Some couples do not have a big budget left over for travel to exotic places. If you want a dream honeymoon, but do not want to spend the rest of your life paying for it, here's some tips on planning a cheap honeymoon.
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Registering for gifts at certain businesses is nothing new for couples. Sign up with a honeymoon registry so your wedding guests can contribute cash, a special dinner, or a night in a fancy hotel for your prospective honeymoon. There are several good honeymoon registries online. Type the phrase "honeymoon registry" into your favorite search engine, and you will get thousands of results. Some travel agents also offer this service.
A couple of centuries ago in the pre-Civil War South, wedding couples set out on a wedding trip after the marriage ceremony. They traveled around, spending time with various relatives, often returning to set up their own home after the birth of their second child. While this might prove harder today, if you have friends or relatives at a special destination, this could be their gift to you and you can save money too.
Plan your honeymoon so that you can take advantage of discount fares and rates. Look for a vacation spot off-season, which only means you travel at a time that is not a peak tourist time. The Caribbean is off-season in the summer and Europe is off-season in the winter so, no matter when you get married, it will be off-season in some part of the world. There are discounts of 30 percent or more on airfares, hotels and meals during these times. Check the cost of leaving from alternate cities. Often you can drive a couple hours to leave from another airport and save several hundred dollars.
To be perfect, a honeymoon does not have to involve fancy hotels with room service or a cruise to the Bahamas. Think of somewhere you would like to go and look into money saving ideas like camping and hostels. Get creative.
Finally, for a cheap, yet romantic honeymoon, stay home. Turn off the phone, instruct everyone you know not to bother you for a week and spend your honeymoon money on new CD's, an extra special bottle of wine, and order take-out every night. If you want to leave the house, splurge on theater tickets and an ultra fancy dinner at a fine restaurant. Think too about what you enjoy doing as a couple. If you plan on spending a week or two just doing the simple things you enjoy, it does not have to cost a lot of money.
Remember, the point of the honeymoon trip is to spend time being romantic and getting to know each other. For this reason, maybe the cheap honeymoon is a better way to discover what is important about your relationship and your future together.
