Honeymoon and Time Off Work Conundrum

MissAmeliaPond

(Sorry, this turned into kind of a ramble)

So, FI and I are having trouble figuring out time off for our honeymoon. We're already getting married in Hawaii (because I grew up there and my parents still live there and most of my family is there), so I'm taking a sizeable chunk of my paid time off just for the wedding. We also have other weddings to attend and events that require taking a few more days off of work.

FI and I wanted to spend 6-7 full days (so 8ish nights) in the Caribbean for our honeymoon, and it takes 13 hours to get there from California, so two days are wasted on traveling. We want to come home between the wedding and the honeymoon because we have dogs and have to board them. If we go on a honeymoon, my mom said she would dog-sit/house-sit after the wedding. Plus it would take even longer to get to the Caribbean directly from Hawaii, so that's not an option.

I do not want to honeymoon in Hawaii because I grew up there and it would not feel like a special vacation for me.

The point I'm trying to make here is that because of wedding events (ours and other people's), it seems like we're not going to have enough time for a proper honeymoon and maybe we should push it out to 2013... which makes me sad but I don't know what else to do.

Is anyone else pushing their honeymoon to the following year?

WEEZIE918

We are considering it, just because we are paying for the majority of the wedding.  We haven't decided either way yet though.  I think I'd prefer to wait a year, if we have to, so we can have the honeymoon we want.  I don't want to not be able to do something because we don't have enough money, or in your case, I wouldn't want to shorten it. 

Just my opinion but I don't think there is anything wrong about having to wait a year, especially if it's for financial reasons or not having enough time off work, but you and your FI have to be ok with it.

MMRoberts11

Can you maybe just do a mini-HM somewhere and then go all out in 2013?  That way, you still get a little alone time with each other but then can still go on the trip you want.

Danidawn20

We may have too depending on when Fi needs to leave again for the military

franklissa

I'm sorry about the time off situation. We have cut back alot of stuff for the wedding so that we can have the honeymoon right after our wedding. We are paying for everything 100% ourselves. We are going on a five day cruise for our honeymoon although we had wanted to go on a longer one but because of time off we can't. Is it possible to take a mini-honeymoon right after the wedding then take the bigger one in 2013? If you have to wait till 2013 I think that is fine.

HarperBargo

I agree with PP. The only thing I caution about is actually taking the HM in 2013. Make sure you book something for 2013 as soon as you can. My best friend wanted to hold off on their honeymoon for a year. Of course they didn't book anything and stuff just coming up and they continued to push off their trip. They finally took a short cruise about 3 years later. But I know it bummed my friend out that they waited so long.

kaitlyn142

We have the same problem. I only have 2 weeks vacation and a wedding that is a 9 hour drive away. What we decided on was a short minimoon (two nights in a B&B nearby), and the longer HM for the 1 year anniversary.

jfellows82

I seem to be in the minority here, but I think it's important to get away with your new husband right after the wedding (assuming things like military service don't make it impossible).  I think where you go or what you do isn't important as long as you have time alone together away from the distractions of everyday life.  Is there perhaps an area or island of Hawaii that you haven't explored much?  Perhaps you could do the Caribbean for a first aniversary trip.  

daria24

I think it's important to have some time off right after the wedding, even if its just three days at a b&b that is a few hours drive from home. What about booking the Caribbean for 2013, but going to (western coastal) Mexico for 4 or 5 days, or to the islands off of Vancouver? Travel time would be a lot shorter. 

BTW, a friend of mine had a similar issue and ended up just taking a 3 day HM after the wedding, then for her 1 year anniversary went to Costa Rica. They ended up conceiving their first child in CR so it made it extra special. 

kelsey+brandon

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_honeymoon-time-off-work-conundrum?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:aaefe00c-2aed-4f5d-b4b9-8c8d8068e4fdPost:552871a3-4cb8-46d8-8b57-8b369ee1a8d3">Re: Honeymoon and Time Off Work Conundrum</a>:
[QUOTE]Can you maybe just do a mini-HM somewhere and then go all out in 2013?  That way, you still get a little alone time with each other but then can still go on the trip you want.
Posted by MMRoberts11[/QUOTE]

<div>I would do this. Then for your one year anniversary, you can take a longer trip. I completely understand about time off though. We have 5 weddings this year, not including our own and 2 are for close family members. Is there any way you could make up hours to get extra days off? Life work 2 hours more each day to build up hours and then combine those with your vacation time?</div>

gregamywedding

We really wanted to do a big trip somewhere but with having to pay for most of the wedding ourself we can't afford it. We will be going on a mini trip. We are leaving the day after the wedding and coming back the following Wednesday. We are going to Eureka Springs Arkansas and staying in a cabin on a lake. I do think it is really important to get away for at least a few day.

doeie04

I agree with Harper, everyone I have known that waited to take their honeymoon still hasn't except for his parents, who did it 25 years later. For some people that works, but from your post, it is important to you to take it sooner rather than later.

We are taking ours a week or so after the wedding. I don't get any paid time off, so it is all costing me money. We still think it is important to take some time to be together, even if it isn't some where super fancy.