Category Archives: Before You Go

Who’s Supposed to Pay for the Honeymoon?

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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?”

Check

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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Quick Tip #8: Book Your Honeymoon Now

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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.**

Calendar

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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Quick Tip(s) #7: How to Handle Your Money When Traveling Abroad

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One of the last things you’ll want to worry about during your honeymoon is whether you’re handling your money properly.  Follow these quick tips to make sure that you get the most bang for your buck when traveling abroad:

Cash money

Mo money, no problems

1) As I mentioned in a previous post, make sure that you tell your credit card company in advance that you’ll be traveling abroad!

2) Don’t bother with travelers checks – you may have a hard time finding people who’ll accept them, and the exchange rate isn’t always the best.

3) When possible, use credit cards that don’t charge foreign transaction fees.

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Quick Tip #6: Make Reservations Under Your Maiden Name

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If you’re:

a) planning on changing your last name, and

b) going on your honeymoon less than 4 months after your wedding,

MAKE YOUR HONEYMOON FLIGHT RESERVATIONS UNDER YOUR MAIDEN NAME!!!

boarding pass

The name change process is time-consuming and complicated, and you can’t fly anywhere under your married name unless you have the proper documentation.  First you need to get your marriage license, then you need to change social security, then you’ll have to get a new drivers license/passport, etc… it basically takes forever.  I know you’re probably all giddy about being Mr. and Mrs. So-and-so, but just do yourself a favor and use your maiden name.

As for hotel recommendations, some say that hotels will discriminate against couples if they think you’re you’re unmarried.  Personally, I “traveled in sin” for years and have never experienced anything like that.

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Quick Tip #5: Use Priceline.com for Car Rentals

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Need a rental car for your honeymoon? Look into Priceline’s Name Your Own Price deal and place a bid as low as you want. Worst case scenario: they say that your bid is too low, and you can re-bid again with a higher amount.  Try it, it’s fun!

Jeep

You can also use Priceline to bid for your flights and hotels, but usually people want a bit more control over those aspects of their trips.  However, who really cares what company you use for renting a car?

(Actually, I guess some people do like to rack up loyalty points by using the same company each time, but shhhh.)

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Quick Tip #4: Sign Up For Hold Mail Service

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It’s never fun to open a mailbox that’s over-stuffed with tons of crumpled junk mail, so it’s smart to pause your mail service whenever you go out of town for more than 3 days.

The best part?  The USPS makes it super easy to request its “Hold Mail Service” online.  You can request the service up to 30 days before your trip, and the post office will hold your mail for anywhere between 3 and 30 days.  If you don’t pick up your mail during that time window, they will deliver the mail to you after the 30th day.

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Quick Tip #3: Give Your Credit Card Company a Heads Up That You’re Going Out of Town

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It takes five minutes or less to call up your credit card company/companies to let them know that you are going on a trip, and it can save you from tons of stress and financial worry.  The last thing you’ll want while you’re honeymooning is for the fraud department of Capital One to shut down access to your card once it notices a bunch of purchases made in a foreign country.

Even if you’re just traveling in the U.S., you should still give them a heads up.
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Feeling Crappy On Your Honeymoon Feels Like… Crap

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I’m sorry to break this to you, but there’s a really good chance that you’re going to get sick at some point during your honeymoon. Between eating strange new foods, sitting next to sickly airplane passengers, and mostly just getting over the stress of planning your wedding, your immune system will indeed be working overtime.

So, what can you do to reduce the risk of falling ill? Aside from bringing a two-week supply of food from home and wearing a face-mask at all times (gasp – just think of the tanlines!), there’s not a lot you can do.  However, it’s smart to plan ahead and bring some medical supplies just in case your health takes a turn for the worse.  No, you don’t need to bring an entire pharmacy in your suitcase, but in addition to any medication that you currently take, consider packing the basics: acetamenophin, ibuprofen, antacid tablets, aloe vera, and bandaids.

Though if you really want to cover your bases, you should also think about where you’re going on your honeymoon, and pack additional items accordingly.  Will you be in a remote resort miles away from a major town? Will you need to deal with language barriers if you need to go to a pharmacy?  Are you a hypochondriac?  If so, it sounds like you should maybe bring some extra supplies.

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Beware the Six Months Passport Validity Rule

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Two weeks before my then-fiancé and I went to Europe last year, he casually mentioned, “Looks like I’ll need to renew my passport before our honeymoon.”  Keep in mind, this happened in September, and our honeymoon was going to be the following May.  “Wait, so when does it expire?” I asked.  “Relax,” he replied.  “It’s good until December.”

This was seriously how the biggest fight in our 5+ year relationship began.  I freaked out and shrieked, “BUT… THE SIX MONTHS RULE!!!”  Aaron had no clue what I was talking about.  Then I freaked out some more that he didn’t know what I was freaking out about.  Let me just tell you, it wasn’t my best moment.

After polling our friends about whether the six months passport validity rule was common knowledge, I will now publicly admit that it isn’t since about 50% of our friends had no clue what I was talking about.  (I’m sorry, Aaron.)

Alright, the basic gist is that some countries won’t let you enter unless your passport is valid for at least six months.  Other countries have the same rule with just three months.  One such country was Denmark, and Aaron and I were heading there in just 14 days and his passport was going to expire in less than two months.

The moral of the story?  If your passport is going to expire within a year, make sure that you aren’t heading to a foreign country that requires six or three months passport validity.  And if you need to get a new passport (or just a renewal) in a hurry, it’s really not the end of the world.  All you’ll need is a little extra money and an appointment at a Regional Passport Agency.

Should You Register for Your Honeymoon?

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In addition to registering for gifts at department stores like Macy’s and Bloomingdales, many couples are now registering for their honeymoons on sites such as Honeyfund and Traveler’s Joy.

On one hand, it is pretty awesome to receive a surprise wedding present like a bottle of champagne or a pre-paid massage during your honeymoon (thanks, Laura!).  But actually asking for these gifts in advance?  One of my favorite bloggers East Side Bride said it best.

I’ll leave it at that.