Real Honeymoon: Thailand

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

My friend Benu has been promising me to send her Real Honeymoon story and photos for MONTHS, so I’m incredibly excited that it’s finally getting published! FINALLY! Alright, Benu and Doug honeymooned in Thailand, and as I’ve previously mentioned, Thailand is totally one of my favorite destinations. So without further ado, please enjoy their amazing honeymoon below:

When and where did you honeymoon?

We traveled to Thailand where we visited Bangkok and an island off the coast, Samui.

The Royal Palace in Bangkok

How long was your trip?

2.5 glorious weeks.

How did you decide on your honeymoon destination(s)?

Ours wasn’t your typical honeymoon – we based the decision on my oldest sister who lives in Singapore and had just had her second baby. By traveling within SEA, we got to see our new baby nephew, family, AND have a great honeymoon on our own.

Flowers in Koh Samui

The best part about our honeymoon was…

Best part of the honeymoon was obviously spending time with Doug! We had a blast – from eating copious amounts of street food together, drinking frou-frou drinks cause you can, to falling asleep on a hammock on our private beach. Highlights from Bangkok definitely included the street food, the rooftop bars at night (for the city views) and just being a tourist in a city and observing the hustle and bustle that is Bangkok city life. It was also great to get away from the city and unwind in Samui where we had plenty of time to be alone and take in all the natural beauty Thailand has to offer.

Frou-frou drinks

If I knew then what I know now, I’d change…

The timing of our honeymoon was poor due to the fact that I (along with my business partner) had just launched our first online company. But, that’s life! I also would have taken the honeymoon right after our wedding – we waited about 7 months so we could gain more vacation days.. but if I could change anything, I would have “lived in the wedding bliss” for a couple of weeks longer and taken it right after the wedding.

Bangkok at night

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Before the Honeymoon: 7 Lessons Learned from Wedding Planning

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

Despite this being a honeymoon blog, I’ve been meaning to write a post about wedding planning for a long time now. There are tons of wedding websites, blogs, and magazines out there offering wedding advice, but I truly feel like the following seven lessons will actually make a positive difference with both the planning of and “the big day” itself. I was aware of some of the recommendations while I was planning my own wedding, but man do I wish I knew about all of them.

1) Prioritize. Prioritize. Prioritize.

I hope I’m not the first person to break this to you, but it’s impossible to “have it all” when it comes to weddings. It’s no secret that weddings are incredibly expensive, and even the smallest costs add up to massive totals before you know it. To avoid developing unrealistic expectations and then getting your hopes up, you and your significant other need to ask yourselves what’s *most important* about your wedding as early as you can. Is it having a huge guest list? Hiring the best band? Looking as glamorous as possible? Having the most extensive open bar? Going on a ridiculously awesome honeymoon? Get your priorities in check before you even begin contacting any vendors.

2) Hire a wedding planner/consultant/coordinator/whatever.

If you’re a bride-to-be and you haven’t hired someone to help you already, stop reading this blog and start researching awesome wedding planners in your area immediately. Some people think it’s alright to just rely on your venue’s in-house wedding person, but you’ll be a lot happier if you bring in your own expert. Choose someone who a) doesn’t do a ton of weddings (the more they do, the less time they’ll have to focus on you), b) but has a lot of experience and confidence, and c) that you totally trust.

3) Find a photographer that you love, and then ask him/her for a videographer recommendation.

You’re going to spend a LOT of time with your photographer and videographer on your wedding day, and you’ll want them to get along and work well together. My photographer and videographer hadn’t worked together before, and I felt like they were just “out of sync” and competing for shots throughout the day. For example, my videographer missed me putting on my shoes, and then five minutes later asked me to take them off and put them on again. No, this wasn’t a huge deal, but I felt like things would have gone more smoothly if the two vendors were better used to each other.

4) Take as many photos as possible before the wedding.

Ask your photographer for a list of typical couple/bridal party/family portrait shots, adjust the list to your needs, and find out how much time you’ll need to take those photos (then add 20 extra minutes, just to be safe). Is it a pain for all of your family members to show up 90 minutes before the wedding begins just to take a couple photos? Yeah, it’s not ideal, but it’s worse to wait to take photos until after the ceremony because they’ll either miss your entire cocktail hour or you may not even get the shots at all.

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Real Honeymoon: Belize

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

Central America is perfect for honeymooners who want an amazing tropical vacation, but don’t want to lose a day traveling to the opposite side of the world. Especially popular with scuba divers, Belize is only a two hour flight away from Houston! But the biggest thing to consider before booking your tickets to Belize is its hurricane season.** Luckily, Dana and Andrew didn’t have any hurricanes to deal with during their honeymoon in Belize last year. Read all about their hurricane-free honeymoon below:

When and where did you honeymoon?

Andrew and I went to Hopkins, Belize to a resort called Hamanasi Dec. 1-8, 2012.

How long was your trip?

8 days, 7 nights.

How did you decide on your honeymoon destination(s)?

Several coworkers suggested Belize as a fun place to honeymoon, and I wanted a mix of activities/relaxation…also TripAdvisor rated our resort as #1 travelers choice for several years in a row.

The best part about our honeymoon was…

The best part of our honeymoon was spending time with each other! Also, learning how to scuba dive (for me, definitely not for Andrew…), and seeing the Mayan ruins.

Hamanasi, Belize

If I knew then what I know now, I’d change…

I would change the time frame when we went…the sand flies were HORRIBLE that time of year. Also, it was the beginning of the rainy season.

How much planning did you do in advance?

A couple weeks to research resorts, but the resort took care of everything for us including transportation, puddle jumpers, etc.

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Who’s Supposed to Pay for the Honeymoon?

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

When it comes to wedding etiquette questions, the answers you get oftentimes may not be the ones you were hoping to hear, and things get especially dicey when you’re asking about money. So let’s *delicately* address the question, “Who’s supposed to pay for the honeymoon?”

Traditionally speaking, the bride’s parents were responsible for paying for the wedding, and the groom’s parents were supposed to pay for the honeymoon. However, and this is a huuuge “however,” it’s pretty obvious that many of the traditional rules no longer apply to contemporary weddings. For example, it’s very common for brides and grooms to see each other for photos before they walk down the aisle, it’s not crazy for there to be unequal groomsmen to bridesmaid ratios, and many brides choose not to wear veils. The point being that wedding rules most certainly change over time, and the same goes for rules pertaining to who pays for what.

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Real Honeymoon: Italy

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

When I started this blog last year, I knew that Italy was a great honeymoon destination, but I didn’t realize how popular it was! This is now the fourth Real Honeymoon: Italy post on the blog, and I have two more great ones lined up to be published in the upcoming weeks. Each honeymoon is slightly different, but they are all equally fantastic. Check out Cyndi and Ben’s amazing Italian honeymoon below:

When and where did you honeymoon?

We went to Italy in September 2012. We went to Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, Positano, and Capri.

The Trevi Fountain in Rome

How long was your trip?

2 weeks.

How did you decide on your honeymoon destination(s)?

Neither of us had been to Europe, and I have always wanted to go to Italy, especially Rome and Cinque Terre.

Hiking Cinque Terre

The best part about our honeymoon was…

Our favorite place was Capri. Our friends got us an evening of wine tasting in Rome which was awesome. Another highlight was the cooking class we took in Florence.

Private boat trip in Capri

If I knew then what I know now, I’d change…

While we loved Cinque Terre, and the hike was beautiful, in hindsight I would probably have saved it for a different trip, and spent more time in the other places. Cinque Terre was pretty far out of the way – the day we went from Cinque Terre to Positano, we traveled from 9am to 9pm.**

Sunbathing in Positano

How much planning did you do in advance?

Everything I could possibly plan in advance, I did. In fact, my husband thought I was crazy because around March of last year I asked him if I should start making restaurant reservations. I booked our airfare and hotels in January. I booked our cooking class and boat tour in Capri probably around March. I made museum reservations for Rome and Florence in August. I had looked up the train schedules in advance but didn’t reserve anything – my husband insisted on a little flexibility!

Michelangelo’s David at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence

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Quick Tip #8: Book Your Honeymoon Now

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

When should you book your honeymoon? YESTERDAY! Oh my gosh, you haven’t booked it yet? What were you thinking? You’re so far behind!!!

Juuuust kidding, calm down. Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to book flights and hotels earlier rather than later, but you certainly don’t need to have your entire trip planned out more than six months in advance.**

So why is it important to book early?

1) You’ll save money. Pretty good reason, right?

2) You’re more likely to get your first choices on airfare, hotels, fancy restaurants, etc.

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Real Honeymoon: Thailand

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

Thailand is definitely one of my favorite destinations of all time, and this couple sure took their time and did it right for their honeymoon. If you love amazing food, gorgeous beaches, and friendly people, I really couldn’t recommend Thailand enough! Check out Alexis and Andrew’s honeymoon below:

When and where did you honeymoon?

September-October 2011, Thailand

Chiang Mai – 3 days
Phuket – 3 days
Koh Phi Phi – 4 days
Khao Lek – 2 days
Krabi – 3 days
Koh Samui – 5 days

How long was your trip?

3 weeks.

How did you decide on your honeymoon destination(s)?

We wanted to go somewhere we hadn’t been that was warm, and mixed sightseeing with relaxing on the beach.

The best part about our honeymoon was…

Everything! If I have to pick one thing, it would be the day we spent at Patara Elephant Farm taking care of elephants for the day.

If I knew then what I know now, I’d change…

Nothing! Well, maybe I would stay at a different hotel in Krabi, but otherwise, it was perfect.

How much planning did you do in advance?

A decent amount, we had all of our airfare and hotels booked, and pretty much knew how we wanted to spend our days.

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Non-Literary Honeymoon Entertainment Ideas

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

When I was working on my recent blog post on honeymoon reading recommendations, a couple of friends pointed out that they had no desire to sit around and read books all day. Aside from entertaining yourselves in the most obvious way (*wink*), they had the following suggestions for honeymoon entertainment:

Bring Don Draper along on your honeymoon, too!

1) Catch up on TV shows and movies

As much as I love The Wire and The Sopranos, I personally wouldn’t have wanted to spend my honeymoon watching violent dramas. Just like with my book recommendations, I think it’s best to keep things light. During my own honeymoon my husband and I watched the first two seasons of Happy Endings and plenty of our other favorite comedies like 30 Rock, Community, and Parks and Rec.

2) Play games

Are you the type of couple who loves card or board games? If so, bring them along! One friend told me she and her husband brought along Uno, Travel Scrabble, and Travel Sorry on their honeymoon.

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Honeymoon Reading Recommendations: Keep It Light!

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

Believe it or not, your honeymoon is not the time to bust out tearjerker books such as Never Let Me Go, The Road, or Little Bee. It’s also not necessarily the best time to tackle notoriously challenging books like Infinite Jest or Gravity’s Rainbow. In her recent Tahitian honeymoon blog post, my very wise friend Alix made an excellent point that I also want to emphasize: you’ve got to keep the reading selection during your honeymoon light.

The library at the Hon Tam Resort in Nha Trang, Vietnam

I recently polled a small group of friends to ask them what they read during their honeymoons, and the feedback was almost entirely unanimous:

1) Everyone likes funny books, especially comedic memoirs:

– Bossypants by Tina Fey (the audiobook, too, is truly amazing)

– Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

– Anything by Chelsea Handler

2) Book series are so hot right now:

– The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins (although one friend mentioned that she would get so caught up in the books that wouldn’t want to put them down, which brings up a smart point that if you don’t want to turn your honeymoon into a reading marathon, you should bring along books that are good, but not THAT good.)

– The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (these books are pretty clunky, so it’s probably best to load them on an e-reader)

– The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy by Stieg Larsson (a good story, yes, but definitely not the lightest/happiest subject matter)

3) “Romance novels” can help put you in the mood:

– The 50 Shades of Grey Trilogy by E L James (Oh my! Barf. I couldn’t even get through book two, but it sounds like all of my friends were equally curious about these books)

And I can’t personally vouch for any of the following, but the following books were highly recommended by a self-proclaimed trashy romance connoisseur:

– Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

– Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

– The Mighty Storm by Samantha Towle

– On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves

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Real Honeymoon: Tahiti

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

A couple of days after their beautiful wedding in San Francisco, my good friends Alix and Brandon left for their equally gorgeous honeymoon in Tahiti. And as if they truly planned it this way, they returned to San Francisco just in time to watch the Giants win the World Series! Sounds like the best month ever to me. Check out their incredible Tahitian honeymoon below:

When and where did you honeymoon?

Tahiti, October 2012. One week in Moorea, one week in Bora Bora.

How long was your trip?

About 2 weeks.

How did you decide on your honeymoon destination(s)?

We had a really hard time deciding. We were torn between a backpackery type trip and going somewhere cultural versus somewhere where we could just plop on a beach and do nothing. We debated Tahiti, Fiji, Madagascar, Philippines and all over Europe (especially Greece and Italy). But ultimately, the weather decided our location. Getting married in October didn’t leave us with very many warm weather options (unless we wanted to risk typhoons). I had been to Greece and had always pictured honeymooning there (beautiful beaches, culture, activities etc.). And Brandon had been to Italy and really wanted to go there (wine tasting, site seeing etc.). But the weather in both places was going to be cold. Madagascar was REALLY far and there were possible issues with weather, and in the Philippines we risked typhoons. When it finally came down to it, we realized that all we wanted was warm weather and to sit on the beach and drink rum. Tahiti was a sure-thing for the nice weather and the decision was made.

The best part about our honeymoon was…

Sitting on the beach, massages, the blue water, drinking rum, and having nothing to do all day, for days on end. We did a few excursions (jet skiing, ATV tour, day trip on a boat). But mostly, all we did was read books and relax on the beach.

If I knew then what I know now, I’d change…

As perfect as it was, there were a few things that we could have done differently. We would have brought a few more liters of rum (because you really can’t have too much rum when you are living in paradise), and some more snacks to save money. As amazing as our hotels were–and they were truly amazing–we wish we saw a little more of the islands. Moorea is absolutely beautiful; it is lush, mountainous, and has a local feel that Bora Bora doesn’t have. It would have been fun to spend a little more time seeing the island. That said, Bora Bora is a wonderful place, and there is nothing you could do to improve it.

Finally, a recommendation to all you book lovers out there, go light. Brandon made the mistake of reading Atlas Shrugged during our honeymoon, and as much as he loved the book, it did not make for the best beach banter. Bring novels and magazines that will not lead you to contemplate the role of selfishness and individuality in a society that is on the verge of economic collapse.

How much planning did you do in advance?

We hired a travel agent, which I would 100% recommend (depending on where you are going). It was so nice not having to spend time figuring out where to go, and how to get to each place etc. Because we had a travel agent, we didn’t have to do much planning ourselves.

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