Planning a Honeymoon

Your honeymoon should be approached with all the tact of a foreign diplomat faced with the threat of war!

In a perfect world, you and your partner should be dab hands at planning romantic jaunts, having treated each other to countless romantic trips away since that first, fateful meeting. Even so, your honeymoon will be your first holiday as a fully certified, rings-on-fingers husband and wife.

It is understandable then, that the honeymoon is considered by most to be more important than any other getaway you've shared - yes even the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens tour he shouted you for your second anniversary and the fabulous five day Melbourne shopping spree you generously organised for his 30th birthday.

This one's serious, guys. And seeing as you're now a married couple, committed to enriching each other's lives and compromising when necessary, to appease your beloved, your honeymoon should be approached with all the tact of a foreign diplomat faced with the threat of war.

Your honeymoon is the perfect excuse to indulge, and there are endless possibilities for romance right in your own backyard as well as further afield. The only difficulty will be deciding where to go!

To set you on a smooth course, we've come up with a few honeymoon planning hints that will ensure this holiday is not the cause of your first married argument, but the prelude to a wonderful life together ... well, you'll have a really good time at the very least!

Even before you start dreaming of flashing the plastic all the way down Madison Av. or Rue Faubourg, sit down with your partner and work out exactly how much you can afford to spend on your honeymoon. Not only will your budget determine where/how far you can go, but also for how long, and thus it may curtail some of your more highfalutin' fantasies ... or not?

With the honeymoon budget decided, the two of you can rationally discuss feasible destinations, and this is where that tact mentioned earlier really comes into play. Example: it isn't wise to scoff at his desire to head off on a ten-day extreme sports adventure, and then suggest a holistic health retreat as the only alternative. Listen to your partner's ideas ... before you completely discard them. But seriously, consider both points of view and look for a way to combine your preferences. After all, this holiday in particular is the time for you to indulge in your own whims, as well as cater to your partner's. And if you can't come up with a locale that satisfies your individual interests, it's time to call in a professional.

If you heed no other advice from us, heed this: your best friend who has just returned from ten weeks in an ashram and his mates who've been touring the great fishing holes of the world for the past three months, do not make professionals. Repeat: a professional is a qualified travel agent who can provide expert and objective advice.

Armed with your time frame, budget and - possibly quite distinct - preferences, a good travel agent will be able to narrow down your options and suggest places that satisfy at least some of you and your partner's tastes.

Once you've decided on a destination that is both teeming metropolis for him and idyllic secluded island for you, it's time to make the reservations. While the cliché has the newlyweds leaving the reception - she in her chic honeymoon suit and he under the legal limit to drive - straight for the honeymoon destination, we suggest you make your plane (or other) reservations for the afternoon after your reception instead of the night of or even the morning after. This will give you both time to relax, sleep in and not worry about rushing to the airport.

You've finally made it to your destination of (mutual) choice and there should be very little else to concern yourselves with but having a good time. Try to remember however, that you've already discovered the two of you have occasionally differing tastes, so don't expect (or worse, demand) to spend every minute of your honeymoon together. Time apart will give you different experiences to talk about, so if jet skiing just isn't your thing, leave it to him and take the opportunity to have a pampering massage, take a scuba diving class or soak up the sun by the pool, pina colada in hand.

... You heeded all of our advice and the honeymoon was a complete success, so what happens when it's over? After the mayhem of planning the wedding and getting married, and then the indulgence of the honeymoon, reality can hit hard. Keep it at arm's length by spending some quality time with your husband doing the things that perhaps you did not have the time to do before the wedding, such as going to the movies, having dinner at a favourite restaurant or simply watching TV together. Schedule "dates" with each other to keep the romance alive. Since the honeymoon is over, start planning a one-year anniversary trip to an exciting place that neither of you has been to before.

With these suggestions in mind, you and your fiancée should be on your way to an unforgettable honeymoon!

This is the time to indulge -- and you'll thank yourself after the wedding is over and you need a little relaxation!

Article with thanks to http://www.holidaysforcouples.com.au