Planning Guides

Group travelers have unique needs, depending on the trip purpose. Bachelor party planners debate over which type of alcohol to consume and whether or not a stripper is appropriate. Family reunion organizers decide how big of a reunion to have and where to have it. Brides and grooms deliberate on pros and cons of a destination wedding or a home-grown wedding.

Peruse these planning guides to find tips, advice, and new approaches to planning anything from a road trip, to family vacations, to ski trips, to weddings, to girls getaways, and more.

Family Reunion Planning Guide: Gathering the generations together takes time and patience, but is worth the lasting memories.

Group Getaways with Friends: Travel with college friends, poker pals, other couples, golf buddies, or just the girls.

Wedding Planning Guide: Whether the ceremony is a quick Vegas-themed affair, in a dreamy destination, or where you live and work, the devil is in the details. Here are tips to simplify the wedding planning process.

Ski Guide for Groups: Snowboarders and skiers alike can use this essential planning tool of ski resorts, checklists, and aprés ski activities before hitting the slopes.

Group Reservation Guide: Tips for negotiating group hotel rates, group flight reservations, and more.

Clubs, Teams, Organizations Guide: Become a group trip planning expert with tips about group reservations, how to organize a trip with ease, and other helpful advice.

Meet the Bride: Wedding Taskmaster

Weddings come in all shapes and sizes, like the brides that are in charge. I say "brides in charge" because, let's face it grooms, once you plan that elaborate proposal and are engaged, the bride takes over from there. Yes, you help. But it usually is in reaction to requests, however subtle or overt, from your bride to be.

Ceremonies roughly fall into five major categories: Budget, moderate, luxury, elopement and destination weddings. I recently participated in my sister's wedding which fell somewhere between budget and moderate and was a bit of a destination wedding at a lakeside resort. Every detail was perfectly planned and the wedding went off without a hitch all because of the bride's event planning experience and gentle task-manager skills.

Family, friends, bridesmaids and groomsmen were excited for the wedding and geared up for an extended weekend at a lakeside resort. And we were all assigned tasks to do either weeks before the wedding, the day of the ceremony or after the ceremony. When we arrived at the wedding location two days before the event, my lovely bride sister had a three-ring binder with all her wedding coordination plans neatly organized in print. That binder contained the secrets to the most organized wedding I've participated in. If you don't want to hire a wedding coordinator and want to do it yourself, here's how my sister did it. Amend this to suit your wedding's needs/tastes and assign anyone you want to the task(s). The key is delegation and proper follow-up by the bride (and groom).

Tips and Tasks Before the Wedding

• Get yourself a good checklist for wedding "to-do's" - use TripHub's wedding guide, Martha Stewart magazine's pull-out, or any other resource you can find to help you with such big items as dress and tux/suit purchases, music secured, minister/officiant reserved, ring purchases, flowers, cake, food, etc.
• Set a budget and stick to it - use the checklist and decide what items are critical to you and which are flexible (example: toasts can be made and enjoyed without the expense of champagne or sparkling wine and people can raise whatever glass they have in their hand)
• Before sending save the dates and invitations and doing any wedding planning, have a heart-to-heart with the groom about what should be the spirit and environment of the wedding
• Use people's strengths and assign tasks they will like and can handle - know your helpers well
• Rely upon both bride and groom family and friends and spread things out if needed - don't keep relying on your maid of honor for everything!
• Throw a party to assemble and address wedding invitations - with all the scrapbooking and fancy paper stores around, it is easy to create a professional-looking invite at a low cost
• Drinks - assign people to pick up kegs of beer, cases of wine and ingredients for mixed drinks unless bartender at receception site has those covered; assign same people who pick up those ingredients to set those items out at the reception (unless the reception site covers this)
• Create notebook with contact information of vendors (for cake, food, flowers, music, minister, etc.) and set an itinerary for the wedding day (i.e., timing of bride's hair and make-up, timing of photos and who gets photos when and where)
• Assign one person to the rehearsal dinner coordination and communication if necessary, etc. (perhaps place the groom's family in charge of this if they are covering costs of this meal and event)

Tasks for Wedding and Reception Set-Up

• Bride reviews notebook with groom and bridesmaids of itinerary and ceremony + reception map w/ location of decorations so others can direct vendors and not have to rely on the bride for all the answers
• If grandparents or others need wheelchair access to buildings or locations, keep that in mind when planning the wedding
• Assign one person to the ceremony location as "site lead" for decorations and to be a runner if needed
• Assign another person to the reception location as "site lead" for decorations, meeting vendors, etc. and enough people to help set up the decorations
• When photos are happening, make sure at least one or two people (a bridesmaid and groomsman, most likely) can be runners for the photographer to gather the appropriate family members at picture time

Tasks for Leaving the Wedding

• Make arrangements ahead of time for transporting gifts
• Make arrangements for transporting extra alcohol and food
• Assign multiple people to take down decorations or remaining items that may be important to keep

My sister must have had many more tasks I was unaware of, but it all happened so smoothly, I didn't notice. Next family wedding I attend or participate in, I'll be fully prepared. Thanks, sis. ;-)

And of course, using TripHub to help plan and coordinate wedding communication is also a useful tool for securing RSVPs, showing maps and giving directions of event locations, especially if there is a weekend-long gathering with multiple events.

Need Help Planning a Large Gathering? Act like a Pro

Organizing a large family reunion, destination wedding or meeting is a lot of work, and the process can quickly become overwhelming. Where to hold the event? How much space is needed? Which facilities can accommodate the group? Who are the good caterers and other service providers in the area? What should be on the menu?

Corporate meeting and event planners do this every day for the most demanding customers in the travel business. And thanks to MiMegasite you can benefit from many of their tips and tools, even if your budget doesn’t include professional planning help.

Read articles on food and beverage planning. Gain insight on new and improved facilities and activities in their destination guides. Use the meeting space planner to determine your square footage requirements. Looking for space options in San Francisco? The facility search tool has information and links for over 900 options, which you can narrow down based on room requirements. Photographers in Phoenix? The supplier search tool has contact and other information for 54 of them as well as recommendations in 46 other supplier categories.

Getting started is often the hardest part, and MiMegasite lowers that hurdle so you can focus on making the right choices for your group.

5 Tips for Planning a Winter (Ski) Resort Wedding

By guest blogger Blair deLaubenfels

Does the idea of a winter wedding complete with sleigh rides, making tracks through fresh powder, hot toddies, and friends around a roaring fire make you feel warm and cozy inside, but the idea of planning for one leaves you cold? Then try these 5 tips for simplifying winter wedding planning.

1. Choose a resort that offers something for everyone.
North America is full of fabulous places to ski and snowboard, but not all of your guests will be enthusiastic about heading to the slopes. Pick a location that offers a wide range of activities and choices for everybody. Resorts like Whistler, Breckenridge and Vail offer first class nightlife, dining and shopping, as well as plenty of other relaxing and entertaining options for guests of all ages.

2. Hire a local consultant
Even if you're quite familiar with the area you've chosen, finding a highly recommended wedding planner who has lots of experience planning weddings at that destination is a must. Ask for references and check them. Once you've found someone you're comfortable working with, set a budget you can live with and supply the consultant with as much information about the preferences of the guests on your list as you can. Stay in close contact as changes arise.

3. Book early.
Peak times at coveted ski resorts are often booked a year or more in advance, so be sure that you get your reservations all set 12 to 18 months before your wedding. Send out invitations as soon as you've made your arrangements so friends and family have plenty of time to schedule time off and travel.

4. Help your guests plan
Have your consultant provide a detailed itinerary to each person attending. Be sure that it includes a map of the area, transportation arrangements to and from accommodations and events, an hourly time-line for your wedding day and the days leading up to it, as well as contact information for your consultant and local emergency numbers. In addition, guests who aren’t familiar with ski resort living will appreciate a packing list with all the items necessary for them to keep warm and safe.

5. Consider taking your photographer with you.
Seattle wedding consultant Dianne Greene, of Distinctive Weddings and Events, recommends that you hire a photographer who lives near you so that you can meet and see their work before your wedding. When your photos and album are ready you'll be able to pick them up in person, insuring that you get what you paid for.

Blair deLaubenfels is Senior Editor for Junebug Weddings.

Photos supplied by Whistler photographer David Buzzard

Event Venues

Planning a wedding, a milestone birthday, anniversary party, or any other organized group event? Scope out potential locations on a site specializing in helping you find event venues. Eventective is a searchable with Google maps per U.S. city flagged with event locations. Full addresses and basic overview information about each venue is also available.

Santa Fe, New Mexico, for instance, has halls and rooms in hotels, at resort spas, at an Indian museum, B&Bs, a chapel, and more.

Do your own digging around the site and find the ideal location for your next group event.

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Wedding Shows

For the second time in my life, I'm going to attend a bridal show with a good friend who just got engaged. The bride-to-be is giddy with ideas, excited for the big day, and relieved her boyfriend finally popped the question.

Friends and family kick in immediately following engagement announcements to help with wedding planning. Best man and maid of honor, along with wedding parties, are carefully selected by the couple. But brides start their research, often gathering ideas for how to celebrate and tie the knot by asking for advice and going to wedding shows.

Enter friends and family. At wedding shows, there are vendors with cake samples and wedding dresses, plus make-up artists, decoration professionals, and wedding coordinators. There will likely be wedding packages offered for destination weddings and honeymoon ideas. With a dizzying array of options, it's nice to bring friends and family along to these events so the bride can get feedback from those she trusts. If people are scattered around the country or world, weddings shows can be great reasons for a girls getaway weekend.

If you are the bride or are a friend or family member of the bride, here are links to bridal/wedding shows across the country:

• Association for Wedding Professionals International
  Listing of all major U.S. wedding and bridal shows
• Bridal Trade Shows
  Northeast U.S. shows
• Great Bridal Expo
  U.S. bridal fashion shows and other wedding planning exhibits across the U.S.
• Seattle Wedding Show
  Dubbed as largest wedding show on the west coast

Mountain Weddings

Say "I do" in a location where vistas rival vows for taking your breath away. Destination weddings don't have to take place at exotic beaches in countries far, far away. If you're a nature lover and/or skier (or boarder), your dream destination just might be in the mountains or at a ski resort a quick road trip or plane ride away.

Nature calls many to plan weddings at her rocky foothills, and there are plenty of mountain destinations that offer loads of activities, attractions, and services for wedding guests to be entertained from dawn 'til dusk (or vice versa).

Sample ski resorts or mountain areas as hotspots to tie the knot:

• Aspen
• Lake Tahoe
• Killington
• Pocono Mountains
• Steamboat
• Vail Valley
• Whistler Blackcomb

TripHub offers free group travel planning tools for wedding parties and other groups where you can discuss trip details, hotel options, and arrange transportation together.

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Culinary Tours

Food and wine touring is one of the best methods of travel, and a growing trend. You meet locals, often take the road less traveled, taste exquisite regional cuisine, sample rare wines, and try a culture on for size. These scrumptious tours come in all flavors and cater to groups.

Cooking classes abroad
My mom and I participated in a group cooking class while in Florence for a destination wedding. 20 guests from the wedding bonded, made new friends, and spread the spirit of the wedding through the days leading up to the ceremony. With the chef supervising, ingredients prepped, and kitchen utensils at hand, we broke into smaller groups and worked on our respective culinary assignments. Mom and I were with the tort table following a simple recipe for a lemon tort while others prepared a beef entrée, appetizers, and salads. After baking and cooking, we all feasted on our homemade Italian food and drank vino at a big banquet table. Bonus: We all got to take home the recipes and aprons. To this day, it's still one of my most memorable meals. Thanks to Apicius, the Culinary Institute of Florence.

Wine-tasting abroad
The same destination wedding trip to Italy also gave me the opportunity to take a small group wine-tasting tour. We visited quaint, lesser-known wineries and stopped for lunch at a local restaurant in a rural village just outside of Florence. Chianti's 300 acres between Florence and Siena are filled with hills and various wine-growing conditions, producing a range of bouquets. We sampled soft wines, dry wines, and robust wines not marketed in the U.S. Apparently, the American market demands certain grapes and types of wine, but often the local vintners shake their heads in wonder because they know the superior bottles don't sell well on the mass market. Reason alone to do a wine-tasting tour: rare finds. These tours are a great way to meld with the rural areas, sample the fruits of its earth, and pass the time with a little culture.

Pick and choose your favorite culinary tour. Your body, mind, and gut will thank you for it, and it's ideal for group trips. A few suggestions to whet your appetite:

Wine-tasting tours
Tuscany wine tours
Bordeaux wine tours
Napa Valley wineries
Tasting Australia is the biggest wine-tasting event the country, takes place in October
South Australia wine-tasting tours (source: travelgirl magazine, Sept./Oct. 2006)

Beer-tasting tours
Guinness tours in Dublin
Anheuser-Busch Brewery tours in Los Angeles
Redhook Brewery tours in Washington state (near Seattle) or New Hampshire
Samuel Adams Brewery tours in Boston

Food & culinary tours and classes
Pacific Northwest cooking classes and tours
Cooking classes in France, Spain, and Italy
Italian cooking classes
Mexican cooking tours

Food & music tours (eat 'til you ache, dance 'til you drop)
Chateau St. Michelle Winery concerts in Woodinville (near Seattle)
Celtic music and food tours in Ireland and Scotland

Miscellaneous culinary tours
Culinary cruises with world-famous chef menus (think Wolfgang Puck)
Group ice cream (gelato) tours of Italy

Taking a culinary or wine tour with family or friends is a priceless experience, great for girls getaways, bachelorette parties, wedding guest activities, and so on. To plan a group culinary tour, you can start with TripHub's group trip planning services.

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Your Wedding - Your Way

Stress-free wedding planning that reflects your personal style.

By guest blogger Blair deLaubenfels

Getting engaged brings euphoria, joy, and expectation. But all too often the initial excitement that comes from saying "yes" to the big question gets lost in the attempt to answer all the little questions like who to hire, what to wear, where to get married, and how much will it cost.

Here are five fun steps to help plan the wedding of your dreams, personal style in tact.

1. Share your deepest desires

Great partners care about each other's dreams and know how to lend support to help them come true. Before you run out and tell your family and friends your big news, sit down with your fiancé and make a list based on your deepest desires.

• List ten things that you really want from your wedding and the five things that are most important to you about your honeymoon.
• Number them in order of priority.
• Talk about why you choose those things and make a pact that you will work together to see that most, if not all of your deepest desires will be met as you make your wedding planning decisions. This mutual understanding and trust will help you arrive at decisions and respond to all the well meaning advice you’re bound to encounter on your way.
• If you start worrying over little things, check your priority list to get back to what really matters.

2. Set up your support team

With the help of trustworthy friends, supportive family members, and recommended wedding professionals, you'll be able to design a stress-free wedding. Put together a friends and family team based on love, reliability, and interest, and give some thought to the unique skills and talents each individual can bring to your day. Don't be shy to delegate.

Choose the professionals you need by recommendation. Hire an experienced wedding consultant that can share their expertise with you or ask friends who have been married recently. Talk to other wedding professionals and look for businesses that have won local and national awards and recognition. Check references! It doesn't take long and the feedback you get will be invaluable in bolstering your confidence, or steering you clear of a costly mistake.

3. Agree on a budget

This is one of the toughest parts of wedding planning. The average wedding in the United States costs between $18,000 and $25,000 depending on where you live. Use your priority list to set a comfortable budget. Splurge on the things that are really important and get creative about the rest.

Junebug Weddings image editor Kim Bamberg and her husband Adam shared their desires and set their budget in a truly inspiring way. They discovered that they had both always dreamt of getting married in France and that Kim had envisioned herself in a gorgeous gown since she was a little girl. Before anyone told them their dreams were too outrageous, they found the perfect chateau just outside of Paris, rented it for a whole week for less than the average reception cost in Seattle, and invited their friends and family to join them on a once in a lifetime vacation. With cake from the neighborhood boulangerie, flowers from a local market, and the most memorable wine on the planet from the vintner down the lane, Kim was ecstatic when she made her way down the aisle in her Madina Vadache designer original.

4. Reflect your personal style

Do what feels most like you! Most cowboys aren't crazy about tuxes with tails, and fashionistas usually aren't comfortable in anything but the very latest haute couture. Don't let magazines, advertisements, or other peoples' expectations drive your choices. There are a million options to choose from in every aspect of wedding planning. Find the elements for your wedding that are all about you and really make them your own.

5. Relax, and let the magic happen

You're in love, and this can be one of the best times of your life.

I've attended countless weddings and heard about all the little things that cause stress and worry. In almost all cases those distractions have turned out not to matter in the end. Learn about your partner's dreams, think creatively to develop a comfortable budget, involve your friends and family in unique ways, and let your style shine through. Chances are, your wedding will be perfectly you.

Blair deLaubenfels is Senior Editor for Junebug Weddings, which features a hot-list of recommended wedding vendors from the Seattle area, including some of the country's most exceptional wedding photographers who are available for travel all over the world.

Contact Group Trip Advisor to be a guest blogger.

Photo credits: Positive Light Photography

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Mi Hacienda Es Su Hacienda

By guest blogger Jacquelin Carnegie

When planning a family reunion or wedding, taking over a small resort for your exclusive use works wonders. Certain criteria apply to site selection: The resort (or villa or hacienda or block of rental homes) should be a superior facility, offer sumptuous food, non-intrusive service, first class accommodations, and a secluded setting away from distractions.

There are a number of properties around the country (and the world) that exemplify such high standards. Here are tips on how to research your group's idyllic casa away from casa:

1. Look for places that have the feel of a private estate, an ambience of another time and place and are so well run that you (the planner) can relax and enjoy yourself as well.
2. Pick a spot with a distinct change of atmosphere to reinforce the concept of getting away from it all. Also, make sure it's the type of place where guests are pampered and made to feel special. You can feel the difference in the level of relaxation for guests when a resort is reserved for your group's exclusive use.
3. Small resorts with a residential feel and hotel amenities work best for groups of friends and/or family. The sense of being on a private estate helps people let their guard down and unwind, fostering camaraderie—the reason you all wanted to get together in the first place!

Prep Steps Before You Go

1. Before your group arrives, send the property a detailed list of a) The names of all the people in your party, b) The names of people sharing rooms and c) Of those sharing rooms, which ones require a double bed or two single beds.
2. Charm also has its downside. In a hotel, most rooms are uniform but in an estate or hacienda, every room is unique, both in size and decoration. Make your guests aware of this beforehand so cousins don't get miffed because one has a nicer, larger room.
3. If the property offers activities (such as horseback riding or tennis) or has a spa facility (with facials and massages), check if these services need to be booked in advance. If so, let your guests know and provide a way to tally who wants what when - before you arrive!
4. If you are going to a resort outside the U.S., make sure everyone has a valid passport (and remembers to bring it).

Recommended Haciendas in Chile and Mexico

Hacienda Los Lingues in Chile:

Hacienda Los Lingues is about an hour south of Santiago in the heart of the wine-producing Cachapoal Valley. It's one of Chile's oldest and best-preserved estates and the same family, whose home it's been since 1599, now runs it as a hotel. The debonair Don German Claro Lyon and his family are your delightful hosts.

If you're looking for old-world, South American charm, the Hacienda Los Lingues is the spot. Shaded verandas lead to 18 rooms and suites furnished with heirloom antiques, family photos and memorabilia.

Activities for groups: a) wine tasting - there's a lovely vineyard on the property and day trips to local wineries; b) horseback riding - the stable of "Aculeo" horses, related to the famed Lipizzanas, is world-renowned.

And, if looking for a destination wedding spot, you can get married in the estate's beautiful, traditional Chilean chapel. You'll feel as if you're on the set of some fantastic South American movie. See more about travel in Chile.

Hacienda Temozón in Yucatan, Mexico:

In the early 1990's, abandoned (and formerly luxurious) haciendas from the economic heyday of the Yucatan region around Merida, were restored and converted into luxury hotels. Hacienda Temozón, about a half hour from Merida, is the grandest of three newly-restored properties, now part of The Luxury Collection of Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

As a result, you get the best of both worlds: a sense of the affluent lifestyle enjoyed during the economic boom and lovely, modern amenities. Much of the original décor, such as intricately-decorated floor tiles and beamed ceilings, has been preserved in the 28 elegantly-furnished rooms and guest quarters.

Spacious gardens, a spectacular swimming pool, and spa make this an ideal place to relax. It's also an excellent base for exploring the rich cultural heritage of the Yucatan peninsula and the surrounding Mayan architectural sites.

There is also a 17th-century church on the property, ideal for weddings. See more about travel in Yucatan, Mexico.

Jacquelin Carnegie is a Contributing Travel Editor to Accent magazine. For the past 15 years, she has covered international travel destinations for both consumer and business publications.

Photos courtesy of Hacienda Los Lingues in Chile and Starwood Hotels & Yucatan Turismo in Mexico