I am thrilled to introduce our latest Ace!  Laura Frazier is debuting our Honeymoons and Destination Weddings category.

WA: What is the name of your business?
LF: BlissHoneymoons.com

WA: How many years have you been involved in the wedding industry?
LF: 5 years

WA: Why did you decide to go into the Honeymoon/Travel business?
LF: I had always been interested in travel. I was working 70 to 80 hour weeks in retail, and was totally burnt out. So I decided that if I was going to go back to school to change careers, I was going to do something that would allow more free time. I found the travel & tourism program at Ohio University. It was a perfect fit.  A honeymoon or destination wedding is truly the most important trip our clients will ever take. So we decided that rather than having a department or a couple of agents who dabbled in honeymoons, that we would focus our entire company on just romance travel. It’s worked out well for us, and our clients. We travel constantly so we are able to really give our clients that first-hand insight into what to expect when they arrive at the destination. It’s a lot of fun for us, and I believe it better serves the brides as well.

WA: What are some tips you can give brides planning their weddings?
LF: If you’re thinking about a destination wedding, start planning at least a year in advance. While doing research online may seem easy enough, there are many things to consider when planning a destination wedding. Each destination has different legal requirements, ranging from simple to complicated. It’s important to also consider what your guests may be able to afford to travel to your wedding. Anytime you mix family, friends, and money, things can turn south quickly. Make sure your agent is willing to handle all the financials for your destination wedding, so that you can just focus on your big day.

WA: What is one of your favorite trends in weddings right now?
LF: We see more and more couples planning their honeymoon or destination wedding around their hobbies, like wine tasting or photography. It’s really great to see people incorporating meaningful experiences into their trip, rather than just laying on the beach all week. Not that there’s anything wrong with laying on the beach all week! But incorporating a hobby or tradition that you two share, or something that has always been on your bucket list, makes it that much more memorable.

WA: What is one of the most unique requests you have had from a bride?
LF: Well I’ve had many interesting requests! There are brides who want to make sure they are avoiding the clothing optional beaches, and grooms who are specifically looking for a clothing optional beach. I once worked with a groom who was a huge race car fan, so we included Mario Andretti’s winery into his California Wine Country honeymoon. I think the strangest request though came from a bride who insisted on finding a pet friendly resort as she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her dog at home.

WA: How do you spend your time outside of work?
LF: When I do have free time, I spend it with friends and family. And I decided to learn some better cooking skills this year, so I’ve been experimenting  with some new recipes.
While there’s an unlimited amount of information available online, there’s also a great deal of misinformation and misconceptions. Your wedding is the one event in your life that you don’t want any surprises. We hope to be able to help brides and grooms navigate through planning their honeymoon or destination wedding with ease, and avoid some of the pitfalls that can occur when trying to handle everything themselves.

www.blisshoneymoons.com