How did you book your HM?

murphanzo

Did you use a travel agent?  Did  you book it on your own?  How far in advance did you book?  THANKS!!

mpatt2122

I booked mine with Expedia about 5 months in advance.

Jells2dot0

I'm on here planning my second wedding. I booked my first HM with a TA around a year in advance, but I'm booking my second one ("weddingmoon") on my own, probably a little over a year in advance. It really depends on the destination on how you do it and how far in advance. I chose very exotic, small destinations that can sometimes sell out 6 months in advance. Some destinations can easily be booked on a one-two click on an online site or others require a lot of detail that only an expert may be able to provide. That being said, if you don't travel very often, don't the know area very well that you want to travel to, or just don't have time to do the research, a travel agent is a good way to go. Most agents are free to use and a good one will price match with anything you find online.

b0710

I booked through cheapcaribbean.com 6 months in advance. I booked extra travel insurance through a different agency (cheaper and more coverage).

AdeleDazeem

As with any trip I've ever taken, I researched where I wanted to go and where to stay.  When I was 100% positive I was going, I booked it myself.

Airline tickets I usually buy through travelocity or expedia (I do hunt around for the best price, though, on other sites).  Unless those travel sites have deals, I usually contact the hotel directly to book my dates.  Anything else I want, I also call the people directly or look for packages through the travel sites.

mary9449

We're using a TA because we're going to Fiji and have done research, but really want more advice since it is so far away.

VanLu26

We'll be doing everything ourselves - no travel agent.

hz80408

TA, booked about 7 months in advance but got price insurance.  The prices dropped and we got back $500 (after the cost of price insurance-$99)

kara811

We did it both ways. We booked the flights ourselves(found such a good deal on it) then used a TA for hotels and tours. We booked the flights 4 months before and the hotels/tours just a month before. 

jljury

We booked ours through Costco Travel. They made it incredibly easy to book. We booked in Feb for our mid June Honeymoon. 

Chasity08

I booked my flights through Orbitz about 6 months in advance. I booked one of my apartment's through the apartment website, and the other through Vrbo.com. I have subscribed to groupon/living social for London and Paris to get coupons for things to do, and the rest of the stuff we're kind of planning as we go along. We have a general idea of some things we want to do, but we're pretty spontaneous people.

No travel agent needed. In my case it would have been about $2000 more to go through a travel agent due to the hotels they work with in Europe and the prices. Their cheapest hotels are not nearly as nice as the apartments I'll be staying at, and their hotels are more costly.

I prefer to just plan trips myself to get great deals =]

fallbride1109

We booked ours through Travelocity when they were having a 45% off sale.  We ran it by my TA at work and she couldn't beat it.

Like the PPs have mentioned, we did all our research first.  I can't remember when exactly we booked, but it was probably around 4-5 months out.  We had researched the package and saved it months beforehand.

Summer2011Bride

We used a TA to book our HM to Hawaii. We booked in Nov. and our HM is in July.

Beazilla

We picked a location and then booked a hotel online (we're driving 4 hours for our honeymoon weekend). If you're looking online for your own hotel, flights, or cars, kayak and mobissimo are good aggregators.

futurepivko

travel agent. and we booked it back sometime last year in the summer. the travel agent made it SOOO easy.

MissCal11

We used a TA for the first time. For most travel I am DIY all the way, but for HM because we wanted to go to either Tahiti or Fiji and didn't know anything about where to stay and flights, we used a TA.

Best decision ever! The price she got us was a little better than if we did all the legwork ourselves, plus she got us a couple of perks, and all we had to do was tell her what we were looking for in a resort. We chatted with her a couple of times by phone and she steered us in the right direction. We are so excited to go to Fiji, and it's all planned and done! We booked in early Feb for our July HM.

murphanzo

I'm just worried using a TA.  I work at a hotel, and TA's can REALLY screw over clients.  We want to HM in Costa Rica, and do some fun excursions.  I talked to the TA my mom uses, and after looking at the website and her prices, she seems to be quite a bit more.  I know that when it comes time to book I'll either go through a TA that I feel I can trust, or I'll go through the hotel directly.

How/where did you get your trip insurance from?

cmp1986

Priceline. We bundled everything, its cheaper that way.