Posts from — June 2008

Here are some statistics on destination weddings, which I thought were pretty interesting.

• 16% of all weddings are now destination weddings, which is a 400% increase in the past ten years.

• Experts expect this number to keep growing. (I’m with them on this!)

• The average number of guests for a destination wedding is 47 vs. the average of 165 for a non-destination wedding.

• 25% of destination wedding couples honeymoon in the same location they were married.

• Couples having a destination wedding have, on average, household incomes 15% higher than couples choosing non-destination weddings.

• The top locations for destination weddings: (not necessarily in this order as different sources had different data but these all ranked very high).

- Mexico
- Jamaica
- Bahamas
- Hawaii
- US Virgin Islands
- Aruba
- Fiji
- Europe
- Cruise Ships

For our first Florida Friday (don’t you just love the alliteration?), I’m going to feature LaPlaya Beach and Golf Resort, one of my favorite wedding venues in Naples. I even love the name!

LaPlaya is a luxury beachfront resort in Naples, which makes it the perfect choice for those who love the beach but also want some extra pampering. Most of the rooms have a spectacular view, even from the bathroom!

I love it for weddings because it photographs so beautifully. Can a hotel be photogenic?

Most couples choose to get married on the lawn overlooking the Gulf. This provides for a really gorgeous setting with the green lawn in contrast with the serene beach. This is also great for guests, particularly those who may have trouble getting around on the sand.

The staff at LaPlaya is fantastic, and will be sure to take care of you. Tell Rosie or John we sent you. They’ll help you plan the perfect Naples wedding.

I was super excited when I found out that Christina and Steve, my May 18th wedding couple, were going to the Galapagos on their honeymoon because that’s one of the top places in the world I want to go visit.

Here’s what Christina had to say about her amazing honeymoon, “We chose Galapagos because I always wanted to go there to see the animals. We also wanted to go somewhere exotic and different. So many parts of the trip was amazing. We swan with sea lions, penguins, sharks, and sea turtles. We hiked up a dormant volcano and saw the most magnificent views of Galapagos. My favorite part was sitting right next to a 500 pound tortoise and he tried to eat my bag!

We stayed at Finch Bay Resort which was excellent. They set up an itinerary for the whole trip and had very knowledgeable tour guides with us. The food was great and beds were comfy. The town of Puerto Arroyo had many great restaurants, bars, and shops. We spent most of our evenings in town. It was definitely the best choice of honeymoons for us and can’t wait to go back.”

All photos by Christina and Steve. Thanks so much guys. I’m so jealous

So each week we’ll post a travel photo with some hints.  Do you know this location?  Want to take a guess?  Leave a comment below and next week we’ll let you know who guessed correctly.

• 99 steps
• historic
• some of the best rum in the world

Photographers are notoriously bad about getting their own photo taken. But until we do, here’s a photos of us having dinner with Ed and Myron from The CVP Experience. I’m in back on the right, with Ed and then Myron in front to me. That’s Shannon and Ford on the left.

We’ll be featuring CVP in the next few weeks, as they do some of the best videography work you’ve ever seen.

Welcome to Fly Away Photography, a blog dedicated to destination weddings, honeymoons and just about anything related to traveling.

Everyone knows the best travel advice always comes from first-hand experience (the perfect paella at a romantic cafe, that secluded beach only the locals know about, the unique inn with the quirky innkeeper, etc.) So, we can’t wait to hear from everyone and feature your favorite trips. Please email us your photos, ideas and suggestions to travel@flyawayphotography.com

To help everyone find just what they’re looking for, we’re going to organize our posts by the day of the week.

Miscellaneous Monday – Anything that doesn’t fit anywhere else.
Travel Photo Tuesday – Can you guess where this photo was taken? If not, come back the next week and we’ll tell you.
Wedding Wednesday – Featuring destination weddings from all over the US and around the world.
Honeymoon Thursday – Fun and interesting honeymoons. Share yours.
Florida Friday – Since we both live in Florida and it’s wildly popular for destination weddings, we had to give it its own day!

Of course, this is just a guide. We’ll be adding lots of random posts here, there and everywhere.

Let the journey begin…