Category Archives: Before You Go

When Should You Go On Your Honeymoon?

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You know in the movies when a bride and groom leave their wedding in a decorated car that says “Just Married” and then they drive off to the airport?

Yeah… no one I know has ever done that.  With popular day-after brunches and just having tons of friends and family around that you rarely get to see, I think that most couples delay their honeymoon departures for a day or two.  For various reasons, some couples even postpone their honeymoons for several months or even years.  If you need help deciding whether to leave right away or push it back, here are some things you’ll want to consider:

1.  Where do you want to go?

If your wedding is in July and you’ve always dreamed of a honeymoon in Australia, you probably shouldn’t leave on your honeymoon right away.  Since the seasons are opposite in the southern hemisphere, July is the dead of winter in Australia.  Other similar examples include going Italy in August (all of the locals go on holiday then, so you’ll be stuck with tourists only), the Caribbean in September (hurricane season), and anywhere September – November (Michigan football season… just kidding… but not really).

2.  What’s your job situation like?

It’s important to consider whether you and your fiancé will be able to take off as much time from work as you’d like.  Okay, maybe you’d like to take off several months, but let’s try to be realistic here.  I’m just saying that if you just started a new job and only feel comfortable taking off one week now, but you’ll be more comfortable asking for two weeks off in six months, maybe you should wait.

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Who Hires a Travel Agent These Days?

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If you read my previous post about my own honeymoon, you may have stopped halfway through and asked yourself “Wait, what?” when I mentioned that we used a travel agent.  Why would I, an overly enthusiastic and experienced world traveler, need to hire a travel agent?  I’m just as shocked as you are, I assure you, but hear me out.

Ulu Watu, Bali

1.  Wedding planning is stressful, and you’re going to get “decisioned-out” eventually.

I’m usually great at making decisions quickly and confidently, I swear.  However, after months of approving wedding invitation fonts, various shades of blue bridesmaid dresses, and the all-important wedding band playlist, my decision-making skills were worn down considerably.  My then-fiancé and I couldn’t even decide what country we wanted to go to for our honeymoon, let alone what cities, hotels, etc.  To be blunt: we just needed professional back-up.

2.  It’s probably cheaper than you expected it would be.

The way it worked with our travel agent was that she charged us a $100 flat fee per person – that’s it.  The only caveat was that we couldn’t have her spend weeks planning a perfect African safari and then ask her at the last minute to cancel that and plan a whole new Caribbean itinerary instead.  But for just $200, we received unlimited phone calls, emails, and revised itineraries from our agent.  Pretty darn awesome.

3.  The pros may have some suggestions that you never would have thought of yourself.

This was certainly true for us in two respects.  My husband and I love beaches, so we told the travel agent to find us the best hotels within our price range on the most gorgeous beaches in Southeast Asia.  Unexpected suggestion #1: Vietnam.*  This was a surprise for us, but  it turns out that she was right.**  Not only were the Vietnamese beaches beautiful, but the local food was excellent and the prices were very reasonable since many resorts were not too popular with Western tourists yet.

Unexpected suggestion #2 came along when I noticed that the first Balinese resort on our itinerary was nowhere near the beach.  I thought, “Was the travel agent even listening to me?  I told her that beaches were a major priority!”  Yeah, she heard me, and she also just knew better.  While some of the beaches in Bali are pretty great, the inner part of the island had a lot more to offer.  We’re so glad that we listened to her.

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