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Minimoon – What Is One and Why Do You Need One?

Minimoons are popular among newlyweds who want a short vacation. This article distinguishes a minimoon from a honeymoon and explains the advantages of this brief getaway. It also explains how to plan an ideal minimoon and suggests popular destinations to consider.

You have found the perfect match on one of the best online dating sites, and now you are planning your dream wedding. But there’s one issue: your busy work schedule doesn’t allow a honeymoon. Shorter than honeymoons, a minimoon offers quality time to newlyweds without interrupting their daily operations. You can also take a minimoon before your big day to escape stressors like vendors, guests, and in-laws.

Minimoon

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Minimoon vs. Honeymoon

You may confuse the minimoon definition with honeymoons. Unlike a minimoon arranged before or after the wedding, a honeymoon is a holiday for newlyweds after their nuptials. Another difference is duration. While honeymoons take 10-14 days, a minimoon rarely exceeds four days. Usually, minimoon destinations are located nearby, and such getaways last less than a week. For instance, you can take road trips, go camping, or rent a cottage.

On the other hand, honeymoons are more concerned with the perfect location instead of spending time together. It’s not uncommon to take flights to your honeymoon destination, whether it’s a new city or a faraway island. Though honeymoons allow different plans, you don’t want to add activities to your minimoon lest you miss important moments.

Minimoon Advantages

There are several reasons why you should choose a minimoon over a honeymoon. They include:

1. Typically Cheaper

Your brief stay makes minimoon hotel charges lower than honeymoon charges. You can also pick cheaper hotels to suit your budget. Since you’re visiting neighboring locations, a minimoon saves you flight and car rental costs.

Remember, you’re on a tight budget after funding the wedding. Besides an empty bank account, you could be struggling to repay your wedding loan. You’re starting a family, so you also have to meet healthcare, insurance, daycare, food, and rent costs. On top of saving for your future children’s college education, you and your spouse could be contending with a student loan.

2. You Can Go Immediately

Although some newlyweds take honeymoons right after their nuptials, combining wedding and holiday preparations is hectic. You need to print boarding passes, confirm hotel bookings, find your passports, do shopping, and pack your baggage for a two-week holiday. It’s even worse when you’re hungover from the previous night’s evening party. That’s why most couples have their honeymoon several weeks after the wedding. However, a minimoon involves light packing since you’re away for a short while. In that way, you have time to visit your in-laws, unwrap gifts, and send thank-you notes.

Minimoon

3. Accommodates Busy Schedules

Although various jurisdictions allow paid holidays, your leave may differ from your partner’s. Moreover, your employer might limit your holiday duration or fail to grant leave exactly when you request it. A two-week vacation is unlikely if your boss allows one week off for your wedding. However, your employer could give you three more days for your minimoon. Honeymoons are more inconvenient if you’re self-employed, seeing you don’t receive holiday payments. After all, you’ve already lost time at bachelor parties, supplier meetings, and bridal showers.

4. Room for Error

Usually, honeymoons happen once, piling pressure for them to be perfect. Couples agree on the hotel, holiday duration, and trip activities apart from picking the ideal location. However, you’re enjoying your partner’s company during a minimoon, meaning you don’t have to worry about perfection.

The idea is to celebrate relationship milestones while coping with your big day’s pressure. Consider a minimoon as a honeymoon preview. Even if you don’t get it right with the minimoon, you can still plan a better holiday in the future.

Planning Minimoon Trips

A minimoon may be short, but it could turn into a disaster without proper planning. Here’s how to make your minimoon stress-free.

Budget

Create a budget before looking at minimoon destinations. Since you already have the wedding budget, you know how much is left for the minimoon. On average, honeymoons take approximately 13 percent of the wedding cost. As such, five percent is a fair minimoon estimate. You’ll spend $500 on the minimoon if your wedding budget is $10,000. When it comes to a minimoon, what is it should you include in the budget?

  • Meals
  • Accommodation
  • Transport
  • Entertainment

You can set some money aside for arising excursion costs like museum tours. Most importantly, discuss the budget with your partner to monitor your expenses together. Budgeting together also sets the pace for collaboration in your marriage.

Choose a Destination

Ideal minimoon destinations are local attractions or a short drive from your home. You can use your interests to pick the minimoon location. For example, outdoorsy couples can go camping or rent a cabin in the wild. Conversely, couples that love partying can visit a different town to explore its nightlife.

But don’t be afraid of new experiences. You can pick random activities even if they’re not part of your interests. This goes hand in hand with selecting activities in advance to save time and money. Most facilities offer discounts for early bookings. What’s more, reservations prevent disappointment when an attraction is sold out.

Have Fun

Although you’ll have a honeymoon later, minimoons shouldn’t feel like you’re settling for less. There are a lot of ways to make your getaway memorable. The first one is having romantic meals. Even if you’re on a budget, you can skip the fast foods and have a fine dining experience. Apart from expensive meals, choose an ambiance that allows conversation.

Again, have champagne and dedicate a toast to your partner. You could also treat yourself to massages, boat rides, and a night at the hotel’s honeymoon suite. However, ensure the extra expenses don’t affect your budget. Don’t forget to ignore work calls and emails. The last thing you want during a minimoon is a call from your boss. While enjoying a minimoon, you should take photos and buy souvenirs to capture special moments.

Minimoon

Closing Thoughts

Don’t limit yourself to a minimoon if you’ve always wanted a honeymoon. You can take a minimoon right after getting married and plan a longer vacation later when time and money will allow. Another option is having a minimoon wedding. Instead of separate wedding and minimoon destinations, you can sneak away from your guests to explore surrounding attractions. Have you ever taken a minimoon? Share your minimoon covid ideas!

Looking for more inspiration? Start here:

Looking for more inspiration? Start here:

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Author’s Bio:

Sherry Kimball

Sherry is a consultant and has been involved in many successful projects with various companies throughout the country. She enjoys researching, discussing, and writing on the topics of relationships, lifestyle, and sport. When not absorbed in the latest gripping articles, Sherry loves cooking, doing sports, and otherwise spending far more time on the computer.

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