My lunch today included a leftover sloppy joe sandwich along with slice cucumber, grape tomatoes and kidney beans.
Tuesday's Lunch
Crisp 'n' Crunchy
Beans, Beans, They're Good For Your Heart
Confession: As I packed this lunch this morning, I easily ate a serving or two of cold sloppy joe meat. It’s so darn good!
Honeymoon Selection
Our wedding is less than two and a half months away and I can really feel the momentum picking up!
Ryan and I have been pretty laid back about the whole wedding planning process. We selected our venue, photographer and florist first, waited a while, and then selected our officiate and DJ… and now, 2.5 months out, all of the “little” projects are demanding our attention.
One not-so-little project that we really need to figure out is our honeymoon!
We Want the Beach!
For some reason neither of us are too into planning our honeymoon. I think it’s because there are so many options that meet our criteria:
- Caribbean location
- Beautiful beach
- Activities available (namely scuba diving)
- Clean, romantic hotel
- Hotel located near a town for exploring
Yep, that’s pretty much it! This pretty much describes more than half of the hotels in the Caribbean!
We’re slowly narrowing down our choices and are leaning toward some resorts in the Dominican Republic. We love the all-inclusive options, as they seem like a great way to indulge but also save some money.
Our goal is to get this trip booked within the week!
Question of the Afternoon
For Married Molly:
- Where did you do on your honeymoon? Would you still choose to go there if you could do it all over again?
For Single Sally:
- Where would you want to go on your honeymoon?
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We were married in Vegas and stayed for three more days. It was five days total and we were so stressed we were usually asleep by 10pm.
If I had to do over I would love to go to Hawaii.
We’re having a “weddingmoon” in Jamaica this coming april. But if the $ was there, we’d totally be going to Rome for an actual honeymoon as well. 😉
I went to Tahiti and Moorea and it was just wonderful! Moorea is the lesser-known island next door to Tahiti, but is what you picture in your mind when you think of Tahiti. Tahiti isn’t nearly as nice, surprisingly, but it certainly wasn’t too shabby!
We took a seven day cruise around the western caribbean. It was the perfect solution for us… no stress of traveling, figuring out where to eat, or remembering to bring the right money with us. The best part was that we could play everything by ear… relaxing, excursions, whatever 🙂
We stayed at the Ladera resort on St. Lucia for our honeymoon. I know I bombarded you w/ tweets about the Excellence resort yesterday, but I just wanted to add – when we were at the Excellence in Punta Cana this past April with 2 other couples, we had a great time during the day, but the mosquitoes were SO BAD at night. It was hard to stay outside in the evenings because of it, and some of the restaurants are open-air, which makes eating difficult. The other thing is that the Excellence is on the opposite side of the island from the airport, so it’s about an hour if you go by shuttle, and you’re the first picked up and the last dropped off. Also, it’s very windy on that side of the island, so we could hardly ever get in the ocean because the current was almost always too strong.
We had a great time in the DR, and did an excursion to another area of the island where we were able to enjoy the calmer ocean. So the DR is a great place to go, but I would probably recommend staying at one of the other all-inclusive places, but take bug spray w/ you regardless! 🙂
We went to San Diego for a few days and onto Maui…it was the best money we every spent. We didn’t want an all inclusive and also wanted to go somewhere where we could drive on our own around the whole island. Aslo…fast forward five years later and I have a 2 year old and one on the way….I realize it will be a long time before we have a vacation like that again and I’m so glad we splurged when we did!
Your criteria was everything that I wanted in a honeymoon! I wanted warm sun/sand, beautiful water and tropical beverages!
However, my hubby had other plans! We did a whirlwind tour of London, Paris and Brussels! It was absolutely amazing and I wouldn’t trade it for the world, but when we got back home, I needed a vacation from my vacation! We got married, moved across the country two days later and then left on our honeymoon two days after that. I could have really used some beach time to recuperate!
I’ve heard amazing things about the DR – I think you’ll probably find something you absolutely love!
As for me, I’m finally getting some beach time in September when the hubby and I head to Puerto Rico to celebrate our five year anniversary! Woo hoo for sun, sand and pina coladas!
My husband and I ended up having about a 2 week honeymoon. We lived in the panhandle of Florida before we were married and his new job brought us to live near Gainesville, fl. So when we got married we spent the first 2 nights on the beach because we didn’t want to travel far. Then we headed to our new home and spent 1 night there, then went to Orlando and stayed 2 nights there and then we boarded a cruise ship in Cape Canaveral to go on a 7 day cruise to the eastern Caribbean. It definitely was awesome and I would most definitely do it again! Ya know, I think I live not too far from you, we should have a bloggers meet up sometime! 🙂
All inclusive is the ONLY way to go. My hubby and I did a Sandals resort on St. Lucia. It was awesome. We would definitely do it again….and not just because I ordered cheesecake for breakfast. 🙂
My husband and I did DR at an all inclusive (Iberostar) and it was very relaxing, but DR is not a place you can explore on your own and while the food was good, I feel like all inclusives and cruises focus on quantity instead of quality, or maybe that’s just my “vacation eating habits” coming out! We are taking our honeymoon trip 1 year late, but going to Costa Rica. We have talked to a few people that have gone and they have done nothing but rave about it. Supposedly it’s the less touristy and much less expensive version of Hawaii, and tons of stuff to do, both with tours and without tours. Whatever you do, have fun and plan time to relax because you’ll need it after all the wedding festivities!
Oh, and we also have done a cruise in Western Caribbean. Wasn’t a huge fan of cruising, again the focus seemed to be on food and you have very limited time to explore your destinations. But our favorite island was Jamaica by far. You can’t (or shouldn’t) venture out on your own there either, and in Caribbean you have to be aware of when you are staying in a cruise port location because you may be sharing your tours with hundreds of cruise ship passengers. Friends stayed at Sandals on the south part of Jamaica and said it was much less crowded but a little more removed from stuff, but they loved it.
My husband and I just got married this past June and went to Bermuda for our honeymoon. It was beautiful, clean and safe which is just what we were looking for. Bermuda is REALLY low-key so it’s perfect for a honeymoon. The only thing is, it’s pretty expensive. Almost everything is imported (except onions!) so everything is about twice as much as in the states. Neither of us drink (alcohol) so we stayed within our budget easily but I imagine if you plan on having a glass of wine with dinner, it can add up.
Anyway, I booked our hotel on skyauction.com. It worked out great and was super cheap. I’m just mentioning this because there are about a million all-inclusives on there all the time so it might be worth checking out for you guys.
Hope that helps a little!
we went to the OC in california! it was sweet! i absolutely loved it, because we had warm weather (we were there the last week of may 2009) but it wasn’t burning hot so we could spend a lot of time outside without sweating (not so attractive…haha). we didn’t do all inclusive, but my parents gave us a week of their timeshare with Marriott vacation club so we didn’t have to pay for lodging… so all inclusive would have been more expensive. i also like to cook on vacation, so i like having a kitchen and not having to go out every meal. it was the best!!
I’ve heard great things about the Dominican Republic. We went to an all-inclusive resort in Cancun. We had a good time but wouldn’t go back. It was a little too “party” for our tastes, i.e. snorkeling turned into chest-baring booze cruise.
We went to Riviera Maya and stayed at El Dorado. It is an all inclusive resort and Ben and I immediately decided that we would save up so that in 5 years we could go back. It was absolutely amazing!!!
i would LOVE to go to Greece 🙂
I am actually leaving on Sunday to go to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic for vacation and to celebrate my 1 year wedding anniversary. We are staying at the all-inclusive Majestic Elegance Resort. My husband and I had decided on this destination after speaking to many people about great Caribbean destinations. Everyone we have spoken to raves about DR. They have so many all-inclusive resorts to choose from, so make sure you take the time to look through them all. They all offer pretty much the same stuff, with some little differences. Good luck on your hunt. This is one of the best parts of wedding planning, and of course it is much needed after your wedding day!
Other great destinations are Aruba (honeymoon), Costa Rica, and Antigua. All are reasonably priced, many all-inclusive resorts to choose from.
I love all-inclusives! We went to the Aventura Spa Palace in the Riviera Maya. Fun, fun!
single sally here!
i go back and forth between wanting a really relax-by-the-beach/pool type honeymoon…like borabora! or a sight see, tour the place action packed vacation like asia or europe!
Ireland
I went to the Dominican Republic last year on vacation and fell in looove with it. I stayed at an Iberostar and was so happy with it. If you are looking for entertainment, there are nightly shows and also a “disco” (nightclub) which was very fun to go to if you are looking to dance and watch people dance! haha. Also, it is very romantic and you wouldn’t have to do the “party” things if you didn’t want to. You can’t beat the price, too! Good luck choosing- with so many options it is overwhelming, but whatever you choose will be amazing.
Hi! I went to the Dominican a couple years ago for spring break and stayed at one of the Riu hotels (I want to say the Riu Palace Punta Cana… but I’m not 100%) – anyway, the hotel was all inclusive, we were able to eat at different restaurants, and had access to the other Riu hotels that were nearby (walking distance on the beach). It was so beautiful there – clear water, bright blue skies – and everyone was really friendly. It was pretty inexpensive too! I would definitely keep that a consideration for your honey moon. But, any place you decide will be great! You guys are so cute 🙂 Best wishes!
Turks and Caicos was absolutely beautiful!! WE stayed at the Regent Palms…. very nice and I believe they have all inclusive options! 🙂
I always dreamed of going over-seas, but I also think that would be a bit more stressful of an option. Sounds like you guys have the things you want well sorted through. I think the real point of a honeymoon is to spend time together, so the destination isn’t the most important part. (:
My husband and I went to the Dominican in June and stayed at the “palace resort” (which has been merged with the Hard Rock Hotel). It’s a pretty new resort that is on the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen. “Palace” is a chain of all-inclusive resorts in Mexico (this is their 1st one in the DR) so u should check the mexican locations out too. My husband and I went to the Adventura Spa palace near Playa del Carmen and had the best time. All the liquor is top shelf and the food is out of this world and all included!! My sister-in-law has also stayed at their cancun locations and neither of us had ever had one bad thing to say about any of our stays there. There’s plenty to do on and off the resorts, you almost need two weeks just to take it all in.
Either way my #1 suggestion would be to search trip advisor for reviews on any place you are looking at. That’s how I found our honeymoon spot- it ranked as the top 3 places to stay at and had a zillion great reviews.
My dream honeymoon would be to go to Europe, making stops in both Italy and France!
I just got married in June and my husband and I went to Turks and Caicos. We stayed at the Ocean Club. It was beautiful and a great hotel, but I wouldn’t recommend it simply because it was at the end of the strip and sort of away from everything else. There were so many other beautiful hotels that we saw during out stay though.
Since you are divers, I HIGHLY recommend Turks and Caicos. It is a top diving destination with crystal clear waters. Even by the end of our trip, I couldn’t get over how clear and blue the water was. We are not divers, but we REALLY enjoyed snorkeling! There are tons of other water sports to enjoy. We also felt very safe and were never afraid to walk around the island on our own.
Good luck and enjoy wherever you choose. I’m sure you will love wherever you go!
We did a 2 week Mediterranean cruise and absolutely LOVED it. Believe it or not, the cruise is extremely reasonable (in price) & if you can find cheap flights, you’re golden! All meals are included on the ship… It was an amazing way to see 10ish sights in Europe. Go to sleep on a luxurious cruise ship every night, wake up in a new & interesting port each morning.
We just got back from our honeymoon on the 9th. We spent 7 days at The Excellence in Riviera Maya Mexico. At first I didn’t think Mexico sounded great but that’s what he wanted. I loved it, we are already planning on going back at Christmas for our 6 month anniversary. It is all inclusive with great food, drinks, pools, and ocean view. We got the honeymoon package with a 6 course dinner on the beach, a bubble bath jacuzzi, and a couples massage at their spa. It was amazing. There are also a few towns close to get shop and sight see. It’s a great place! I can’t wait to go back:-)
I stayed at an all inclusive resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic called Iberostar. It was a fantastic place but unfortunately Dominican is not really a place that you go explore the city. You will most likely eat all of your meals in, go to the bar in the resort etc. If you want more of a city to explore I would look into option in the Grand Cayman Islands. Tons of awesome restaurants, fabulous beaches, nightlife, shopping, etc.
We went to Riviera Maya, Mexico…on the Yucatan Peninsula, about an hour & a half south of Cancun. It was an all inclusive, adults only resort called Adventura Spa Palace. We LOVED it!! The accomodations were great, food was great, & best of all, it was very reasonably priced. We went on a few day adventures outside the resort that were awesome. They have all kinds of stuff to choose from. I highly recommend it!
We went to Cancun for our honeymoon. It was great and free so you can not really complain when it is paid for. I would not go back though.
My husband and I didn’t have a very big budget for our honeymoon, so we went to the North Shore in our home state (Minnesota). We stayed in a cabin-like lodge right on the shore of Lake Superior. It was awesome. 🙂
I’ve got a ways to go until I get married, but I would totally honeymoon somewhere in latin america, like costa rica (SO BEAUTIFUL), croatia (random, but heard it’s lovely), or australia? Or somewhere in the Caribbeans!
We went to the Turks and Caicos, and it was awesome!
We went to Costa Rica…. It was AMAZING!!!
We did a cruise for our honeymoon but I actually don’t recommend it. Our cruise was suppose to go to all wonderful, tropical places, but we went during peak hurricane season and never got off the ship. THe worst part was that we were not able to get any of our money back. Oh well, it was still fun but kind of a shame that we didn’t get to go what we had paid for.
Cut picture. Croatia is the Hawaii of Europe and fairly cheap.
So exciting!! While I totally get the awesomeness of the Caribbean, I actually would be more inclined towards a European honeymoon, myself. Having spent a lot of family time there it’s closer to my heart 🙂
Wish I had some great ideas to share with you but sadly I’ve never been to the Caribbean! I’ve heard RAVE reviews about the DR from friends, though. Especially those all-inclusive packages. Sounds like a winner to me! Good luck with the decision making!
Disney World! Disney World! and Disney World! we have a Disney problem. I’ve been 15 times, we’re going again in November.
I’d love to go to the Inn at Warner Hall in Virginia. Built in the 1600’s and gorgeous rooms and location. It’s a B&B.
Hey Julie,
Matt and I had the same problem with our honeymoon! We kind of decided to have a year of “little honeymoons” that way we wouldn’t have to worry if we missed out on something special. It’s also nice to have something to look forward to and celebrate being married for a whole year 🙂
what a cute idea!
We actually got married in the winter and went to Whistler (where the Olympics were just held) and we had a wonderful time…wouldn’t have changed it for the world. However, if I were to pick a beach location…I would say Hawaii or St. Johns (two places I would love to go!.) But the ultimate honeymoon for me…would be to take 2-4 weeks and go see Italy, Greece, Paris, etc….I mean I gotta dream big!!
i LOVE whistler!!!
Somewhere beachy! Hawaii, the Bahamas – maybe Greece or Capri??
went to an all-inclusive resort in the dominican republic (majestic colonial – http://www.majestic-resorts.com/en/index.aspx) and had the Colonial Jr Suite Ocean Front room – awesome room RIGHT on the beach with an indoor jacuzzi and outdoor hot tub on the huge roof top deck that overlooked the ocean. HUGE pool, great drinks. Food was decent but expected for an all-inclusive resort. the hotel was fantastic and the service was amazing. just be careful with going to the dominican republic because im not sure how much was damaged by last years earthquake that hit haiti?
i went to st. lucia for my honeymoon and i dont think anyone has ever had a better vacation or honeymoon! we stayed at the ladera resort (www.ladera.com) and i don’t think i’ll ever stay at a better hotel in my entire lifetime. the most AMAZING VIEW just from laying in the bed – the pictures on the website do not even do it justice! only 26 private rooms, no kids allowed, isolated (perfect for honeymoon!), AMAZING food, perfect service, AMAZING VIEW, and truly a unique and one of a kind experience. i could type forever about just how perfect the resort is but i won’t fill up your wall! if you have any questions about ladera, please feel free to email me!
whereever you decide to go, you’ll be on your honeymoon so it will be perfect! good luck!
oh my gosh!!! the ladera is gorgeous. i think i just spent 30 min. looking all over their website.
We went to DisneyWorld for our first mini honeymoon and then the following year we did a 2nd honeymoon on a week long Caribbean Cruise
My husband and i went to Italy for our honeymoon- Rome, Milan, and Venice. Loved it. I hear Costa Rica is beautiful and so is Puerto Rico, but I haven’t been to Costa Rica and haven’t spent much time in Puerto Rico so I can’t vouch for either. Hawaii is also a lovely vacation destination, but from Orlando it will take like 12 hours to get there including layovers.
My husband and I went to Negril, Jamaica. The resort we stayed at was called Couples Negril. It is an all inclusive resort that has everything you could ask for, even scuba. Of course, we want to go back there and we are doing that in about 5 weeks to celebrate our anniversary! We are looking forward to our vacation and are thrilled to get out of town!
My husband and I got married June 2009 and for our honeymoon we went to the Dominican Republic. And Loved It! We stayed at an all inclusive called the Majestic Colonial Punta Cana. Check it out- its wonderful! Happy Planning.
My fiance and I are also currently looking into different honeymoon options…like you and Ryan, we want somewhere that has a little town we can explore, maybe some nightlife options, etc. (and not too terribly expensive). We’re actually highly considering going to Aruba – there is a Westin hotel (which are always nice) that has gotten great reviews online and has an all-inclusive option: http://www.westinaruba.com/allinclusive?EM=IDP_OVER_OFFER_AI_1960_WI_SEC
It seems like everything is walking distance, including other restaurants, shopping, etc. and flights to Aruba are very decently priced compared to some of the smaller islands in the Caribbean. I can’t wait to see what you all decide – I might steal an idea or two 🙂
What is you budget for honeymoon? You don’t want to skimp on your honeymoon.. you only go on it ONCE!!