Destination weddings can open the door to an entirely new revenue stream for wedding professionals. In this episode of Mind Your Wedding Business, Kevin sits down with Tami Santini, founder of Paradise Getaways and Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Travel Business Academy, to discuss what it takes to break into the destination wedding travel industry.

Tami shares why wedding pros don't need to know everything before getting started, from finding the right niche and building supplier relationships to understanding group travel and creating a message that attracts the right clients. She also explains how destination wedding travel can complement an existing wedding business and create opportunities to continue serving couples long after the wedding day.

If you've ever wondered what it takes to work in destination wedding travel (or whether it could be a natural extension of your current services), this episode is a great place to start.

Tami Santini is the founder of Paradise Getaways, an award-winning destination wedding travel agency, and creator of The 20K System & Toolkit, North America's leading course for building a destination wedding business. With numerous industry accolades and partnerships with top travel organizations, Tami now shares her strategies to help others achieve success in the wedding and travel industry.

Highlights:

• Why destination wedding travel is a valuable niche for wedding pros
• What a destination wedding travel professional actually does
• The skills you need to get started in the industry
• Why specializing can help you stand out and attract the right clients
• How resort and supplier relationships support your business
• Ways destination wedding travel can create repeat clients and new revenue opportunities

Connect with Tami:

Website

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

LinkedIn

Tami’s Ultimate Checklist to Multiply Your Destination Wedding Leads

Connect with Kevin:

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All right, folks, welcome to another episode of Mind Your Wedding Business. I'm here today with Tami Santini. She is the founder of Destination Wedding and Honeymoon Travel Business Academy. So I'm really excited to have her here today because we're going to be talking about how to break into the destination wedding travel niche. So before we do that, I like the hands up. All right, Tami, tell us a little bit about yourself and how we got you here today.

like you said, my name is Tami. I'm coming to you from the beautiful state of Michigan where we have very cold winters and and that's part

Yeah.

of my story is one very cold winter I got stuck in a ditch with and I had a corporate job and I was digging my myself out 'cause my dad taught me how to do what I gotta do, you know, when you when

Yeah.

you live in Michigan. Digging myself out, I injured myself.

Doggone it and but the corporate

no.

world very different with their rules on restrictions and allowing you to come back if you have them or not, you know, all those things. So I ended up losing that wonderful job that I had and found myself on the unemployment train with a very busy household of five daughters. none of them none of them yeah, none of them could drive.

my god, five daughters? I I

oh my god, we can do a whole podcast episode on raising five daughters. Jeez.

None of them could drive at the time. So I'm like, I gotta have something flexible, right? So

Yeah.

ultimately ended up deciding to just start a travel business. Kind of, you know, just like just this like God thing, really, to be

Yeah.

honest with you. And I was just like, That sounds really exciting. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, but I'm gonna do it. And so my husband and I were like, Okay, we're gonna figure this out. And we definitely made several mistakes because like I said, we had no clue.

We always do, yeah.

But here we are today. I ultimately decided okay, I gotta specialize in something. So I went into romance travel, first honeymoons, and then I got brave enough to do destination weddings and I realized that destination weddings weren't as scary as I thought initially, 'cause some people think, oh my gosh, that seems like very intimidating, right? Like I gotta know all these people, I gotta know DJs and Florists in Mexico, you know, all the things that we think

Yeah, yeah.

but it didn't end up being quite that challenging. So

Here we are 18 years later, still have my travel business, and now I also coach people in this destination wedding travel world. And so yeah, that's kind of the nutshell of it.

My sister

lived in Michigan for a while, so I've been there in the winter and it was really cold. So I know I'm

Yeah. Right.

from California, so us California people, anytime we get around the snow, we just don't equate as Californians

Yeah.

and snow. So anyway, so what led you to start your teaching side of your business?

well, you know, I kinda just felt like there was more for me. It's like

it's

Okay.

an interesting thing. I was believe it or not, Kevin, I was in Bora Bora. I know, I know. Poor me. Woohoo.

Yeah, poor. Yeah. I'm

I I feel really sad right now.

I was in Bora Bora for this event that I was invited to to attend and and at in this beautiful overwater villa, you know, outside sipping my coffee and just kinda praying and journaling and I just felt like there was this nudge for something more and I'm like, I'm in this most amazing place, like I'm at the top of where I'm at in my business, like I'm doing really well, I'm getting invited to these amazing destinations. So

You know, I'm having this level of success, but I just felt like there was something else and I couldn't quite understand what it was. So I just kept pursuing like, okay, what is the next step? But throughout the years of me being in the industry, people always ask me, like, how do you do what you do? Like, how are you getting these clients? Or how are you even building a travel business in this world where everybody's going online and booking their travel and

Yeah.

You

know, all of that kind of stuff. Cause that was starting right when I had started my business. Other travel agencies were closing their doors. You know, the physical buildings were closing their doors because they couldn't compete anymore. So people were always asking me that and I would I would take the time and I would meet with people and I would sit down and I would say, This is what I did, this is how I did it. And they would probably just be overwhelmed and think that was a lot of work and so I'm not gonna do it. I'd like instead of talking them into it, I talked them out of it somehow. I didn't mean to.

But that's the way it works.

That's funny.

So that's ultimately I went to this event. my husband and I we got this invitation to this event by somebody he was following, like a business coach. And we

Yeah.

went to it and we had this kind of an idea for a business, a coaching business, but they flipped the script and they said, No, you need to be trying to teach other people how to get into the business you're in. I'm like,

Yeah.

What?

Yeah.

But that's kind of how it all I mean, literally when you just start looking for answers, right? You just think doors will start opening for you. because you're recognizing that you're looking for an opportunity and you're just like, Okay, that's that's the next step that I have to take. So

Yeah. No, it makes sense. you know, so what makes destination wedding travel niche so attractive for entrepreneurs right now? Other than being in Bora Bora and, you know, journaling and yeah.

The travel perks. Yeah.

No, the travel perks. Seriously though, like the beauty of like, like I said, we have five children. So family of seven, trying to travel somewhere, expensive. You know, my husband was a school teacher. It's not like we were rolling in the dough. Do you know what I'm saying?

Yeah.

So, to be able to go on those types of trips, you know, earned by the sales and stuff that I had, like really just unforgettable memories for our family. So I'm so blessed and grateful for

being able to have those perks in the industry. But really to be honest with you, I think that what I'm seeing in the industry is that this is a niche market where couples still need hand holding. They still need a person, a real life person, to assist them through this process because it's a personal decision. And you

Mm-hmm.

know, like here when we're planning a wedding traditionally in in our area

We're visiting the venues, we're driving in our car, we're going and we're meeting with the caterers, we're tasting the food, we're meeting with the photographer and seeing their work. When you're doing a destination wedding, you're not able to do those things like right out of the gate. You kind of need to

Yeah.

have somebody who's been there who can connect you with the right people and help you make the best decision based on your needs. And so I think that's one of the reasons why it's

you know, kind of still relevant in today's world is that it's a specialty within, you know, the wedding and travel world. and people need that. So hopefully that answered the question.

No, it i it did and

the biggest thing too is just you have to be the connector, 'cause a lot of these people are probably booking these, resorts or whatever sight unseen, you know, just from photos online or videos online. Yeah.

Right, and that's

you never know what you're gonna get nowadays. It's like everything else, like

No, yeah. So you having

someone like yourself that can go, No, that you wanna steer away from that that place, it looks pretty on on

Right. It's like it's

like me taking a picture of myself today because I got my hair done and my makeup on. But is this what Tami looks like on a daily? No.

Yeah.

No, it's not. Work from home life, right?

I I

love it. I know what you're saying.

I would say just because we it is that specialty that you can you know kind of make your mark and you can book a business fast. I think that what I discovered when I started going into destination weddings was how quickly I built my business in general

Mm.

because you have one couple who hires you and with them comes whatever, fifty people, a hundred

Yeah.

people.

But all those guests, they connect with you, they work with you, they ask you questions, you connect with them, you get to know them, and then they realize, okay, you can do other things in travel as well. I want to do a birthday group. I want to do a 50th, you know, anniversary vow renewal, whatever it is, or 25th or whatever. You know, so people you start connecting and then they those people also become ones who are like, I went to this destination wedding, it was awesome, you gotta connect with Tami, she did a great job.

So then they're also going to refer you.

So

Yeah.

because it again, it's just one of those industries where if you have a specialty, it really just makes a big difference in your ability to have success and like actually have a good foundation for a business that because it what I tell people when I'm coaching them, I'm like, you know, you might be interested in this niche right now, but in the future, as you build your business, you are gonna be open to so many other things.

Because you're gonna now have actual clients that you can sell them anything. Like you don't have to stay in destination wise if you don't want. So right

Just weddings, yeah.

now I've got travel clients, I just do all kinds of travel for whatever it might be, cruises, river cruises, a Europe trip, a Alaska trip, just a all inclusive getaway just because whatever it is. So I can just do

Yeah.

all of it.

Yeah, it's kind of like so a lot of us in the wedding industry, we don't get repeat clients where you're able to have a repeat client after there because you

Right.

can take care of their travel needs as they continue on in life. So that's

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

interesting. for someone that's completely new to this space, what does destination wedding travel professional actually do?

you know, you can set your business up really however you want. there's kind of some main things obviously that you will do, but many people that I coach kind of do the same thing that I did, which is I was like, I am not a wedding planner and you

Mm-hmm.

really don't want me planning your wedding, right? Like that's I'm just like I can help you set up the group travel, I can help you find the right place that's gonna be a good fit for you that's gonna have the type of

activities that you want, it's gonna have the look that you want, the vibe that you want, the venue that you want, that kind of a thing. So kind of matchmaking, so to speak, my client to the right resort, but I typically would hand the client off to the on-site team to do all of the wedding planning. Now

The details, yeah.

over the years, now since I've done it so many times, I actually can assist with some of these things because now I know.

Now I understand how this whole thing works and like like I

Yeah.

understand planning a wedding and all the intricacies of that. but I'm not I've never been on site with a group and I do offer as a add on to my services. but I've never had to go with a couple and be there or anything like that. But there are people in the industry

And hand hold. Yeah, they do that.

who will do that, right? But they you just have to charge accordingly. It's it's

Yeah,

I would imagine yeah, I would imagine there's some couples that are going there early and and doing, site visits and you know, months before the wedding and then there's couples that just show up and, just handle everything right that weekend of of the event. So

Right. Yeah. I mean, everybody's different. but I'm seeing that there's a lot of like wedding planners that are getting into this niche.

And

Mm-hmm.

it's just a natural for them. And they can offer so much more than someone like myself who really just handles more of that communication group logistical stuff,

Logistics, yeah.

you know, compared to like really guiding them with their wedding planning and actually going and being on site. So

literally a lot of different business models can be made out of this as well.

Yeah. All right, Tami, what are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about working in the destination wedding industry?

I think that one of the biggest is that like you literally have to know everything before you can get

Mm-hmm.

started. I got started not traveling to any of the places at first, right? You you get there, you will need to travel. Like that's going to be an investment that you're gonna have to make and wanna make to really serve your clients. but you don't have to know it all, you don't have to be certified. There's no

Mm.

certification required.

to get started. Literally what I tell people sometimes is like literally if you just care, if you care about people and them having a good experience, that's really all it takes because then you will do what you need to do. You'll learn what you need to learn. You'll

Mm.

be able to put it together. Do you know what I'm saying? Because you like

Yeah.

you have integrity. you're gonna do

Yeah.

the job and you know and but I think that a lot of people think they've got to know this and know that and know this and know that.

but obviously the biggest portion of our income in the destination wedding travel is the travel commission from

Mm-hmm.

the group travel. So you do have to be connected with a host agency that you can partner with and be able to have a travel number so that you can get those travel commissions. Mm-hmm.

Yeah, and that's where you get paid. So all

right, what skills or strengths translate well into this niche, especially for like wedding professionals looking to expand their services?

I think just being somebody who really understands the needs of a couple in today's world and being able to be a really good listener.

Mm-hmm.

I also think that communication is really, really important. Like you do have to have some attention- I am not I have attention to detail, but I'm not one of those. I'm not an type

Mm-hmm.

A personality, right? I am I need I'm a type whatever. I don't even know

Type B

One that doesn't exist. Like, you know, you might come over to my house and visit me and if I know you're coming, things are gonna look tidy, but don't open my closet doors. Don't look don't look in my basement.

Yeah.

Right. Like I that's that's who I am. I'm that type of person. So you know what I'm saying? It's like,

I know what you're saying.

you know, don't run your finger on everything. It might there might be some dust there.

So yeah, communication for sure is a big thing. Having some attention to detail, some organization skills, some understanding like systems and processes and spreadsheets, that kind of a thing. There's a little bit of math

Yeah.

involved, but you know, really that's kind of the

Simple math though.

that's pretty much the majority of what you need. Like there's no crazy wild skills that you gotta have. Like just be a

person of integrity who cares and you know and has

Yeah. Sh show well and

it sounds like show a little hospitality and the you're gonna be everything's gonna be fine. So

Yeah. Yes.

all right. So what are some of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to break into the destination weddings?

I think that what I see a lot of people do is starting like just this broad idea of destination weddings and not really understanding the different avenues, and the different niches within destination weddings. And I think that what happens is that they don't understand that they've got to have a really good message in order to

Mm-hmm.

attract people because there's still gonna be competition, right? And we're still I mean

We're seeing all the time people go into Reddit and they're going to Reddit threads and they're going to Facebook

yeah.

groups asking strangers for advice on where they should host their destination wedding, right? So,

Right. Yeah.

you know, we've gotta have a way to have a good message that's gonna let people know like this is what I offer and this is what sets me apart. And I think that where people

Even just in business in general, what I find is that people don't understand themselves enough and they don't know their strengths enough to realize that their strengths are like a superpower that somebody needs. And a lot of times I am working with couples that are just very scattered, too busy, very decision fatigued, hard to make decisions. And so they tend to like to work with me because I can keep them

in line and tell them the next step but not overwhelm them so much that they freeze. Like they

Yeah.

need somebody who's gonna say, Okay, now this is the next thing we're gonna do and this is what we're gonna work on and this is what I need from you. And

Yeah, just taking

over each hurdle as they go, not yeah.

Right, right. So

I think knowing your own rhythm and style and how you do business, how you operate, what makes you you, and like really understanding your own strengths helps you know, okay, if I have these strengths, what type of people need these gifts that I already have, these talents, these strengths that I already have, what types of personalities or people need that? And I think that helps you fine-tune your message a little bit so

Yeah.

that when those people land on your content.

and

your website or whatever, then they immediately connect with that and they say, okay, I need that person to help me.

No, makes sense. All right. How did you land your first big destination wedding client?

How did I land? I think I did do an advertisement for my first one. I think I did. I'm pretty sure that my first one was. And I I could be wrong because it was a long time ago.

Yeah.

but I'm pretty sure this was from one of the old school wedding magazines, bridal

Yeah.

brides, probably brides magazine, where you know how in the back of the magazine you have just the little text. It's

Yep. Yep. Yep.

like Google text, but in a magazine, right?

Yeah, exactly.

I think

I think that's what I did.

because I do consultation with people, I don't just start opening up a endless communication with people. I do a consultation

Yeah.

and and I think that's a skill too that I didn't bring up earlier. A skill good skill would be, you know, having that being able to be able to can consult with somebody and close a sale. Like we we do have to be able to do that, otherwise, if you don't ask for it, you're not gonna get it.

Yeah, no makes yeah,

well, it's it's in anything in life. I think it's that way. yeah, the answer is always gonna be no unless yes. So all

Mm-hmm.

right. So what strategies have been the most effective for building relationships with couples, resorts, industry, partners in your industry?

yeah, I think that yeah, networking is a big deal. There's different associations that you know you can partner with. I think that probably the biggest thing really is traveling

because when you travel and we call them familiarization trips, but if you can go on a familiarization trip that's, you know, hosted where you're paying a a minimal fee to go there, you know, it's a good investment, you're paying your for your flight or whatever.

That's where you're connecting with the on-site team. That's where you're understanding how the ground operations work. That's where you're understanding, okay, this is the role of what the wedding coordinator does. This is what the wedding manager does. this is the end result of putting all of these things together, and who's working on this wedding, but meeting other agents as well and just asking questions and learning from them.

Mm-hmm.

you know, you just learn so much just from each other and what their people are doing in their business. And I think, you know, partnering initially with when I tell people to get started in the industry, like to find a few brands that you just feel like you align with, they're brands that you like what they stand for, or you're just like, I would go there. This is where I would want to have my wedding, right? Something that already like excites you because the

overwhelm I guess of being in the business and this is the overwhelm of the couple too is there's so many choices. So many resorts, so many venues, so many, so many. It's like, you know. So you kind of need to start somewhere, get that foundation of knowledge on a certain brand and what they provide in their portfolio of resorts and that sort of thing. and then you know connecting with business development managers. So each brand, resort brand, so let's just say

the the hard rock hotels resort the hard rock resorts

Yeah.

they have a business development manager that's somebody you want to connect with and they're gonna show you and teach you everything that you need to know about the resort, how to sell them, what sets them apart, right? So finding some of those types of people to to work with and then like doing any sort of trade shows, event events and that sort of thing. Because there's always

Yeah.

gonna be something local. You don't always have to be traveling to Mexico unless you want to.

Yeah.

Or Dominican or wherever you wanna, you know. Yeah.

Yeah, wherever wherever you want to go. All

right. how are important are your partnerships and supplier relationships in growing your destination wedding business?

I

think they're really vital because in this industry stuff happens.

we're in the world of travel. Like I just had, everything that went down in February in Puerto Vallarta with the drug cartel. Literally

Yeah.

six weeks post that I had a a wedding group and people were panicking, people were dropping off like flies, like they're not gonna go, even though by the time the travel, you know, was in

everything was clear, everything was good. then there's viruses and there's all sorts of different things that happen in this right. Yeah. Weather,

Weather, I would imagine. Yeah.

hurricanes, you know, there's so you do have to have good connections with people and good relationships. this isn't something that you can just be flying solo with. especially when you're brand new.

a lot of people get started in the industry and they'll be like, I'm just gonna, all right, I got my first client. I'm gonna just go to xyz dot com website and I'm just gonna book it as an agent where

Yeah.

no you really wanna work with a travel supplier, and that's just a whole nother discussion. But travel suppliers, you know, offer you much more support and can go to bat for you. I've had a lot of different things happen over the years with clients when they're in destination.

And if I were left to myself to try to help this family in need, I don't know what I would have done. It but

Yeah.

travel supplier, they know what to do, they know who to call, they know how to get things done for you. So, if there's a lot of riding on it, right? And when when things, you know, when people get injured, whatever it might be, like you just need

Yeah.

You never know what's gonna happen when you're traveling.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

So yeah. All right. So I guess this is a million dollar question, but how has the destination wedding market changed over the years?

there's always been fluctuations. when things kind of just got first started, people were like, there were smaller groups and then it became more common and people weren't so hesitant to go to a destination wedding, or just wasn't so out of bounds. So then you have bigger groups and then you have different things going on in the world, so then you got back to the micro destination wedding,

It's an industry just like any other that just kind of ebbs and flows with what's going on in the world, you know, the economy, all of those types of things. but I would say now compared to when I first started, when I first started, most people were doing a destination wedding because they wanted more of that, like hands off, stress free. I just

Yeah.

want to show up and have a beautiful wedding day and not worry about it. and now couples are taking that.

big dream Pinterest board vision and just bringing it to a destination. And so they want the same elaborate things that they would want. they have a sixty thousand dollar budget or whatever it is. And so it's not always just about saving money like it used to be like, oh this is cheaper. You get more for your money. It's a vacation at the same

Yeah.

time. Now it's like, you know what, we're gonna go for it. We're still spending the whole

budget we've we have for this wedding and then we're also gonna just, you know, create have a really fun celebration with our family and friends. So I would say that's you know, it's probably the Instagram life, you know, everybody gotta up the other person.

Yeah, well, yeah, that's very, very true. That's in everything that we do. It's funny, when my wife and I got married, I was trying to convince her, you know, 'cause I'm in the wedding industry and you know, like I don't want to go to another venue that I work at all the time. And

Mm.

I was like, Let's go, let's I was trying to sell her on the destination. We'll make it smaller and you know, but it I

Mm-hmm.

ultimately we ended up at a at a venue I work at still I was just there last night working a wedding. So But I really tried, I really tried for

that's great.

the destination.

I was really, really trying it. So all right, Tami, what opportunities do you see that most people are overlooking right now when it comes to, you know, destination wedding?

I think that there's a lot of opportunity with the certain specialties within the industry and like the South Asian weddings, there's a big opportunity

Mm-hmm.

there. the challenge with that is that you do need to get one under your belt in order for many other people to hire you. Like there that's one of the questions that the father's gonna ask you, like, have you done one of these before? And then if

Yeah.

you haven't,

You know, but there are certifications and extra trainings that you can do. Obviously, there's you know, different on site events and and stuff like that that you can go to to to learn and then just knowing who to partner with in terms of resort brands that do a stellar job with those types of weddings. I think any type of specialty wedding is good. I also think there's a lot of opportunity for the off site venues.

And really knowing off site venues because you know that working with a resort is so easy. Like I much prefer that because it makes my life a lot easier. But I do have a lot of weddings where you know the couple really wants something specific. and it's just not gonna happen at a resort venue. They just they don't

Right. Yeah.

have the look or the vibe that the couple wants. And so, you know, putting together something like that and just having those connections and

And making those relationships within the industry of knowing some of these different off site venues and then understanding the lay of the land to know like which resorts would be a good to host the group. so I think those probably off the top of my head are a couple of good options for

No, makes sense.

Opportunity.

yeah, I love it. So for wedding planners and other like pros listening, how can destination wedding travel services complement their existing business?

if you're already like people are requesting it, or let's say you're a photographer and you're already gonna do the shoot, like it would be a good compliment. But if you're already like a wedding day coordinator or a wedding planner or something like that, it really is just a natural fit for that. I think too that

Once you do this, once you're in this niche, like I said earlier, you can just you can sell any type of travel. So the beauty of that is that you've you've got this kind of side service, like, yeah, we also we also offer destination weddings. You know, we specialize in, you know, Mexico, Caribbean, whatever it is you specialize in. You could do Italy, right? You can do anywhere. Like Italy's probably definitely a good opportunity too, but a little bit harder logistically, but

you know, Greece, Italy, those types of places are are hot for destination weddings.

But once you're in the industry then and you already have let's say past clients that you've worked with and you know you've kept track of them, you've got your CRM or whatever you know when their anniversaries are like you can send them on an anniversary getaway. You could say, hey let's how about we do a a five year

anniversary trip or a

10 year vow renewal in you know jamaica or whatever like you can

Yeah.

start offering different things for them once you get the once you get all of these types of you know understanding of how this all works and you know the the amazing part about destination weddings is that you they are very very lucrative so not only are you gonna make a good payday but you know you're also on average probably if you have a

I don't even I don't wanna guess inaccurately, but I would say at let's say twenty five to thirty rooms. So, you know, fifty, sixty people coming to a destination wedding, you can easily with a lot of the brands, you can easily earn like a full week vacation for yourself with that. So it's like

wow. wow.

a extra bonus that you can take your, you know, your spouse or whatever. And we all in this industry we work hard. Like you should

Yeah.

be able to have that extra perk and I

Like I said, like I am so blessed to be able to to do those types of things because you know, travel's an expensive luxury in today's

Mm.

economy, right? and so to be able to do that and literally just pay for my flights or use my miles that I've earned, you know, to

Yeah.

pay for my flights, like like I can travel to Mexico for way cheaper than I can go to Chicago for three days. You know, like what world are we living

Yeah. Isn't it crazy? Yeah.

in?

Yeah. No, it's it is little nutty. And you gotta love your travel perks. So i I mean, we all get in different ways, but from miles on a credit card to you you name it, but yeah, it's

it makes a world of difference. So

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

all right. If someone's wanting to start exploring this niche this year, what would be kind of the first steps you'd recommend?

I would just start looking at, you know, maybe some specialties that you would be interested in, maybe areas of the world. if you think you would want to do, you know, like an all-inclusive resort type thing, start looking up some brands that have destination weddings there and just get a feel for what's out there, the types of packages, the costs, and just what you think is exciting to you. But you know, whether it be somewhere across the pond or wherever.

be I think that's a good place to start so that you can kind of just get a feel for what's available out there and then you know if you're serious about it the easiest way to get into the business more turnkey is to partner with a host agency so you would you would partner with a a travel host agency and you do commission split and there's probably going to be some sort of you know monthly fee involved in having

access to their their network.

Services. Yeah.

Yeah. that would probably be the next thing you'd want to do. And then, you know, then you from there you can or even before that you can work on, you know, messaging and trying to figure out like where do I fit in to this? Like what's my message going to be? Who do I help? And if you're already helping people in the industry, you already have a book of business that you know like

you go back and you look at your past clients, you're like, I really loved working with that couple. Like they were, you know, that was easy. We just jive well. so then you can kinda understand like the types of people that you work best with and and all of that. So yeah.

Yeah. So

right now, Tami, what are some of the like the top destinations that people are booking right now for destination weddings?

I think that the Caribbean and Mexico and that sort of place are still gonna be some of your top destinations in general, especially for those couples that, you know, really want to have as many friends and family join them as possible because they're the easiest to get to. For those smaller weddings, you know, they might do something further away where they're just like, you know, we just want this these handful of people with us anyway. Like that's what they're looking for. They're looking for that more intimate.

experience but I would say the easiest and because you know you're really the interesting part about a destination wedding is it's more about typically it's more about the guests and it's more about the vacation than it is the wedding itself.

Mm.

That's what you find. So there's a little bit of a flip of where a lot of times in the you know in the wedding industry we're thinking it's it is all about the wedding. This is it's the the the big day, the big day the you know

And oftentimes not the case with a destination wedding.

Yeah.

When I talk with couples, a lot of times their emphasis is on their guests. And because it's really more like a full vacation people are getting, and then you have the wedding. Right.

Yeah.

The wedding is just like a slice of of the experience. So the rest of it is the fun and the bonding and the laughter and the creating memories and doing, you know, maybe some fun.

activities and excursions together and like really just creating a memorable time for everyone but they just so happen to be also celebrating, a wedding. So mm.

Someone's marriage. Yeah. No,

and it's kind of I I feel like still like in everyday weddings, the couples are focusing on the guest experience. so it's good to hear that that maybe that's coming from the travel market but it's just like everyone wants to make sure their guests are having a great time over the wedding itself. Like it's about having a big party with their family and friends. So

Right. Mm-hmm.

all right. So now the big question, Tami, what's your favorite?

travel destinations that you get to go to.

you know, that is a really hard question.

Yeah.

I there's always something good about everywhere, right?

Yeah.

I would say Bora Bora was probably something that, you know, was just stunning and and I definitely want to get back there with my husband because I went with a group of travel agents.

how funny yeah was so

I'm like literally staying in the most romantic, lavish overwater villa of my life, four seasons. Four seasons.

well.

Like it ruined me. I'm like now I'm a travel snob.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

so I'm like, No, I gotta get back there with my husband, it'll make it'll it'll be even more fantastic. But obviously Hawaii was definitely one of my favorites. And I did a river cruise in Europe and that really surprised me at how much I enjoyed that experience. so so yeah, I mean

Yeah, Maui

Maui is still to this day my favorite. And

Yeah.

it just like and we go as a family

Mm-hmm.

once to twice a year depending you know, 'cause we're on the the west coast, so that is our easy hop over the pond, so to speak, to get over

Yeah.

there. But yeah, it just you know, it I I don't know. But

No, it

takes your breath away. I'm I'm with you there, Kevin, because I do like that, you know, I like the beach and the water, but then also the greenery and the majesty of the mountains and the volcanoes and just mm hmm.

The history, the you name it. Yeah.

The culture of it. Yeah. So very yeah, I agree with you.

Well, and how everything I feel like life slows down there. Like

Mm-hmm.

it just it's nice and easy and relaxed and

Mm-hmm.

anyway. All right. Tami, I can't thank you enough for everything that you have taught us here today, but where can listeners learn more from you and connect with you?

you know what? You can just catch me on social. That's probably the easiest thing. my name, Tami Santini, for Instagram and then Facebook, destination wedding coach

we'll be sure to have all of Tammy's socials and all her information that'll go out in the show notes and the email blast that'll that'll be going out there shortly. Tami, I can't thank you enough and I'm ready to actually pack my bags and

Okay.

get on an airplane. but people that know me know that I'm always ready to pack my bags and get on an airplane at any moment of notice. So

Yeah.

but anyway, Tami, I can't thank you enough. And folks, thank you for listening to another episode of Mind Your Wedding Business. We'll see you next time.

Thank you.