Honeymooners

In honor of our upcoming trip to Jamaica, I though I would share some never before seen footage from our honeymoon in Negril (all g rated - promise).

We're here!

Snorkeling!

 

 

this is my absolute favorite picture from our honeymoon!

Bob Marley Shot

Time to go home

I think going on a honeymoon right after our wedding was one of the best decisions we've ever made. We spent a lot of time debating whether or not we should spend the money (here, here, and here) and I'm SO glad we decided to. We had the time of our lives and I couldn't recommend Couples Negril more. Even when I'm really stressed out, memories of our honeymoon make me smile.

Did you go on a honeymoon? Where did you go?

Honeymoon Part III

I'm sure everyone has been on the edge or their seat waiting to find out what Neill and I decided to do about our honeymoon. We based our decisions on a few basic ideas:

1. Taking a honeymoon was important to us as a couple. We want time after the wedding to revel in being a Mr and Mrs! While I think this could take many different shapes and forms for different couples, for us a honeymoon was a perfect fit.

2. Saving money is important, but we also want to be able to spend our money on things that are important to us. Let's face it - there will always be a million things to save for. But, that doesn't mean that there aren't things that are worth spending money on either. For us, saving money for the future shouldn't be about denying yourself important things in the present. (key word here is "important". Creating a value system of what is important and what isn't may be the most important financial task a couple can take on)

Once these were articulated, it was a pretty easy decision for us. And the winner is . . .




Jamaica! Specifically, Couples Negril. Check out these pictures from the couple's website:

I'm beyond excited! In the end, Neill and I decided to go with our gut. We've always wanted to do an all inclusive resort trip to Jamaica! We want our honeymoon to be as stress free as possible and I'm so excited we don't have to worry about budgeting for dinner or every single drink or what not. Plus, I can't wait to take advantage of the complimentary water sports, spa services, and boat rides! While I am still a little nervous about the weather, after doing more research it seems most likely that it will only rain for an hour or so every day. The morning should still be sunny and with our beach front suite, I'm sure we will be able to take advantage of the beautiful weather. During the rain we will just enjoy the indoor honeymoon activities ;) I can't wait for these sunsets . . .

Honeymoon Part II

Neill and I struggled with our decision of whether or not we should go on a honeymoon. We both knew we wanted to go, but it was hard to commit to going. Finances wasn't the only obstacle, either. Planning a honeymoon is hard work! I think sometimes we would get so overwhelmed with our choices that it was easier to just say no to everything.

One question we faced is when. Neill liked the idea of leaving for our honeymoon right after the wedding, but that would conflict with my class schedule. While I don't technically have to take classes this summer, it would help me stay on track in the program. If we didn't go right after the wedding, there was the option of going later in the summer or just waiting until winter came around. This was an attractive option because we both really liked the idea of going to Jamaica for our honeymoon and the winter months is the perfect time to head for warmer weather. The downside of this option is that we would have nothing planned for right after our wedding. The idea of going back to class the Monday after getting married just seemed so . . . ugh. We wanted the magic to last as long as possible! This is when we started thinking of maybe doing a small minimoon somewhere in the States right after our wedding and planning our real honeymoon for the winter or even our one year anniversary. We both have been wanting to plan a trip to Portland so that seemed like a possibility. But, when we started crunching numbers we realized that we wouldn't be able to afford both trips. And, if we were going to go somewhere right after the wedding, we might as well just do the honeymoon we truly wanted!

Another major question is where. As I said, Neill and I have always talked about going to Jamaica for our honeymoon. We have always wanted to go to an all inclusive resort and Jamaica is the logical place for us given Neill's background. But, I was hesitant to plan a trip to Jamaica during June. It's their rainy season! While on the plus side that did mean we could afford a beautiful resort with a beautiful room, I didn't want to deal with 24/7 rain. Also, part of me was still interested in that wonderfully lavish European trip. While it would be so fun to explore new places and learn about new cultures, it is daunting to plan something like that! Plus, Neill really didn't want to spend the honeymoon touristing around to museums and historical sites. We started thinking that maybe a cruise would meet both of our needs! It has all inclusive meals and we could spend the days on the ship lazing around the pools. Plus, we could stop at some awesome ports and go on mini day long adventures! We started looking into Mediterranean cruises and they really did seem wonderful. The main cons of cruising is that it isn't truly all inclusive because you have to pay for drinks (not to mention anything you want to purchase when off ship) and only having eight hours to explore a city made me nervous.

Whew! You can see why planning a honeymoon is so overwhelming! Stay tuned for Honeymoon Part III to see what we decided!

Honeymoon Part I

I think most people would agree that wedding and honeymoon go together like . . . salt and pepper. It's a package deal, right?

That's what I always thought. I might not have had many dreams or ideas of what my dream wedding would be like, but I always assumed there would be a wildly romantic European honeymoon. But, when you are planning a wedding during a tough economic time for your family (and yourself and everyone else), you start questioning whether or not a honeymoon is really necessary. At least, that's what I'm doing.

In my fantasies, I don't think I ever thought about who would foot the bill for two weeks in the South of France or the Greek Islands or both! But in the real world, that's probably the most vital question. You can daydream and plan all you want, but unless you have some credit card numbers to supply you aint going nowhere. And let's be honest - we aren't talking in hundreds here. Even though the dream trips sounded wonderful, I knew I couldn't ask anyone else to pay for something like that. I am already carrying around enough guilt about the money my family is spending on the wedding. I could never bring myself to ask for something so . . . luxuriously selfish.

So, that really only leaves two people to look to. Me and Neill. If we are going to go on a honeymoon, we'll have to pay for it ourselves. And it will have to go on our credit card or be paid for out of our savings. Faced with this reality, I'm sure you can understand why we have found ourselves questioning whether or not we should go on a honeymoon. Of course we want to go, but our practical sides tell us to not waste our money on a week or two of vacationing when we have so many things we need to save for.

So, what do you think? How important are honeymoons? What is your dream honeymoon?