After all the buildup to your wedding, you’re likely looking forward to spending some relaxing time alone with your new spouse. While the wedding is all about bringing your families together, your honeymoon is about you two. Planning a stress-free honeymoon isn’t hard when you know how to prep for contingencies and prevent common travel-related emergencies. From picking out everyday jewelry that suits your newlywed status to booking flights, you can use this guide to plan your trip of a lifetime.
1. Plan the Wedding Budget With the Honeymoon in Mind
The average cost of a wedding is around $33,000, and couples often spend about $5,300 on their honeymoon. If you have big plans for your honeymoon destination and experiences, then it makes sense to find ways to save on your overall wedding costs.
Many couples choose budget-friendly options for a wedding venue, such as a local botanical garden or farm. You might also opt to find affordable engagement rings that are conflict-free and leave more room in your honeymoon budget.
Although you’ll still want to splurge on a few luxuries like a photographer, you’ll feel less stressed about your honeymoon when you’re not staring at a pile of bills.
2. Prioritize the Most Important Experiences
In the past, couples often traveled to popular resorts where they could enjoy spending time together alone in a luxury environment. Modern brides and grooms, however, are opting to travel to distant destinations that provide bucket-list experiences.
Take some time to sit down with your fiancé to discuss both of your hopes and dreams for the honeymoon. Together, you can decide if you dream of traversing through the mountains of Japan, snorkeling in Thailand, or prefer something closer to home.
As you make your plans, remember to choose excursions and experiences that bring you closer together as a couple. You can then use these ideas to maximize the enjoyment you get from your honeymoon, even if life throws a few curveballs your way.
3. Lock in Flights and Accommodations Early
The last thing you want is to find out that all the flights to your preferred destination are booked during your honeymoon dates. Ideally, you should book your international flights about two to three months in advance to secure seats and potentially the best pricing.
If you plan to travel domestically, you can book accommodations closer to your honeymoon date. But having your plans set in stone can help you knock another stressor off your to-do list.
4. Leave Extra Room in Your Itinerary for Spontaneous Moments
Every couple has a preference for how they spend their vacation time. Some may enjoy packing each day with three or four activities. Meanwhile, others might plan one activity with lots of time to meander through a new city.
Either way, you’ll want to leave some extra room in your plans for sudden decisions. For instance, you might discover a new restaurant that you have to try before you head home. Or, you might discover that you suddenly have the nerve to try ziplining through a tropical jungle or snorkelling near a coral reef. Leaving some extra time in your schedule also allows for some time to rest and bond as you share your favorite moments
5. Tailor Your Packing List to Your Honeymoon Destination
You may already know to pack a swimsuit, light jacket, and other classic wardrobe pieces. Yet, you may want to select a few pieces tailored to where you plan to visit. For instance, comfortable hiking shoes will prevent painful blisters on your wilderness excursion.
Spend a little time researching your destination’s climate to determine if you might need to bring along clothing you don’t usually wear in your hometown. Often, all it takes is putting on a coat or peeling off a layer to ease stress on major trips.
6. Wear Travel-Friendly Rings
Trying to keep up with valuables is a significant stressor when traveling. For honeymooners with new wedding rings, keeping up with jewelry you’re not used to wearing can be especially challenging.
Finding beautiful, high-quality travel rings gives you an affordable option to wear to show off your status as a newly betrothed couple. While they’ll look fancy in your photos, you’ll be less paranoid about losing rings that won’t require taking out a loan to replace.
7. Remember to Focus on Making Beautiful Memories
At the end of the day, you can bet that being in any environment is better when you’re with someone you love. As you embark on your honeymoon, remember that almost every trip has unexpected challenges.
Whether your flight gets delayed or you need to shift gears due to the weather, remember that even a thunderstorm can turn into a romantic moment. Many of those frustrating moments that occur on vacations are the ones that you and your new spouse will laugh about in the future.
Start Planning Your Picture-Perfect Honeymoon
As a general rule, starting your honeymoon planning early helps you avoid the stress of making last-minute decisions. You can choose travel-friendly rings when you pick out your wedding bands, and you can start talking about your bucket-list experiences today.
Although your honeymoon may still feel like a distant dream, you can start bringing your vision to life by making the decisions you can right now. You’ll not only alleviate stress, but you can also use your new hand-crafted rings as motivation to keep working toward your honeymoon dreams.
