Honeymoons and Destination Weddings Are A Hot Topic

The engagement season has officially begun as we transition from Thanksgiving into the mad December holiday rush. The weeks leading into February and Valentine's Day comprise some 40% of all engagements. For couples who've gotten engaged it means the beginning of lots of research and the start to actual planning. Yes it can be stressful at times, but have fun with it too. Don't let self-imposed stress be the downfall of your engagement period, however long it is.

What's new in the world of honeymoons?

Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries honeymoon: I tried to ignore it as best I could and even refrained from writing about it, but it seems any story with the name Kardashian in it just won't die. Sad really, because there isn't really anything there except a perfect illustration of one of the many things that are wrong in this country. Yes, this blog is generally about helpful honeymoon information and advice, but sometimes it's necessary to go off on a tangent. Ok, maybe not necessary, but it's at least compelling. The royal honeymoon had some elements to it that were similar, but William and Kate weren't prostituting out every last vestige of privacy for a price; if they were I am certain the proceeds would have gone to charity.

It's sad that people don't have enough stuff going on in their own lives that they have to live vicariously through made-for-cable-reality-tv-stars. Is that everyone, no, of course not. But it's far too many and it's teaching our kids the wrong stuff. If you want to know why the divide between the "haves" and the "have nots" is growing, it is NOT tax policy. The bigger reason is that the "haves" aren't watching this crap - they're either working or spending productive time with their families and teaching their kids to create a better life for themselves rather than try to do it vicariously through someone else.

Need help planning your honeymoon?

It's amazing to me that anyone in the throes of planning a wedding would want to spend time doing all the busy work that goes into planning a honeymoon. Of course, a destination wedding is another story completely and should never be tackled without professional help. The honeymoon, however, still involves plenty of work and details that should just be left to a professional. Our recommendation is to find a honeymoon specialist travel agent and let her take care of the details once you decided on a honeymoon destination.

A note from a happy newlywed couple

My new husband, Mike, and I just got home from the most amazing ten days! TheHoneymoon.com helped provide us with a myriad of places to visit and ideas on what to see. Therefore, building our dream honeymoon was extremely easy. Our friends and family members loved the site as well, because it provided them with the exact gifts to purchase for us to help make one of the most memorable trips of our lives; our honeymoon. The site was simple to use, wonderful for navigating, and it helped tell our guests information about "us" and the wedding day.

We flew into Naples and got our personal car ride to our hotel in Positano [Amalfi Coast]. We took several day trips, such as Pompei and Capri, and traveled to nearby cities like Ravello, Priano, Amalfi, and Sorrento. Thehoneymoon.com got our honeymoon money to us the week before we left, therefore, we had plenty of time to deposit the check and be carefree about actually using the gifts people purchased for us on their site. We headed to Rome for the next five days and enjoyed more site-seeing and touring around the city.

It was also super nice to come home, worry-free and pay off our credit card bill with the money [from our honeymoon registry]. Writing the thank you notes was easy because I could send pictures and stories to each one of our guests about the adventure they helped to send us on. It truly was a dream trip and if I had to do it all over again, I would use thehoneymoon.com.

I have attached a few pictures!!

Thank you so much, thehoneymoon.com!! We are forever grateful!!

Sincerely,

The newly wedded, Jackie and Mike G

Way to Save on Your Honeymoon

Mint.com wrote an article how couples can do and get more on their honeymoon after blowing a big chunk of their budget on the wedding. Check out 7 Ways to Afford a Honeymoon After A Budget-Busting Wedding. Of course, creating a honeymoon registry is one of the 7 keys to getting the most out of your honeymoon experience.

Royal Honeymoon Over After 10 Days in Seychelles

Newlyweds Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, are back in England after spending 10 blissful days of quietude in The Seychelles. The royal honeymoon provided for some well-needed R&R before the duties of their ceremonious positions require them to give their time to so many others. Next stops on their travel itinerary are Canada and California some time this summer.

Royal Honeymoon on North Island, Seychelles

The word is out and it appears to be official, the royal couple is spending their royal honeymoon on North Island, Seychelles. The owner of the island, Farhad Vladi, apparently let the cat out of the bag and is quoted as saying, "Prince William and his Kate are spending their honeymoon there. But you will understand that we are not saying anything further." What more can he really say to spoil the secret?! Maybe they got a discounted rate if he got some PR value.

Which island in the Seychelles is royal honeymoon central?

William and Kate spent a week in August 2007 on the island of Desroches, a secluded island paradise just four miles long, about 150 miles south west of the Seychelles' main island, Mahe. It has been reported that William told islanders the Desroches trip was the best vacation he had ever had.

Desroches is the main island of the Amirantes Group - locations which boast exclusive resorts in the kind of setting that most honeymoon couples can only dream about. A Seychelles honeymoon gives newlyweds that classic get-away-from-it-all location reminiscent of a desert island. A similar honeymoon destination on the other side of the planet might be Bora Bora.

Royal Couple Leave For Honeymoon In Seychelles

Palace officials say Prince William and his new wife Kate Middleton have departed on their delayed honeymoon, reportedly to the Seychelle Islands. The Seychelles are an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean just over 900 miles east of Africa. The Seychelles are renown for their biodiversity, including over 1000 species of fish and a wide variety of bird colonies. A Seychelles honeymoon is very likely to include some of the best SCUBA diving and snorkeling in the world.

European Honeymoon Destinations 2011

Early reviews from our honeymoon registry users is that Europe is quite popular in 2011, despite the fall of the dollar. We're seeing more of the usual European honeymoon destinations, such as: Italy (Rome, Florence, Venice and Amalfi Coast), Greece, Ireland, England, Scotland, France and Spain. However, more and more atypical European honeymoon destinations are showing up in some really creative honeymoon registries. Of course, many couples who honeymoon is Spain also visit Portugal, but Portugal is now being seen as more of a destination all by itself. Also more popular in 2011 are countries like Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Poland and the Czech Republic.

If you haven't planned your honeymoon yet and are looking for something unique that will truly be different from the typical Mexico or Cancun all-inclusive honeymoon, consider a honeymoon in Central and Eastern Europe. Depending on the country your dollar will probably go farther and you'll have an experience that will leave you an insatiable wanderlust to see the rest of the world.

Royal Honeymoon - Where oh where will it be?

Speculation on where Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge (as Kate Middleton is now called) is high as the couple left the palace by helicopter today. A honeymoon in Scotland, Australia and even Jordan have been bandied about. Even the small Transylvanian village of Viscri has been mentioned. At this point, anywhere they will be left alone and can remain undiscovered is probably the best choice. It wouldn't surprise if the couple took their honeymoon in a few different places, staying at each for no more than four or five days. Any longer and the honeymoon secret would most likely get out. We'll keep our ears open and report just as soon as we get word....

UPDATE: New word is that the Royal couple will delay their formal honeymoon and simply take a quiet weekend alone before Prince William goes back to his duties as a helicopter rescue pilot next week. Looks like they want to let some hype die down before they take their actual honeymoon...good idea.

Honeymoon Packages -- Everyone wants a deal!

Honeymoon packages are popular because they typically wrap all of the various elements of the honeymoon into one package price. Because of this honeymoon packages tend to be lower priced than if you were to buy each element of the honeymoon separately. This is true, for the most part, and some of the best honeymoon packages can only be bought through your local honeymoon travel agent. Why is that?

First of all, many travel package providers only work through travel agents. It's easier and more cost effective for them to work with a small group of professional travel agents than to try to service masses of consumers directly. Furthermore, even if they did sell directly they would be selling at the same price that the travel agent would. So for the honeymoon couple, who is already time starved in the first place, buying a honeymoon package from a travel agent is not only a money saver but also a time saver as well. You have enough to do with your wedding planning so why not get some help planning your honeymoon and let someone else do the heavy lifting?

Hyatt Hotels Gift Registry - For Honeymoons and More!

For the better part of two years now Hyatt Registry has been serving as a honeymoon registry and all-purpose hotel gift registry. Although honeymoons are the target of the most travel registries, the Hyatt Registry can be used for events like anniversaries and birthdays too. For anyone who simply loves to travel, Hyatt Registry can be the perfect gifting alternative. All registry gift items end up on a Hyatt Gift Card (international travel uses gift certificates) that the recipient can use at any one of the hundreds of Hyatt Hotel & Resort locations. Gift cards do not expire and can even be refilled. It's just one more great way to give the gift of travel.

Frequent Fliers Get a Better Airline Seat

There are a few tools out there to help you find the best airplane seat, such as SeatGuru, SeatExpert or SeatMaestro. ExpertFlyer also offers some tools, but only one I've seen so far can actually get a better airline seat for you. When I say get you a better seat on the plane, I mean actually book you in a better airplane seat. MySeatFinder.com is unique in that it will look at your self-selected airline seating preferences and compare those preferences to your assigned seat on your next flight. If a better seat is found, it will automatically move you. For example, you may be a middle seat in the back of the plane and you prefer to sit in an aisle or window seat, preferably more toward the front. If MSF finds you that seat, you're rebooked.

MySeatFinder is currently a free service. It's a seat finder only, there are no more tricks it does. But considering that where one sits is the second most important attribute of a person's flight (price of a ticket is #1), it's a pretty important job. Their tag line is: "finding, and getting, you a better airplane seat." Give it a try.

Which honeymoon destination is right for you?

The world is a big place and there are so many honeymoon destinations that you can visit to excite your senses and leave you with memories that will last a lifetime. So what is the best way to go about choosing a honeymoon destination?

It would be great if you could just think about what each of you like, action or relaxation, adventure or calm blue waters and white sand beach with lounge chairs. But for most couples, the first task is to figure out what their honeymoon budget is and then see if some of the destinations they would consider are even possible. The cost of a Tahiti honeymoon for someone on the east coast is a lot higher than for someone on the west coast; conversely a Caribbean honeymoon is more expensive for west coasters. For some couples, airfare may eat up so much of the budget that flying anywhere might rule out some of what they consider the best honeymoon destinations.

It's important to remember that the most important aspect of the honeymoon is simply taking one. It's getting away from all of the stress of planning a wedding and simply focusing on each other. Just like with planning your wedding, it helps to consult an expert. Find a travel agent who specializes in honeymoon planning for advice and help.

Honeymoon Registry - For Those Who Have (almost) Everything!

Let's face it, for many couples getting married today, the fine china and kitchen gadgetry is superfluous; in fact, getting these things is more of a hassle because returning them to the store usually means seeking something comparable in price for an exchange. Cash returns is rarely an option anymore. For today's couples, a honeymoon registry is really nice alternative to crock pots, toasters and blenders. What is a honeymoon registry? Simply put, it is a wedding gift registry that includes all of the various components of the honeymoon.

Need examples? A typical honeymoon registry will include the obvious airfare/transportation and hotel/lodging, but should also include the many activities and experiences a couple can choose when they arrive at their honeymoon destination of choice. If you go to Cancun you want to swim with the dolphins, which makes a perfect registry gift item. Or, maybe you want your Hawaii honeymoon to include surfing lessons. The great thing about the honeymoon registry is that it is completely customizable around your own honeymoon. But please don't take the word 'customizable' to mean lots of extra work.

The Honeymoon offers you the exclusive QuickClick® honeymoon registry. A QuickClick® registry is a template, like a sample registry, except there is one for virtually every conceivable honeymoon destination on the planet. Thinking about going to Borneo to hang out with the orangutans for your honeymoon? The Honeymoon has a registry for that. Once you select a QuickClick® registry, you then have the ability to customize it however you like -- add, mofify, and delete things. You even have the ability to combine QuickClick® registries to make your own multi-destination registry. There's also a photo library that allows you to add an image depicting your gift items.

Create your own honeymoon registry today!

Wedding Planning

Wedding planning can be a lot of fun, but it is also a lot of work. One would think that with all of the wedding-oriented websites out there that finding what you need would be easy. However, that is really the crux of the problem - too much information. I can't say which one is better than the next, but generally speaking a local directory is best. A business like The Knot can get you to some local vendors that are able to pay their ad rates, but you'll be missing out on a lot of very good yet small vendors. One company we like is Wedding Connections. They started in San Diego and have slowly been adding cities that include local vendors of all sizes. Check them out if you get a chance.

Step 1 in Honeymoon Planning: Honeymoon Destinations

When planning a honeymoon, the first decision you need to make is where you are going to go?  The world is a big place and there are so many exciting possibilities.  To begin, you need to do some research on honeymoon destinations.  Of course, part of that research requires that you get some ballpark pricing to make sure the destination is within your reach.  Airfare is almost always going to be the biggest variable in your price comparisons. While a hotel in Tahiti might cost about the same as a hotel in Jamaica, if you live in the South East your airfare to Jamaica is going to be a lot less than airfare to Tahiti.  You also need to make sure you're comparing apples to apples with regard to hotels.  Meals and entertainment can add up if you're doing it a la carte.  Price out some restaurants in the area if possible as well as some activities you might feel like doing. Some honeymoon destinations are known for their "all-inclusive" resorts, others are not.  The Caribbean is loaded with all-inclusive resorts while the Pacific (ex. Hawaii, Tahiti), not so much.  All-inclusives also have the added benefit of providing a variety of activities for guests and most are included in your stay.  Some, such as golf or scuba diving may not be, so if you're planning on an all-inclusive hotel make sure you look at what IS NOT included.

There will be more on honeymoon destinations in future posts, but in the meantime you can begin your research by visiting The Honeymoon for everything related to the honeymoon, including honeymoon registry, honeymoon packages and even a network of honeymoon specialist travel agents from around the country to help you plan and book your honeymoon or destination wedding.