The Seven Stages of Travel and the Destination BrideI was talking to my mentor and friend,www.honeymoons.com owner, Tom. As we chatted, he mentioned that he’d recently learned the Seven Stages of Travel. He began to list them, and I jumped up and started jotting them down. It was like a stream of genius, that helped make sense of the entire Destination Wedding Planning Process. Having communicated with hundreds of brides over the last several years, I have walked them through so many of these stages, but did not realize it was an actual psychological process. It’s a process each destination bride must go through in order to get to pure Destination Wedding Bliss, aka nirvana, aka Belize. So, let’s go through the Seven Stages of Travel and the Destination Bride: Stage One – Inspiration Stage Two – Research Stage Three – Planning Now, this is the stage where couples usually start to panic. They have internet overload, and have gotten themselves so confused they dont know what they want. Fortunately, those couples have found me, and we stop and walk through their desires and help to really focus their vision, and give them a sense of calm. Remember…this is supposed to be fun. Once I’ve got you breathing again, you move to Stage 4 Stage 4 – Validation A reputable company is easy enough to validate, regardless of the country. I do not advise that you rely too heavily on tripadvisor.com as it can be biased unfairly. Rather, review the actual credentials such as accreditation, length of time in operation, media coverage, and connections on professional sites like LinkedIn. Of course you can use facebook to find out a tremendous amount as well. Guests to a destination wedding join the process at Stage 4. They have to make sure they are also comfortable joining a couple on their trip. Once the couple feels comfortable, we move to the scariest Stage of all…Stage 5. Stage 5 – Booking Guests will also begin booking their travel. To make it easier for a couple, I handle all their guests travel arrangements as well, and provide my couples with a full spreadsheet outlining all their guests travel, hotel, tours, so nothing conflicts. Also, as i tell my couples, “It might be your wedding, but it’s your guests vacation”. Stage 6 – Travel! Stage 7 – Sharing So, as you embark on this memorable, fun, and unique destination wedding and travel experience, Breathe, remember you are just going through some natural progression of stages, grab a glass of wine…and then call me 215-469-2496.
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