Photography by: Gideon Photography
Video by: NP Films
Journal Entry part 1-
“Meandering through a tree lined pathway, I am in awe that all around us lies fallen ruins from a culture older than my own country! Then we come upon it and I am taken with it’s grandeur. We are standing in front of the Roman Colosseum, where emperors have reigned and legends were made. I am entranced by it’s history and beauty. I look to my new husband and I almost have to laugh, as his mouth is hanging open just as big as mine. I’m amazed we get to share this new experience together. This moment. This adventure, has been an immeasurable gift.”
As a newlywed the best advice I can lend is to ‘plan ahead’. We actually received our honeymoon for free along with creating the wedding of our dreams. Even if you are not engaged or even seriously dating for that matter, you are still active, and that’s all you need to begin preparing. So… let’s get started.
First things first. Shop around for a credit card that offers mile points for dollars spent. Many will offer special promotional offers. I opted for the American Airlines credit card that gave me a bonus of 25,000 miles after my first purchase, enough for a roundtrip intercontinental ticket! Of course I told my fiance about the sweet deal, and he applied for a card as well. The next step we took was to set up automatic withdrawal to pay off the credit card balance at the end of every billing cycle, in order to avoid the high interest rates often associated with credit cards. The last thing you want to do as a newlywed couple is get yourself in credit card debt!
The next most important step we did was use our cards to book our wedding reception site, catering, photography, dress, and all the other good stuff that comes with planning a wedding. We also, used our travel cards on all the day in and day out things we spend money on each month; cell phone bills, gas and groceries. We were now on our way to building good credit and earning miles for our free honeymoon.
Following our initial mileage boost, we asked our parents to spread the word to family members and friends about our desire for gifted airline miles. We all have the business savvy relative that travels endlessly, all the while racking up airline miles. We were quickly gifted with miles transferred from relatives & friends accounts. Now that we were set for our airline tickets we just needed places to stay and money for excursions and food. Thanks to ingenious thinking there were multiple options both locally and online to accommodate our needs. This is known as a honeymoon registry. This can be done on various sites online such as: www.trvl4u.com, www.travelersjoy.com, www.agreataffair.com, and www.honeymoonwishes.com. Even AAA has honeymoon travel registry options! We opted to work with our local travel agency. There was no extra fees involved, and we felt it was important to have that personal connection.
With the help of our travel agent we registered for hotel stays, tours, trains, and even a couples massage! It was great to see how big ticket items could be made affordable by breaking up the cost into different gift options. For example; a $200 day cruise of the Italian Riviera Coastline could be broken up into 8 gifts of $25 each towards the cruise. That way more than one person can enjoy contributing to your wonderful experience.
Shortly after registering, we received a call from our travel agent informing us that we had received our first gift. A gondola ride in Venice! It was really fun knowing that our romantic gondola ride was a gift from my grandparents.
Journal Entry Part 2-
“Today we went on a sleek black gondola with purple velvet seats. It was an enchanting boat ride through tiny canals full of colorful history, and bursting with romance. Our gondolier, in his striped shirt, sang off tune while guiding us through a labyrinth of sinking wonders. The sights and sounds from that day are engrained into my memory and will last much longer than any vacuum or toaster oven.”
Honeymoon and airline mile registry is an up and coming trend that is sure to change the face of wedding registries and invitations all over the world. By getting the honeymoon gifted to us we were able to use that reserved part of our budget to upgrade our wedding experience, and not settle for second best. We were able to share an amazing experience together that will aid in strengthening the foundation of our marriage.
My final piece of advice is to talk it over with your sweetheart and decide on what part of the world to explore. Determine the place you have always imagined visiting and then discover and realize it together.
This is one gift you won’t want to regift or return so don’t hesitate to register for a walking tour of ancient Rome, a swim with dolphins in the Bahamas, an elephant ride in the forests of Thailand, or even breakfast in bed! It may surprise you to see who will gift you an avenue of adventure or a day of pampering. When it comes to your honeymoon the sky is the limit!
