Wanderlust Wednesday

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Today I am linking up with Kerri, Kate, and Emily for Wanderlust Wednesday! I've decided to re-post one of my favorites: our honeymoon! This was almost 2 years ago and since I have recently started taking this blogging gig a little more seriously, I wanted to re-cap the best vacay of my life with all my new readers!

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My honeymoon was the best week of my life... hands down. After much researching and exploring, we chose the Iberostar Grand in Riviera Maya, MexicoHere are my 5 tips for any engaged couple planning their honeymoon [or any couple planning ANY vacation, really!]:


[ONE]
Go somewhere that someone you know has been before. We knew we didn't want to go somewhere that everyone we knew had been, but we also wanted to know first-hand that where we were going was pretty, clean, etc. I posted a comment on Facebook asking for suggestions of resorts/places and got a million responses. It was super helpful and I researched a lot of the resorts before we made our decision. Pictures on the internet are always edited and don't always acurately portray the resort so knowing that someone has actually been to your honeymoon location and approved can ease your mind and make you confident in your decision. It was super important to us that the food was good, resort and rooms clean, staff nice and helpful, and beach gorgeous. A friend went to this same resort for her honeymoon and assured us that we would be impressed, and we were!


[TWO]
Go the week after your wedding! I know this can be super hard with schedules and the busyness of everyday life, but it is so important that you spend time with your now husband to unwind, spend good quality time, and set the foundation for the rest of your marriage. Even if it's just for 2 days, DO IT! Postponing a honeymoon was not an option for us, so we planned entirely around my school schedule to ensure that we could have a week honeymoon [which is why we had to get married 3 days after Christmas]. It was so much fun to re-live the weekend together and cherish a week of no school, work, emails, stress and just enjoy each other.


[THREE]
Pack an outfit in your carry on bags! Don't you agree that the absolute worst trip to lose your luggage on would be your honeymoon? Yep. That happened to us. Thankfully my brilliant husband suggested that we pack a bathing suit in our carry ons, just in case. Otherwise, we would have been stuck in our room the whole first day. Or he would have ;) Luckily [for me] they lost his luggage and not mine! We had to cancel our dinner reservations and order room service the first night because dress pants were required for men, and he had no clothes! We were super bummed but thankfully his bag came late that night. Moral of the story: be prepared with carry-ons.


[FOUR]
Put your phone down. Luckily we couldn't use our phones in Mexico so I wasn't tempted, but I encourage you to cut it off, put it in your bag, and DON'T look at it until you get home. This is the one week that you can feel guilt-free for not responding to emails, family, friends, etc. I am so guilty of using my phone too much in everyday life, but I am thankful I didn't have it on our honeymoon. Our conversations were uninterrupted, engaging, and it was super nice to have dinner every night without a single text or phone call!


[FIVE]
Don't make plans ahead of time. If you are like us, you will just want to relax. We considered going on an excursion but decided we were happy just sitting on the beach. We were so glad that we didn't book the excursion ahead of time or we would have had to go. Just get there and see how you feel! It is ok to do nothing!

My husband's goal of the trip was to get on this huge wooden horse. So after one a few too many drinks, I made sure no one was coming and he gracefully hopped on. Mature honeymooners.

33 comments :

  1. Love your advice to go on a honeymoon right after your wedding. I know some people can't manage it with schedules/work but I agree, it's the best time right after the wedding--the last thing you want to do is go right back to work.
    I had my phone with my on our honeymoon (it was our camera) and while we were poolside, relaxing, I was checking all of the photos and comments people were posting from the wedding. I actually think it was fun because we got to relive the wedding and then started talking about it all over again. I definitely wasn't on my phone the whole time tho--only every now and again during downtime at the pool :)
    I loved Riviera Maya when we went--your honeymoon photos look gorgeous!

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    1. That is so true... It was so fun seeing pictures of the wedding and talking about everything that happened!!

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  2. You two are like a model couple seriously stunning!!! I totally agree with all your tips...our honeymoon was a little different we went after our wedding, but really wanted to take a lot of time and had to pack for two different climates which was always fun lol! But it was still the best time and I wish we could relive our honeymoon all over again!!! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

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    1. Girl you're crazy... Thank you though :) I wish we could have a honeymoon every year!

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  3. omg these photos! riviera maya is a spot i haven't been to in mexico but it looks super pretty! you had the cutest outfits too look at you :) great tips girl! esp the one about putting an outfit in the carry on. i lost my luggage abroad once and it sucked!

    cheshirekatblog.com

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  4. These pictures are simply beautiful! What a great place to go on a Honeymoon. Great travel tips. Putting an outfit in your carry-on is such a great idea. Sort of wish I thought of that before. lol.

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    1. thank you!! yes I will always be prepared in my carry-ons from now on haha :)

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  5. Great tips! That resort looks beautiful! :)

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  6. Love this post and your tips! I 100% agree on the whole go on your honeymoon right after the wedding. I feel like it wouldn't feel like a true honeymoon if you didn't do that! We do wish we had a day in between the wedding and traveling because we had to get up early for our flight. We also wished we did at least one excursion during our honeymoon but you live and you learn ;) Looks like y'all had an amazing time!

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    1. we had a day between and it was the best thing ever. We got to spend a day opening our wedding gifts, packing for the honeymoon, sleeping, etc. We kind of wish we would have done an excursion too, but oh well!

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  7. These are some amazing tips. I'm in the mist of wedding planning and that includes honeymoon planning. We've sort of decided between St. Lucia and Hawaii, but the good thing is that I know plenty of people who have been to both so suggestions will be awesome. Also with the going after the wedding and not postponing it is important to me because it's the early days of being married and definitely a time to cherish with your new hubby. Also these pictures look gorgeous, hope I can go here one day!!

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    1. I totally agree with you! Good luck planning, it can be stressful but it goes by so fast so soak it up!! Xoxo

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  8. Your honeymoon looks awesome and I love the tips- I definitely agree about the phone… but it's so hard!!! I'm really gonna try to only post like one picture when I get there… and that's it! And that stinks about your luggage but I always bring one outfit in the carry on, smart idea!!

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    1. I can't wait to see pictures from y'alls ;) it is the best time ever!

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  9. Such good advice about waiting to go on the honeymoon. I'm sure it's nice to take a moment to breathe after all the festivities before you head out again! Also, I love the picture on the horse. Hilarious!

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    1. He is so crazy, I was so scared we were going to get kicked out haha :)

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  10. Stopping by from What's Hap-"Pinning"! Looks like you enjoyed an amazing honeymoon!! Great tips -- especially taking a honeymoon the week following the wedding and putting you phone down! ;) After reading this I'm ready to pack up for a tropical getaway! :) Have a beautiful day! xo - Brenda // Chatting Over Chocolate

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    1. I'd love to be heading somewhere tropical too! Definitely daydreaming about it! Thanks for reading :)

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  11. Your honeymoon looks amazing from the views, the beach, and all the food! I've never been to Mexico but this resort sounds like a great choice!

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    1. It was!! I'd love to go back to another part of Mexico. I was super pleased with it!

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  12. Love your tips! Your honeymoon looks beautiful! I love visiting Mexico.

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  13. Your 4th tip is the best tip of all! I totally agree with you on this one, completely, 100 %, without a doubt!! That bathtub and the view from the bath is reason alone to tell me this is a place I'd like to visit.

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    1. It's so easy to get caught up in our phones on a daily basis (I know I'm guilty of it) so we made it a point to leave our phones off the entire time. best decision ever!! thanks for reading! :)

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  14. Awesome tips girl (and gorgeous pics)!! Especially the unplugging and not using your phone. Whenever we leave the country, it's super refreshing to be away from texts, phone calls, and all forms of social media. And I also try to stress to people how important it is to not put off their honeymoon, there's something so magical about that time to unwind after all the craziness of the wedding and to be together away from everyone else. Getting away right after the wedding was the perfect way to celebrate :)

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    1. I totally agree with you!! now if only we could have a honeymoon every year ;)

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  15. Such a beautiful couple!! This post makes me want to go on vacationnnn :) Totally agree with #4 --- we were phone-less on our honeymoon and it was wonderful!! We had access to the internet on our recent Mexico vaca and I must say that I missed being completely unplugged!!

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  16. What a beautiful couple - model status! Great tips, I wish I could relive our honeymoon again!

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  17. I can't believe they lost your luggage!!! Good thing you were prepared :) :) John and I went to Riveria Maya too - can't beat a good beach honeymoon!!

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  18. You guys both looked so good on your honeymoon!!! Postponing ours for work was THE WORST... so I definitely agree that you should go immediately after. Such a big regret for me.... :( couldn't agree more about having essentials in the carry-on!! ;)

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  19. Totally agree with all of your advice!! Looks like your honeymoon was perfect :)

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