Honeymoon. A groom's job.
It’s traditional for the groom to make the arrangements for the honeymoon.
It’s worth getting the honeymoon planning sorted out early on. You may be thinking of last minute bargains, but in the run up to the wedding you and your fiancee are going to have a lot of other things to do, and having to sort out the honeymoon at short notice will just add to the stress. You can get good discounts on package holidays and flights by booking early, so there’s no excuses!
Decide how long you can take off work
A lot of your honeymoon planning will depend on how long you can both take off work. Even if you think you can manage three weeks off, the chances are your fiancee will want to take at least a few days off immediately before the wedding, to get properly prepared. You might want to do the same. Discuss it with her, and work out roughly how long a honeymoon you’re aiming for.
Choose the destination Honeymoon inspiration
Then you just need to decide where to go. If you and your fiancee have not decided this already, then work out a few options you might enjoy and talk them through with her.
How soon after the wedding?
Once you’ve got an idea of where you want to go then it’s up to you to deal with practicalities.
When fixing the exact dates, try to give yourself at least one clear day between the wedding and the start of your honeymoon. Couples who depart on honeymoon “the morning after” can end up completely exhausted by the time they arrive at their destination.
Booking
Package deals can be good value if you’re prepared to haggle. If you are booking flights and accommodation separately, remember that most airlines release flights for sale eleven months in advance. This means you can book almost a year before you travel.
For hotels, check the top-rated hotels and resorts in your chosen destination. This is really important – do your homework and make sure the place where you are staying is well reviewed by the people who have stayed there.
Passports, visas and jabs
You should have at least six month’s validity on your passport when you travel – check the dates on your passport and your fiancee’s too.
If you are travelling to a part of the world where you might need jabs, then you will need to visit your doctor at least eight weeks prior to travel.
Travel insurance
Once your holiday is booked, it’s a good idea to get travel insurance as soon as you can. Almost all travel insurance policies include some kind of cancellation cover, and you may as well get the benefit of it straight away.
Holiday money
The easiest option, unless you are going well off the beaten track, is to take credit or debit cards and some cash as a back up..
Remember…
Honeymoon planning is the number one job that you as a groom are expected to sort out. It is also the start of your married life. If you have put the hard work in with travel insurance, visas and various other boring stuff, you may as well go the extra mile to make it really special.
Also, try to arrange a couple of nice surprises for your wife while you are away. For example if you know she likes particular types of flowers, you could ask the hotel to put them in the room fwhen you arrive.
It doesn’t have to be expensive – you could even take a little gift with you in your luggage.
Just show her you’ve made the effort.
