ABOUT THIS ADVENTURE
With wedding season around the corner, you might be like a lot of my friends who are honeymoon planning. Sure I can suggest destinations, but since I have so much experience honeymoon planning – a.k.a. none – I asked my good friend and successful blogger Raquel Kelley of I Guess I Do to step in. Raquel and I met over 8 years ago playing flip cup and after bonding over our love for Big Brother, we’ve been friends since. I’m so excited to feature Raquel because she helped push and inspire me to create my travel blog.
AROUND THE WORLD WITH
RAQUEL KELLEY
After all of the champagne has been drunk and the last piece of cake has been eaten, you and your partner can finally breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that all of those months of planning and DIY hell have been worth it.
Now it’s off for a much-needed getaway, but getting off the grid may not go as planned unless you’ve thought ahead. Here are three tips for honeymoon planning to make sure your trip is truly restful and relaxing… not stressful!
1. Before You Book, Check the Budget
Lots of times when you sit down to discuss the wedding budget, things like venue, flowers, and gowns are at the top of your priority list, but don’t forget to include the honeymoon into those figures.
Your big trip can also lead to some big numbers. And since it will most likely need to be booked and paid in full months before the wedding even happens, it should definitely be accounted for.
For those of you wondering how you are going to afford this along with everything else, my husband and I opted for a honeymoon registry rather than a traditional one. That way, instead of people buying us pots and pans, they were buying us airfare vouchers or an excursion to swim with the sharks!
2. Be Mindful of What & When to Pack
The way my husband and I planned for our Honeymoon, you would have thought we were taking a weekend-long trip to San Diego not to a far-off place like Bora Bora. What kind of currency did they take? He didn’t know. What language did they speak? I had not a clue. When does our flight leave? Your guess was as good as ours.
When caught in the post-wedding haze, all plans prior the big day seem blurry. You forget that you probably should have planned as well for this trip as you did for the wedding.
This is why I recommend giving yourself a few days to unwind after the wedding before taking your trip. But if you don’t have the luxury to do so, pack your suitcase the weekend before when things aren’t as stressful. That way all of your stuff will be in order and not in disarray. And don’t forget to carry on your thank you cards – long flights are a great time to knock them out!
3. Avoid Honeymoon Horror Stories
A monumental trip like this isn’t the time to pinch pennies when it comes to planning. Be sure to do your homework before booking and make sure to read reviews on resorts and travel packages.
Now may be a great time to enlist a travel agent who can take something off of your already mile high plate and start planning the trip to your liking. They will know what areas are safe and what resorts to stay away from. Other travel sites may be able to help as well, by bundling everything into a more affordable package. Either way, this is one item on the wedding agenda where you should think about asking for help.
And lastly, speaking of horror stories, this may sound like common sense, but be sure to get up and walk around on your flight, especially if it’s a long one. This little lady wound up with a blood clot in her leg and went straight to the emergency room when she landed from her blissful honeymoon retreat. (Things happen to me that don’t happen to other people.)
Now don’t worry, many factors were involved: the long flight, genes, etc. But nothing says ‘Welcome to Married Life’ like your Grandpa sending you his old compression socks in the mail. So take it from Gramps and me, it may seem silly, but for the love of God – get up and walk around!
WHERE I STAYED
Check out these great Bora Bora Honeymoon resorts!
The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort
And if you’re on a budget… Bora Bora Ecolodge
AROUND THE WEB
Travel on over to Raquel’s blogs I Guess I Do & I Guess I’m Due. Make sure to check out her post on Top Honeymoon Spots and connect on Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest.
