Honeymoon

After planning the much anticipated wedding for months, perhaps even for some brides years, it is finally time to unwind and share in the tradition of the honeymoon. It is funny because leading up to the wedding, the honeymoon was the furthest thing from my mind. Consumed in the details and the nerves of the wedding, there was not too much thought that went into planning the honeymoon.  There were times even when I thought I did not need to even spend money on a honeymoon and should just come back from our wedding weekend and go on.  Weddings are SO expensive and then to add a honeymoon on top could add another $3-10,000 depending on where you go and for how long. The other reason I originally thought I could skip the honeymoon was because our wedding was a destination.  We traveled down to Florida on Thursday.  Relaxed and enjoyed the sun, beach, surf, and poolside for two days.  Our rehearsal was on Saturday on the yacht of the resort and then Sunday was the BIG day.  Monday before leaving, still heady from the excitement and delight of the previous magical day, we shared brunch with our family and friends and then headed home to Boston. Because of this delightful and deliciously sweet wedding weekend, we were unsure if we needed a honeymoon.  In the end, we booked one. And, it was the best decision we made!

The honeymoon has an interesting history. Sources indicate that the concept of the honeymoon comes from Norse culture.  There a man would come and kidnap a woman, take her into hiding for a period of the cycle of the moon (or until her family gave up looking for her) and then they would continue on in their marriage.  Some sources state it comes from a tradition of the newlywed couple drinking a glass of honey mead for the first month. Others state it is just that the first month is the sweetest of all months of marriage.  My favorite however is from the Belle Epoque. This is the turn of the century from the 1800s to the 1900s when couples would journey either to see distant relatives who were unable to attend the wedding or just travel the grand tour of Europe. I can just imagine newlywed couples traveling with all of the pomp along the French Riviera or the streets of Verona. Clearly, this more recent history is closest to our own version of the honeymoon.

When booking our honeymoon, we originally thought a trip to Europe would be ideal.  But, I am such a busy-body and would run us around the cities trying to soak up every inch within our limited time. Instead, we settled on Antigua. A small island in the Southeast Caribbean.  Limited to 15 miles of terrain, I would be forced to finally relax. David made an excellent choice.  He truly knows me so well. In choosing our location, he sought to save some money via an all-expense resort and to make sure that we both just chilled out.  Leading up to the wedding, I started to get nervous about everything tying together.  It was all perfect from my perspective. And then landing on Antigua could not have been better.  For 7 days we swam, wind-surfed, sailed, listened to live music, played games together like kids, and overall just had a blast with each other. I am so happy we held to the long tradition of the honeymoon, And, to all of those out there planning or thinking about taking one....do it!  Do it simple, do it playfully, and enjoy your new spouse.  It is a wonderful time to reconfirm why you married your best friend!