Delayed honeymoon?

sep72fendr

Fi and I have been going over our finances and we hit a bit of a freak out point the other day in regards to available funds (or lack thereof) for a honeymoon. We were contemplating doing a registry in order to go, but Fi says unless the ENTIRE HM is taken care of with the registry, we can't go. I feel like I totally missed the boat on that one and it was kind of a shock to me that he said that. So we started discussing options and the possibility of delaying our HM.

Did anyone delay their honeymoon by a few months? A year?

We just have some major life changing stuff coming up right after the wedding (moving to SC and me starting grad school) and I don't know if our honeymoon would be worth it dab smack after the wedding and right before we move. There would essentially be a 2-3 week time frame after we return from the honeymoon before we move south.

Am I loosing it, being a baby about the whole thing, or justified with finances and timing?

I could reaaaally use some outside opinions/comments/ideas.... thanks ladies!

nnoble4

I have heard many people that delay their honeymoon for one reason or another, whether it's finances, time restraints, a new baby, or whatever. I think it's definitely ok, no one will (or should) judge you if you don't spend a fortune to go somewhere for a honeymoon.

Though, could you do a minimoon? Maybe a weekend at a nice hotel, even if it is somewhere nearby (like the Inn at Cedar Falls). Or, shortly after moving to SC, taking a weekend to go somewhere nice there. Are you staying at a hotel the night of the wedding?  If so, could you maybe stay another night? Could you take an extra day or two off after the wedding, and just stay home with each other?  You could plan to either make a nice dinner, order take out so there's no cleaning necessary, or go to a nice restaurant.  I think it can be nice to just take a little time to relish in the newlwedness.

Those are just some ideas that you could do to celebrate shortly after getting married, then you can plan to save for a honeymoon/1st year anniversary trip.

ally101511

I know several couples that did not go on their honeymoon right away due to school, finances, work, etc. With everything you said you have going on, I almost feel it would be a good decision to delay or like PP said, maybe a "minimoon".  Just my opinion. Good luck!

lauratherese

Short answer - two good friends of mine delayed their honeymoons.  I think it's pretty common, and they enjoyed having something post-wedding to look forward to!

I'm actually thinking of delaying our honeymoon on purpose.  I think it would be wonderful to take a few extra days off of work after the wedding to get reacclaimated to life and put things back in some kind of order.  (Or, if I were moving like you, put things in boxes.)

mandyl5

I have friends who are delaying their honeymoon. I don't think anyone anymore would think it odd at all. Maybe older generations, but life is different now. Honestly, I think doing a minimoon or "staycation" would be a great idea.

katy0293

we don't have money in the budget for a nice honeymoon either.  instead, we're going to go to gatlinburg for a few days and enjoy being married and then for our one year anniversary we're going to go somewhere awesome

I think it's pretty common hun! I wouldn't be stressed, worried or embarassed about it.

buckeyesweetz

I think that a delayed honeymoon is absolutely fine! That is what we are doing as well. That kind of became my only option, because we set our date and then a few months later I left my job at a hospital and took a job with a school so now I'm just taking a few days off around the wedding, and we are going on our honeymoon in the summer when school is out

I think that it is very smart that you are watching your budget! Where are you wanting to go??? I don't like the idea of HM registries, but I'm sure that you will get money as gifts on your wedding day that you could always save for the trip!

Good luck

green795

We delayed ours. We got married in May but ended up finally going in December. We delayed it for several reasons. My husband got promoted the January before the wedding and wasn't allowed to take vacation time until June, we were having a few of my in-laws staying with us the week before and a few days after the wedding and we wanted to wait until after they left, we bought a house a month before the wedding (portion of down payment vs. honeymoon wasn't a hard decision), and I got a new job mid-September and since I was hired during one of twice yearly "peaks" so it wasn't a good idea to take time off. So by that time, we decided to go to Jamaica in December. It ended up being a wonderful trip to celebrate the year!

kiyamurph

Agree with pp, totally common to wait a little while.  Since I still haven't found a full-time job in my field (perfusionist), we're going to wait until our one year anniversary to take a big trip to Fiji like we wanted to.  We still wanted to do something so since we live in Washington state, we're within driving distance of Vancouver, BC and we're going to stay there for 6 days using FIs points from Marriott.  He works for Pfizer and they pay for all of his gas, so we're basically just going to spend money on food and entertainment.

I agree that taking a "minimoon" is a fantastic idea until you can go on a big trip.  Maybe after you move to SC you can take a weekend trip to Hilton Head?  I think it's worth it to wait until you have the funds to what you really want to do.

tobefletcher1

Yep, we are delaying ours until November (getting married in May).  Although it is nice to have the immediate get-away after months of planning & the big day celebration...there is something to be said for being able to close out the wedding weekend with family and friends, and not have the stress of traveling.  We are looking forward to having that additional something to look forward after the wedding hype has subsided.  I think it is personal preference...there are no rules...do what works best for you!

osumegs

I think you are perfectly fine to wait and go a bit later on. You guys have so many other exciting things going on, that this shouldn't be something to stress you. I agree with PPs on the mini-moon. Is that something that could maybe happen?

sep72fendr

I think we are looking at doing a small cruise (easily do-able), perhaps. Or even just going to the east coast for a few days and seeing some cities that we have been wanting to visit (NYC, Boston, DC). *shrug* who knows!

kmosu

We are getting married in August and decided it would be more fun to go to a beach in the winter since August would be so hot.  We are still going to take off for a 4 day trip to Mackinac Island in Michigan.  It will take about 8 hours to drive but its a beautiful place and shouldn't be too expensive.  Then in February we will plan on going to Aruba. 

tiffanydaniels

We want to delay our honeymoon too. Maybe do like a small little thing right after and then a year later do a big honeymoon. I think it is a good idea as long as you are ok with it.