p16-21 for wetter, for worse 18/9/09 16:16 Page 17
perfect timing Weddings & Honeymoons
For wetter, for worse
It’s crucial you know where to send your clients for their dream wedding or honeymoon,
but it’s even more important to find out the best time of the year to send them.
Katherine Lawrey looks at some popular destinations
N
o bride wants to deal with a Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, Gulf and
hurricane on her wedding day or Pacific coasts are also plagued by hurricanes
torrential rain on her honeymoon. – the best time of year to visit is November
As a specialist weddings agent you through to May when the threat has receded
need to be armed with knowledge about these and it’s generally drier.
meteorological pitfalls, so that when a couple Book it: Two weeks’ all-inclusive at the Sandos
come to you for advice, you can prompt them Caracol Eco Resort & Spa in Mexico costs £1,189 per
to make the right judgement call. person based on two adults sharing next February.
Honeymooners get a bottle of rum and fruit basket.
THE CARIBBEAN AND MEXICO ■ firstchoice.co.uk/mexico
Weddings: The warm climate and sunny days
make the Caribbean ideal for year-round AFRICA AND THE INDIAN OCEAN
weddings. Most islands see more rain in the Weddings: Kenya and Zanzibar are perfect in
latter half of the year but tropical showers our peak wedding season, July and August,
tend to be brief and many hotels will says Louise Newton, marketing manager at
re-arrange weddings if the heavens open. For Somak. “As they are equatorial, temperatures
example, Couples Tower Isle in Jamaica says hover around 30C. In addition it’s the best
that if a tropical shower is expected, the team time to witness the wildebeest migration.”
will do everything in their power to provide Book it: A wedding at Ashnil Samburu Camp in
maximum flexibility with the time of day, Kenya costs £1,190 and includes fees, licence, cake,
the venue and even the date if needs be. sparkling wine, flowers, fruit basket and 72 photos.
Book it: Two weeks at Dreams Punta Cana in the ■ somak.com
Dominican Republic with charter flights costs
£3,275 per couple next April. This includes a free Honeymoons: The best times to visit Mauritius
wedding package when five or more rooms are are either April/May to mid-June or mid-
booked for a wedding party (minimum seven nights). September to December. Peter Jackson,
■ thomascook.com managing director of Elite Vacations, says:
“January to March are the warmest months
Honeymoons: The Caribbean hurricane but there’s a risk of cyclones. July and August
Malaysian
season lasts from June 1 to November 30, are the most requested by honeymooners
rhapsody
peaking in September – although they are not the
Hurricane Ivan did major best weather-wise. They Booking honeymoons is no easy
damage to Grenada, the tend to be the coolest, task as most couples plan their
Cayman Islands, Jamaica, with temperatures more weddings for the British summer, when it’s
St Vincent and Tobago in in line with the UK and generally not great weather long-haul. Go to
September 2004. perhaps cooler at night. Thailand at the wrong time and you’ll be
SuperClubs’s Hurricane Book it: Elite Vacations wishing you’d packed Wellington boots!
Guarantee in Jamaica and offers free accommodation Malaysia is an excellent long-haul destina-
the Bahamas reimburses for brides at the five-star tion during British summertime. It has beau-
the value of disrupted Residence in Mauritius. tiful sunshine from June to August and is an
nights and provides a Seven nights’ half-board ideal choice for honeymoon couples.”
voucher for a future stay. costs from £1,459 including
Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao flights, private transfers and Trisha Holden personal travel adviser,
and Barbados lie outside C
ouples
lounge passes. Enchanting Destinations
the hurricane belt. Couples Tower Isle, Jamaica ■ elitevacations.com
TTG Knowledge – September 2009
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