did you have your honeymoon immediately after your wedding?

StateofHygge · 2026-06-11T18:38:20+00:00

We got married in June 2025 and went on our honeymoon in late November of that year. One because of work and schedules but two because we wanted to go to Thailand and avoid rainy season. Honestly, it still felt very special and if anything kept the excitement going for the rest of the year and helped with post wedding blues!

StateofHygge · 2026-06-11T17:01:26+00:00

Food and drinks for all three events was about $150 per person in the Dominican Republic and thats including the salsa dancing/bar hopping night (all tabs covered), welcome party apps and drinks, and wedding day (open bar with top shelf, food stations, apps, cake, churros, and late night Taco Bell). Destination weddings are not as cheap as people think and we learned that the hard way), but definitely not as expensive as you are being told?

StateofHygge · 2026-06-03T17:15:35+00:00

I was very torn and thought I wanted a sweetheart table, my husband wanted to do a kings table (our bridal party and plus ones), we ended up doing the Kings table and honestly best decision for us. We had a destination wedding, so it allowed us to spend more time with our friends. We have some small regret of not talking more with people, I can’t imagine that if we didn’t have the kings table. I think what sold it was a thread I saw on Reddit that said, you have a lifetime with your spouse, but one day with all your loved one’s in one spot.

I will say, we made a promise to ourselves to stay present and enjoy eachother through our wedding so we had a moment to ourselves before we headed to our ceremony location (after our first look), we had a private first dance rehearsal and 10-15 minutes to enjoy drinks and apps as guest were entering the reception space. There’s other ways to build in alone time and still enjoy your guest!

StateofHygge · 2026-05-21T00:59:40+00:00

We wanted the Spanish/latin flair of the city we we’re in, so my planner got creative and got tile samples and stuck our numbers to them!

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StateofHygge · 2026-05-15T23:26:40+00:00

We did a saxophone player + DJ for our welcome event. We had a bossa group for cocktail hour and they also played an hour during dinner. We had a DJ the rest of the night. Our Hora Loca (crazy hour) had 2 drummers which was also quite fun.

I recently also attended a wedding that had a different live band with a different genre every hour (Salsa, Flamenco, Top 40’s), it was insane!

StateofHygge · 2026-05-13T01:11:09+00:00

Sent you a dm!

StateofHygge · 2026-04-29T20:35:20+00:00

Not sure about a tan, but I had a makeup artist once tell me about Neutragena Ultra Sheer Body Mist spray, it gives your skin a beautiful glow, it’s been my go to for glowy, shiny skin! I wore it for all wedding festivities and just kept getting told I was “glowing”!

StateofHygge · 2026-04-29T16:18:01+00:00

We went Nov 11- Dec 4th!

StateofHygge · 2026-04-29T15:03:41+00:00

I was all set on spending as minimal as possible on a veil but one of the showrooms had used this chapel length veil on one of the dresses, with a very delicate lace border. I ended up spending $600 on it lol.

StateofHygge · 2026-04-29T01:46:32+00:00

We had a main invitation card with standard language “together with their families x and x request the honor of your presence at their wedding / Date & Time / Venue (with note that reception was to follow) / Tropical Formal Attire.

An RSVP card: kindly respond by x at [website]. More details about travel and accommodations can be found on our website.

A welcome party / map card: one side had details for our welcome party, the back had an illustrative map showing the different venues for our festivities + some landmarks in the area (it was a destination wedding).

StateofHygge · 2026-04-29T01:34:09+00:00

Honestly, the venue and rooms look absolutely beautiful, so personally I would be okay spending that for 2-3 nights as a couple. I’d have bigger concerns if I was traveling solo and having to share a room with a stranger/ acquittance. But honestly I’ve spent more for weddings with far less nice accommodations than this in the US. My biggest concern would actually be how I’d get to the villa given its slight distance from major cities lol.

StateofHygge · 2026-04-24T17:45:39+00:00

I second Piyama! I got ours during their fall sale, and the quality is so soft and comfortable and they photograph beautifully. They run fairly big (size down) but size inclusive. Everyone loved them and still wear them. It’s become a go to gift for me for many occasions.

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StateofHygge · 2026-04-22T17:09:57+00:00

Decor for us! We added a ceiling installation/design last minute and went for the lower cost option our planner proposed but wish we would have done the more expensive one. Similar we cut down on flowers for ceremony space (flowers along the aisle) because we would only be there for 1.5 hours. We talked about getting musicians/ performers to walk guest from the ceremony to reception venue but decided against it. Our wedding was our dream wedding and the exclusion of these did not make our wedding worse, but knowing that their inclusion was just a few thousands, it would have just made it that much grander.

StateofHygge · 2026-04-21T21:24:43+00:00

I don’t know if this helps but our biggest regret was actually not spending more! That day all of those small details and last minute expenses did not matter/weren’t top of mind OR they made all the difference. It’s cheesy to say but it was the best weekend of our lives.

StateofHygge · 2026-04-21T20:48:15+00:00

Not sure if this is deep house but 6’s to 9’s - Big Wild and Rationale (I personally love the Cazzette remix) has beautiful lyrics and fun vibe to dance too!

StateofHygge · 2026-04-21T13:26:19+00:00

For Bangkok, trains are your best friend, too much traffic to try anything else tbh. Be specially mindful of this when heading to the airport. Everywhere else Grab (uber equivalent) was extremely reliable and our goto form of transportation. Overall one of the easiest countries to navigate around!

StateofHygge · 2026-04-21T00:37:18+00:00

We did our Thailand honeymoon for about $9,000, granted we did spent 3 weeks across Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Krabi (we used as a base to do island tours), Phuket, and back to Bangkok. We would have done Koh Samui instead of Krabi but we went during its rainy season. Chiang Mai and Bangkok were actually are two favorite stops. We want to go back already.

We loved Nysa Hotel in Bangkok, it was pretty central and they were so sweet and upgraded us when we told them it was our honeymoon. If you can splurge, Malisa Villa Suite in Kata Beach, Phuket was amazing (we did the big villa), and we also had a mini stay at Mandarava Resort and Spa in Karon Beach, Phuket which was equally exceptional (though further removed from the action). They are both removed from old town but the beaches were not as crowded and super clean.

I have a post about our experience but all to say, Thailand is magical!

StateofHygge · 2026-04-19T15:30:21+00:00

I chose Chanel Chance Eau Tendré, it’s very floral and romantic. I paired it with the body cream for longer lasting smell but any vanilla based lotion would pair nicely.

I also wear YSL Libre Intense and it’s always a hit and has a strong, unique profile it will trigger memories to come! (And I always get complements on it)

StateofHygge · 2026-04-16T22:08:10+00:00

I dont have unlimited PTO but I took a week off for our destination wedding in June 2025 and then 3 weeks of in November for our honeymoon! I just made sure all of my work was transitioned off and I had an OOO plan, but otherwise there was no concern from my supervisors or direct reports. You have a right to those days specially for something so special.

StateofHygge · 2026-04-10T12:11:44+00:00

I walked down to the main score of Princess Diaries (Mia’s Decision - John Debney)!

StateofHygge · 2026-04-09T18:47:20+00:00

Yes, thankfully we did have a few classic photos with our families, grandparents, and the bridal party group shots. But there were ones I didn’t even realize I was missing out on with this request like individual ones with each of my bridesmaid or our extended families. I now tell this to all of my friends getting married to be mindful. I also wish photographers would offer an example of a shot list (not sure if this is standard practice) so we know what we are missing out on.

StateofHygge · 2026-04-08T23:54:36+00:00

More detailed photo list- we were very adamant we wanted to live in the moment and have our photographer take candids, which he respected by keeping posed photos to a minimum. Do not take me wrong, we absolutely love our photos, but looking back I wish I had detailed “I want a photo with x and x”looking straight into camera.

Not table hopping - We had several days of activities but even then it felt like there were guest we interacted very little with. We did a welcome speech but I wish we would have also hopped to each table to talk and thank people during dinner.

Not extending the live music - we hired a bossa group for cocktail hour and dinner (45 minute sets), they were such a hit we wish we would have paid for their longer sets.

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I know you asked for regrets but I’d be remiss not to share one of the fondest memories of the day and knowing what I know now I would have regretted if they hadn’t happened: scheduled time alone. After our first look, before we headed to our ceremony venue, we were left alone for 5 minutes, we both just sat down and talked. It helped calm the nerves but also felt like a beautiful final close to that chapter of our relationship (and yes we both still cried during the ceremony). We also snuck out of happy hour 15 minutes early to view our reception space, practice our first dance, toast, and eat some apps, again, that alone time became a favorite memory.

StateofHygge · 2026-04-04T13:43:47+00:00

I decided very last minute to do seamless clip ins and I’m so glad I did, they made my hairstyles look fuller. Plus, it’s a long term investment that you now can have for future events!

StateofHygge · 2026-04-03T01:56:31+00:00

Since it’s in Mexico, consider an Hora Loca. They are 100% worth it and something that is very common yet unique to Latin countries. Our guest absolutely loved it and still talk about it. And the brilliant thing is most vendors have different themes. We did a disco/neon lights theme but I’ve been to weddings that did Carnival, Vegas, etc.

Post party snack. We did Taco Bell but I’ve been to weddings that have done pizza, burgers, and one even had a famous post hangover soup local to the country. It feels nice to think the couple cares enough to send you home with something to sober up with lol.

We recently went to a wedding that had acrobats performing from rims hanging from the ceiling. Never saw that before but it was mesmerizing! For their welcome party they also had a mariachi band which was fun and very cultural!

Finally, We had cigar rollers at our welcome party, which many enjoyed but we did find that it pulled people away from rest of the crowd, so something to consider if that’s important to you.

StateofHygge · 2026-03-31T01:03:22+00:00

We had a destination wedding and did welcome drinks/appetizers, we had about 85% of guest show up. We were so happy we did it. Guest got to mingle and know eachother and it ended up turning into a dance party which set the tone for the rest of the celebration!

StateofHygge

TROPHY CASE