, then marry at home with a justice of peace. Otherwise, marry legally abroad but you'll have to pay for the legal documents and minister.

Destination Wedding couples and their guests can also benefit to some of the last minute travel deals that are out. Though sometimes it's hard to get everyone in a larger group last minute on the same plane, holding the 30 to  40 seats with wedding groups is a big plus for this reason. Below are some examples of discounted group rates with a minimum of 10 passengers from Canada;

PUNTA CANA, DR

DREAMS ONYX, Punta Cana 5-star
Toronto, Sept 15/22........................................................................$1580
Ottawa, Nov 2/22.............................................................................$1640

BAHIA PRINCIPE GRAND BAVARO, 4.5 star
Toronto, Jun 27/22..........................................................................$1410
Calgary, Aug 22/22..........................................................................$1540

DREAMS PALM BEACH, Punta Cana 4.5 star
Toronto, Sept 10/22........................................................................$1310
Calgary, Aug 18/22..........................................................................$1720

RIU PALACE PUNTA CANA, Punta Cana 4.5 star
Toronto, June 22/22.......................................................................$1540
Toronto, Oct 19/22.........................................................................$1585

ROYALTON SPLASH, Punta Cana 4.5 star
Toronto, July 18/22..........................................................................$1595
Montreal, May 24/22.......................................................................$1495

ROYALTON BAVARO, Punta Cana 5 star
Toronto, Sept 28/22........................................................................$1585
Ottawa, Sep 30/22...........................................................................$1650

MAJESTIC MIRAGE, Punta Cana 5 star
Toronto, Sept 2/22..........................................................................$1540
Calgary, Oct 7/22.............................................................................$1680

MAYAN RIVIERA, Mexico

BARCELO MAYA COLONIAL 4.5-star
Toronto, JUL 8/22............................................................................$1400
Montreal JUN 7/22..........................................................................$1370

DREAMS AVENTURAS, 4.5 star
Toronto, MAY 26/22........................................................................$1590
Edmonton, APR 26/22.....................................................................$1780

DREAMS JADE, 5 star
Toronto, AUG 31/22........................................................................$1610
Calgary, Oct 17/22...........................................................................$1690

IBEROSTAR SELECTION PARAISO MAYA/LINDO, 4.5 star
Toronto, Sept 22/22........................................................................$1470
Calgary, Sep 22/22...........................................................................$1590

OCCIDENTAL XCARET, 4.5 star
Toronto, JUL 8/22............................................................................$1340
Edmonton, OCT 19/22....................................................................$1360

ROYALTON RIVIERA CANCUN, 5 star
Toronto, SEP 22/22..........................................................................$1525
Halifax, SEP 27/22............................................................................$1710

SANDOS PLAYACAR, 4.5 star
Toronto, MAY 26/22........................................................................$1410
Calgary, JUN 26/22...........................................................................$1720

JAMAICA

BAHIA PRINCIPE GRAND JAMAICA, 4.5 star
Toronto, May 25/22........................................................................$1410
Calgary, Sep 9/22............................................................................$1750

IBEROSTAR ROSEHALL BEACH, 4 star
Toronto, Sep 22/22..........................................................................$1440
Regina, May 26/22...........................................................................$1690

RIU NEGRIL, 4 star star
Toronto, Jun 7/22............................................................................$1520
Calgary, Apr 18/22..........................................................................$1795

ROYALTON WHITE SANDS BEACH, 4.5 star
Toronto, June 9/22........................................................................$1790
Ottawa, Apr 3/22...........................................................................$2085

ZOETRY MONTEGO BAY, 5 star
Toronto, MAY 31/22.....................................................................$2620
Montreal, May 22/22....................................................................$2680

SANDALS SOUTH COAST, 5 star adult-only
Toronto, Sept 9/22........................................................................$2540
Calgary, Sep 20/22.........................................................................$2800

COUPLES TOWER ISLE, 4 star adult-only
Toronto, Sept 21/22........................................................................$1995
St. John's, Jun 21/22........................................................................$2070

OTHER PARADISE

RIU PALACE ARUBA, Aruba 5-star
Toronto, JUN 6/22................................................................................$2150

RIU PALACE PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas 4 star
Toronto, Oct 27/22..............................................................................$1920

RIU GUANACASTE, Costa Rica 4 star
Montreal, Apr 18/22............................................................................$1795

PALMS at WAILEA MAUI, 4 star (not all-inclusive)
Vancouver, Aug 18/22.........................................................................$1920

THE BONNINGTON DUBLIN, Ireland 4 star (not all-incl)
Vancouver, June 3/22..........................................................................$1795

KINETTA BEACH RESORT, Greece 4 star (not AI)
Toronto, May 29/22.............................................................................$1630

HOTEL DOM HENRIQUE, Porto, Portugal 4 star (breakfast)
Toronto, Jun 22/22...............................................................................$1580

ROYALTON SAINT LUCIA, 5 star
Toronto, May 21/22..............................................................................$2295

DREAMS CURACAO, 5 star
Ottawa, Oct 30/22................................................................................$2120

CLUB MED TURKOISE, Turks & Caicos 4 star
Montreal, Sep 2/22..............................................................................$2199

*prices are estimated per person, CAD$, including airfare, transfers, 7-nights all-inclusive accommodations, and tax. Based on double occupancy. Subject to change and based on availability.

Romantic Planet Vacations can be reached at travel@romanticplanet.ca, 1-866-247-8123 or www.romanticplanetvacations.com