Don’t honeymoon with the in-laws

Simple pleasures can be best

The trouble with men describing anything to do with weddings is they often can’t resist taking the Mickey, but sometimes in among all the nonsense is some sound advice.

wedding café came across this article about British honeymoons, which included some wacky honeymoon choices, such a one couple joining their mates to go to Glastonbury, the popular British music festival, which is great until it rains, then it’s a sea of mud…

Another couple went with a dozen others on a walking holiday in Andalucia, in Spain. They loved it, but isn’t the point of a honeymoon that it’s a just the two of you? But, the really good thing about the article is the whopping 62 comments it generated. These included lots of useful tips and ideas from recent honeymooners, such as “try and fly business class, so you don’t spend two days either end recovering.”

The classic tip was: “don’t honeymoon with your guests”, especially not your in-laws. As in, don’t spend the wedding night in the same hotel as them or you risk strolling downstairs in the morning to find your new in-laws grinning over their breakfast as they speculate whether you two “Did It” last night, even if you’ve been living together for five years.

There were also some crazy suggestions, such as the guy who’d like to put off his honeymoon until he can space walk. Well, you can almost do that now.

Cheap honeymoon can be best

A good tip is that expensive is nice but not always the most memorable. One couple had a split honeymoon, the pricey bit was in Rhodes, one of the Greek islands; the cheap bit was spent in a Bed & Breakfast on the Scottish West Coast.

The bride says what she remembers best now was eating the best fish &chips there and the “crazy market owners”. Sounds a bit like our own Kiwi West Coast. But, even assuming the weather stays calm enough there, maybe don’t do like another couple who have a memory to treasure of being caught starkers having sex in the sand dunes on the British Channel Island of Guernsey. The weather’s a bit nicer there, as it’s nearer to France than Britain.

Other tips included two-centre honeymoons. One couple “slummed it” in beach huts in Mozambique for half their honeymoon; then went on a five-star safari. wedding café is sure you could come up with an equivalent closer to home if the budget doesn’t stretch as far as an African trip.

Mind you, South Africa was mentioned as a hot new destination by a number of brides and grooms. The split, half active, half lazing around, honeymoon was popular too. A good way of catering to different tastes, if one of you is like the Energiser Bunny and the other, well, isn’t…

Last but not least, how about not leaving straight after the wedding, because you’ll likely be too exhausted to enjoy the first part of your honeymoon properly – just don’t stay in that hotel with the others.

And, if you can’t afford a honeymoon in these straitened times, perhaps you might consider asking your guests to chip in instead of giving you a wedding gift.