Tips for planning the perfect honeymoon – without all the stress!
By Kylie-Jane Degeling

The amount of effort that goes into planning a wedding can be astonishing – months of discussions, phone calls, bookings, dress fittings, fretting and stress, to plan that perfect, unforgettable day. Couples do this willingly though, knowing this is an extremely special event where they will be making the commitment to stay with the love-of-their-life forever. It doesn’t get more important than that!

But in the course of planning a wedding, another important event can be tossed to the side or overlooked. The honeymoon, your first holiday together as a married couple (and often, the first days together as a married couple too) should be every bit as exquisite and memorable as your wedding day, but without all the stress of planning it.

Now before you pull out all the glossy travel brochures showing couples frolicking on perfect beaches, ask yourself - do I want a one-size-fits-all honeymoon? Or do I want something every bit as unique and fabulous as my partner and me?

Due to stress and time constraints, many couples opt for the pre-packaged honeymoon. However, planning a unique, custom-fit honeymoon doesn’t even need to be as complicated as creating a custom-fit dress. Follow our handy tips for your ultimate honeymoon experience, without all the stress!

Budget: The last thing you want to do is start your marriage with financial stress, so work out how much you can reasonably afford to spend on your honeymoon. Once you have a figure, stick to it! Make the memories last forever instead of the debt.

Time: How much leave do you have from work? Can you get away for a month or only a long weekend? Do you want to use all of your annual leave on the honeymoon, or save some time to take a break together in a few months?

Interests: Do you have any hobbies you want to share on the honeymoon? For example, if one of you is an avid SCUBA diver, consider sharing your enjoyment of diving with your partner in the world’s best dive spots along the Great Barrier Reef! Or if one of you likes to ski, maybe you could help your darling experience the thrill of zipping down a slope in the Snowy Mountains. If your main interest is in snuggling up together in a hot tub with a glass of wine, you could do that in style at one of the private cottages in the Barossa Valley, or in a luxury holiday home on a secluded beach in Tasmania.

Book your tickets in your maiden name! One of the biggest mistakes that brides make when booking honeymoons, is to book all of their flights in their soon-to-be married name (if they decide to change). Unfortunately, airlines won’t take you unless the name on your identification (drivers licence for domestic flights, passport for international flights) matches your ticket, and if your honeymoon is soon after the wedding, you won’t have time to change it.

Custom-build your honeymoon: Include your partner, and snuggle up in front of the computer trying out the different options. Write out a “dream list” - you know, one of those “things I want to do before I die” lists, and see if you can match any of them up with a honeymoon option. For example, maybe your dream is to sleep on a fancy yacht - well, head to TakeABreak, and click on the drop-down list that says “Accommodation” and click on “Yacht” - voila, loads of yachts you can charter for your honeymoon! Or if it is a type of experience you want, like horse riding or abseiling - go to the same place, but use the dropdown list that says “Holiday Experiences” until you find the one you want. This is a really easy way to custom-build your honeymoon that can be done in seconds.

Finally, remember to laugh! If you’re with the love of your life, it doesn’t matter whether your flight is delayed, or your bags go on a holiday of their own. Having expectations that everything will be perfect will just send you into a post-wedding meltdown, so make your plans as open as possible. Settle on the destination, accommodation, and budget, and then go with the flow. Anything that goes wrong will give you stories to laugh about together when you return and start planning your next holiday together…

About TakeABreak
TakeABreak.com.au is the only independent online holiday site specialising in boutique accommodation in Australia. Over 12,000 hotels, B&Bs and guest houses are listed on the site complete with in-depth information and guest reviews. The properties are easily searched via experience – pet, family, seniors, gay and lesbian-friendly and geography. The booking process is quick and simple with a “Best Deal” guarantee to ensure guests are receiving the cheapest price for that stay.