Your honeymoon is your first major expense together in many cases. With the excitement of starting a new life together, and the potentially exotic nature of your honeymoon can lead you to overspend, sometimes dramatically.

Don’t forget to plan for the expected (and unexpected) costs of the honeymoon. Beyond the normal lodging and travel expenses, allow for souveniers, side trips, that massage by the pool. But be sure to plan for these expenses. Simply pulling out your credit card everytime you see something that you ‘just have to have’ to remember this great event can leave you with a staggering bill when your trip is over.

With things as hectic as they are planning for and then having your wedding, it is very likely that if your honeymoon happens soon after the wedding you will not have time to have your name changed, passport, driver’s license, or other ID used to confirm who you are updated before your honeymoon.

With today’s stricter travel requirements it can be much easier to have your trip planned, tickets purchased, and reservations made in your maiden name. This allows you to enjoy your honeymoon without the drama or proving who you are when you travel.

A lot of couples like to head out for their honeymoon the day after their wedding, it’s tradition. But with modern responsibilities and more and more couples getting married later in life, trying to schedule and plan both a wedding and a honeymoon at the same time can be a daunting task.

Why not take a short break after your wedding to regroup and then take that honeymoon of a lifetime? Plan the perfect wedding, enjoy it without the rush and stress of knowing that you have to get up early to pack for a long vacation. And when things have calmed down from the wedding take that perfect honeymoon. It can be a week, a month, or even a year after your wedding and still be the perfect honeymoon. One that isn’t rushed or scheduled to coincide with the wedding date that worked best for all of your family.