Honeymoon Travel Planning

Like Lauren, I didn't get to go on vacation this year. I was supposed to visit a friend in Kansas, but got really sick (doing the photoshoot for this magazine interview that just came out today actually. I already had a bad cold, then was shooting at night out in the freezing cold. I felt like I was on ANTM, just waiting to be yelled at by Tyra or something! But the photo is really cute!), so other than spending four days in a house about 2 hours away to write, I got nothing.

Actually Lauren and I have a lot in common when it comes to travel, like our favorite city, Seattle (which is the last place I was, back in April) and our current dream place to travel, South Dakota. Really, I wish more than anything that I had one week free this month to drive out the Badlands and Deadwood (I've been watching the show Deadwood, so I'm obsessed), but I don't. And the reason I have no time and no money for travel is I'm getting married in a little over three weeks!!!!

So now my vacation fantasies are all about the honeymoon. Because the wedding is so expensive (and ours is cheap in the scheme of things-- I have no idea how people afford these lavish weddings, rich parents or lots of debt, I guess. We don't have wealthy families and I'm not willing to take on more debt than I already have with my mortgage and student loans.) and planning it is so time consuming, we are waiting to do our big honeymoon. Right after the wedding, we'll be staying at a Bed and Breakfast about an hour away from home for a couple days. I already can't wait for it!

We're hoping to do the actual honeymoon in January and the plan is to go some place really warm while it's terribly cold in Chicago. Back when I was 11 years old, I was in my aunt Amy's wedding as a junior bridesmaid (it was one of those big, traditional weddings). She went to Hawaii on her honeymoon and at that point I linked honeymoon and Hawaii in my mind. So our number one choice for the honeymoon is definitely Hawaii. After an informal Facebook/Twitter survey last week, it was decided that Maui or Kauai will be our islands of choice. But honestly, I'm kinda afraid that we aren't going to be able to afford it. And having never planned a vacation like this, I'm really unsure about where to look for the best deals. Anyone have suggestions?

I'm also putting together a plan B for our honeymoon. It has to be a place where no passport is required because we don't have them and I'm not planning to get one until after I change my name. Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands were suggested to me, though I don't know how much cheaper they will truly be than Hawaii. Florida is a possibility, I guess, though I've never been much of a Florida girl (except Naples, I really loved Naples!). So right now my second choice is San Diego. I'm not sure how much there is to do there that is honeymoonish, but I hear the weather is great and it is on my list along with South Dakota of places I need to see. Again, I'm open to ideas.

And what about you, if you were to go on a honeymoon or second honeymoon or just a big tropical vacation, where would you go?

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