Five Ideas for a More Romantic Honeymoon
Candles, rose petals, satin, succulent foods, perfume-you're probably already familiar with all of these time-honored ingredients for creating a romantic mood on your honeymoon. But candles, rose petals, and other sensual ingredients only go so far. The real key to creating a romantic honeymoon is to spend time celebrating your relationship and your new life together as a married couple. After all, romance is more about the heart than the body.
That doesn't mean you should put the candles away, but start setting the
mood early by reveling in your relationship. Here are five ideas to get you
started.
1. Explore uncharted territory
Intimacy is a key ingredient for creating a romantic mood. In its most basic
sense, intimacy is about revealing our interior selves to another person-the
part of ourselves that we normally hide from others. When we do this, we
honor the other person as someone we cherish and trust. Since it's often
difficult to start sharing in this way, a game or book of questions can
help. The classic game of relationship questions is the Ungame, while the
classic questions book is (appropriately enough) The Book of Questions by
Gregory Stock. Each of these products contains hundreds of questions on
topics ranging from ethics ("What would you do if . . . ?") to feelings and
ideas. These are just two of many similar products that you can use in
almost any setting-even in the car or airplane on the way to your honeymoon
destination.
2. Combine your photo albums
Buy your first photo album together, if you don't get one at your wedding.
Bring out your photo albums and choose the best photos of each other from
your dating days to put in your new album-it's a great way to relive old
memories.
3. Write a dream letter
Write letters to each other about your dreams for your marriage. What do you
hope your marriage will look like in ten, twenty, or thirty years? Exchange
the letters on the first day of your marriage, and then save them to read on
your wedding anniversary.
4. Leave memory notes everywhere
Nothing creates a romantic mood better than remembering your best moments
together as a couple. Purchase some small notepaper or post-it notes and
spend some time digging up your favorite memories of your spouse. How did
you meet? How did your first kiss come about? What is the goofiest thing he
or she ever did? When was your spouse there for you when you needed him or
her the most? Then spend some time thinking of the memories you'd most like
to share with your spouse over the course of your marriage. Write these all
down on the note paper, and hide them all over the place at your honeymoon
destination (on the pillow, in the luggage, in the rental car, etc.).
5. Share the love
The funny thing about love is you get more by giving it away. That's as true
for newlyweds as for anyone else, so find ways to share your love with
others. Start by committing random acts of kindness-both toward each other
and complete strangers. Visit the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation web
page for inspiration (http://www.actsofkindness.org). One of our favorite
stories there is about a young woman who was caught in the rain when a
complete stranger gave her his own umbrella. When she asked how she would
return it to him, he just smiled and walked away. Creating great memories
like that adds a magical twist to your honeymoon.
Susan and Jerry Windley-Daoust are co-founders of the website (Creative
Honeymoon Ideas).
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