Express Gratitude in Style – Wedding Favour Inspiration!

Destination weddings are like mini vacations for the guests attending your celebration —and some fun souvenirs to reminisce your wedding ought to be on your checklist!

When your folks have to travel to be a part of your wedding festivities, guests have to put in a tad bit more to accommodate the flights, work schedules and so on. Thematic, standout thank-you gifts are a great way to show your guests you are thankful for all of it. We’ve seen some cool stuff around the web and we’re here to inspire with some quirky ideas we totally adore!

Keep reading!

For memory worthy favors, choose things that either depict the destinations culture, lifestyle or are locally sourced/custom made at the wedding location itself. You could also pick some functional goods like shawls, potted succulents or sunglasses depending on the event/theme.  People are more likely to take back stuff that’s easy to carry back in their luggage, something that’s functional and pretty afcourse!

Potted Succulent/Cactus

These are perfect, pretty & add the rustic touch. 

Moreover succulents are low maintenance plants, super pretty and easy on the pocket! 

Mini Blankets/Shawls Wedding Favors

Perfect for winter weddings & chilly nights.

All the pretty ladies are bound to love these and will definitely use them at some point.

                                        Pool-Themed Wedding Favors

Pool party on your wedding itinerary? 

Hand your guests custom printed bags with goodies they can enjoy by the pool. Custom koozies, sunglasses, drink floats etc.

Regional Wedding Favors

Favors local to the destination are an amazing and inexpensive gifting idea. Many couples will throw in a miniature adult beverage for their guest, but to keep up with your destination theme, find out what the favorite local liquor or beverage is. Print out a sweet personal note attached to each miniature bottle and your guest will have a fantastic keepsake from your wedding day.

If you have a Goa wedding planned, here are few options you could consider, that are a hit always!

Miniature Feni Bottles

Custom Printed Tiles/Frames/Plates

These beautiful prints can be customised according to your choice. These draw inspiration from “Azulejos” Portuguese tiles that depict the lifestyle and local goan culture.

Beach Bag Wedding Favors

With beach weddings as the raging trend, custom made beach bags in nautical prints or any  other pretty print make for a great wedding favour idea, that guests can take back and reuse.

Bottle Opener Wedding Favors

These can be customized based on your wedding destination, theme and so much more. Totally functional & each time it comes handy, your guests will remember all the fun they had!

These are super adorable, functional, and a perfect little favour to put in your destination wedding welcome bags.  Your guests will put these to good use at the resort and back at home too. 

Flip Flops

We totally love this idea, place these at your wedding reception/sangeet night in all sizes and colors of your choice and no one will be left with an excuse to be off the dance floor!

 Coasters

Yet another functional wedding giveaway!

Coasters are also a favorite because they’re something guests can take home and put to good use for years to come.

Luggage Tags

Probably the most practical of all destination wedding favors is the luggage tag.

Add in a special message to express your idea behind the favour. You could also custom print these with the names of your guests.

Canvas Art

Khwahish Art custom makes art prints on canvas; these can be customized in prints of your choice or to match the theme of your wedding/events. These are beautifully packed and make excellent giveaway options.

  

Wine Stopper

If you have some wine lovers on your guest list, then they are going to love this destination wedding favor!  They’re practical, fun and inexpensive!

Fans

If you’re tying the knot in a tropical location, fans are a very inexpensive, cute and really useful addition to your wedding welcome bags. 

  

Mini Aloe Vera Gel

If you’re not familiar with aloe Vera gel, it is the Holy Grail when it comes to soothing sunburn.  You could pack these into travel size portions and add custom labels. These could go into welcome bags or can be placed during your pool parties/beach events.

Maracas

 Maraca, sometimes called rumba shaker, chac-chac, and various other names, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. Mexican themed wedding or not these make for super cool  wedding favours!

Falguni & Gareth

Every wedding brings us to a deeper understanding of how love beautifully binds two souls. Each wedding brings us to experience a new story and a lovely new beginning. Falguni & Gareth, two lovely individuals both from different cultures & countries make you believe that nothing matters when love takes center stage! We began working with Falguni & her oh! So lovely mum Parul aunty 8 months back. Two of the most kind hearted and understanding people we have ever dealt with. Most of the detailing happened over numerous emails and Skype calls. But as clear headed and organised as the mum and daughter duo were made everything seem so effortless. 27th - 29th December 2018 An amazing end to the year with Falguni & Gareth. Here's an account of all the beautiful details that went into making Falguni & Gareth's wedding in Goa one that had her guests in all praises! Falguni chose the offbeat Planet Hollywood Beach Resort, Goa located on the quaint coast of Utorda. The wedding festivities were kick-started with her Mehendi Night at Maximus.

The decor was desi pop art inspired, with oodles of color and quirky elements! Beautiful prints in bright colors, hand painted kettles, pom - pom sticks, origami birds, mini tuk - tuks, trucks sourced specially for the mehendi and tonnes of fresh flowers set the desi pop art scene perfectly. The fresh flowers were totally loved by every guest, to an extent that the guests chose to carry them back to their rooms and we couldn't be happier. Team GKWW sourced and custom painted an actual tuk - tuk donned it with fresh flowers and converted it to a quirky booth to capture all the mehendi night memories.

28th December morning began with the manglik prasang followed by the Haldi. The decor here was traditional and minimalistic in hues of yellow and white with rangoli put together with fresh flowers. The ubtan for the ceremony was sourced specially from the amazing Suparna Trikha, made with all natural ingredients, one that smells heavenly and is bound to leave you with a beautiful natural glow.

The next event lined up was the Garba Night with a live bollywood band from Goa. We recreated the feel of a temple at the banquet hall, all four sides of the venue were adorned with strings of fresh flowers.Over thousand fresh flowers were used to achieve this.

The decor drew inspiration from the tales of RadhaKrishna. The center of the Garba stage donned an idol of RadhaKrishna that was very artistically put together with fresh flowers by florists flown in all the way from Delhi. The structure was custom made by specialists from Mumbai. Right from peacock feathers, to the custom painted matkas, the entrance arch put together with a flute every detail in the decor was an ode to the lovely RadhaKrishna.
And thus dawned 29th December 2018, the day Falguni and Gareth chose to pledge their love by the beach. The wedding decor was simple and chic put together with minimalistic elements. Fresh flower strings with bells tasseled around the end and an idol of lord Ganesha decked with fresh flowers made for a simple yet beautiful Mandap. Chivari chairs for the seating and a beautiful sunset by the beach made for the most amazing backdrop.Gareth made his entry on a mare. While Falguni was led to the mandap by her uncles and brothers.

The reception was chic with a few rustic touches. Falguni requested for some pretty fairy lights so we created a magical entryway donned with pretty gold lights specially for her.

The reception party was to have the feel of a backyard party, we created a few popular games played in the backyards of homes in the US, Such as bocce ball, bean bag toss, human jenga, beer pong to keep the non dancers entertained.

Every element of this beautiful celebration was thought of and curated with a lot of love.

Right from the decor to the giveaways and the hampers that went into guest rooms. Favors included handmade bangles for the mehendi, torans for the manglik prasang & custom printed glass coasters for the reception. The cookies in the hampers were custom made in an orange zest and a special Christmas flavor to celebrate the Christmas festivity in the air.

We love planning these details and we totally enjoy the madness executing them. The smiles we receive at the end and warm hugs from Parul aunty to team GKWW had all our stress melt away. Stay tuned for an amazing 2019 as we bring you some exciting new decor, beautiful love stories & magical new beginnings! #gkww

Goa Wedding on Your Wish list? Here are some quick tips to Plan that Picture Perfect Dream Wedding!

Right from a beach wedding on the white sands of Goa, to a church affair in one of the breathtakingly beautiful churches with their Portuguese memorabilia.

If you’ve imagined a wedding with quirk and boho beach vibes, a destination wedding in Goa is all you need!

#1 Pick a Side

South & North Goa

While each district has its own charm, South of Goa witnesses fewer footfalls of visitors. This means the beaches hidden in the quaint villages of South Goa are less crowded and more peaceful. Several world renowned hotel chains operate here with direct access to the beach in most cases. On the other hand North Goa is buzzing with activity at all times, has several night clubs and pubs you could pick from if you are planning a crazy night out with your friends prior or post the wedding. North Goa also has some beautiful beaches that are popular worldwide; however owing to their popularity you could expect these hot spots to be bustling with international/ domestic travelers especially between November – January. North Goa has fewer resorts/hotels to choose from when compared to the South. You could also choose a home stay or a beautiful Portuguese casa over a stay at the resort or a hotel.

#2 When to Plan?

When to Plan your wedding depends on two important factors #1 how you picture your wedding to be #2 the amount you wish to spend on your wedding. If a dreamy wedding by the beach and a chic reception outdoors is your idea of a perfect wedding, October to February should be your pick. The evenings are way more pleasant during these months and a wedding during these months is bound to cost you more. If you still wish to have a destination wedding in Goa, without the frills and thrills of a beach wedding, that’s an option too! Plan between May – September. Monsoon weddings are now a trend in Goa and are a good way to ensure your budget is in check, as most resorts offer discounted rates over this season.

#3 How to go about the planning process?

If you want an easy breezy wedding with very little to worry about, an event planner is the answer to your prayers. Goa has extremely skilled event planners, that will help you put together a picture perfect wedding effortlessly. The professionals are familiar with how Goa functions and can help you with everything right from the hotel reservations, the wedding decor, the entertainment, food, the licenses, permissions you would require and almost everything you can imagine. Planning a church or gurudwara wedding is also possible when in Goa with prior permissions from the authorities at the church/gurudwara. In most cases the event planner can guide you and help you with this too.

Finest Resorts for a Destination Wedding in South Goa

Alila Diwa Goa

Tripadvisor Rating: 4.5

No Beach Access

Number of Rooms: 153

The Leela Goa

Tripadvisor Rating: 4.5

Number of Rooms: 206

Beach Access

ITC Grand Goa Resort & Spa

Tripadvisor Rating: 4.5

Number of Rooms: 252

Beach Access

Planet Hollywood Beach Resort Goa

Tripadvisor Rating: 4.5

Number of Rooms: 115

Beach Access

The Lalit Golf & Spa Resort Goa

Tripadvisor Rating: 4.5

Number of Rooms: 265

Beach Access

The Zuri White Sands Goa, Resort & Casino

Tripadvisor Rating: 4

Number of Rooms: 154

Beach Access

Holiday Inn Resort Goa

Tripadvisor Rating: 4.5

Number of Rooms: 203

Beach Access

Kenilworth Resort & Spa

Tripadvisor Rating: 4

Number of Rooms: 104

Beach Access

Radisson Blu Beach Resort Goa

Tripadvisor Rating: 4.5

Number of Rooms: 132

Beach Access

Finest Resorts for a Destination Wedding in North Goa

Taj Fort Aguada Resort & Spa, Goa

Tripadvisor Rating: 4.5

Number of Rooms: 143

Beach Access

Grand Hyatt Goa

Tripadvisor Rating: 4.5

Number of Rooms: 313

Beach Access

Goa Marriott Resort & Spa

Tripadvisor Rating: 4.5

Number of Rooms: 313

Beach Access

Hard Rock Hotel Goa

Tripadvisor Rating: 4.5

Number of Rooms: 135

No Beach Access

Park Regis Goa

Tripadvisor Rating: 4.0

Number of Rooms: 97

No Beach Access

Le Meridien Goa, Calangute

Tripadvisor Rating: 4.5

Number of Rooms: 146

No Beach Access

W Goa

Tripadvisor Rating: 4.5

Number of Rooms: 160

Beachfront

Goa also offers some beautiful home / Wooden Chalet experiences here are a handpicked few

Aashyana Lakhanpal

Number of Rooms: 14

Pamper yourself in the elegant luxury of Aashyana Lakhanpal, the fully staffed 5 bedroom villa with private pool, or reside in style at one or more of the three self-contained two bedroom villas, each complete with an individual, private garden and shared pool. Villa Venus, the 3 bedroom self-contained independent property with private pool, offers the perfect opportunity to 'get-away-from-it-all' in a traditional Portuguese villa, lovingly restored to retain an authentic feel!

Saraya

Number of Rooms: 14

Saraya is a family owned business in the heart of Goa. This naturally diverse space includes peaceful guest accommodations, a cafe and an amazing art gallery! There are beautifully created Mud houses and Jungle Tree Houses for guests to choose from. The guest accommodations have evolved into unique structures, each a work of art. Although the materials used to build the space are natural and local, such as clay, bamboo and leaves, these homes are safe, private, and comfortable

Stonewater Eco Resort

Number of Rooms: 25

Stonewater Eco Resort is a beautiful secluded resort in the heart of Bogmalo in close proximity to the Goa International Airport. The accommodation consists of fully equipped wooden chalets. And also has a beautiful view of the beach. The outdoor venue at the property is also ideal for a nice and quaint celebration.

Am I being overcharged? Event Planner V/S Online Booking Portals

The question I receive most frequently and have replied to for almost every client, prospective client and even the not really a client category.

Yesterday a client pinged me,

Client: Booking.com rate is cheaper than the rate you have negotiated for 10 rooms

Me: ( In my Head )- “ You must be Kidding me”, this is the first thing I had explained to you!

There goes the whole saga…Yet Again!!

I will try and explain as briefly as possible the reason for such instances.

Hotels & Categories:

1. 5 Star Luxury
2. 5 Star as per Categorization
3. 4 Star/ 3 Star
4. Budget
5. Boutique
6. Service Apartments and Air Bnb's

Who decides what price the Hotel will sell at?

Each Hotel Category stated above, on receiving their categorization submits rate list to the FHRAI, which happen to be the Rack Rates. For a lot of seasonal destinations the rack rates differ for season and off season. These Rack rates are also the capping that the hotels cannot sell above the rack rate. Season Rates will always be higher than the off season rates. In Some instance can be 100% Higher than the off Season rates, completely dampening on the demand and supply of the City.

Why does Booking.com/Expedia/ Make My Trip/ Yatra.com/ Goibibo offer a lower  price?

Each Hotel has certain Travel Agencies or Tour Operators who support them through the year, Especially Chain Hotels sign Contracts with these sub sellers at the beginning of the Financial Year at a certain privileged Price, now it is the Sub Sellers Discretion how he sells it. One Trend that has been seen is the Dynamic Pricing (Example the Airline pricing), where the sub seller under a promotion might be selling at a lower price than the Contracted Price to lure customers, but you are never able to book more than 2 or 3 rooms at that promotional price, so when it comes to a group booking you will never be able to book your 10 rooms or 100 rooms at the price you see online.

Hotels in India also have strict policies now with travel agencies where the travel agency can sell the contracted prices to either a Tourist ( In professional Terms FIT - Foreign Individual traveler) and not a group. This is the same as airline pricing. These agencies will also have group rates limited to 15 rooms and not valid for any social events.

Why are Weddings and Social Event rates higher? Isn’t bulk business expected to be cheaper?

Well, technically yes they should be cheaper but Every Hotel has a Revenue Model and an ARR (Average Room Rate) to achieve. Over Years, hotels have realized the need of Weddings as a separate Segment and most of the hotels have hired a Wedding Coordinator. (NOT A WEDDING PLANNER)
Hence when you enquire for a wedding, the rates will be differ from the rates for a conference and that for a single room.

Normally a family on a vacation booking a room or two will need a Lavish breakfast, and order their Al a Carte Preferences for lunches and Dinner. This is called a continental plan - Bed and Breakfast.

A conference is business focussed and their breakfast and Lunches will be Working Meals as they are in and out of Conference, pretty much limited to a Menu like this for Lunch and Dinner

Sample Conference Lunch Menu: 1 Dal + 1 Paneer + 1 Vegetable + 1 Chicken + 1 Fish/ Mutton + Roti Rice + Salads + Achar + Papad Chutney and 2/3 Desserts.

Similar Menu for Dinner with may be some live stations or some starters added (in most cases 1 veg + 1 non veg).

The above is nowhere close to a Wedding Menu, in Indian Culture and in Destination Weddings food plays an important role, when you negotiate a deal with the Hotel, keep in mind the menu above for comparison. Similarly feel free to ask for their breakfast menu.

But still, are they making money?

When quoting a Wedding rate, they also average out the fact that if the entire hotel has been taken up by one client, they are doing a fixed sale, no extras will be incurred and the revenue is smartly divided in different segment, which justifies the role of a Revenue Manager in Every Hotel.

How to Ensure you get the best deal?

- Peak Wedding dates will not get you the best deals, be flexible with wedding dates and always go searching for a wedding venue with 2 to 3 different sets of dates in mind.
- Off-season Destination Weddings can be half the price of season weddings in terms of seasonal destinations.
- A lot of clients now do the Wedding Registry on the auspicious date and are open to the wedding celebrations dates and months to get better deals.
- If you book 10-12 Months prior, you definitely  will strike a better deal.

Hope the blog answers all your questions related to booking a Hotel for a destination wedding.
Please feel free to write to me at www.gkww.co.in for further queries.

Signing Off
Garema Kumar