Affordable Honeymoons
Your Guide to Affordable Honeymoons
There’s no shame in looking for affordable honeymoons. Given the current uncertainty in the economy, the last thing newlyweds need is to begin their married life in a bigger financial hole than necessary.
Over the years, the price of weddings has skyrocketed, bolstered by a flourishing wedding industry. Now, it is not unusual for a married couple to enter married life not only saddled with the usual education debts but also an extra 5 to 25 thousand dollars of wedding debt.
For these reasons, financially conscious brides and grooms are looking for ways of reducing cost while still having the full “honeymoon” experience. Gone now are the days of the extravagant European vacation, charged to credit cards without a thought to the debt burden they will incur.
We are in a time when credit limits and careful financial planning are not only prudent but also necessary for financial survival. So with this in mind let’s consider a few tips for keeping that wedding affordable while still making it unforgettable.
Tip #1: Keep it Local
One of the best ways to reduce cost is to plan your honeymoon near your wedding or near your home so that you can reduce the travel costs. Often couples feel they have to go very far away to an “exotic locale” in order to have the full honeymoon experience. Sometimes, however, picking a location that is within driving distance can really make your dollars last.
I know of one pair of newlyweds that were married in New Jersey, their home state, and then had their honeymoon in New York City, where they took in several Hollywood shows, a couple of museums, and a carriage ride in Central Park. They had one night in a fancy hotel and spent the other nights with one of the bride’s uncles who let them stay in his guesthouse. By cutting down on travel and lodging expenses they increased both the length of their honeymoon and upped the quality of their nightly dining experiences.
Tip #2: Schedule your Honeymoon for an Off Season Time Frame
Another way to reduce cost is to schedule your honeymoon for an off-season period when more deals are likely to be available. A ski resort just before or after the snowy season can be a very good deal.
Tip #3: Consider an Alternative to the Five Star Honeymoon Suite Experience:
Although it is always tempting to stay at a fancy hotel and to get the honeymoon suite there, the price is often prohibitive. Consider some alternatives to the traditional five star hotel. Affordable honeymoons are not just about the cost savings. Sometimes a smaller, quainter hotel will actually make the whole honeymoon experience more memorable. A tour of bed and breakfasts in the local area, for example, can really personalize your honeymoon experience.
I heard of one couple who found the ingenuous solution for having not one but two affordable honeymoons by scheduling their honeymoon experience during conferences in their individual professions. By doing so, they managed to have one honeymoon in Hawaii during a Veterinary dermatology conference and another in Vegas during a trial law conference. By scheduling their honeymoons in this way, they deferred the cost of their lodgings and travel to their individual employers, which allowed them to use their own finances on the activities at the conferences.
Tip #4: Be Willing to Consider Non-Traditional Honeymoon Experiences
One way to think of the honeymoon experience is to consider it as the first test of you two as a married couple. How flexible are you in terms of considering alternative honeymoon experiences? Some couples have memorable experiences camping or staying with friends who own a home or timeshare at an exotic locale. If you are willing to be a bit flexible when it comes to your overall control over your honeymoon experience, you will open up many more affordable honeymoons.
Tip #5: Keep an eye out for possible experiences that may be more cost effective:
Often if you just keep your antenna up and let enough of your social network know what kind of honeymoon experience you are looking for, you can often come up with far cheaper experiences.
Here’s a favorite story. A couple wanted to spend their honeymoon somewhere in Europe preferably near the Mediterranean. The groom’s boss happened to have a vacation home in Tuscany, so when the groom started to ask his boss about possible cheap places to spend their honeymoon in the area, the boss offered his home for their honeymoon as a wedding gift. A win-win if you ask me.