Hi there
My fiance (21) and I (20) were not blessed with amazing full-time jobs, yet, and not the richest of families. Lucky for us, we are planning our wedding for Autumn of 2018, specifically in October. We got engaged a couple months ago, so we have plenty of time to plan and save up, not only for our wedding but also our honeymoon!
We agree that we don't want to wait for our honeymoon--we want to get hitched, party for a few hours, then head out!
What we aren't finding common ground on is where to go for our honeymoon... He likes the idea of Venice, Amsterdam or Bahamas, while I've always wanted a honeymoon in Paris, though I've opened up to Hawaii or New Zealand or even Barcelona. However, we both like Rome, but not too sure about it for a honeymoon.
We haven't looked too much into costs and cultural aspects and what there is to actually do in any of those places. But despite costs and how cool some places are over others, we are on a tight budget.
So what I'm asking is for any advice or suggestions on low budget places that are perfect honeymoon destinations! Something that can provide both of us with equal enjoyment and relaxation.
We both love delving into cultures and food! And I am open to hear suggestions on destinations not typically thought of as honeymoon material! We love exploring and beautiful views! And also, most important of all, food!
And I would love to hear some ways that you might have saved money or are planning on saving money on your honeymoon.
EDIT: Lot's of people are asking for a specific budget, though I was hoping that offering the fact that we have 1.5 years to save would be enough information if one assumed that I want to know what the prices of suggested destinations are like. But I guess I wasn't too clear enough, my bad!
My fiance and I can do well with saving money and I have a jar for collecting pocket change and the amount in it grows quite fast.
If someone has a suggestion for a specific place and can offer an estimated budget one should have when traveling to that place, that would help us most!
As for a specific budget, I honestly have no clue, since I might be in between jobs in a week or two. It's hard to say what I might be able to afford without knowing my pay and hours yet, and would be working on a second job if I don't get full-time.
I guess an accurate guess would be possibly between $3,000-$5,000 each. And some of his family has offered to pay for some of our honeymoon, but since we are still over a year out from our wedding, the amount hasn't been discussed yet, but could be another couple thousand.
As for the places we'd like to visit that I mentioned above, I am open and would like to hear of suggestions of places similar to those abroad, whether local in the U.S., or overseas, that are affordable. For example, I've heard that Thailand can be fairly affordable, as well as a "tropical paradise". Also, places in Florida are quite beautiful, if anyone knows of particularly honeymoon-worthy places there!
We keep in mind that flight tickets should be purchased many months in advanced for cheaper costs and tips on what to eat to save money can help us too!
Just recently, we did a short, 3-day trip to San Diego with only a $500-$700 budget TOTAL, including EVERYTHING for the two of us (lodging, transportation, flights, food, activities, and personal spending for souvenirs). So just in case, that might help with an idea of how much we spend on a trip.
Thank you for the replies, and hopefully this extra bit can offer more information!