Good afternoon and Happy Spring!

I have been a very busy travel agent, booking loads of honeymoons for happy brides and grooms. I am very honored to be a part of such an important vacation for all these wonderful couples. With that, I want to thank Jessie, the Editor-in-Chief at Beautiful Bride for giving me the opportunity to write another honeymoon article. It was great fun to write about honeymoon destinations that are inspired by the cities where the magazine is published (Las Vegas, San Diego, Central Valley, Cincinnati, Orlando and my town of Atlanta).

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Look for it at your favorite bridal boutique, on newsstands at Albertsons, Vons, Smiths, Target, Wal-Mart, Barnes & Noble, Borders, CVS, or Walgreens, or click here to read it now HoneymoonDestnations

Happy Travels!

Melissa
My Traveling Panda

The Beautiful Bride, Summer 2013 covers

Look for it in Las Vegas, Atlanta, Orlando, Cincinnati, San Diego and the Central Valley.

Las Vegas

Look for it in Las Vegas, Atlanta, Orlando, Cincinnati, San Diego and the Central Valley.

Las Vegas

Getting to La Romana Just Got Easier

The opening of a new road may not be the most exciting announcement in the world of travel; however, in this instance it is very good news! The 90 minute drive from the Punta Cana airport to the La Romana area is now cut in half!

I had the great pleasure (or displeasure) of traveling via motor coach from Punta Cana to La Romana, before the new road opened. I think everyone on the bus was feeling the effects of the bumpy, winding roads. Needless to say, no one was excited to get back on the bus to head back to Punta Cana; we knew we had to endure the car-sickness inducing roads. But, no more! The new highway with smooth roadways in now open and, the commute is cut in half to just 40 minutes! http://www.dreamsresorts.com/drelr/highway.html

This is wonderful, as now more people can enjoy the wonderful area of La Romana and glorious resorts,; such as Dreams La Romana, which is one of my favorites for family vacations and destination weddings.

Bon Voyage!

My Traveling Panda goes “Into the Wild on your Honeymoon”

“…If you and your fiancé are adventure lovers who enjoy escaping to the great outdoors and prefer seeing wildlife rather than living the wild life, an adventure honeymoon may be just what you crave…”

My Traveling Panda’s newest travel article is officially published in the Summer 2012 issues of Las Vegas Bride and Beautiful Bride (published nationally, including the Atlanta and Orlando markets). Which “into the wild” destination is your next “must visit” destination? An African Safari, an Alaskan Cruise, a Belize scuba diving adventure and an exploration of the Galapagos Islands?

For the full article, click here: Into the Wild_MyTravelingPanda

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Into the Wild for your Honeymoon

My next article for Las Vegas Bride and Bride Beautiful is just around the corner.  Based on the sneak peek, what destinations do you think will be included?

“If you and your fiancé are adventure lovers who enjoy escaping to the great outdoors and prefer seeing wildlife rather than living the wild life … an adventure honeymoon may be just what you crave.

 

Marry your passion for adventure and love of Mother Nature.”

 

YouTube

Hello Fellow Travelers-

I recenlty started dabbling in Videos. I have a few posted to YouTube. Enjoy the videos and subscribe to my channel for future travel videos. Enjoy and Happy Travels http://www.youtube.com/user/MyTravelingPanda/videos

Press Release from WeddingWire for My Traveling Panda

Melissa Dutton of My Traveling Panda

WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding Marketplace, is excited to announce Melissa Dutton of My Traveling Panda has been selected to receive the prestigious WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2012 for Honeymoon and Travel Planning!

The esteemed annual awards program recognizes the top local wedding vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism within the wedding industry. While many industry awards are selected by the organization, My Traveling Panda was selected based on its stellar reviews from past newlywed clients.

My Traveling Panda is recognized as part of the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire local vendor community, comprised of over 200,000 wedding professionals throughout the United States and Canada. The Bride’s Choice Award recognizes the best local wedding vendors across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is thrilled to honor the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Since the launch of the Bride’s Choice Awards™ program four years ago, thousands of outstanding wedding professionals have been recognized by the bridal community for their supreme service and dedication to the wedding industry. It is with great pleasure that we congratulate My Traveling Panda  for their continued professionalism and commitment to enriching the wedding planning experience for engaged couples.”

We are happy to announce that My Traveling Panda is one of the very best Honeymoon and Travel Planning companies within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. Thanks to their positive feedback we were able to receive the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ for 2012.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at www.MyTravelingPanda.com and click on the Honeymoon tab.

To learn more about the Bride’s Choice Awards™, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire™, the nation’s leading marketplace serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 reviewed wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers. WeddingWire also offers a comprehensive suite of online planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire is the only all-in-one marketing platform for businesses online and on-the-go. WeddingWire offers one simple solution to build a professional network, improve search visibility, manage social media and reach mobile consumers. Businesses that advertise with WeddingWire appear on WeddingWire.com, ProjectWedding.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), Brides.com and Weddingbee.com.

Honeymoons and Destination Weddings in The Dominican Republic

Recently, I had the good fortune of traveling to the Dominican Republic. I knew it would be beautiful there, but I must say, the destination exceeded my expectations. Each reosrt I visited was more beautiful that the last. The crystal clear water of the Caribbean was stunning and the destination wedding locations were breathtaking. Take a look at the article I wrote for the Winter 2011 issue of Beautiful Bride and Las Vegas Bride to learn more about what the Dominican Republic has to offer both brides and honeymooners.

LINK TO ARTICLE
Honeymoon and Destination Weddings in The Dominican Republic

Beautiful Bride- Honeymoon in Mexico

Our most recent publication is in the Fall 2011 issue of Beautiful Bride Magazine.

CLICK HERE to read about Mexico as an ideal honeymoon destination!

Thank you to Heather Rogers and Andrea LeClaire Kuhn for your contributions, to Jennifer Florendo for being a great Editor-in-Chief and to AM Resorts and Karisma Hotels for the wonderful photos!

My Traveling Panda is published in Beautiful Bride Magazine- Summer 2011 – Las Vegas & Orlando

Bridal magazines are a wonderful thing. I think I had a stack about 3 feet tall by the time my wedding date came. I do not buy as many wedding magazines now that I am married, but this one is special, I have an article published on Page 80 of the Summer issue of Beautiful Bride. It is published nationally (Las Vegas and Orlando), so pick-up a copy if you can. Here is a link to the website: http://www.beautifulbridemagazine.com

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Helpful Hints for Honeymoon Packing

Are you overwhelmed by all the details of your wedding planning that you can barely wrap your head around the fact that you also have to pack for a vacation??

This article, that I wrote for the October 2010 issue of Las Vegas Bride (www.lasvegasbride.com), offers some helpful tips and ideas.  Please share with friends, future brides, etc.

I would like to thank my friend, Jennifer Bartol Florendo, for her help and to congratulate her on the gorgeous cover photo (yes, that is her actual wedding photo!).

LINK TO ARTICLE- las vegas bride packing