What did you do.... for your Honeymoon?

We booked a ten night stay at an all inclusive (and I mean ALL) resort in Jamaica. We did it through a travel agent. I'm super excited

We are getting married at Disney World, and will probably be spending a couple of weeks there. We will be planning it ourselves, because I don't trust a travel agent with our Disney plans.

We decided on Hawaii and started researching islands/flights/etc. Within 10 minutes of me trying to coordinate flights and reservations I started looking for a travel agent in town (brick and mortar old school TA) Booking the HM was more stressful than trying to plan a wedding from FL in CT.

I found a travel agent (best $100 we could spend) to book the whole thing! She was able to provide insight (like going between islands is more often a flight than a ferry ride like I had imagined) and I know the whole trip will be wonderfully planned. Plus if we have issues we have her number and she will be able to help.

@emma S. Did you do an online travel agent?

@MNA that is how I am feeling a bit, since I know the area, but I also want to go somewhere I haven't been, like Prague, and the idea makes me nervous to plan myself.

@Jackie G. They doesn't sound bad at all. I didn't know they still had brick and mortor TAs. I thought it was all online now.

Does she keep you informed of it all? Also did you pay for it all at once she finalized everything or did you guys buy flights first, and then go from there with your options of hotels, placed etc.

I made all of our reservations myself. We are going to Prague, Amsterdam and London in April. The hotels were easy, the flights a little more involved, but it's all set.

I've been to London a couple of times, but never the other 2 so I relied on recommendations from friends that have been to there. I booked excursions to the few places we definitely wanted to see (tulip gardens in Amsterdam - can't wait for that one!!) and are just going to take the days as the come for the rest of our trip.

@MNA how exactly do Disney world weddings work? Do they have ceremony and reception halls? Or are you getting married in the princess castle, etc...

MrsJT - we are going to an all inclusive in St Lucia for 10 days. We knew we wanted something luxurious and adults only.

@LiveFree: They have a ton of venues. We are looking at the ceremony at the Wedding Pavilion, and the reception at either Citrico's or the Living Seas Salon.

We also plan on doing a private dessert party at U.K. Lochside that evening for our guests at Epcot.

You CAN get married in front of the castle, BUT it HAS to be pre-opening and it's a $25,000 venue charge plus another $25,000 in enhancements minimum.

@MrsJT no she has an office a town over. And we don't pay her anything - she gets her fee from the resort. And we checked prices ourselves and they were the same. Airfare is even included!

When we went to Disney we had a travel agent. We didn't pay her anything and she was awesome. She made reservations, booked flights and hotels, bought tickets and everything. She only does Disney, though. For our honeymoon we're planning ourselves.

We went to Mexico for 7 nights and it was ALL inclusive. We looked around ourselves at booking it, this was before we had decided on a place, and decided having a travel agent was best. She didn't cost us a dime, they get paid by the resorts somehow for booking us there. I told her our budget, that we wanted to go somewhere tropical and all inclusive, and what type of area/room we wanted. She gave us a list of about 6-7 places and we picked from that. We actually got it about $500 cheaper going through her as opposed to booking ourselves. I'm type A super planner and I really enjoyed not having to plan and book it, just to show up and everything was taken care of.

ETA: our travel agent was local and recommended by a couple friends. I also met her at a bridal expo before going and talking to her.

We are planning our flights and travel accommodations by ourselves. We have AAA, and they could do it for free, but I like to do my research on everything to make sure I am getting the best deal. I went to AAA and asked them about a European low budget carrier (Norwegian Air) and they had never heard of it, and wouldn't even look into as an option. They were, and still are, our cheapest way to get to Europe. The people are AAA were going to book us on a flight that was almost double what we are paying. So that's why. for us personally, I am booking everything.

@MNA - I am super jealous of your Disney World wedding! That's my favorite place in the world!

We did ours through I local travel agency. We are going to valentin imperial maya all inclusive resort in Mexico. Our agent recommended it to us, it's a 5 star! I'm so excited to go! Going through a travel agent will relieve you from stress. I recommend going through a travel agent!

@MrsJT

We did each separately although I imagine it could and would vary based on TA and your own personal preference. Most hotels now and days only need a CC to reserve and then you pay once you check in.

It's open communication. If she finds a great deal on XYZ she tell us. We had her build out what a $5k honeymoon would look like, $7500 and then $10,000. Then from there we pick and choose. Every TA is different.

If nothing else, I feel that travel agents have more of a "hookup" (this is my opinion and may differ or not be true at all) than if you tried to get your own upgrades. She may know the manager at a hotel etc. again may not be true but I also hate haggling like that too. Like I said, for us worth it, for others maybe not. Good luck, and I hope the HM planning is stress free!

@nextMRSD. How far in advance did you book the flights? I'm looking now and the prices seem reasonable. Amsterdam is on the list! I think we have the same idea. I just want to go and see how the day goes. But question is where? I definitely am stuck on Germany because it is familiar. But then I would have to figure out the flights and it seems a bit of a headache. Unless I use Ryan Air.

@ MNA never thought of Disney. What a great idea for wedding. That will be beautiful. I hope you share pics.

@Livefree, FH was thinking about the islands and all-inclusive. But we live in Florida, and so far have done mini weekend getaways (on a budget) to some of them, so the idea is one island we haven't done, or got to Europe since we may not be back for a while. Did you go through a planner?

@Emma how did you find her? google search? word of mouth? Haha, I keep getting "My big fat greek wedding" stuck in my head. I am sure they are much better than an unknown online planner.

OP - I just saw that you are from P. Park! I live just down the road. If you are looking for cheap flights to Europe, check out Norwegian or IcelandAir. Both those carriers fly out of MCO, and have super cheap flights to Europe I have come to find out.

We're going too St Maarten. We plan to book through either AAA or Costco for an All Inclusive. However I did look thru various sites for activities & stuff to do off the beaten path. But I think it's great to book through TA's in some cases. They can give you cheaper rates or they may know something or someone. Just explore all options and do your own research definitely

We are going to Paris, Venice, and Rome and planning it ourselves. We love to travel spontaneously so it is perfect for us to just book flights, trains, and places to stay then show up and knock things off of our interest list. We don't like running on other people's schedules so cruises are hard for us to get into - though I can see the appeal of all inclusive. We are excited for ours!

I am hosting an online webinar with 3 Top All Inclusive Resort chain located in the Caribbean and Mexico, specific to honeymoons and destination weddings! This will give you so much insight why these resorts are the best for a honeymoon or a destination wedding. Sign up at http://exquisitevacationstravel.com/webinar-series/ to get more details. Good luck with your honeymoon planning!

We are going to Switzerland and Austria. FH has been there once or twice before when he was younger. So his parents were able to give us input but I mostly did a TON of research before booking anything. We booked everything ourselves. I found good deals on trip advisor for booking rooms. We will be staying in 4 different villages through out the trip. If you are going to Germany and want to travel, research EURail passes. You can purchase multi country passes or single country passes. The website has great info to help you figure everything out for travel throughout Europe.

ETA:

http://www.eurail.com/europe-by-train/germany#passes

We are thinking a Mediterranean Cruise! How far in advance should we book a Honeymoon?