It is no secret that I love water and boats of any kind or shape. So naturally I think that a party or a wedding on the river Seine would be one of the most romantic weddings imaginable.

I had the pleasure of meeting Monsieur Christian Gonnard, Captain and owner of of the yacht Kitikae, and Parisian boat concierge at our networking soiree at Yachts de Paris.

His boat, the Kitikae is an absolutely lovely old wooden motor boat built in the 1920's. She is available for charter on the Seine, inside Paris and out,  for as many as 12 passengers for short day-cruises and for over-night cruises for 2 passengers. It is equipped with a very functional kitchen, a commodious state room complete with bathroom and toilet, and a second stateroom for the crew. On deck, guests can lounge on teak chairs or dine on a teak table shaded by a canapy.

Simon T. Bailey, author of Release Your Brilliance, was one of the keynote speakers at the Engage 09 event in Cayman.

His message was loud and clear, positive and inspiring! Everyone needs to identify their "universal assignment" by reflecting on and realizing what they are passionate about, what they really do well and how they can use their gift to make other people happy.

 In short....if what you do makes you sparkle, you will be brilliant, happy and make others shine as well.  This is why I choose to work with vendors who are passionate about their work, because they are FUN and they make us and our clients sparkle!

I am currently working from France for both personal and professional reasons. I lived here 22 years ago and have many strong ties to wonderful places and people whom I wanted to reconnect with. I am also here because France is one of the top visited destinations in the world for vacations and one of the most popular wedding destinations in the world, so therefore, thought it was high time I research some Fabulous Finds for all of you who might want to tie the knot in France.

There are many reasons attributed to the popularity of France...most importantly it is so diverse!!!! Within just a couple of hours you can be in Paris or the Loire, or at the Mediterranean Sea, or the Alps or the Atlantic Ocean just to name a few regions. And it's natural diversity is complimented by a wide variety of architecture, cuisine and customs making it a very colorful  and fascinating destination.  Add to that the joie de vivre, fine food and fashion that comes with the setting and you have a perfect playground for a magnificent wedding celebration! 

All good professionals need to take advantage of a good tradeshow or conference from time to time for further education, inspiration and networking. Hence when the opportunity to "learn and network" in the Cayman Islands presented itself this June...I naturally signed up and I am very glad I did.

Engage 09 is a sort of summit for the luxury wedding market and a place where seasoned wedding professions exchange ideas.

One such inspiration was ever so simple that it left me saying, "why didn't I think of that?"

I met Miss Jo ( Joann Brown of Celebrations) years ago at a conference in Jamaica. I was a guest speaker and in the middle of writing my book, Destination Bride and she was promoting weddings in Cayman. She did a great job of describing the islands and all of their offerings so I set to work on a chapter on weddings in Cayman but then the hurricane hit demolishing much of the island. It did not make it in the book but I am thrilled to report that not only have the islands recovered but Miss Jo's family business has exploded into a state-of-the-art event design company.
The public often has this notion that island designers are inferior or behind the times or don't have the resources that a metropolitan designer has. I am here as a witness that that is often not the case and Joann and her company, Celebrations, proved all doubters wrong at Engage 09. They created a gorgeous beach BBQ setting and transformed the ballroom at The Ritz into a chic nightclub to rival any metropolitan venue.

And best of all she not only has panache but passion, which makes her a pleasure to work with!

I recently had the opportunity to go to Grand Cayman where I discovered a fabulous find in the Coral Stone Club! It is a wonderful destination wedding venue option for several reasons.

First of all, it is located directly on the famous Seven Mile Beach, and furthermore.....their stretch of the beach is HUGE! You could host a beach party or a wedding for 400 on their beach if you wanted to! 

Secondly, it is a small, luxury condominium property, which means that a wedding group could feasibly buy out the whole property making it their own. In any case each party that rents a condo truly has a home-away-from-home with 3 bedrooms, a living room, a gourmet kitchen and a terrace. The units are perfect for the bride to accommodate her wedding party in the day of the wedding or for their parents to entertain friends. Not to mention, condos are perfect for families with children or who prefer not to go to restaurants for every meal.

DestinationBride.com has recently added marketing event planning to their menu of services to their advertising partners. We are producing photo shoots, promotional podcasts and planning familiarization trips and networking parties…which means….I am not only having a lot of fun, but I am discovering even more amazing places and meeting a higher volume of very cool purveyors of fine food, flowers, fashion and entertainment than usual!

I just completed a week of events at the Rincon Ocean Villa in Rincon, Puerto Rico. I first discovered Rincon a couple of years ago when I planned a 40th birthday party for a diamond importer. My impression at that point was that it was a funky little gem of a destination. I did not have much time to discover the last time I was there so I was pleased when I got a call on New Year’s Day from Glenn Tatangelo, the owner of the Rincon Ocean Villa, inviting me down to see the property. I suggested that we make it a party and bring down a group of destination wedding planners so that he could start building a sales team of sorts.

One fabulous by-product of the worldwide economic woes is that brides are discovering fabulous made-in-America destinations such as Manchester, Vermont.

Destination Bride was off to Vermont this past weekend to meet Kristin and Brad who are planning a wedding at the Equinox Resort and Spa www.equinoxresort.com Pond Pavillion, one of six beautiful location options at this gorgeous historic inn.

 

It had been years since I had been in Manchester.  Silly me! 

Our trip to Vail, Colorado was fruitful to say the least skiing, snowmobiling, dogsledding, fine dining, and, of course, wedding research.

Skiing in Vail is simply outrageous! I have skied all over the northeastern U.S. and in the Alps, but I have to say, we had three perfect ski days in Vail. The mountain is HUGE with several back bowls that dished up surreal experiences, and the mountain sun ensured the perfect body temperature allowing us to ski right through the day nonstop. Skiing through the fresh Vail snow was like skiing through powdered sugar… sweet!

We switched up the winter fun with a day of snowmobiling at the Piney River Ranch. They picked us up at our hotel, The Lodge at Vail, and took us up a harrowingly narrow mountain road that overlooked Vail Village. They suited us up with gear and snowmobiles with leopard spotted seats much to the amusement of my youngest daughter who is a big cat enthusiast. We snowmobiled 10 miles or so into breathtaking backcountry where we stopped on a giant, frozen lake to “play” or “practice” our driving skills i.e. blow off steam by speeding around a giant track at record-breaking speeds. Then we continued about another five miles to the Piney River Ranch lodge, which is situated all by its lonesome on a tremendous lake with a stunning view of the mountains as a backdrop.

Happy soon-to-be Presidents' Week to all!

I am madly tying up loose ends so that I can enjoy a week of skiing in Colorado with my family. But no trip is without a little business when you are a destination wedding planner! 

If you are a bride, groom, or a wedding professional in or near Vail and you have time for a drink (coffee or cocktail) let me know as soon as possible! I never turn down a chance to connect with couples in love or passionate service providers that I might be able to refer or work with in the future!

I have come to the conclusion that winter weddings are WONDERFUL! They are absolutely magical, so why are they so uncommon? And why has it taken me 16 plus years of planning weddings to become a fan?!

Last weekend we coordinated a winter wedding at the Canfield Casino in Saratoga Springs, NY. Imagine first that you are planning an elegant, black tie affair in a grand, old casino in the dead of winter when everyone is dying for an occasion to get dressed up and go out! You are dressed in a lovely velvet gown, boots with tiny buttons to match the back of your gown, long slender gloves, a fur jacket, a hat and a muff. You arrive in a horse drawn sleigh or carriage if there isn’t enough snow. The moment you turn into the Casino drive you are welcomed by a path flanked with 200 glowing luminaries. Bells are tolling and snow if falling.

You enter the ballroom of the Casino, which is glowing with hundreds of candles, and adorned with gold, ivory and silver linens and flowers. You line up with your best friends and your father at your side. The giant, wooden doors open, and show you off to all of the people that are dear to you. They are seated in a round. You walk down the aisle to music your uncle is playing just for you, into the center of the circle and feel the warmth and the love that surrounds you. You look into the eyes of the man you are about to marry and smile because you know it feels right.

I am happy to say, our trip home was uneventful! The trip to Cancun and the Riviera Maya was fast but wonderful in many ways. It remains one of my favorite destinations for weddings. It is exotic and exciting but very easy to navigate due to the roads, the services, the luxury hotels, and the fact that it is so international. Everyone speaks English, and I bet many of the hotel staff speak multiple languages. It meets the comfort criteria for the average foreign couple looking for an easy international destination. The choice of hotels is actually astounding. Most of the hotels in Cancun are luxury but even the luxury hotels are quite affordable, especially the Palace Hotels since they are all-inclusive. Cancun is also very metropolitan. You will find just about anything you might need to produce a fabulous wedding. If for some reason you cannot find what you are looking for, it is a very affordable destination to fly to for yourselves as well as for any service providers you might want to bring. Cancun is not the spring break destination it used to be. It has been rebuilt since hurricane Wilber as a luxury destination.

 

If you would like to know more about planning a wedding in Cancun or the Riviera Maya, you can email the team at Lisa Light, Ltd. to set up a consultation. We would be thrilled to help you plan the wedding of a lifetime there or anywhere!

December 14th, 2008

 

The thought of getting on another boat was not that appealing after our experiences the previous day BUT we were very glad we got ourselves out of bed and to the marina (after multiple U-turns in an attempt to find the marina hidden behind a closed hotel under construction,) When we finally found the right marina, we were met by the Cancun sailing crew. They set us up with snorkel equipment and showed us to our boat. We had chartered a sailboat for 7 hours to take us to Isla Mujeres. When we got to the dock, they pointed and said here is your boat! Glenn and I looked at the boat, and then looked at each other. We were not sure whether to laugh or cry. Let’s just say, the boat was a little tired... but the crew... Zero, yes, Zero, the captain, and José, his first mate, were cheerful and friendly. We set sail and headed for Isla Mujeres. It was a glorious day─as all of the days were. This is a great time to go to the Yucatan, by-the-way, as the weather is warm but not too hot, and there are fewer tourists. About halfway to Isla Mujeres, we picked up a mooring so that we could snorkel on the reef. Guess what?! It was AWESOME!! The waves were calm, the water was clear, and the fish were TEEMING! We didn’t see anything other than fish but we saw lots of them: schools of yellow, gray, blue, and the sea fans were gorgeous.

Whenever I begin a trip with team or family members, they often begin the trip saying, “On the road again with Lisa Light!” That is basically the mantra that reminds us that we are in for an adventure.

Yesterday was definitely one of those days.... We woke with the sun peaking through the slotted windows in our cabana. We opened our door and could not resist jumping into the sand and taking a walk on the beach not even caring that we were still in our pajamas! It was neat to see all of the Swiss-Family-Robinson-style cabana hotel properties along the beach. The walk was followed by a swim and a picnic breakfast on the beach before packing up and departing for the ferry in Playa del Carmen.

We were told it would take 50 minutes, so we gave ourselves 60, even though driving in the Cancun and Rivera Maya is quite easy. The main and really only highway that spans the coast is new and wide. The signs are good but sometimes they are placed a little close to the actual turn you want to make, which means you end up making a lot of U turns.

I Don't Know Where I am but I am Mighty Glad to be Here!

No, actually, I am writing from a hammock in front of my cabana, on the beach, by the Caribbean, at Esmeralda K, in Tulum, on the Riviera Maya on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, Central America!!!!!

After 2 days of no sleep, and the re-launch of the new and fabulous DestinationBride, I found myself on a plane with my family on the way to Cancun and the Riviera Maya.

When asked where they wanted to vacation next, my little women had three different answers. Grace said she wanted to see ruins, Olivia said she wanted to go sailing, and Maisie said she wanted to see the jungle. I knew just where to take them...the Yucatan. Yesterday we swam, floated and walked through the jungle at Xcaret, today we saw the ruins in Tulum and we will be sailing and snorkeling around Cozumel and Isla Mujeres over the next two days.