TopDawg Travel

Archive for the ‘Destination Weddings’ Category

At the end of May I got to go to Los Cabos for 4 days.  It was a wonderful working vacation for me.  I saw some beautiful properties that I genuinely enjoyed.  I met many warm and genuine people and had some great food (though maybe too much red snapper).  I stayed in a lovely casita at the Marqus Los Cabos, which included a plunge pool and amenity breakfasts every morning while watching the sun come up and listening to the ocean roaring right outside my patio door. 

I sailed on the New Zealand version of the America’s Cup Yacht Race boat.  Had a wonderful swedish massage at the Esperanza Spa  from Ulma.  Looked a horse in the eye and declined the ride.  Walked along the beach and had a good “wetting down” from a stray wave.  Experienced a cooking class with a Michelin-starred chef.  Drank such a great margarita (Las Ventanas al Paraiso’s  ”Welcoming Margarita”) that I was inspired to go to Bed Bath and Beyond when I returned to Seattle and purchase a soda siphon in order to make them myself.  And I might add, while not as perfect as Las Ventana’s Welcoming Margaritas, mine were plenty yummy. 

Without a doubt one of the best meals (and there were many delightful meals from many hotels and restaurants, but this one stood out in my memory) while there was at One and Only Parmilla.  We took a tour of the villa accommodations there at One andOnly Parmilla, then a golf cart ride to the restaurant, Agua Restaurant.  Our hosts included the One and OnlyParmilla, Cecilia Aragon-Bryant (Director of Public Relations),  the Los Cabos Visitor and Convention Bureau and Terramar Destinations, who provided our guide, Rico, for the evening.  The menu included a canape, 4 course dinner and dessert, provided by the Executive Chef, Larbi Dahrouch. 

The Thursday night Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo also stands out as a superb event to enjoy with the only cost being that of the delightful art one might feel inclined to purchase.  Our guide, Rico, led us up and down the hilly streets, and in and out of galleries too numerous to mention.  Wine, canapes, a delicious vanilla liqueur, margaritas all accompanied us on our rounds of the galleries.  See my Thursday Night Art Walk article at National Romance Travel Examiner for a more complete description.

I would go to Los Cabos again immediately if I could.  I fell in love with the place, the people, the food and the ambiance.  i really would like to stay at Las Ventanas al Paraiso or One and Only Parmilla each at least for a week!  Oh yes, the trip I went on was sponsored by the Los Cabos Visitor and Convention Bureau.  I appreciated everything they did to help me understand that the novel H1N1 virus was not in residence in Los Cabos!

I wrote several articles about this lovely trip in my National Romance Travel Examiner column  at Examiner.com.  Here are some of the links, I hope you read and enjoy them:

Sailing with the Cabo Adventures America’s Cup Yacht Race experience

Marquis Los Cabos – a resort for all senses

Marquis Los Cabos casita 704

An invitation to romance at Las Ventanas al Paraiso part 1

Las Ventanas – part 2 – more than a resort

There are more but that is for another posting……

Gentlemen, have you fallen head over heels in love with a liberated, maybe somewhat workaholic woman, as opposed to the “damsel in distress” or the “sultry redhead” of your fantasies?  You have a crazy idea that the two of you would make a wonderful married life together, but your bank account is gasping for breath when you see the cost of weddings and honeymoons these days?  Just buying the woman of your dreams the engagement ring is setting back your 401k by ten years?  Read more…Romance on the high seas for him

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Consider this:  The two of you may have been living together for quite some time.  Or maybe you are joining two fully equipped households and have more toaster ovens and glassware than you can fit under one roof.  The mere thought of another electric blanket or toaster makes your stomach churn.  There is a solution:  The Honeymoon Registry!

 What, you may ask is  “The Honeymoon Registry“?   This is a registry, much like any other registry (at your local department store, specialty store, etc.) that is specifically for your honeymoon and the way you want it to be as you create the memories to last a lifetime. You talk with a honeymoon travel specialist, decide where you want to go and what you want to do and then your specialist will help design your registry to accommodate different levels of expenditures for your family, friends, and guests to purchase for your honeymoon.

If you chose to go to Maui, for example, your air may cost $550 each (round trip).  We would divide that into 10 segments of $55 each or a total of 20 gifts of air.  You might want to rent a jeep to get around the island.  Let’s say for this example, that would be $330 for the week. We can divide that into a daily rate and register for $50/day or 7 gifts of four-wheel driving around the island.  You can be as creative as you are interesting.  Whether it be couples massage, a day in the spa for the bride and a day of golf for the groom, or vice versa, your honeymoon experience can become everything you ever dreamed it would be.  You design your honeymoon and your specialist will help to build your registry.  How easy can it be?  The honeymoon of your dreams with your guests contributing to your experience. 

In the old days (like a year or two ago), the newlyweds to be would go to a department store, a furniture store, even a jewelry store (for silver pieces) and register for the gifts they wanted to receive from friends, family and well-wishers.  Traditionalists might still expect that kind of registry.  Of course in days past there was also a bowl or box on the gifts table for the envelops of cash/checks/gift cards.  Some even had a money tree sitting on the gifts table at the reception.  Traditionalists never had a problem with that concept.  So if you or a member of your family is a traditionalist, think of the Honeymoon Registry as a money tree or a bowl on the gifts table at the reception. 

 Today’s consumer is a more experiential consumer.  Instead of collecting “stuff”, we collect experiences:  moments to remember, a lifetime of memories.  We are looking for what is “next”.  So the honeymoon registry is a wonderful way to help pay for making memories to last a lifetime together!

Just remember to take lots of pictures to share with your family, friends and guests when you get back as part of your thank you’s for those wonderful memories!