Post # 16
Member
318 posts
Helper bee
Sorry about your situation, OP! I’ve known plenty of couples who have postponed their honeymoons because of a lack of money. My fiance’s sister and her husband took their honeymoon six months after their wedding, and a close friend of mine got married over a year ago and still hasn’t been able to afford one.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with putting off a honeymoon as long as you’re OK with it. I would encourage you both to go when you can mentally and monetarily afford it, rather than killing youself over pinching pennies. I think both of you will appreciate the trip more when you’re not stressing over it beforehand! It will still be a honeymoon 6-12 months from now, at least imo.
Post # 17
Member
1210 posts
Bumble bee
dk121915: We didn’t take our honeymoon until 8 months after the wedding. Mainly because we wanted to go to the Philippines and waited until it was their dry season. It was definitely worth the wait.
However, I will say it DID suck to go back to work right after the wedding. Maybe you both could take Monday through Wednesday off and have a little stay-cation in your new apartment? Rent some movies, order food, and ignore the outside world. It will feel AMAZING to relax and do nothing and bask in the newlywed bliss for 3 days, trust me. You don’t have to go anywhere to enjoy that feeling.
Post # 18
Member
690 posts
Busy bee
We got married in Oct, and honeymoon was in Jan. We didn’t want to leave right after he wedding. Too much stress, plus we wanted to relax and spend a few days with family . Not to mention, we wanted the Caribbean. If we would have gone in Oct, there are only a few islands that are hurricane free. But waiting until Jan, we could choose any island we wanted. We went to Jamaica!
Post # 19
Member
1030 posts
Bumble bee
dk121915: We aren’t having a honeymoon. We rather save up for an epic adventure, than scrimp and save for something mediocre. A wedding is about a marriage. Not an excuse to have a lavish honeymoon.
Post # 20
Member
1246 posts
Bumble bee
dk121915: I’m sorry to hear about all of that. Is it possible for you to just get married in a courthouse? I know it’s not what you want, but as of right now, I think getting your finances to a comfortable spot might be your priority.
I’m afraid you might be more stressed out as the wedding draws closer. Once your finances are good, you can just throw a reception together. I know it’s considered out of the norm, but I know couples who have done it before.
Post # 21
Member
137 posts
Blushing bee
dojx: I would love to but Future In-Laws won’t accept it and we want to attempt to hold on to the memory. Not to mention that we are 5 months away from the day and it’s already half way paid off.
Post # 22
Member
1246 posts
Bumble bee
dk121915: In that case, what else is left on your to do list? Maybe we can all help in terms of providing vendor names in your area that we used to help reduce costs.
Post # 23
Member
7802 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
My exH and I couldn’t afford a “real” honeymoon, we went away for the weekend and planned to take a trip the following year. And then I got pregnant, and three kids and 20 years later I can tell you the honeymoon never did happen, and it’s not high on the list of things I would change about my marriage or my life.
Check Groupon and Amazon Local for affordable options nearby, or try VRBO or airbnb.com. Best wishes!
Post # 24
Member
9204 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
dk121915: if they want the wedding they can pay for it! if you want a courthouse wedding you do you 🙂
Post # 25
Member
4424 posts
Honey bee
dk121915: I’m sorry. That really does suck when you’ve been looking forward to it. However, it sounds like your Fiance is being really practical and I think that is a great sign. It sounds like it’s been a rough 18 months, but I agree with his thinking. I would work on building that savings and working towards taking a special 1-year anniversary trip to celebrate your marriage and anniversary. Hopefully by then you’ll be able to have the savings built up some so you won’t be as stressed. Good luck!
Post # 26
Member
213 posts
Helper bee
dk121915: we skipped the huge honeymoon that has become the norm nowadays and drove one state away for a long simple weekend on a lake. Did a lot of inexpensive outdoor activities. We could have afforded the big Greek vacation we had originally discussed but decided to use the money plus a lot of our wedding gifts (cash) to pay off half of my student loan debt. One of the smartest financial moves we’ve ever made.
Post # 27
Member
903 posts
Busy bee
Fiance and I went to Mexico last year for 5 nights for $1,800 for both of us including our airfare. I don’t know what your budget is but we flew from PA to riviera Maya and stayed at the Grand palladium. We booked through apple vacations… if you can ALMOST afford it now why not take a trip in the spring. After the holidays and the winter when you’re in a better spot financially it might be nice to “reignite” the flame. You’re not scrapping it indefinitely.. everything for a reason 🙂
Post # 28
Member
137 posts
Blushing bee
dojx: Everything is DIY and the decor is what the church is already putting up for Christmas, the reception is a desert bar (the ladies of the church are donating cookies and brownies), my cake is a gift from one of my bridesmaids, we aren’t paying for the venue since we are members of the church, my dress was $300 and it fits perfectly so no alterations. The costs come down to postage really. Our 160 invitations and RSVP cards will only cost $50 total to print through gotprint.com. We are doing Postcard RSVPs to save on postage there. We did “splurge” and got a $400 photobooth which one of the photo strips printed will be put into a scrapbook (whole set-up cost $30) and double as a guest book and advice book (last frame of the photo strip will be the guests holding a chalkboard with their “Advice”). I might be blind here but I seriously can’t find any other corners to cut. Groom’s tux rental is $200 (the cheapest option was $180 so we went with the really nice $200 option). All reception decor will be whatever the church has in their floral room (already looked and lots of things that are cohesive with the colors). Any suggestions would rock but my only “vendor” is our photobooth company.
LilliV: I agree except that my handsome man wants the experience of the wedding. I am with him on that and since we are already half way in financially and can’t get that money back, I figure sacraficing the immediate post-wedding vacation is a sacrafice worth making for both of our dreams of a wedding (though very modest) to come true.
KatiePi: You are very correct, I am blessed to know that he values our well-being down the road more than the satisfaction of a vacation right away.
BridetoBee2017: Our Bahama honeymoon with Airfare would have been $2000 which to a normal couple might be extremely low, especially for 7days…just not in the budget with the deposit and monthly rent for our soon-to-be apartment being just as much.
Thank you ladies, I am still slightly bummed but after more talking with him, we both have family members who won’t be able to attend the wedding, mean the world to us, and are not well in health and up in age….so we have decided to do a 1 or 2 year anniversary “Honeymoon” (or who knows….it might end up being a “babymoon”) and going to see our greatgrandparents this next spring/summer. He said if we don’t go on the honeymoon right away, he is happy to allow my to preceed him at living in the apartment and get it all cozy for our few days off work (decided to cut down the PTO)….not to mention it’s Christmas the week following our wedding and it’ll be nice to be home instead of running around after a year of wedding planning.
Post # 29
Member
1624 posts
Bumble bee
I still haven’t gone on a honeymoon. We kept going back and forth about where we wanted to go, and then we got surprised with a positive pregnancy test. We both took off this week and instead of beach, cocktails and sexy times, he’s refinishing our hardwood floors and I’m cleaning out our basement. Such is life, sometimes you need to roll with the punches
Post # 30
Member
3031 posts
Sugar bee
- Wedding: May 2015 - Walnut Hill Bed & Breakfast
We didn’t go on a honeymoon yet (40 days) and don’t have one planned. We can *afford* it but i can’t bring myself to *waste* money on a fancy trip when we still have so many other more important things to buy/save for.
Member