It may seem standard for couples to host their wedding celebration and then take off to their honeymoon locale the next day. This routine is changing, however, as more and more couples are delaying their honeymoon and opting for a “mini-moon”. Trying to decide whether a honeymoon or mini-moon is best for you? Consider these pros and cons below!
HONEYMOON
PRO: You get true quality time to bond with your new spouse. Honeymoons are typically 10 to 14 days, giving you a nice big chunk of time to bond with your sweetie. It’s a great way to celebrate your new marriage and build lifelong memories before going back to everyday life.
PRO: You get a much-needed extended break. Planning a wedding, and then going through the wedding weekend itself, takes a lot of energy. Getting out of town and taking that 2-week honeymoon may be just what you need to de-stress and embark on this marriage adventure with your new spouse.
PRO: You get to have the total dream-wedding experience. If you’ve always imagined a big sendoff at your wedding and jetting off to an exotic location the next day, a full honeymoon immediately following your special day will be incredibly satisfying. It’s your time to take off to that incredible destination you’ve always dreamed of visiting!
CON: You’re spending even more money. After all of those hefty wedding expenses going into the big day, spending even more money on a full-blown honeymoon may be a bit overwhelming. To make sure it is feasible/worth the expense at this point in time, make sure you do your research and factor in all approximate costs (flights, rental cars, hotel rooms, meals, activities, gratuities). You may decide that you want to save up and take this big trip on your one-year anniversary.
CON: It might stress you out to take more time off from work. If you or your fiancé have the kind of job that makes a 2-week honeymoon seem more stressful than restful, especially with the time you took off before the wedding, then it may be best to spread it out. You could always consider a mini-moon and accrue more vacation time to take a more extensive honeymoon later on.
CON: It involves more planning. This can be stressful, especially for couples with a shorter engagement. Planning a wedding in a short time frame is no easy feat, so adding on the planning of honeymoon logistics to your to-do list can seem danting. If you’ve incorporated a honeymoon fund to your wedding registry, you can always plan the location but hold off on booking flights and making reservations until after the wedding, when things settle down a bit.
MINI-MOON
PRO: There’s a lot less pressure for perfection. When it comes to honeymoons, couples often feel like they need to make the most of their trip by seeing, doing, and experiencing everything to the fullest. With mini-moons, there’s a lot less pressure for things to go perfectly and you can just focus on relaxing and being together, rather than focusing on the place and all it has to offer. It can be pretty much decision-free (aside from deciding what your next meal is going to be) with very little planning involved. After months of planning your wedding, this might sound like heaven! You might choose an upscale hotel downtown, a cozy cabin in the mountains, a beachside bungalow, or an Airbnb in wine country. Whatever you decide, we recommend being within 3 hours of your destination to minimize travel time.
PRO: They cost less. Mini-moons are more like a long weekend (2-3 days), so naturally you’ll spend a lot less money on a mini-moon than you would on a 2-week getaway that involves flights, hotel rooms, rental cars, excursions, and restaurants. Since a mini-moon costs less, it allows you to save up for a bigger trip down the road yet still do something special post-wedding before jumping back into reality right away.
PRO: They can be just enough time to reset. If taking more time off from work stresses you out, a mini-moon can be just the thing to clear your heads and give you and your spouse a little reset before diving back into work and everyday life.
CON: It might feel anticlimatic. After the best weekend of your life, it might not feel like the trip you always imagined to celebrate your new marriage.
CON: You might seem more accessible. If your boss knows you’re going to be local, you might be expected to respond to anything “urgent” that pops up (and you also might find it hard to completely unplug).
CON: You may have already visited your mini-moon spot. If you like to explore your state and do staycations, chances are you’ve already visited most of the top local vacation spots. Some couples may not mind this, but you might want to go somewhere brand new with your spouse.
Whatever you and your fiancé decide, be confident in your decision, cherish every moment, and soak it all in!
PHOTOGRAPHY |Gilmore Studios