We’re always on the lookout for unique destination wedding spots. So when we recently got the invitation to travel to Tuscany with David Beahm, we couldn’t pass it up! Not only is David one of the top event designers in the U.S., he is an old-school gentleman with exquisite taste. So when he said we needed to see a hotel, we knew it would be special! A hilltop town-turned-hotel, Monteverdi Tuscany is in Castiglioncello del Trinoro, near Chiusi. The Italian-American owners fell in love with the medieval-era town and started buying and renovating apartments. The result: A one-of-a-kind hotel spread throughout the town, home to approximately 10 full-time residents. As a guest,Learn more
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A Word About Black Friday Travel Sales
The Internet is loaded with travel sales this weekend, and it will keep up through the holiday season. Sites from Expedia to major hotel chains are promising big savings this season–but beware the fine print. Just like stores, online companies lure you in with great-sounding deals, like 50% off hotel stays–but the deal is only valid for travel through January, or you have to pay in full now and incur hefty change fees that offset your savings if anything needs to change. Also, advertised rates rarely show the whole picture, excluding taxes and resorts fees that can easily add 25%Learn more
The Coolest Guesthouse in Hudson Valley, NY
One of our favorite things about traveling is the people we meet on the road. We met Shannon Greer at a magazine job, where we traveled from Maine to Puerto Rico doing elaborate wedding photo shoots. You really get to know someone when you work that closely with someone (5 am call times, hectic scouting days), and we fell in love with Shannon’s laid-back demeanor, sense of humor and great style. So when he said he and his artist partner Charlotta Janssen (who also runs the restaurant Chez Oskar in Brooklyn) were restoring a historic building in NY’s Hudson Valley andLearn more
Romantic Destination Wedding Resort in South Carolina
Today’s travel pick is from one of our favorite photographers, Donna Von Bruening. She travels the world shooting weddings but specializes in the place she calls home: The South. Here is the romantic resort she frequents in her down time. It’s one our our favorites, too, especially for destination weddings! “My job as a Savannah-based destination wedding photographer takes to me to finest resorts across the South but one in particular owns my heart: Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton, SC. Not only do I work there often, shooting gorgeous destination weddings, but it’s one of the few places I return to regularlyLearn more
Proof: A Honeymoon Strengthens Your Marriage!
We’ve long been proponents of travel as the ultimate bonding experience, and it turns out we’re not the only ones! According to a new study by researchers at Emory University, appearing in The Atlantic, couples who had a honeymoon were 41% more likely to have long-standing marriages than those who skipped them. Other pointers for success: a big (but not too extravagant) wedding, and a long dating period pre-engagement. We can’t help you with the latter, but if you’re looking for an amazing experience to kick off your married life together, we have oodles of ideas! Let’s chat.
Beach Luxury in Thailand
Thailand is atop many honeymooner’s wish lists, with good reason. When it comes to beaches, Phuket gets all the fuss, but one of my favorite spots is just across the bay: Phulay Bay, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love a Ritz-Carlton club floor; I’ve enjoyed them from NYC to Seoul. But this was my first time experiencing a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, their premier line of hotels. I flew into Phuket at night and did the two-hour drive to Krabi—well worth it to get this view of the arrival pavilion all decked out with candlelight, settingLearn more
Great Advice from Recent Honeymooners
We love hearing about honeymoons, and one of our fave spots to do it as at Destination 42, run by our friend (and fellow former magazine editor) Sarah Carrillo Riswick. She features real honeymoons on her site, and recently went though and pulled some of her favorite tips from their experience, along with some hotel picks: Travel journalists and bloggers always have a good tip or two up their sleeve, like how to squeeze a month’s worth of clothes in one carry-on. But for a romantic honeymoon, these tips aren’t always useful. So to switch things up I asked couplesLearn more
Honeymoon Advice from Travel Pros
We were tickled pink when U.S. News & World Report Travel asked us to participate in a honeymoon-themed Twitter chat, alongside pals from Destination I Do and The Knot, and travel pros from Budget Travel, TravelZoo and more. Some great tips and fave spots were highlighted, so here’s a link to the official recap if you missed it! Some of our favorite tips: From Destination I Do: “Don’t schedule every second of the honeymoon. Have “must see” activities on your list, but try to keep it flexible.” We couldn’t agree more!! Part of the joy of travel is having downtime toLearn more
Globetrotter: Brian Worley on Lanai
One of our favorite things to do is talk travel with our globe-trotting pals. Like the wonderful Brian Worley, whose low-key demeanor and huge heart belies the fact that he plans mega-events in Hollywood with his company YourBASH! (Think American Idol, Coachella, polo matches attended by British royals…and yes, weddings!) One of his fave escapes is Four Seasons Resort Lanai, The Lodge at Koele on Lanai, Hawaii. It’s the sister property to Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay; Manele is by the beach and Koele is set in the highlands at 1,600 feet. Here’s why he loves it, in his ownLearn more
Just Back From: Engage!14, Part 2
You saw my post with all the pretty details from Engage!14 Bachelor Gulch, but Engage! is so much more than that. I’ve been to 12(!) conferences and every time I get a new perspective on life and business. This one was no different. The whole thing kicked off with a shot of Colorado whiskey (in pink Engage! shot glasses, of course). And in true Engage! fashion, there were a few surprise appearances: Wolfgang Puck and the original Bachelorette Trista Sutter. My favorite speakers hit on a recurring theme: Come from a place of happiness and truth, work really hard, andLearn more