Honeymoon Monday: Danielle and Hank's Moorea Getaway...

It's time to unveil a new weekly feature on The Loveliest Day...Honeymoon Monday! I have a serious passion for travel and once upon a time dreamed of becoming a travel agent. Prior to getting married, I spent hours upon hours researching and planning every last little detail of our honeymoon. It was something I loved, and continue to love! I've been wanting to include travel as an aspect of this blog since its inception, and am so excited I finally figured out a way to bring that to you!!!

Each Monday I will be featuring a couple's honeymoon. I really want to make this feature more than a fun read, I want it to be truly informative. There will be photos, information, tips, and advice straight from the newlyweds as well as links to their accommodations, airlines, travel agents and more!

There are so many wonderful and inspiring resources for planning weddings, but I wanted to provide a place where people can come to get ideas and tips for the next important event they will deal with, their honeymoon. Plus, all of you out there who are already married, or not enagaged yet can still use this info to help you plan your next vacation!

How will I find all these amazing honeymoons to feature, you ask? From you!!! I want to hear from all of you out there who have great honeymoon stories and images to share. It doesn't matter if you went on a 5-star tropical getaway, a roadtrip around your home state, or a Mediterannean cruise. I want to hear about it! Start submitting those honeymoons. I can't wait to read all about them:)

Now, on to the first honeymoon feature. You may remember Hank and Danielle- I featured their gorgeous yellow + grey wedding awhile back. Now it's time to focus on their Moorea honeymoon which they took during the first two weeks of June in 2008.

More from Danielle...

When my husband Hank and I started planning our honeymoon (to follow our wedding that took place on May 31, 2008), we knew we wanted to go somewhere a little off the beaten path. Luckily, Hank's parents are serious travelers, so his Mom was able to point us in the direction of one of her favorite island getaways...Moorea, a small island in French Polynesia, about 9 miles northwest of Tahiti. Frommer's Travel Guide calls Moorea "the most beautiful island in the world," and agreeably, she could only say amazing things about it. So, after some research, we decided to book our honeymoon to Moorea!

I read countless travel blogs and message boards that stressed the importance of hiring a travel agent when traveling to small islands like this one, so I found a company called South Seas Adventures that came highly recommended by numerous people I spoke with online. We worked with a woman named Cindy Swartz, who was immeasurably helpful, kind and knowledgeable about all things Tahiti and Moorea. I was so happy we chose to go this route, because as time went on I was pleased to have a sense of calm about our honeymoon. With the craziness of planning a huge wedding, the honeymoon didn't become yet another thing I had to "deal" with. All we had to do was talk to our agent about our wishes and preferences, and from that point on it was virtually stress free!

We decided to leave the day after our wedding, so we packed our bags a few days before and then dove headfirst into getting married! After our beautiful weekend was over, we were ready for an incredibly relaxing 10-day vacation in the middle of the ocean! Our first flight of the journey brought us to LAX, where we then entered the international terminals and waited a few hours for our flight into Papeete, the Tahitian capital. That leg of the trip was an overnight flight and we flew on Air Tahiti Nui, which was completely lovely and accommodating. We arrived early in the morning and boarded our final flight of day, for Moorea. As our small plane quickly covered the few miles between the islands we saw Moorea come into view and we couldn't help but gasp. Of course we'd seen hundreds of photos online but nothing compared to the stunning blue coast we were met with that morning. I can still remember the excited butterflies in my stomach as our descent began.

Upon our arrival, our travel agent had set up our transfer with a small, local company. Our driver met us with a sign bearing our name and we hopped into his large Jeep and headed down the lush, green road towards our destination, the Moorea Pearl Resort and Spa. We were completely taken aback when we arrived. The resort was BEAUTIFUL. Marble entry way, a direct view out to the infinity pool and beyond to the wooden walkways, and onto the blue, blue ocean. After traveling for an entire day, we were ready to relax.

We chose to stay in the premium over-water bungalows. These hut-type dwellings featured glass bottomed sections and private decks with a straight view to the ocean. When we walked in, we were greeted with adorable "honeymoon-esque" touches; local flowers arranged in the shape of a heart on the bed, fresh fruit, and a bottle of champagne. Hank and I immediately put on our swimsuits and jumped straight into the water off the back of our deck.

Over the next ten days we experienced so much beauty. Each morning we would get up early, take a walk down to the local French bakery, and enjoy one of their fresh tarts or daily specials. Hank would sip coffee, and I would get tea. We would get filled up on the delicious fresh bread and fruit, and walk back to our resort to start our day. We would often spend hours at the infinity pool, relaxing, swimming, and sunning. Some days we would venture off and enjoy some of the different restaurants on the tiny island (our favorite being Alfredo's, a small Italian bistro down the road).

We snorkeled every afternoon off our back deck, as the bungalows were situated right on a huge coral reef. The fish and sea life were some of the most unique and gorgeous we'd ever seen in any of our travels, and we'd spend hours lost in that underwater world. Some days we would take a kayak out and others we'd just lounge the whole day through, only interrupting ourselves to order food from the resort's bar or to sip on a frozen concoction (with an umbrella of course!).


We didn't have much of an agenda, besides taking a few of the "excursions" offered by the resort, included a 4x4 day trip into the Tahitian jungle which was amazing and incredibly interesting. Our main plan was to relax as much as possible, and to soak up every minute of each other, as new husband and wife. Some of the other honeymooners we'd met while traveling to Moorea were doing more of a tour of French Polynesia; a couple nights in Moorea, a few in Tahiti, and a couple in Bora Bora. We decided to spend all of our time in one spot, rather than wasting days on travel, so that's why we elected to just do Moorea, and looking back we are both happy with that decision.

The week went by quickly, as good times always do, and looking back, I feel like we did our honeymoon totally right. I feel like after going to such an exotic locale, I can offer some words of wisdom for future-honeymooners or travelers:

1) Research! Whether you scour message boards and websites to get every shred of information possible, or have a friend or family member who's been to your destination, ask for advice, tips, recommendations and what NOT to do, or where NOT to go! After researching, I found that it was necessary to hire an agent, and she actually managed to secure us our reservations at a much better price than listed. Being a honeymooner, you don't want added stress to your wedding plans, so having someone do the hard work for you was key for me to really enjoy the last few weeks leading up to our nuptials. I wouldn't have known this without researching, and I also found a few fabulous restaurants and things to do from online forums. Adiitionally, from these forums I found out which bungalow to request (rather than being assigned a random one by the resort), and we ended up with the best view in the entire vicinity.

2) Don't kill yourself going somewhere you can't afford! Luckily Hank and I were able to go to this beautiful place, but it was extremely expensive (I'm talking just under $900 a night for a non-inclusive resort, kind of insane). BUT...I truly, truly don't feel you need to spend that kind of money to have an amazing time. Because we were able to choose a place like that, we did, but seriously, we could have had just as great of a time in Hawaii, which would have been much cheaper and easier to get to! Don't get hung up in spending tons of money on a crazy exotic location. When it comes down to it, all you need is a great pool and pretty scenery. Trust me. You'll be so high from your wedding and the newness of your situation that you could probably honeymoon in Nebraska and have fun (no offense, Nebraskans). So choose wisely. Don't put your newly married selves in a mountain of debt just for a week-long experience. Have enough money to enjoy good food, delicious drinks, and excursions! Don't forget to throw some spa treatments in there too! Wherever you go will be perfect, because the two of you are there, together, husband and wife.

3) If you're traveling to a remote location, bring enough books! Now this piece of advice may only pertain to my crazy, pre-Kindle self, but I am truly a voracious reader, especially on vacation. You may be thinking, "Reading?! On a honeymoon?!" Why, yes, of course! We had a lot of relaxation time, and I especially I loved to bring a paperback and read a bit in the sun, while out at the pool. With the weight-limits imposed by the airlines, I couldn't bring the million books I would have loved to have with me, for both the 10 hours of flying time and then downtime throughout the 10 days. Now, my Kindle would have solved the problem perfectly, but I didn't have one of those new-fangled readin' machines back then...so I had to choose a small amount of books to take with me. Instead, I should have left behind my heavy Jeffrey Campbell wood-bottomed wedges and packed a couple more books. Moral of the story? Just be sure to plan ahead, especially when traveling somewhere that doesn't have book stores, and even if they do, the books are most likely in a different language.

4) Don't get hung up if it rains, or monsoons...or if anything goes "wrong." Even in our little slice of paradise, there was a day or two of rain. Jungles usually equal a high rainfall area, so we pretty much expected it anyway. Luckily Hank and I are kind of weird and enjoy a nice, overcast, gloomy day...even in paradise. But I know a few of my friends were actually rained out their entire honeymoon. Sounds horrible, sure- but there's nothing you can do about it. Do yourselves a favor and pack a deck of cards just in case, but remember that it's all about the experience! Who says you can't swim in the rain or take a stroll through the gorgeous thundering night sky? Seize the moment and instead of getting hung up on details outside of your control, embrace them, and make some amazing memories!

5) ENJOY! ...and don't sweat the small stuff. This kind of goes hand and hand with number four, but really, really take this to heart. This is your honeymoon, your once and a lifetime trip with the love of your life. There's no time for crabbiness, for brattiness, or for any type of rude behavior to your spouse! I'll never forget a honeymooning couple we saw a few times at the resort's pool that seemed to constantly be arguing. I didn't get it. I know nothing is perfect but I just feel like you should put things aside when you're on a trip like this. Bickering doesn't have a place on a honeymoon, so enjoy yourself, cut loose, and don't be up-tight!

Travel Vendors:

Travel Agent: Cindy Swartz at South Seas Adventures
Airlines: United and Air Tahiti Nui
Resort: Moorea Pearl Resort & Spa

Don't forget to submit your honeymoon photos and stories! I'm itching to hear all about them! Please send your submissions to theloveliestday@gmail.com

Also, make sure to check back later today!!! I'll be doing a giveaway to celebrate Honeymoon Monday:)