Real Member Honeymoon Stories
We always love to hear how Traveler's Joy helped our members take the trip of their dreams. Do you have a story to tell us? Let us know →
Lauren & Tyler
Destination: ArizonaIn registering with Traveler's Joy, we opted for memories in lieu of material gifts, and what a wonderful decision it was. If you don't need more "stuff", Traveler's Joy is for you. If passive travel is just not your style, Jerome is for you. Our honeymoon was full of adventure, life-enriching experiences, learning, great food, funny stories, and most of all, the handful of people that embraced us as part of their community for the week we were there. Jerome is a special place, full of special people. This rugged mountain town changed us, made us more intuitive, more adventurous, more receptive to shared experiences, and, we believe, set the tone for our marriage. We are looking forward to many anniversary trips, maybe even family vacations there in the future. Who knows? Perhaps one day, if we should be so fortunate, we will call it home. For good. |
Natalie & Tyler
Destination: BaliOur honeymoon in Bali was truly sensational. We would highly recommend it to lovebirds desiring a tropical getaway offering both adventure and relaxation. To quote Natalie's journal: Bali is such a unique and beautiful place. Everywhere, the foliage in bright shades of green covers the hillsides. The air smells musty and hot infused with sweet scents of flowers. People smile everywhere you go. They are extremely friendly and generous with their dispositions. Kites in all shapes and sizes color the sky. Geckos scurry across every warung wall, tiny ants line every restaurant table, and dogs nap in the shade on the streets. They are all saying, "Yes, I live in the land of tradition and prayer, laughter and late nights, incense and rice. I live in paradise." |
Caitlin & David
Destination: Ireland & FranceStaring at the dolmen, I am struck by a sense of deep and disorienting connectivity. This is why we wanted to come to Ireland in the first place: to feel a sense of connection, unbound by time, to the people who walked this earth before us. The feeling is difficult to find in America, where everything of historical significance is so very young by comparison, and where most sites are pristinely kept and reconstructed, turned into tourist attractions with visitor's centers and gift shops. Not so in Ireland. |
Stacey & Shane
Destination: New ZealandWe decided that the perfect place for us to start our life together would be somewhere far away, a place where we could exert considerable energies seeing a beautiful wilderness. You all know it as New Zealand, a dream place for both of us to visit! It was also a perfect place for us to experience levels of adrenaline that assuredly tested our fitness and teamwork capabilities. |
Tamara & Ryan
Destination: HondurasRather than list out places we knew we wanted to see (which were exhaustibly numerous) we brainstormed the things we wanted to do together in our first weeks as husband and wife. We knew we wouldn't be happy lounging on a beach for ten days (I require SPF 1,000 just to walk around Boston for a few hours), nor would we be thrilled to sit for days on a tour bus with two dozen grandmothers. So, we needed to find something that would provide enough relaxation after a marathon DIY-wedding, while being chockablock full of non-canned adventure. Oh, and we wanted something environmentally friendly. |
Lara & Brandon
Destination: Tanzania"This is a banana plantation," said Benson, as we walked through a grove of broad-leaved trees. "The owner makes banana beer." Now that sounded like a true African treat, and we told him we would like to try this fabulous banana beer. He looked momentarily stunned, then exchanged a glance with Mr. Anton, shrugged, then led us down the hillside into the tangle of old-growth trees, and into a tiny whitewashed house. Inside, a group of teens were playing pool on a warped and torn pool table, and they watched us as we walked past to the 'bar', a small ante-room with a bored-looking girl standing behind a gate of wooden slats. Our guide spoke to her and she delivered up a banana beer for us and a Coke for him. The beer was delicious; sweet and bubbly, but very potent at 10% alcohol per bottle. A chuckle emanated from the corner of the room, and Benson introduced us to the banana plantation owner, who sat enjoying the fermented fruits of his labors. He raised his own beer to us and drank deeply. |
Jennifer & Michael
Destination: South Africa & MozambiqueFor as long as Mike & I have known each other, we've sought adventure and unusual experiences in all our travels. We're fun-junkies and any chance to break from the "real world" and enter a new domain is a chance we'll take! Our demanding jobs and limited funds have restricted us to trips close to home, but we've always looked for interesting (and often unique) options for leisure activities. Our honeymoon was going to be different than our usual vacations because we finally had enough time off to do something totally over-the-top and with Traveler's Joy to support our plans, we knew Africa was calling us! |
Sally & Gene
Destination: Gettysburg"Let's go to Gettysburg," Sally suggested to Gene while perusing the Internet and Google search engines months before the wedding. "You know, North meets South."
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Danya & Gabriel
Destination: Southwest U.S.Like ALL little girls, my wife Dayna dreamt of celebrating her honeymoon by driving a 1966 Thunderbird into the Grand Canyon. Don't get me wrong, I like "Thelma and Louise" just as much as the next guy whose fiancé, like his mother before, forced him to watch it with her instead of letting him hang out with his friends. But as much as I love my wife, I knew in my gut that our friends and family would probably be less than inspired by our faithful reenactment of the film's climactic scene. As a compromise, instead of a trip to Southeast Asia, we took a 10-day road trip through the American Southwest; only minus the gruesome, flaming, vehicular double suicide. It was everything we could have ever wanted in a honeymoon -- fun, romantic, silly, relaxing, and bittersweet when it ended. |
Sarah & Adam
Destination: Las VegasAdam and I are anything but conventional. We wanted a honeymoon that complemented our personalities and wedding style. Our wedding was in downtown Houston with a private ceremony in the hotel's library and a lounge-style bash with an open bar, cocktail tables, Rat Pack-era jams, and all of our close family and friends. We are city folk though-and-through, so we opted for big lights, taxi cabs, and modern amenities over sandy towels. We knew Vegas was our kind of relaxation, and we couldn't wait to keep the wedding party going through our first week as a married couple. |
Allison & Martín
Destination: Russia, Siberia, Mongolia, & ChinaGrowing up, I had heard stories about the Trans-Siberan Railway through Russia/Siberia. Since the honeymoon dates would be most of March and the first week of April, I felt Russia would not be unbearably cold yet still with the chill and late-winter snow that would make it breathtaking. I mentioned the idea to Martín, and we were immediately hooked. And while we were over there, why not throw in Mongolia and China as well?! Hence our Oriental-Siberian Adventure. |
Lauren & Kurt
Destination: MoroccoWhen we woke up that morning in our Riad to the sounds of the call for prayer, little did we know that our upcoming adventure would have us partaking in our own "calling for prayer."
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Ashley & James
Destination: CaliforniaWe initially wanted to plan a beautiful honeymoon in Tahiti or Fiji, budget-depending. But Jaime's little sister was getting married on July 31 and we felt it would be too much to fly half-way to Australia for our honeymoon, just to fly back to Boston, and back again to Australia. We kicked around a few islands and places like Mexico and Dominica, but then decided to save a little money for the move and instead do a fun and scenic road trip from Los Angeles to Canada. |
Sarah & Justin
Destination: St. JohnAfter an early flight the morning following our May 1st, 2010 wedding, the excitement and awe of our picture-perfect day still buzzing in our heads, we could not imagine how this time in our lives could be any more amazing. Sleep deprived, but running on adrenaline, like every newlywed couple that embarks on their first adventure as Mr. and Mrs., we knew that our little slice of bliss was waiting for us just a short hop, skip and jump away. |
Serena & Curtis
Destination: California CoastlineBecause Curtis was already a homeowner and we had both accumulated our share of coffee makers, toasters, and pots and pans, a traditional registry seemed, well, unnecessary. I had heard about the honeymoon registry and did some homework. Traveler's Joy proved to be the perfect place to post the details of our road trip, and friends and family loved being able to treat us along the way. |
Kimberly & Ben
Destination: FranceAs we sat in our seats on the flight from Boston to France, our hands clasped, we couldn't help but ask ourselves if this could really be happening. Only a week ago we had been married. We were so excited we barely slept, and mostly gazed out the window as the ocean, dark and absolute, drifted by. This had been our dream for as long as we had been a "we." Kimberly never had the privilege of traveling overseas in her youth, and Ben early in our courtship had shared albums of photos from his past trips to La Belle France. Our shared love of wine, food and classical art made France our dream honeymoon. We were so excited to go to France that the theme of our wedding became increasingly Provencal as the big day neared, including sunflowers for the bouquets and origami cicadas for the boutonnieres. Of course weddings are prohibitively expensive, and a trip to Europe is never cheap. Lucky for us an inspired idea came our way: A honeymoon registry from Traveler's Joy. We didn't want plates or napkin holders, we wanted memories we could cherish for the rest of our lives. |
Brittany & Gustavo
Destination: HawaiiWe've traveled the world, I proposed last year in Beijing
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Emily & Sam
Destination: AsiaWe flew out of Chicago two days after our wedding night on July 4th and arrived 24 hours later at our hotel in Hong Kong. This was only the first stop on our five-country, five-week tour of Asia that would take us through China, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. We originally chose Asia because we wanted to go somewhere affordable (once we got there anyway), with excellent food, new cultural experiences, and some time at the beach. I hoped to ride an elephant and see Angkor Wat, and Sam wanted to see orangutans in the wild after sampling Thai and Malaysian curries. |
Anne & Jared
Destination: IrelandAnne and I have been fully functioning adults for quite some time before we decided to wed. I, at 32, was already a homeowner and possessed all the necessities required for bachelor survival (such as beer steins, video game systems, and several vintage 1970s Star Wars figurines). She, at 29, had accumulated several apartments' worth of dishtowels, linens, and silverware. When we did combine our belongings for our impending union, we ended up having two of almost everything and had to make use of yard sales and needy friends to prevent our house from being cluttered to the point of non-livability. |
Danielle & Tod
Destination: Mediterranean CruiseAfter discussing all of the places we'd already been and then the places we've always wanted to go, we decided that Greece was an absolute must. One of our groomsmen is Greek and travels there often to see family, so, of course, we consulted him. However, after talking to him about Athens and all the potential islands, we were even more perplexed over where to go than we were before. Finally, we started looking at cruises and decided on a 12-day Mediterranean cruise on Princess Cruises that started in Venice and ended in Rome. |
Amanda & Blake
Destination: JamaicaMy husband Blake and I are the ultimate DIYers. We bought, remodeled and rehabbed our 1920s-built home, re-roofed, tended to our 11 acres of Missouri land, both worked full-time, and then got engaged. So after we were engaged, being such DIYers it only seemed natural that we would not only pay for our wedding ourselves, but also hold the wedding at our home, in true DIY fashion.
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