I can still remember how frazzled I was right after my husband and I got engaged. There was so much planning to be done, so much to research, and quite frankly it was all overwhelming, especially at the start. Once I’d got a plan and a feel for the wedding in place, it wasn’t so bad; but I’m not here to help you with that. I’m here to help you with your honeymoon and how you can decide on your destination, smoothly and quickly so you can secure the best deals, the most luxurious resorts, and the honeymoon of your dreams.
First things first, you should pinpoint your wedding date. Without knowing when you’ll actually go on your honeymoon, there’s no real way to start concretely planning it. You should, of course, still be discussing what you both want out of it. Are you looking for adventure, relaxation, culture, or all three? Would you like to do social good on your honeymoon or experience something completely out of the ordinary, like bungee jumping or a hot air balloon ride? Make a list of what you’d like out for your honeymoon. It can be great to chat about this when chaos is going on elsewhere because it’s easy and fun to imagine the start of your new life together.
When your wedding date is set, it’s time to start doing some research. Your first goal is to choose a destination or at least a range of options that you can present to someone else. You have several different ways you can book your honeymoon. You can go with different kinds of tour operator. Different travel agents aim at different sectors of the market, so look at your budget and decide what you’d like to spend before choosing where you’re going. Luxury, custom tour operators will really take your preferences into account when booking a honeymoon and will try to match it as closely to your dreams as possible. If your budget doesn’t stretch to this, you might have a look on the high street and see if there are any discounts going for a destination you like in the travel shops.
Before firmly booking, do your own research too. Look up flights and hotels you’re offered to price match. Check reviews online of the different hotels and resorts you’re considering and see where your friends went and how they liked it. I would highly recommend going with a tour operator for your honeymoon. I have booked holidays and holiday insurance on my own, but my honeymoon really was special, and I treated it as such. Plus, when you have so much else going on, it’s worth it, and they can offer you extra perks you may not get otherwise. It’s certainly worth consulting a few different companies and seeing what they have to offer you before deciding to go it alone. If you’re too busy with the wedding planning, this is actually a task that your fiancé more traditionally does, so consider keeping him occupied while you get on with your dress and guest list.
What would be your first steps when planning a honeymoon? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
Also, I’d just like to quickly remind everyone that I’m currently running a Honeymoon Destination 2011 poll, so if you haven’t placed your vote for top destination of the year, I’d be thrilled if you headed over and did so! I’ll be closing the poll next Monday and starting the destination spotlights next week.