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Tuesday, August 9, 2016

The "Agony and the Ecstasy" of Planning a Destination Wedding


The love birds

The Background - 

My daughter Kimberly recently got engaged to her longtime boyfriend - and best friend - Chris on the sacred island of Cozumel in Mexico. 

I know what you're thinking: "Wow, great news! "You must be so excited and looking forward to planning the wedding of her dreams!"

Ordinarily you'd be right however, this promises to be no "ordinary" wedding planning experience - especially for the mother and father of the proposed bride.

And while it's definitely a very happy occasion, there should be no reason for me to draw a deep sigh from the core of my soul and shudder about the logistics of planning a wedding which will inevitably include guests from around the world - in a far-flung destination nowhere near where the bride, groom - or their parents - live.

My glory days with  Pan Am
After growing up around the globe, thanks to my dad's career with a multi-national company and later roaming the world as a Pan Am "stewardess" as we were known in those days (don't ask "which" days), I married yet another multi-national businessman, which landed me in South America, followed by nearly 20 years in Mexico City - where I was married and where my two daughters were born.

Kimberly lived there till the age of 17 when her dad and I divorced and I took her - along with her then-15-year-old sister Monique - kicking and screaming to live in the "good ole USA" and exposed them to a totally different culture and set of rules. I could write the proverbial book on that nightmare experience, but suffice it to say, we all survived and actually remained close!

Mexico City's signature Angel

Fortunately, my girls were able to return often to Mexico, where they maintained their bi-cultural experience, and luckily my ex husband Jack and I have managed to remain friends - probably even better than before.

Because of my career as a travel writer, both my daughters and grandson have had access to a host of travel opportunities and practically grew up on cruise ships including: Disney, Princess, Viking, NCL, Holland America - and others - so it's no wonder that travel is in our collective bloodstreams.

New Year's Eve on board Holland America ms Westerdam



Looking back on Kimberly's Hotel, Restaurant, Travel Administration degree from UMass Amherst and study abroad in Oxford, England - followed by an amazing career at Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, Meliá Hotel and Resorts and Saks Fifth Ave's flagship Manhattan store in sales and marketing - is it any wonder that a global citizen with an insatiable wanderlust was born?

The fact that she went on to launch her own very successful Runaway Bride Destination Weddings and became an expert wedding planner and the proverbial frosting on the wedding cake -  should make planning her own wedding  a "snap" - right?

Time will tell on that score and I invite you to accompany me on what promises to be an incredible - and possibly terror-fraught journey!





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