With all of the crazy planning and organization that goes into your wedding planning, it is really easy to forget about your honeymoon. Getting from the ceremony to the banquet facility to the dessert table will take a lot out of you, so you’ll need a break afterwards! You will want to start planning out your honeymoon around the time you start planning your actual wedding – about one year before you plan on getting married. Here are a few tips to get you started:

Pick a Spot – Picking your honeymoon destination can be a trying experience, especially when you look at all of the options. If there isn’t a “perfect place,” sit down with your fiancé and look over destinations in your budget and try to come up with a few choices. Ask your family and friends what they think and take their suggestions into consideration. This should help with your decision. If worse comes to worse, take the best spots and pull one out of a hat.

How Long? – Your honeymoon should be a time of relaxation with your new spouse, so get as much time off from work as you can to fully decompress and enjoy each other’s company. Depending on your budget, a full week may not be possible, so look into 4 or 5 day packages that offer some downtime with a healthy number of activities you and your spouse can enjoy together. If you have longer, pick out area-specific sites to visit – who knows when you’ll get to go back!

Plan for Travel – The hardest part of honeymoon planning is likely to be arranging travel to and from your honeymoon spot. In most cases, we suggest hiring a travel agent if you can afford it. Then get all of your travel information together – flight times, passports, packed suitcases, etc. If you are leaving right from the ceremony, you’ll need to have these items ready at least 5 days before the wedding.

Do you have any good honeymoon tips for newlyweds?