Friday, June 27, 2008

The best time of the year to visit....


I can't tell you how many times a customer will ask us what the best time of the year is to go to their destination. What's interesting is that it isn't just a matter of seasons being different in the tropics--there's weather patterns that are very different in Fiji vs. Tahiti vs. Hawaii vs. the Caribbean...and I'm not just talking about hurricanes. Pricing varies a lot between low season and high season, and it's very important to know EXACTLY when low season starts, as sometimes moving your departure date for your honeymoon just a few days can save you 20% or so on your air and hotel.

Of course we've written about this in each of our travel guides in a lot of detail, so here's the links straight to those pages for your convenience:

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Carbon Offsets: "greening" your honeymoon


Today, in partnership with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, TheBigDay is pleased to add a new option for your registry:

Green Tags!

Transportation accounts for about 1/3 of global greenhouse gas emissions. But by adding green tags as gift registry options through TheBigDay, you can offset the environmental impacts of your honeymoon.

Green Tags to offset the carbon emissions from your honeymoon can be purchased in $20 increments. When you add this option to your registry, you'll see in the registry item itself a link to our green tags calculator, which will help you determine how many green tags are needed to offset your honeymoon. Then, edit the quantity for your registry, and your wedding guests can purchase one or more green tags as all or part of their wedding gift to you.

Typically for this kind of registry item, we see wedding guests combine it with an experience gift for you--i.e. they'll buy you the massage in Hawaii, and add a green tag or a charity donation on as well.

By purchasing Green Tags, you are supporting the development and operation of clean wind and solar energy projects. The emissions that you generate by driving your car or flying on a plane are offset by the delivery of environmentally-friendly power to the electricity grid.

Photo courtesy GE Wind.