I’m getting married! Now what? Truly Engaged is a new blog series written by Rachel, our *newly engaged* staff writer. As she wades her way through the wedding planning process, she’ll be sharing some of the emotions, inspiration, and insight she uncovers along the way. The honeymoon isn't over...it's just getting shorter, cheaper, and closer to home. 
When my fiance Tim and I vacation after our wedding in September, we won't need a passport, a plane ticket, sunscreen, or even sandals. All we'll need are two simple things: an overnight bag and a tank of gas. Like many modern couples, we have decided to take a "mini moon" after the wedding--which is essentially an abbreviated honeymoon that is cheaper, shorter, and closer to home. Why? Well, it's not because we don't love exotic locales: In fact, we met while both working in Quito, Ecuador back in 2009. Our decision to "mini moon" came from a medley of factors: time, money, work schedules, moving... After months and months of planning the wedding, and a super busy wedding weekend, we decided that for now, less is more. With that in mind, we used these four "less is more" factors to help decide our mini-honeymoon:
Factor 1: Less Transit = More Time We both work full-time, which makes our vacation time finite and fleeting. The wedding itself (and all the pre-wedding planning) has already depleted much of our vacation time, leaving us with a few precious days to take for our honeymoon. However, we realized that the less time we spent traveling to our honeymoon destination, the more time we could spend actually at our honeymoon destination, relaxing and basking in newlywed bliss. Therefore, we narrowed down our mini-honeymoon options to places that we can easily access within a few hours of driving. That way, we could squeeze the most out of each "mini-moon" minute. No wasted times for layovers, shuttle buses, or cab rides...just three hours flat and we're there! Factor 2: Less Travel = More Luxury Like many couples in this economy, our money is on the tighter side--and the last thing we want to do is enter our marriage with debt or empty wallets. By staying local, we realized we could save hundreds and hundreds of dollars. No pricey plane ticket, no settling for a "mediocre" resort because we spent all our cash on the round-trip airfare. By staying local, we could afford amd indulge in a more luxurious place. Jacuzzi, fireplace, AND floor-to-ceiling lakeside views? Yes please!
Factor 3: Less Structure = More Spontaneity Often times when you travel afar, you fill your days with pre-planned and pre-paid activities/excursions. In contrast, our simple, local mini-moon allows our vacation to unfold organically. Without pre-paying for activities, we can simply go with the flow and take each moment as it comes. It will feel spontaneous and exciting...just like the early days of dating. And what better way to celebrate marriage than to remember the way we fell in love in the beginning.
Factor 4: Less Pressure = More Fun There's so much build-up and pressure to having the "perfect" wedding, followed by the "perfect" honeymoon. It's as if you're never going to have another vacation again! But we love travel, met while traveling, and plan to make travel a pursuit of ours throughout our life together. By taking a mini-honeymoon, we are putting less pressure on making our honeymoon the "ultimate vacation". Instead, we can just focus on doing what we already do best:having fun. We can just laugh, relax, and enjoy being ourselves--our married selves, that is! :) So where did we decide to go? Well, some things are best left a surprise....but it's along the shores of Lake Superior and we couldn't be more excited to go on our "mini-moon" in September. :) I'd love to hear from more couples: Are you having a "mini moon" (mini honeymoon) after your wedding? Or if you already had your mini honeymoon, where did you go? Are you glad you went the "mini moon" route?
