Planning your honeymoon

Number one tip for planning your honeymoon? Don’t forget to take your photographer to get great photos and because they deserve it!

Okay… we’re just teasing. We had to. It’s who we are.

Starting over: planning your honeymoon on top of planning your wedding can rightfully feel overwhelming. Just to start, there are so many options and so many things to consider. Again, just like planning your wedding. (And you can read about 2024 wedding trends here.)

So start at the same place: decide on your budget. Once you do that, a lot will come into focus and possibilities will naturally be pared down.

To begin, let’s look a trends in honeymoons. We do this so you can get a broader sense of the possibilities that are available to you.

Honeymoon Trends

Delayed honeymoons

This one has been trending for some time. After the wedding, sometimes it just feels like too much to head right out on a big trip. Maybe you have friends and family who have traveled for your wedding and spending time with them is a priority. Or maybe you know you’ll be super low on energy after the wedding (not uncommon at all). Or maybe you want to take a breath to save some money after the big expense of the wedding to cover a specific honeymoon dream. Whatever the reason, delaying your honeymoon can be smart.

Pre-wedding mini-moons

Some couples are going to a spa or vacation destination for a few days before the wedding to relax and connect and generally get ready for all the big events and the energy expenditure.

Wellness honeymoons

Speaking of relaxing, some couples spend their entire honeymoon in spa like locations with nothing much to do but head to a massage or a yoga class and eat delicious food. Again, weddings are big events that take big energy and a recovery honeymoon doesn’t seem like a bad idea.

Buddymoons

Yep, you are reading that right. Some people see this as an opportunity to bond with friends and family. It can also decrease cost if you stay in a large house together. We think you either got excited by this the second you read it or you immediately said NO WAY! ((ha))

Slow travel

This is a trend not just for honeymoons but all around travel. To go somewhere and stay there. For example, maybe in the past a couple would have booked a honeymoon that took them all over Italy, hitting all the major places of interest. Now a couple might stay in a small town in Italy and really absorb the culture.

Event Focused Honeymoons

Perhaps one of the core things that initially bonded you to your spouse is a shared interest in a certain kind of music or a passion for a certain sport. This is sorta the opposite of the slow honeymoon in that it’s very active. You’re going somewhere specifically to do and experience something together. Maybe it’s a big music festival or the World Cup or skiing. And hey, the Summer Olympics are in Paris this year. See? Time to get your language app going!

Maybe we gave you a new idea and now on to…

Tips for planning your honeymoon

Budget

It’s worth saying this again: Decide on your budget up front so there’s no disappointment or misunderstanding. Some couples have added “help us go on our honeymoon” fundraisers to their gift registries, but you, of course, don’t want to be counting on that. See that as extra.

Have an open mind

Perhaps since you were a little person, you have dreamed of visiting Egypt or going on the Orient Express, but maybe the love of your life thinks that sounds boring. Initial talks about honeymoons should be fun and dreamy. Each of you sharing your wildest ideas about what could be possible. From there, find something that lights you both up. It might not be the number one choice for either of you but it’s number one for you as a couple.

With that said, it’s extra nice to go somewhere neither of you have been so you’re creating brand new memories together.

Timing

Make sure to start planning your honeymoon the recommended 8 to 12 months in advance. If you don’t have this much time to plan, you will have to be open to possible limitations or changes. Or you can, again, delay your honeymoon to give you the time needed.

Also be sure to check what paperwork you might need if you’re leaving the country. Does one of you need an updated passport? Do you need any proof of vaccines? These things mean more time and organization if you don’t want to be super stressed and frazzled.

Use a travel agent

If you can, this is a good investment. They know all the tricks and can probably get you a better deal than you could on your own. They can get you perks and upgrades that you might not even know exist.

Decide on an itinerary

Or not. This is where you have to understand each of your travel personalities. You might love spontaneity but your better half gets overly anxious if they don’t know where they’re having breakfast or what activity is filling what time slot. This can be one of your first challenges as a married couple — balancing all of that so you both have a wonderful, stress-free, positively memorable time.

Book special events ahead of time

If you know there’s a specific restaurant that you want to make sure to go to, then make sure to book ahead of time. Don’t leave these seemingly little details hanging and then end up being disappointed or frustrated or just using energy that could be used better other ways.

So tell us, what are you doing for your honeymoon? Is it something you didn’t expect or something you’ve dreamed of forever? And how is the planning going?