So you’re starting a romance travel business with no clients and no portfolio, hoping that couples are going to trust you with one of the most important moments of their lives, their wedding or honeymoon, and right now you have exactly zero bookings to show them that you are capable. FYI – this is where every travel advisor starts. I created a tactical roadmap that could get you started in 90 days.
Find Your Romance Travel Lane (The Niche Deep-Dive)
About 25% of all weddings in the US are destination weddings, with approximately 350,000 destination weddings happening every year. That's a massive market, but if you try to serve all of it, you'll end up serving none of it well. The advisors who book consistently have laser focus.
Underserved Markets With Less Competition:
- LGBTQ+ weddings and honeymoons: growing fast, fewer specialists
- Multi-generational wedding groups: grandparents to grandkids, everyone travels (my favorite)
- Elopement packages: just the couple, intimate, quick turnaround (another favorite of mine)
- Proposal trips and babymoons
- Micro Weddings: a multi-day adventure of love, laughter and unforgettable moments (I love this)
Your Niche Selection Framework
Do you actually care about this? Because if you pick luxury honeymoons just because they sound profitable, but you'd rather watch paint dry than attend a bridal expo, you're going to burn out fast. Pick something you'd genuinely want to talk about at a party and make sure your target clients can afford $5,000+ trips or your commissions won't be worth the work you'll put in.
FAM Trips Are Your Secret Weapon
Familiarization trips are how you build a portfolio before you have clients. Suppliers offer these at deeply discounted rates (and sometimes free) specifically so advisors can experience properties firsthand and sell them confidently. If these are not in your budget, I have approached hotels and resorts for a walk-through and took tons of pictures that I have used in portfolios. Keep in mind that FAMs are not free vacations.
Your Content Strategy: Document everything: room categories, resort amenities, which restaurants are most romantic, which suites are best for honeymooners, whether the wedding gazebo gets good sunset light. Take professional-quality photos of yourself included, then create comparison guides like "5 Adults-Only Resorts in Riviera Maya Ranked for Honeymoons." That content becomes your portfolio that you can have ready to send to clients you want to work with.
Build Real Relationships With Romance Suppliers
You need more than business cards. You need actual humans at these companies who know your name. I have had several referrals from connections like these when couples contacted them directly. Create priority partnerships with all-inclusive romance resort brands, luxury hotel collections with dedicated wedding coordinators and destination wedding planners at specific properties. Schedule 15-minute calls with BDMs and ask them "What do you wish more advisors knew about booking with you?" and "Who's your ideal client?"
Join the Right Communities
About 36% of destination wedding couples hire a wedding planner, compared to only 24% of couples planning hometown weddings. Your job is to position yourself as their resource. Join industry groups and attend events like Romance Travel Forum. Get active in Facebook groups for wedding travel advisors. These aren't just networking opportunities; they're your continuing education and your support system when things get hard.
By your second month, you should have: Three to five completed FAM trip portfolios with detailed notes and photos, ten active supplier relationships with direct contact names, professional headshots, a website, social media platforms and a bio ready to use.
The Client Acquisition Blitz
Your first clients are already in your phone. Unless you were born yesterday, you know people, and they know you. Start by connecting with friends, family and former colleagues. They already know and trust you, which is the hardest part of getting any new client. Tell them about your business and ask them to refer you. Some friends or family members are not that supportive, but don’t stress about it; find your “tribe” who will support you.
Critical point: Charge something for your planning services, even if it's discounted a little. Free work trains clients to expect free work. You're a professional, and this is not a hobby.
Social Media Tactics That Actually Convert
Pick one platform to focus on that works for you. Social media users in the US are growing, with millions more expected by 2029, and couples are planning weddings live on these platforms. For romance travel, Instagram and Facebook are your best bets. Pinterest works for honeymoon inspiration. TikTok can work if you're comfortable on video, but that is also changing with the “new owners,” so who knows what will happen there.
Content That Gets Booked (Not Just Liked): Post your FAM trip photos with captions like "Just inspected this suite for my honeymoon or destination wedding clients. They're getting a complimentary room upgrade and welcome champagne." That's social proof and value in one post. Share mistake-avoidance content: "Why booking your own destination wedding actually costs more money." Couples don't know what they don't know, and you're teaching them. Every single post needs a hook as well as a call to action: "DM me for details." "Link in bio for my destination comparison guide." "Free 15-minute consultation." Don't just post pretty pictures and hope people figure out how to hire you.
By day 90, you should have: Three paying clients booked. Their trips might not be for six to twelve months, but you have deposits and signed agreements.
What You'll Actually Earn Year One
New travel advisors earn an average of $12,057 in their first year, according to recent industry data. Some advisors hit $30,000 or more with aggressive effort. A handful reach six figures, but they're outliers, not the norm. Most destination weddings are booked nine to twelve months out. This is why I prefer elopements and working with couples who are “older” because they don’t often plan their weddings a year or more in advance.
Common Mistakes That Kill Romance (or any) Travel Businesses
- Trying To Be Everywhere at Once. You don't need TikTok AND Instagram AND Pinterest AND Facebook. Pick one platform and get really good at it for 90 days. Master one thing before you add another.
- Underestimating the Emotional Labor. Wedding planning is stressful. Brides and grooms are making huge financial decisions under time pressure while dealing with family drama. You need patience, excellent communication skills and the ability to stay calm when someone's melting down because the resort changed their ceremony time by 30 minutes. One difficult client can emotionally derail your entire first year if you don't develop these skills early.
- Ignoring the Business Fundamentals. You're not just a travel advisor. You're a business owner. That means tracking expenses, understanding quarterly taxes, maintaining organized client files and having proper systems from day one. Buy a CRM tool. Use it. Keep receipts. Treat this like the business it is, not a side hobby.
Bottom Line: The advisors who succeed in romance travel aren't the ones who love weddings most. They're the ones who treat it like a business, stay consistent when it's hard and refuse to quit when the commissions take forever to arrive.
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