Jessica has been recognized as a preferred vendor to work with by her industry peers, earned TheKnot.com’s Best of Weddings award 9 times, and been inducted into TheKnot.com Hall of Fame. Jessica is a multi-award-winning photographer, a leader in her industry, and an educator to up-and-coming photographers through her Embark Retreat.
Hello amazing followers! Since there are a lot of you following me who are planning a wedding or know some who is, I’m bringing back my interview series and hope these blog posts provide you with some awesome professional insight into the world of planning a wedding! Today, I have owner of Uptown Events & Travel, Jessica Upton answering questions about hiring a travel agent for your honeymoon (or anniversary/or for your destination wedding!) Check out her advice below to some of the most frequently asked questions and make sure to contact her for your honeymoon travel needs!
Ladies, lets be real- you’ve probably been totally swamped in wedding planning and passed the task of booking your honeymoon onto your beau. You can’t wait until the day you can leave all the overwhelming details behind and hop on a plane to your dream destination. The only thing holding you back is your handsome groom has no idea where to start and doesn’t want to make the wrong decisions. Fear not! Set your man up for success and recommend he use a travel advisor.
To start, I will want to have a thorough conversation about what you both envision for your honeymoon. We will discuss destination ideas, activity preferences, budget, and dates. From this conversation I will begin to put together recommendations for you.
Although every honeymoon has its unique characteristics, generally I recommend booking your flights first. If your dates are flexible, confirming your flights first sets the parameters. Next we move on to hotels. I make suggestions based upon quality, price point, and location desirability. Once hotels have been decided, we move on to transportation and activities. Each step of the way, I provide perfectly curated options for you to select from that match your preferences. No need to spend hours reading reviews in hopes of picking the right hotels. You can rest assure that I am only going to recommend options that fit exactly what you’re looking for.
Yes absolutely! In fact, if you haven’t started paying for the wedding expenses with a credit card that gives your reward points, I suggest doing so immediately. Make your money work for you! If you are already spending the $ on your big day, might as well get rewarded for it!
The big question! Either a very minimal fee or completely free! Depending upon the complexity of the trip, I may charge a small planning fee to cover the time I put into creating a custom itinerary for you. This rate is usually between $50-$250 total. Otherwise, you pay the same no matter if you book on your own or if you use me as your travel advisor. Hotels, cruises, and tour operators pay travel advisors a commission, so that is how I make a profit.
I hope this has given you a better idea of what to expect using a travel advisor. When you find yourself ready to begin planning your honeymoon, I’d love to help!
Thanks and best wishes,
Jessica Upton
Jessica@UptownEventsTravel.com
361-935-7009 | www.UptownEventsTravel.com
In case you’re curious where you should go, here’s a quick glance at some of the amazing places I’ve visited/photographed weddings at including: Thailand, New Zealand, Australia, Cancun, Hawaii (Maui/Oahu), Italy, Ireland, France, Bavaria, London, Costa Rica and the Carribbean!
Brisbane, Australia
Barcelona, Spain
Bavaria/Austria
Galway, Cliffs of Moher, Kilkenny, Dublin, Ireland
Italy – Venice, Florence, Tuscany, Rome, Capri, Sorrento, Naples, Pompeii, Cinque Terre
London, England
New Zealand – North Island (Hobbiton, Volcano Coromandel Peninsula, Mordoor)
Hawaii – Waikiki, Oahu, Maui
France – Paris, Disneyland, Normandy
Phukett, Thailand
Caribbean Cruise – Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, Antiqua
Jessica Frey is an award-winning, Texas Hill Country-based international wedding and event photographer committed to delivering a high-quality experience complete with stunning and joyful images.
With everything that goes into planning a wedding, it seems like it would be super helpful to have someone else plan the travel details of the honeymoon! So much is already happening, I could imagine how helpful having a different person’s eye on those details would be for a bride.
This is such helpful information! I wish I had all of these tips when I was planning my honeymoon. It was such a frustrating process! Also- LOVE seeing all of your travel photos!
Riight! It’s always great having help planning travel. It was so much fun gathering all our trip photos and makes me want to go back to all of the places!
Tons of helpful information, Jessica! I love all the places you’ve traveled, too. Kinda makes me think we need a second honeymoon 😀
Each couple is different and have high expectation on their honeymoon, as perfect honeymoon for one couple might be a dreadful experience for another couple. Therefore Travel agent must pay attention to their desires as well as budget for the trip!
Well said Jessica!! I must say here Fantastic blog it is! Also, I want to thanks you for the excellent tips you have discussed here.