Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Automation vs. Experts: the Google U-turn fiasco


We love Mapquest, Google Earth and other automated mapping systems that
help us get from point A to point B without ever asking a (fallible) human being for directions.

Unfortunately, as much as we hate to admit it, Google gets it wrong too...like when it insists upon 230 U-turns in order to travel 37 miles in New Jersey.

In order to combat this problem of errant locations, our travel specialists at TheBigDay personally hand-code the and pinpoint the coordinates of each resort, so that when you search for that awesome overwater
bungalow
in Bora Bora, you find it on the tiny motu, where it should be...and not in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Thanks to valleywag for the Google link.

Update: apparently this caused Google Maps sufficient embarassment that they got it fixed already! Kudos to the Google Maps folks for getting on it right away.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Spa On Location – a mobile luxury oasis in Southern California


We just tried the soothing services of a very special company, Spa On Location. They offer top-of-the-line massages, manicures, pedicures, facials, and even tanning to brides as well as their entire wedding parties (yes, entire!) This concept is definitely perfect for any pre-wedding day jitters or stress. They will come bring their mobile oasis spa to you at your desired location.

So, if you’re in the Los Angeles area before (or even after) your wedding — give you and your party a huge treat — call them!!

Online hotel booking for your wedding guests


At most weddings, there are at least a few people flying in from out of town, so as the wedding couple, you're faced with the problem of helping them find a place to stay [out of your hair].

We've added a new service to help you with that, called TheBigDay Hotels. It's got a very comprehensive selection of hotels in the U.S. and Canada that your guests can book online--even for very small towns--and the rates are very competitive as well.

Later today, we'll be including the option to add a link on your wedding web page to TheBigDay Hotels for the city & state (or province) where your wedding guests ought to be looking for accommodations.

Monday, January 15, 2007

St. Valentine's Day idea


Followers of our blog will know that we're big fans of Seattle-based online jeweler Blue Nile. When it comes to engagement and wedding rings, we think they do a really great job of really helping you figure out what you need to know about buying rings and buying diamonds, plus they have great tools to help you see what different stones will look like in different settings. All this for much less than your local jewelry store will charge...

Our contact at Blue Nile sent me an email about a special they're having until the end of January on a 14K white gold cultured pearl bracelet--a great idea for Valentine's day. It's 20% off, for $40. Here's a link to the special if you're interested in checking it out.

-- Michael

Friday, January 12, 2007

Everything you wanted to know about overwater bungalows


If you want to know more about overwater bungalows, we've got a great article for you!

Courtney, our new travel writer extraordinaire, shares her knowledge and the expertise of TheBigDay's top South Pacific travel experts in our new 7-page guide to overwater bungalows around the world.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Wedding Mapper


We found a website that offers a free map for your wedding guests, showing where the wedding and reception are, plus things to do in the surrounding area.

It's supported by ads...but for $10 you can sign up to have the ad-free version if you like.

Try it out...if you need help integrating it into your wedding website, just email or call our customer service folks and we'll help you out.