We are lucky to live where most of the country vacations, especially now as temperatures are quickly dropping in other parts of the country. With as much as we love our slice of paradise, getting away for a Caribbean honeymoon after your Palm Beach wedding is a great option after the stresses that sometimes come with wedding planning.
With the Caribbean being so close, a lot of Palm Beach wedding couples opt for heading south for a romantic, tropical honeymoon. The proximity to Florida offers time savings (hello short flight!) plus cost savings on airfare.
When it comes to planning the perfect honeymoon getaway, we turned to MIPB Family Member Christine Terezakis of Dreamday Weddings and Events. Besides being an amazing Palm Beach wedding planner, she is also a certified Sandals travel, wedding, and honeymoon specialist. This means she knows how to plan an awesome honeymoon!
Big thanks to MIPB Family Member Dreamday Weddings and Events for sponsoring this great article. Here are Christine’s top tips for picking a Sandals honeymoon destination.
1. Narrow Down Your Options
When picking a honeymoon location, it is essential to consider your budget, interests, and how you want to spend your time while on vacation. “Each Sandals resort has its own personality and features that make it unique,” says Christine.
She continues, “Recommending locations that fit their personality is key to helping my clients narrow down the many options. Do you want to be active or would you rather just relax? Do you want to stay at the resort exclusively or explore the local area? These answers will help narrow down your ideal location.”
When you team up with a Sandals honeymoon planner like Christine, she can make great suggestions since she knows the ins and outs of the resorts.
2. Budgeting is Key
Like any awesome vacation, you have to create a realistic budget for your honeymoon. This will keep you from feeling overwhelmed in the planning process.
“What’s really great about a Sandals honeymoon is that you can pay in small increments. It’s a $200 pp deposit (sometimes less) to hold your accommodation,” says Christine. This perk is great for budgeting so you can pay for your trip a little at time. Whether you want to splurge on over-water bungalows or keep it simple, you can find an option within your budget.
Sandals runs some great specials. A money-savings benefit to booking through Christine is that she always looks for the most current specials and discounted rates that Sandals is offering when booking her clients’ stay.
3. Keep Peak Dates in Mind
When looking at costs, consider the time of year and days of the week for your honeymoon stay. If you are traveling during peak times such as cold winter months and holidays, your airfare and accommodation expenses will likely be higher.
Certain times of year are not as busy as others, so you can get a great deal during those non-peak times. “It’s not uncommon for my wedding clients to book their honeymoon dates to start a couple of months after their weddings in order to travel at a non-peak-cost times. This has afforded them a longer stay, or a stay in a higher-level accommodation such as a butler category suite!” says Christine
Another way to keep costs down is to bundle airfare and accommodations when the resorts include both as part of a package. This can leave more space in your budget for excursions or other fun activities.
4. Perks of an All-Inclusive Resort
Get the most value by choosing an all-inclusive resort. Our favorite is Sandals as it is “Luxury-Included™”
As Christine explains, “You get a lot of value with what is included in your Sandals vacation. Pricing for a Sandals resort includes your luxury accommodations, in-room amenities, food (there are multiple restaurants on every property), bars and unlimited premium spirits, water sports (scuba and snorkeling equipment and excursions, sail boats, paddle boards, kayaks), airport transfers, and tips. You never have to worry about taking your wallet out during your entire vacation.”
It’s such a relaxing experience!
And when you stay in locations that have more than one Sandals brand resort in the same city, you can shuttle to each and “play” at all of them—included!
5. Think About the Weather
The same “seasons” that affect Florida will affect these Caribbean resorts. One of the most important seasons to consider is hurricane season, so, you can expect a little more rain from June to November. If you decide to travel during this time period, consider investing in travel insurance in case you have to cancel or reschedule due to an impending storm.
“It’s not uncommon to plan your honeymoon for a couple months after your wedding day in order to have a better time in your chosen location due to weather,” says Christine.
6. Why Sandals
Tony and I personally went on our honeymoon to Sandals Grande in Saint Lucia. It was a great fit for us because we really wanted to have an all-inclusive experience where we could just relax!
There are 16 Sandals resorts to choose on 6 different islands, each with their own unique experiences and offerings. We loved being in Saint Lucia, since we had access to not only our resort but all of the Sandals resorts on the island along with complementary transportation between the resorts.
Sandals is a great honeymoon option and Christine is the best person to contact in order to help get your honeymoon planned!
For more info on scheduling an appointment for your Sandals honeymoon planning, email Christine at christine@dreamdayweddingsfl.com or visit her personal Sandals website.
