Honeymoon Planning Pitfalls and how to Avoid them | Claire Young Travel Counsellor

Friday, December 8th, 2023

In love – tick | Engaged – tick

Let the wedding planning commence!!  

Sounds easy right?  After all you can grab a wedding checklist from pretty much anywhere on the internet.  But most of these will contain an average of 18 checklist items, before you even start to delve into the sub-categories that go within them.  So its no wonder that most couples will look for independent expert advice on how to plan their dream day.  

Whether that’s your favourite bridal magazine County Brides, an independent wedding planner, your venue’s in house expert, or you turn to your parents/friends/family.  You will undoubtedly seek out someone who can lend their life experience or expertise to what is, most likely, the biggest planning project you have ever undertaken.

So why would you not give your honeymoon the same care and attention?  

After all, this is the time that you spend together, when planning and executing your big day is all over.  This is where you relax, recharge and most importantly reconnect with one another, a reminder of why you wanted to spend the rest of your lives together in the first place.  

And the cold hard truth is that the majority of your other wedding checklist items and budget are all for the enjoyment of others – this is for just the two of you.  

Far be it from me to boast about almost three decades in the travel industry, my experience helping lots of lovely couples curate their perfect post wedding getaways, and my time as a  honeymoons feature writer for County Brides– but I reckon I have a fair bit of expertise that can help you avoid the planning pitfalls you can fall foul of.

How to start planning – and with who

Whatever stage of planning you are at, its never too late to ask for some expert help.  The real benefit to working with an independent travel expert, like me, is we will help you pick the best honeymoon destination for your budget and craft an itinerary of great accommodations and activities that would take you weeks to research on your own.  

And for less obvious reasons, despite what you see in the movies, its rare to get an upgrade off the cuff just because you mentioned you were on honeymoon.  There is usually an internal hierarchy determining who gets these perks, and at the top of the pyramid are clients of independent travel experts who have taken the time to craft valued relationships with airlines, hotels and other suppliers.

When to start planning 

This may be the well-deserved treat at the end of your wedding journey, and you might not be thinking you need to start planning your trip at the same time you start the bulk of your wedding planning – but that’s exactly what you will want to do.

Similar to the wedding industry, the travel industry is experiencing a boom, and with some destinations and products on sale for departures well into 2026, you won’t want to miss out on your dream honeymoon because you were pipped to the post.

Let’s talk money

The average UK wedding cost for 2023, in the UK, leads in at around £24k.  And most couples won’t have factored in their honeymoon when they drew up their original budget.  Every couple is different, which means their honeymoon plans are all individual to them.  Which means its hard to give an average of what you can expect to spend on your honeymoon, but to give you an idea:

• Save a week for 2 at 7Pines Ibiza, from £1815pp
• Spend – a South Africa Safari for 2, from £2899pp
• Splurge – discover New Zealand over 17 nights, from £5449pp

Where to go when

Have you dreamed of post wedded bliss on an idyllic beach in the Maldives?  Well if you are getting married in October you might get a bit wet, as this is monsoon season and the wettest month of the year.  Never fear, you can of course delay your honeymoon a few months and travel later when weather is better – but its not ideal if you want to jet off right after the initial excitement of your big day.  Which is why thinking about your honeymoon in the really early planning stages is key.

Your choices here can also be limited depending on your budget – but whatever your expectations on price-point are, there will be something for you.

Again, a trusted travel expert can help you navigate this minefield.  From knowing what the best dates to travel are for optimum weather, or best price, to having valued relationships that get you more bang for your buck – or just being able to tell you when they think your expectations are not in sync with your current wish-list and how you can tweak this to make sure you can suit your pocket without having to compromise on quality or experience. 

For a friendly and informal chat, over the phone – or better still over coffee, please do get in touch.

Claire.x

0161 297 0508

claire.young@travelcounsellors.com