Weddingbee Blog

Last week, I wrote about my disappointment that we would not be visiting the Amalfi Coast. Lest you think we’re giving up our honeymoon altogether, I thought I would talk about our mini-moon. Yes, that’s a miniature honeymoon.

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Regardless of our financial situation, we knew that we wanted to take some sort of honeymoon. After planning this wedding for over a year, Mr. Husky and I will be ready for a vacation! But what we had originally dreamed of was no longer in the cards (or the cash). So here’s how we planned a seven-day coastal honeymoon for only $500:

• Vacation Homes. We are extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to use a beach house owned by Mr. Husky’s parents. The view is spectacular, the deck has a hot tub, and Husky and I have many fond memories there. Our only expense will be the fee they are charged to have the house cleaned when we leave.

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If this isn’t an option for you, here are a few other things you can try:

1. Craigslist. Find a city within driving distance and browse the vacation rentals under the housing section. This is where the Husky folks advertise their beach house for a steal. If you live near the ocean, look for beach properties. Near the hills? Keep your eye out for a mountain cabin. HomeAway and VRBO are also good places to find inexpensive, owner-managed properties for a good price. Most homes listed have an availability calendar, just like a hotel, that make it easy as pie to see if it’s vacant for your dates.
2. Swap. You can also check out the “Housing Swap” section of Craigslist. I have no personal experience with this and will admit that I wouldn’t necessarily feel comfortable allowing a stranger in my home while I wasn’t there to supervise. But if I did decide to go this route, I would probably ask for references from others with whom they had previously swapped. Also, don’t forget your non-local friends and family—perhaps they would be interested in a home swap with you. They may be in town for your wedding anyway!
3. Camping. This will probably only be good for you and the future mister or missus if you have enjoyed camping together in the past—your honeymoon may not be the best time to find out if he can build a fire or you can stomach coffee from a percolator.
4. Home-Vacation. Husky and I live in a large metropolitan city, but there are so many attractions that we’ve never seen. Many of these are free, such as tours of the Capitol building and local brewery tours. Many museums have free days, and our local libraries have events and classes throughout the week. Are you an outdoorsy type? Check out the many free classes offered by REI—just locate your nearest store and scroll down to see the classes.

• Meals. The house has a full kitchen, so we’ll head to the local grocery and liquor stores the day we arrive to stock up on food and booze. We will treat ourselves to a few nice dinners out, but for the most part we’ll be our own private chefs.
• Flight. We live in Colorado, the wedding is in Colorado, and the beach house is in Oregon. So how did we manage to keep our costs under $500 and include flight travel? Frequent-flyer miles! I’ll talk more about how we managed to do this a little bit later on.

Once Husky finds a job, we’ll start saving for our second honeymoon—this time along the waters of the Amalfi Coast.

So those are our strategies for a low-cost/high-fun honeymoon. What are you doing to keep honeymoon expenses down?