Just as everyone wants their wedding day to be exactly as they’ve always imagined it being, so getting the honeymoon right is equally important. This is, after all, likely to be one of the most memorable holidays you’ll ever take, your first as a married couple, and it will probably account for a significant part of your wedding budget too.
So how do you plan the perfect honeymoon? Just follow this process…
Timing Is Everything
Before you do anything else, you need to know how much time you have, and what time of year you can go. Many newly married couples will postpone their honeymoon for a few months, and just take a short weekend getaway, a “mini-moon” if the timings aren’t convenient. You may have a busy period at work coming up, or want to wait until flight and hotel prices are a little less expensive.
There is also the fact that many destinations are best-visited at certain times of year. If you’re getting married in August, for instance, and you’re planning a honeymoon in the Bahamas, then you will be going right in the middle of hurricane season if you leave straightaway. Perhaps it would be better to leave the honeymoon until later in the year.
Another important factor to consider here is the amount of travel time involved in your honeymoon. If you can only get away for a week, is it really worth going all the way to New Zealand, and spending two days of your precious time in transit?
What’s Your Budget?
Getting hitched can be a costly business. In the UK, the average cost of a wedding is around £26,000. If you have expensive tastes, or a lot of family and friends to entertain, you may not have a lot of money left over for your honeymoon.
That’s why it’s vital to ensure your honeymoon is included in your overall wedding budget, and to keep an eye on inflating costs. If you can make a saving here or there without impacting on the quality of your arrangements, then why not keep the money for your holiday.
If you do find yourselves short on funds, there are options. Again, there is the possibility of a short break straight after the wedding, before you start saving for your real honeymoon. Or you can also ask guests to contribute a little cash towards the cost of your holiday in lieu of gifts. This is very common nowadays and there’s no shame at all in suggesting it. In fact many people would be relieved at such an easy solution to finding a wedding gift!
Where To Go?
Deciding where to go on honeymoon is often the most difficult part of the process for many couples. You need to find somewhere that you both want to visit, which if you share different interests when on holiday, can be tricky.
A good way to approach it can be to think about what kind of honeymoon experiences you want to have while you’re away. Perhaps if one of you loves beach holidays while the other likes cultural city breaks you could consider somewhere that offers both such as Barcelona or Miami. If you want a bit of luxury but also somewhere with an interesting foodie scene you might want to try somewhere like Thailand or India, both of which have many pampering spas ideal for honeymooning couples.
Another aspect to think about is where you want to stay. This obviously ties in with the budget, but you may also need to consider whether you’re going to remain in one location throughout your honeymoon, or travel around a bit.
Remember that you don’t need to go down the traditional glamorous honeymoon route of beaches, palm trees and boutique hotels. It’s your trip of a lifetime, and you should choose where to go and what to do based on your shared passions, not what you think others expect of you.
Get The Names Right
One final tip when ensuring your honeymoon runs smoothly – be sure to book your flights and hotels in the same name as your travel documents. It’s not unknown for forgetful couples to book everything in their new married names and get caught out!