It's FABULOUS Friday!!!!

Hopefully you got a chance to check out last weeks FABULOUS Friday vendor. Carlos is truly amazing and definitely someone you want to meet! For this weeks choice, I decided since I am in the process of trying to squeeze in an end of the summer getaway I thought there may be other readers out there doing the same or perhaps are in the process of planning their honeymoon. So I thought it would be nice to feature a travel agent who can answer any of your traveling questions as well as give you suggestions to assist with your travel planning experience.

This week our FABULOUS Friday pick is Ms. Debra Gatto who I had the pleasure of meeting this week at an AfWPi networking event. Debra is a long time local Long Beach resident who successfully completed the Travel & Tourism program at LBCC with Honors in the year 2000. After working with other travel agencies, she decided to be her own Entrepreneur and now operates “Time2Travel with Debbie” as a home based Travel Agency. Debbie offers personalized service, expert guidance and professional advice.

Debra is a member of CLIA (Cruise Line International Association) and has obtained Preferred Agency status with several Cruise Companies, Tour Operator and Hoteliers. She is also a member of AfWPI (Association for Wedding Professionals International) and is also a Certified Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Specialist. Debra specializes in Cruise & Tours for Groups & Individuals. She can plan wedding anniversaries or family reunions aboard a cruise ship for the ultimate experience.

You can visit Debra’s web site at www.Time2Travel.mtravel.com for the most current Travel Deals. She can be easily reached Monday to Saturday from 8AM to 6PM at 562-743-9513.

These are just a few of the Certifications Debra has achieved:
Travel Agent Certificates from Long Beach City College
Certified CLIA Member
Certified IATAN Member
Certified Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Specialist
Sandals Resort Specialist
Couples Resort Specialist
Air Consolidator Specialist
Princess Cruises Commodore Agency
Holland America 5 Star Agency
Celebrity Cruise Line 5 Star Agency
Oceania Cruise Line Expert
Marriott Hotel Preferred Agency
StarwoodPRO Agency
Fairmont Hotel Preferred Agency
Wynn Las Vegas Preferred Agency
Langham Hotels Specialist
Ramada Hotel Specialist
Kauai Specialist
South Africa Specialist
Debra M. Gatto
Owner/Agent

Time2Travel with Debbie
2686 Foreman Ave
Long Beach, CA 90815

Cell: 562-743-9513
Office: 562-938-7267
E-Mail: debbieg4travel@msn.com

CST: #2077825

You Never Know How You'll Meet Your Next Client

In April of 2009 I attended the OC AfWPi mixer, a mixer I almost did not make it to! There I met one of the most beautiful wedding vendors whose beauty radiates from the inside out. We became best friends within the first 5 minutes of conversation!!!! :-) During our conversation we talked about her relationship with her boyfriend and how much she wanted to marry him, and how I just knew I was going to plan her wedding when they decided to get married! Today...one year and almost two months later I have the PLEASURE of coordinating this beautiful lady's wedding! Through the whole wedding process Ana has remained humble, focused on her love with JT and her love for her beautiful family. This wedding will have so many personal touches that include their family members....I just know I am going to shed tears today! I get chills thinking about what is in store for them!!!! I will definitely be back with an amazing follow up I am sure!!!! ;-)

Beautiful Resort So Close To Home!

I know I am a little late with this post but with the crazy fun world of wedding and party planning I have been swamped! I just couldn't resist the need to get the word out about such a beautiful resort so close to home.

As many of you may know I am very active in the Association for Wedding Professionals international and we are very fortunate enough to have some of the most beautiful venues in Southern California host our mixers. In April we were honored to have our mixer hosted by The Pacific Palms Resort in Industry Hills. (I told you I was a little behind!) When I first heard about this location I immediately got online to check out their website, because after all I have never heard of a "resort" being located in Industry Hills! When I saw the site I was amazed by the beauty of the venue...but again I kept thinking maybe this is another Industry Hills we are going to! Of course my expectations of the resort were not the greatest because I was a tad bit leery about the location...but that all changed when I saw this beautiful venue sitting on top of a hill! That's when I knew this place was going to be as beautiful as the photos on the website! We were greeted by drivers escorting us to the gazebo area in golf carts and the view was breathtaking. For a minute I totally forgot where I was and kept thinking I was vacationing in Palm Springs! Once we reached the gazebo area and I saw the gorgeous view of the city...my mind was not on the mixer, vendors or work...I truly thought I was there to relax! The resort had a way of making you feel like you were somewhere totally far away from "the real world and all of your worries"! It was truly amazing! The view in the daytime was gorgeous, but at night it was PRICELESS!

The Pacific Palms Resort is a full service destination hotel and is perfect for a wedding, destination wedding, overnight trip or weekend getaway because they have everything you could possibly need and want. As I mentioned earlier there are golf carts...so yes there is a fantastic golf course. For us ladies of course there is a relaxing SPA...in other words heaven in Industry Hills! What more could we possibly want! :-)

I have included some photos from that amazing night taken by two of my photographer friends Eric Velado http://www.ericvelado.com/ and Lucy Manalo http://www.manaloempire.com/

Make sure you check out the Pacific Palms Resort http://www.pacificpalmsresort.com/ remember it's closer than Palm Springs so that means you might be able to have more frequent weekend getaways! Say hi if you see me there! ;-)

Thank you Pacific Palms Resort! I will see you soon!!! :-)