The North Platte Telegraph Bridal Guide 2023 | 15
clude Florida, Puerto Rico, The Bahamas, and The Virgin Islands. Elain Ng Basiliere, of Murrieta, CA, and her husband had their wedding and honey- moon altered multiple times and opted for two versions of mini-moons, one before and one after the wedding. Their original wed- ding was scheduled for June 2020 in Cali- fornia, followed by an Italian honeymoon. However, after being forced to cancel both events, she still wanted to salvage the orig- inal wedding weekend date, so she and her husband embarked on a local trip to Sol- vang, California, which she called a “Can- celed Wedding Moon.” Eventually, they were able to get married in September 2020, however, their Italian honeymoon was still out of the question. So instead, they chose a mini-moon to Lake Tahoe since they had just purchased a new home and desired a more budget-friendly option. “We knew what the restrictions were in California, so we decided to do Tahoe. We went Wednesday through Monday-the cheapest travel days,” she says. “A lot of things were still closed when we went to both Solvang and Tahoe, though it was okay since it was all beautiful outdoors and there was plenty to hike and do.” Longer trips, bigger budgets Another trend has couples with larger
budgets planning their honeymoons for longer periods of time than in the past. Dr. Terika Haynes, the owner of Dynamite Travel, a five-star rated luxury travel and media consultancy providing travel plan- ning to clients for nearly 15 years, shares her insights on longer trips and bigger budgets. “Thanks to being stuck inside for nearly two years, many travelers-including honey- mooners-have larger budgets which allow them to opt for more luxurious accommo- dations and honeymoon experiences… In the past, our average honeymoons have ranged between three to five nights, but now honeymooners are vacationing longer for at least five to seven nights.” She points out even traditional honey- moons come with bigger budgets and rec- ommends couples plan at least $5,000 for their trip. Basiliere and her husband are finally tak- ing their dream Italian honeymoon for two weeks in September-two years after their wedding. She noted there weren’t too many differences in planning this time around. “Previously, when I was planning, I only booked our flights (before) COVID hap- pened, so I stopped planning,” she says. “I never booked hotels or excursions, thank goodness, or else we would’ve lost out on a lot more money.” She is most excited about being able to
travel for the first time internationally with her husband. However, she says one draw- back of the delay was him requesting the time off. “The further away a honeymoon is from your wedding date, people don’t take it seri- ously, but I told him if we don’t do this, we’ll never get to.” Eco-friendly experiences More and more honeymooners-partic- ularly millennials-are opting for more sus- tainable experiences and trips based on nature. Sustainable trips tend to feature smaller crowds to under-the-radar desti- nations, which help in a post COVID world where social distancing is still desired. “Honeymooners are incorporating sus- tainable practices,” Haynes says. “Honey- mooners have increased their participation in voluntourism and are also looking to eat locally more to support local farmers and locally sourced food.” As travel increases post-pandemic and weddings and honeymoons return to a more normal state, experts believe many of these trends are here to stay. There are plen- ty of options to help couples plan the right trip-whether it be a destination wedding/ honeymoon combination, a long-delayed honeymoon, a mini-moon, or an eco-friend- ly adventure. Destinations across the globe are ready to welcome honeymoon guests.
Make your dreams of a romantic, outdoor wedding a reality
A Central Nebraska wedding venue and event destination is the perfect place to begin the rest of your story! 74192 Q Rd. Holdrege, NE 68949 (308) 991-2198 polly@gardensonq.com www.gardensonq.com
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online