Key Takeaways: How this travel agency helped saving a destination wedding on short notice
- The Crisis: Hurricane Melissa threatened a 2-week destination wedding and honeymoon trip just 14 days before departure.
- The Logistics: 30 guests flying out of 4 different Canadian airports, and the requirement to keep the same travel and wedding dates.
- The Solution: A full pivot from Jamaica to the Dominican Republic.
- The Result: Zero missed wedding moments.
Aurore and Niklas contacted Julie Dupuis of Journiac Travel & Tours about having a fall destination wedding in early January. That was plenty of time to plan everything!
After consulting with Aurore and Niklas about their vision for their dream wedding, Julie suggested the right destination and timing for them: Jamaica in mid-November! Next, she found the perfect resort for their family-friendly destination wedding week (Jewel Grande Montego Bay Resort & Spa). As well, she recommended the perfect romantic adults-only resort for their honeymoon week (Secrets St. James Montego Bay). And, she coordinated flights for the couple’s guests across the country, with departures from Toronto, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, and Calgary. One family group even requested a private transfer to the airport from Sudbury.
It was now time to start planning the details!
Julie planned a schedule for the wedding week, suggesting and making reservations for a parents’ dinner, a bridal party dinner, and a farewell breakfast for all guests. She organized a group excursion to the Luminous Lagoon for the wedding couple and all of their guests. Julie helped the wedding couple plan a bonding activity to allow guests to get to know each other. She also scheduled a day of alone time for Aurore and Niklas the day before the wedding. This included a couple’s massage, a couple’s photo shoot, and a romantic dinner on the beach.
For the honeymoon week, Julie planned a private rum tasting at Appleton Estate along with a visit to Floyd’s Pelican Bar for the happy couple. Otherwise, the week was left unplanned to allow for maximum relaxation and romance!
Julie also created an itinerary for the wedding day. She assisted in planning all of the details to ensure the day was exactly what the couple wanted, from booking hair and make-up appointments to optimizing the venue layout to finding authentic local wedding favours to gift to guests.
Everything — and everyone — was ready to go! And then, only two weeks before the departure date, Hurricane Melissa devastated the island of Jamaica. Within two days, reservations were cancelled by both resorts, the excursion tour suppliers, private drivers, and the airline! It was now up to Julie to work on saving this destination wedding on short notice.
She worked tirelessly to find another destination that could take in the group and host a last-minute wedding without changing any of the trip dates or the wedding date. The programs and tags for wedding favours were already printed, and some important guests had serious restrictions that would make rescheduling the wedding impossible for them to attend.
Soon, she found a wonderful resort in the Dominican Republic to host a family-friendly destination wedding: Dreams La Romana. Not only was the resort able to accommodate the whole group at the last minute, it was also able to host the wedding on short notice, on the same date! And it could rebook all of the reservations for special dinners, spa appointments, photography, etc.
So, Julie rearranged everyone’s flights and rebooked the honeymoon week at Serenade All-Suites. She also planned new excursions. The group was now to visit the Cave of Wonders during the wedding week. Aurore and Niklas would now experience rum tasting plus coffee and chocolate pairing during their honeymoon week.
Aurore and Niklas were now back on course for the destination wedding of their dreams! Of course, the weather had to give them a huge scare on their wedding day. Thankfully, after pouring rain all morning, the skies cleared up right on time for their beautiful outdoor ceremony and reception!
Planning a group wedding trip and want the peace of mind that comes with dedicated crisis management? Learn more about the Destination Wedding Planning Services offered by Journiac Travel & Tours, and get in touch without delay to get started!