this reminds me...Im getting married nest year, time to start planning the one part that I am truely interested in!!

 

^A year is definitely not too early to plan for the honeymoon, especially if you plan to go right after the wedding. From what I've read, many people splurge on the wedding and then don't have enough money for a honeymoon, thus they wait months or a year before going.

I think that's totally ass backwards, and feel the bulk of the funds should go towards the honeymoon instead. Maybe if our parents were paying for the wedding I wouldn't feel that way, maybe not. But I'll gladly take the responsibility of planning the honeymoon over picking flowers, cake, and decor for the wedding.

I wouldn't want to do classes on a honeymoon either. Who wants to spend time doing a test on their honeymoon when there are things to see and do? Times a wasting... Which is why I'm glad the fiance and I are both already certified

Anyhow, we could probably get away with bringing our own mask, fins, and snorkel. We could also probably throw in our BCD's and still be under the checked baggage weight limit. Then all we would need to rent would be wetsuits, regs, and computer. Although I'd rather wear my own, I don't feel like buying a 3mm pee-suit, uh I mean wetsuit just for the honeymoon. Yes, I've pissed in my wetsuit...and people are lying if they tell you otherwise

What a great coincidence that you guys traveled in May, as that's the month we are shooting for. I'm glad to hear the weather was nice, but we might not be so lucky if the rainy season is said to be from June-July (our wedding date is May 28th). Who knows though.

I'm going to consolidate and put Barefoot Cay in my top 5. After I decide on another 4, I'll present them to the fiance Oh, and thanks for the photos. It's always great to see photos from real people rather than what's on a brochure or website.

 

Like, I always say,
There's two kinds of people (in regards to those who wear wetsuits)....


1. Those who pee in their wetsuits
2. And those you lie about it.

 

 

unfortunately we still dont really have a date set yet, we did at one point but then changed plans and decided to go ultra small, just our close family members. Her dad told us that he planned to drop 16k on the wedding, and strongly suggested that we go cheap and he will put the rest in our pocket.

The way Im thinking right now we could probably do it for about 1k. Outdoor ceremony at this gazebo at her parents country club/ second home in the White Mountains in NH



followed by a small reception at her parents house right across the fairway from the gazebo since its going to be > 20 people



as for peeing in the wetsuit jet ski's in New England pretty much require them no matter what the weather is....Id just jump off where ever I was and let loose

 

How about Bali?

since you and your finance are both into diving... Indonesia offers some of the best.
You can also eat and live pretty well there for cheap too.. as with pretty much all of SE Asia.

 

Depending on your dive computer, I would bring that too. It's relatively small and goes as carry-on. I bring mine because it tracks dive profiles and I know how it works.

It's tough to bring your BCD without your reg, especially if your BCD is air integrated. It would probably be best to call or e-mail the resorts you are considering to see how well things would work together.

My brother and SIL went there for a vacation and loved it. They don't dive but still had a great time there. The only thing that sucked was the long flight out there.

 

was there 2 years ago and loved it too... we had a connecting flight in Hong Kong, but made it a stop-over... so HK to Bali is only about 4 hours.

Would definitely recommend it to everyone.

 

Wow, if you can do it for $1k you'd be pocketing the rest of the $16K! I would definitely take his advice if I were you, especially if he's willing to drop that kind of cash

For our wedding, we initially started by making a guest list that comprised of 150 to 200 people Needless to say, after some discussion with my fiance, we decided this wedding is more for us than anyone else. We've since cut the number down to 50 people between her family and my own. Our budget for the wedding itself is $5k tops, just like our honeymoon. So in all, counting both the wedding and honeymoon, we will probably spend about $10k in total. Needless to say, it's been a challenge to remain in budget as the wedding industry is pushy and cutthroat.

From what I've read, the typical wedding these days is averaging around $25k. I understand the meaning and significance of "our special day", but I can't in good consciousness see myself spending that amount in a single day for a single event. Similarly, I had a friend who was married about 2 years ago and her wedding cost almost $40k. It was beautiful, had an open bar, and we had fun, but two years later she is still trying to pay down the debt ever since returning from the honeymoon.

Anyhow, considering the goals and our budget, we were initially going to do the ceremony some where near Lake Tahoe and then have the reception at the house. But then, after much thought, decided against it because despite the savings, we'd have to invest a lot of time and effort. And to me, time is like money and I'd rather not be sacked with setup, planning, cleanup, and so forth.

So after much research, we found that our local Zoo also did weddings! We loved it because it would be completely non-traditional, non-denominational, and they could take care of everything (catering, tables, chairs, cleanup, etc...) to remain within our $5k budget. Best of all, since our Zoo is a non-profit, we might be able to count some of the costs as a charitable donation on our taxes

That way, when everything is done and over with, we just leave and go to our hotel after the reception and then jet off to the honeymoon the next day. With no worries because they would do all the work.

So wow, that was a lot of rambling, but I thought I'd share about the whole process.

Now back to honeymoon planning...

 

So jealous. I've been invited on numerous surfing trips to the Mentawais but I'd be stoked to just chill in Kuta and surf Uluwatus. I heard the diving is sooo sick. Did you do it right off bali or was it a boat trip?

My boyz and I dove in the PI last month, so sick and so cheap.

 

Kuta is a little too crowded... we preferred the quieter beaches in Seminyak and Legian. Uluwatu is pretty breathtaking with the temples and has an amazing sunset. But the absolute best to relax is Ubud... most places overlook the rice fields or sit on little cliffs... really really good place to chill.

We only did one dive in Tulamben where the Liberty shipwreck is and only did some shallow dives (cuz we're not that experienced).. it was pretty amazing though what you can see. I think other parts of Indonesia is probably better though, but like you said you'd have to take a boat or fly and stay overnight because they take you to some pretty remote islands.

 

Alrighty, second choice in my top 5 will be somewhere around the Mexican Riviera Maya. There are many all-inclusive packages (accommodations, food, alcohol, tax, and tip) with airfare for less than $4k and down to $2.5k depending on the room and location.

I'm going to be compiling a list of my top 5 and probably make a poll to see what everyone would choose. My next choice will either be:

1. Valentin Imperial Maya


2. Excellence Riviera Cancun


In addition to being all-inclusive resorts, they are both 15 mins away from Puerto Morelos, home of the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world = diving fun.

 

http://www.tothepointnews.com/content/view/3617/85/

 

^awesome. I'd totally take that cruise if it were really offered.

 

LOL, If this were real it'd be pretty thrilling. I don't think the pirates would have a chance if each passenger on the cruise was packing that much heat.

I showed it to my fiance and she was down with manning the sniper rifle. We play too much Resident Evil 5 together