Weddingbee Blog

As an incredibly generous wedding present, Mr. Mole’s parents will be giving us 5,000 Euros for our honeymoon. Mr. Mole’s older sister and her husband took the money after their wedding and ran off to Spain on a fabulous vacation. I feel serious trip envy when I look through their pictures and hear their stories of fabulous hotels, dinners, and sightseeing adventures. So I immediately started dreaming about spending our honeymoon drinking great beer in Brussels or eating paella in Madrid or riding ferries around the islands in Greece.

Image via Fodor’s Europe Travel Guide

However, there was one major roadblock to these European dreams: time.

Mr. Mole just started his job in July, so we have to be careful about how many vacation days that he takes in the first quarter of 2012. We are already having to take four days off in January between our destination wedding and hometown party. We can probably get another five days off in February for our honeymoon. If we leave on a Sunday, the day after our hometown reception, as planned, we are probably looking at a max of a seven-night vacation.

I know that a seven-night honeymoon is nothing to sneeze at. It’s more than a lot of people get. So for that I am very thankful. But we worried that the long flights from LAX, our desire to drive to and around several different countries, and my compulsion to see all of the guidebook-recommended sights would add up to a pretty hectic, jam-packed vacation. And when I think of honeymoon, I certainly don’t think hectic and jam-packed. I think lounging around, sleeping in, and generally relaxing. I think sharing time in a huge jetted hot tub. I think eating and drinking lots of delicious things. I think spending quality time with my new husband.

Quality time indeed

After discussing our visions for a perfect honeymoon, one place instantaneously popped into our minds: Mexico! It’s a place that we love and has special meaning for us. And it’s a place where we can stay without worrying too much about the time. But, I wonder, is it a place that is special enough? Is it a place that will be memorable enough? Shouldn’t we go somewhere new that we can explore as newlyweds?

How did you decide where you wanted to go on your honeymoon? Did you have any outside influences or factors that pushed you in one direction or the other?