Destination Wedding, Honeymoon, or Both?

You’ve decided to get married, and want to travel somewhere exotic in the process… Now the question is: do you want a destination wedding, a destination honeymoon, or both?

This can be a tough decision that involves a large number of people, plenty of planning, and careful consideration of what kind of experience you want to have.

There are some great options for combining your destination wedding and honeymoon, as well as some pros and cons that come along with each approach. We’ve assembled some tips to guide your decision making process and help you create the wedding and honeymoon of your dreams!

Which is right for you – a destination wedding, a honeymoon… or both?

Destination Wedding Pros and Cons

Destination weddings offer many of the same benefits as destination honeymoons, but you get to share the experience with family and friends. These celebrations are a great way to gather your loved ones together, away from the hustle and bustle of home life, to not only participate in your big day – but take a vacation for themselves too!

There are definitely some more logistical challenges involved. With enough time to plan, though, traveling with friends and family to an exotic location for your destination wedding can create memories that last a lifetime. Rehearsal dinner by the ocean, a father/daughter dance in view of a beautiful mountain… These special moments can be made that much more powerful with an amazing destination wedding location – and they make for great photos! Click to read our Tips for Planning a Destination Wedding blog post.

Destination Honeymoon Pros and Cons

Destination honeymoons are probably the most common form of wedding-related travel. You may have your wedding in a location near your home, then take off for a tropical location as newlyweds the next day – or at some point down the line!

This has its own benefits because you don’t have to worry about lodging for friends and family, more of your local circle will be able to attend the ceremony, and your travel adventure gets to be just you and your new spouse.

You also have the benefit of matching your destination honeymoon to your interests, budget, and schedule. A mountain range might not be the best place to invite your family for a wedding, but if you and your spouse-to-be are avid climbers, it might be the perfect honeymoon!

You can decide as a couple if you want to travel for a week or a month, whether you want to visit multiple countries or regions, and decide exactly how rustic or luxurious you want the experience to be.

Destination Wedding -and- Honeymoon Pros and Cons

For the best of both worlds, some couples choose to combine destination weddings and honeymoons into a two-part trip. First, they get to travel with family and friends to the wedding’s destination and enjoy the whole experience of vacationing with loved ones, getting married, celebrating and sharing joy with the people closest to them.

For the second part of the trip, however, couples can gracefully bow out of the family vacation – and begin their honeymoon as newlyweds by traveling somewhere else (even another resort on the same island)!

With this combined approach, couples get their true honeymoon – a special time for just the two of them – and still get to include loved ones in a celebratory trip that brings everyone closer together.

Call the Expert Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Travel Agents in Chicago!

Deciding which works best for you will involve some careful consideration, but working with an experienced travel agency and wedding planner can help you address every last detail. You’ll have to consider your budget, how many people you want to invite (if any), and where in the world you’d like to go!

Destination weddings and honeymoons can be truly incredible experiences, whether you share them as a couple, a family, or an entire entourage!

To start planning your trip, contact Sunset Travel and Cruise today!