happy groundhog day! they’re saying six more weeks of winter. am i going to be able to stand it? i was catching up with laura sangster the other day who is one of the most popular destination wedding planners for the caribbean and we corresponded about the nature of wedding photography and destination weddings. “what is the trend in destination wedding photography?” i wondered. coming from an experienced planner laura noted, “the hotel photographers can not compare to a private photographer. period. i think the trend is towards budgeting more for a photographer than ever before.” she always has great advice ranging from featuring resorts on her blog to even compiling and shifting through the mis-information that abounds online in regards to international marriage license requirements. i have already pointed my destination wedding couples to her blog because it really is a go-to resource. i decided that it would be a good idea to introduce Laura to my readers. in these cold winter months, destination wedding requests couldn’t be more plentiful. Laura has helped over a hundred happy brides and grooms plan their dream weddings acting as a liaison between the foreign cultural traditions and customs in relation to weddings and the United States based brides.
Introduce yourself:
Laura Sangster | www.CaribbeanJourney.com | 866-236-1924
Destination Wedding Blog
Twitter @CaribbeanTrips
Caribbean Weddings on Facebook
How did you get started selling Destination Weddings?
When I decided to become a travel consultant, I knew I wanted to specialize in the Caribbean. I am very passionate about the region… about the stress free feeling one has when in paradise, so it was an easy choice for me. The Caribbean is synonymous with romance and soon my engaged clients began asking me to help arrange the travel for their destination weddings. Over the years, my involvement has swelled from simply booking airfare + hotel for wedding guests to helping brides find the perfect location for their dream wedding and being a full time sounding board for my brides on everything from local customs, reception menus, goodie bags and more.
What did you learn from planning your own Destination Wedding?
So much! The knowledge I gained from planning and hosting my own destination wedding at The Rockhouse Hotel in Negril, Jamaica for 120 guests, is invaluable. The most difficult part is finding the perfect location. I seriously considered 11 places and it took a few excruciating months to finalize our decision. I also learned how important it is to book your destination wedding photographer for the morning after your wedding too, put the dress back on and take advantage of the a.m. lighting for a few more photos. This is a growing trend!
What is the single most important piece of advice you share with your Brides?
To relax!!! It is important to remember that most suppliers a Bride will come in contact with when planning a Caribbean Wedding are based in the islands and they work on “island time”. This translates to longer than desired turn arounds on rate quotes and questions. I try to convince my Brides to see the beauty in their more relaxed way of doing business because there really is nothing we can do to speed up the process. As a travel consultant, it is my job to stay on top of the process and make sure none of the delays cause us to lose reservation space.
What is the biggest trend you are seeing for 2010 Destination Weddings?
For 2010 I am seeing the trend away from seashell themed weddings and the move towards simple, chic, and elegant. One of the more frustrating aspects of planning my own wedding was the difficulty I had in finding favors and décor that met my taste. Everything available at that time (2004/2005) seemed to be “made in china” with a hot glue gun. I didn’t know about Etsy.com and being a business owner, I had limited time to tap my own creative resources. For 2010, I am seeing more resorts offering a wider variety of wedding package themes. One big change for 2010 is the newly formed partnership of Martha Stewart Weddings and Sandals Resorts. Their joint wedding packages are very impressive.
i was in duxbury, ma this weekend photographing a wedding and snapped this photo with my iPhone. i was talking to someone on the train about photography, and they asked what other kinds of photography other than weddings i shoot and i told them that my blog has become sort of a teaser section for wedding clients but that i would try to remember to post other types of shoots on here and passed them one of my cards. well, here are a few photos of some other projects that i should share. i will try to describe a bit of it.
the above architectural photography is of a home on nantucket island. for those who don’t know, nantucket island is east of the popular tourist destination of martha’s vineyard. on martha’s vineyard, i photographed this nice queen anne style summer cottage (below), which is owned by a software publisher by the name of peter norton, who created norton utilities and norton anti-virus.
the above house has been published in a regional annual magazine issue by cape cod life publications. although i photograph a lot of historic preservation and restoration architectural photography, i also photograph modern architecture. massachusetts institute of technology commissioned 
i also went to barcelona to photograph 
as you can see from the above images, i get to see a lot of nice buildings, homes, and other structures. though new buildings and restored homes that are often considered masterpieces are pleasant to look at, i find myself wanting to photograph the not-so-beautiful. here is a photo of one of the many post-katrina abandoned homes in new orleans, louisiana.
as you can see, photography takes me many places. after tomorrow, i head to jamaica for more photo shoots and i will share photos when i get back to reality…