Geranium Lake Flowers on Portland Bridal TV

Congratulations to our friend and florist extraordinaire, Kim Foren, for the recent video about her company, Geranium Lake Flowers, on Portland Bridal TV!

Hurricane Guarantees/Hurricane Insurance

We've got a new article on TheBigDay about what's known in the industry as "hurricane guarantees". Of course, no one can guarantee anything about a hurricane--what these really are are compensation packages offered by resorts and destinations should a hurricane affect your vacation or honeymoon there. Check out our new hurricane guarantee article in TheBigDay's Travel Advice section.

Villas in Tuscany

One of the most popular honeymoon destinations is of course Italy--and renting a villa can be both luxurious and cost-effective, as well as getting you to see more of the real country than you might if you stayed in a traditional hotel.

Robert Eastman, a well-known authority on villa rentals and creator of The Villa Portfolio, recommends not only some of his favorite villa rentals in Tuscany but also recommends activities and restaurants in Tuscany in his newsletter this month ("Villa Confidential"). See the newsletter here; to explore luxury villa rentals all over the world, visit www.thevillaportfolio.com.

Luxury Villa Rentals for Honeymoons and Destination Weddings

TheBigDay is pleased to be partnering with Robert Eastman and his new company, The Villa Portfolio, which offers luxury villa rentals for romantic locations all over the globe, including Barbados, St. Martin, St. Barts, Anguilla, St. Thomas, St. John, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Turks & Caicos, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Mustique, Provence, the French Riviera, Tuscany and the Greek islands. In 2009, villas in the South Pacific including Hawaii, Tahiti and Fiji will be added as well. Villas are not only a fabulously romantic option, but can be very cost-effective and convenient--especially for a destination wedding.

See the press release.

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:

• Best time to go to Hawaii


• Best time to go to Tahiti


• Best time to go to Fiji


• Best time to go to the Cook Islands

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.

Wedding Blogs

Alltop - home of the awesome list of diverse Travel blogs has just come out with their choices for Wedding blogs. They've picked up on some of my favorites like WeddingBee, Offbeat Bride and Weddex, as well as some I've just discovered, like Tales of a Female Husband and the Groom's Blog.

Some of the blogs are definitely more enjoyable than others, but they all seem to be updated on a regular basis. If you can't get enough of weddings, Alltop will help you get your fix.