Post-Wedding Relaxation: Hawaiian Style

So, I like to fancy myself a world traveler. I've lived in Australia, solo-vacationed in Fiji, climbed an active volcano in Guatemala, and sky-dived the Great Barrier Reef, just to name a few. There are few things that thrill me more than a fresh, new passport stamp. When it came time to book our honeymoon, we just haaaadddd to travel to some exotic locale and procure ourselves one (or several) new passport stamps!

Personal Photo - Volcan Pacaya, Guatemala

We talked about traveling Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, relaxing in Tahiti, or going on a multi-country tour of Europe! I rationalized that it was our honeymoon, so if we couldn't do it up for that, then when could we? Right?

Well, as always, life got in the way. Y'all know that airfare ain't cheap, and as it turns out, neither is traipsing around the globe. Our wedding budget got cut, and so did my world-traveling dreams. Sigh.

After my injury, we decided that we'd be lucky to pay for the wedding entirely in cash, let alone pay for a honeymoon, and quickly came to terms with putting it off until a few months after the wedding. Then life happened again - in our favor!

It turns out that Mr. BB's second cousin has a timeshare at the Ritz Carlton Residences and wanted to gift us a few nights as our wedding gift! This was a HUGE plus as we're getting married at a Marriott, which is a brand under the Ritz Carlton umbrella. As such, the 100,000 points we're receiving for having our wedding at an affiliated hotel can go to even more rooms at a Ritz (or another Marriott) at no cost to us!

When we reviewed the worldwide Ritz Carlton locations, I was somewhat shocked to find out how limited they were. No Tahiti, no St. Lucia, nothing that really struck me as, well, different, or super tropical. And then Mr. BB suggested Hawaii. I almost died. Hawaii?? It's in the United States! It's SO overdone as a honeymoon destination! I was super disappointed. After all, a pretty flower lei is NOT a passport stamp.

It took lots 'o convincing on Mr. BB's part, but I finally came around to the idea. He convinced me that being a state in the U.S. doesn't mean that it's not a totally awesome tropical destination. And that by being in the U.S., we don't have to worry about cell phone connections, money exchanging and all that jazz. Plus, and this one was huge for me, it's a destination where we'll feel comfortable just sitting and vegging out instead of running all over the place to see the sights. Turns out that Mr. BB had a point. We decided that we could go on a super awesome 1-year-anniversary vacation when we're feeling more financially flush. I was sold.

Hawaii - Image via All World Visits

Hawaii - Image via Travel Agent Central

At about this same time, a friend who runs a study abroad office mentioned that he had a kabillion-trillion frequent flyer miles and said that we may be able to work something out for flights if I commit to babysitting his children a certain number of nights. DONE.

So, now we're working on the airfare. If all goes well, we'll have free flights and only have to pay for about 3 or 4 nights in a hotel along with our spending money! We may manage to have a super luxurious honeymoon for a small cost, after all! Most of all, we're excited to spend some time relaxing as newlyweds, and we deserve it!

Where are you going for your honeymoon? Are you leaving right after the wedding or are you holding off? Why or why not?