With only limited room in your suitcase, it’s important that you pack books you’ll love to enjoy during your honeymoon or vacation. Thanks to www.bookseer.com, it’s easy to make sure you pack winners. Just type in the title and author of a book you loved, and bookseer generates a slew of titles you should enjoy. It won’t completely make up for saying goodbye to Jacob (or Edward) at the end of Twilight, but you don’t need your literary crush on a romantic vacation anyway!
I’m headed out of town on vacation in 5 days (but who’s counting?), so I decided to create a post about honeymoon packing. As a side note, because of this vacation, Better Together Events will also be closed and away from technology/email until June 8, 2009. All calls and emails missed during vacation will be returned on the 8th and I’ll have some new blog posts as well!
A honeymoon is supposed to be relaxing, but sometimes the packing can be stressful, especially when you don’t know where to start. We’re here to help! Here are the essentials for all sorts of destinations. This checklist was adapted from one found in Real Simple magazine.
Add-ons for Beach Honeymoon
waterproof ski pants and jacket or snowsuit
Other useful tips?
- Remember to consider checked baggage requirements. With the airline industry in a bit of economic distress, they are adding new fees and baggage restrictions all the time.
- Put shampoo and other bottles that could potentially leak in ziploc bags to prevent them from spilling all over your clothes.
- Don’t overpack, but make sure you have good clothing options! Isn’t that the ultimate packing challenge?
I was recently asked to blog about active honeymoons, so here it is!
The first place that comes to mind is Costa Rica. I’ve known a few brides who’ve honeymooned there, and it epitomizes an active honeymoon to a T. Touring volcanoes, hot springs, natural canopies, banana plantations, and waterfall gardens, Costa Rica has it all, including gorgeous beaches for the days you are feeling less adventurous. Costa Rica is also relatively affordable 
compared to the more long-distance adventure locations, like Tahiti and Fiji, and it offers a variety of accommodation options, ranging from resorts to more rustic, mountain bungalow settings.
If you’re feeling very adventurous, try an African Safari, on my “must do sometime in life” list. 
White-water rafting, elephant-back safaris, canoeing, game viewing and scenic flights will keep the pulse racing throughout your entire trip. If those aren’t enoough, add shark diving, whale watching, and sailing to the list. Remember that an African safari really requires at least two weeks, if not more, as it takes awhile to get there, and, come on, once you’re in Africa, you mind 
as well take your time! Where to stay? Check out this incredible hotel in Cape Town, the Twelve Apostles.
Other active honeymoon locations? Mexico, Belize, Australia, and New Zealand.
When planning your active honeymoon, it’s even more important to be organized than with a beach vacation. Think about visiting a travel agent, buy tickets and confirm hotels early, and start packing weeks before your trip – you’ll need much more than a bathing suit and some shorts!
Today I visited a fantastic venue in Aurora, NY on Cayuga Lake, one of the Finger Lakes. The venue is aptly named the Aurora Inn. It’s a classic country inn right on the lake in wine country. 
I love everything about this venue, but the rooms are really special. They are elegantly and lavishly decorated, but have a cozy feeling to them as well. All have marble bathrooms and comfortable lounge chairs; most have balconies with porch swings or chairs looking on to the lake; some even have fireplaces and jacuzzi tubs.
Sure you’ve read those “what to take on your honeymoon” checklists in the bridal magazines, but what to take for your honeymoon beach/trip reads? With today’s burgeoning checked baggage fees, you really need to narrow down your reading materials. So what to bring?
Most importantly, bring the best travel book you read in your trip research.
Beach/relaxation reads?
[By the way, I like Keira Knightley and all, but this English actress is much more how I pictured Elizabeth from the book. And Colin Firth? Enough said.]
Stay away from total page turners, e.g. anything from the Twilight series. You’ll be totally disinterested in doing anything besides finding out whether or not Edward turns Bella into a vampire!
One of my clients is thinking about setting up a honeymoon registry in addition to the standard department store registry options. I got busy researching the ins and outs of such a set-up and gathered a lot of important information.
The main thing to remember when establishing a honeymoon registry is to read the fine print and do your research before choosing a company. Nearly all major honeymoon registry companies charge some sort of fee, ranging from a flat fee of $150 to 8-10% of every contribution gift.
Honeymoon registry specialists, such as The Big Day, HoneyLuna, Distinctive Honeymoons, Traveler’s Joy and The Honeymoon now compete with programs from lodging chains, like the Marriott, Starwood and Sandals. The one advantage with the former group is that couples can choose specific aspects of their trip, like snorkeling, massages, a private beach, for gift-givers to choose from. The downside to these options is that oftentimes the fine print does not offer refunds to the couple if they decide to sleep through the snorkeling trip. The lodging chains tend to me more flexible with the credit, but gift-givers are usually limited to contributing to meals, tours, and accommodations.
Another big difference between a traditional registry and a honeymoon registry is that ultimately it is the couple’s responsibility to foot the bill. In short, the couple pays for their trip in advance and hopes that guests chip in with gifts along the way. Still, when it comes to splurges like massages, the couple does not usually have to pay in advance; they can see if people purchase some big trip splurges for them before committing to pricier vacation experiences. The honeymoon agency usually mails the couple a check of gifts received before the wedding. Chain companies typically issue a gift card or company credit.
Also, remember to watch expiration dates. Starwood’s Honey Money expires after only two years, while the Marriott’s never expires.
Etiquette-wise, it is perfectly fine to register for a honeymoon. Just make sure you have your family and friends spread the word for you. The major downside are the service fees, of course. The best site I found in my opinion is called Honeymoon Wishes, a company based out of CA: http://ytb.honeymoonwishes.com/ What’s nice with this program is that it is totally free to set-up and the couple can choose to have the 7% automatically deducted from a $50 gift, rather than having the gift-giver automatically have to add-on 7% to their intended gift.
Planning a honeymoon takes time and a lot of research. Better Together Events can help! For an affordable fee, we can do all the leg-work for you, so you can just sit back and dream about your ultimate honeymoon experience, whatever it might be. For me, famous New Orleans beignets, hot strong coffee, and my new husband was my idea of a perfect morning!
