Now for those of you who have clicked on this link and are expecting some ‘bedroom activity’ talk, you are sadly mistaken - try the Consummating the Marriage article for that!
What we are discussing here is the actual night of the wedding itself (assuming that you won’t be on the road or in the air), not what goes on between the sheets!
Unless you’re well-organised, honeymooning in the UK and happy to head off at 1 o’clock in the morning, then chances are that you won’t be setting off on honeymoon immediately after your ‘Evening Do’ - instead you will be spending it somewhere here in the UK. The first night (and any subsequent days and nights in the UK before you head off on honeymoon for that matter - covered in depth in the article entitled Before You Travel) all need to be taken into account beforehand. Taking some time to plan ahead is crucial if you wan the excitement to keep going and no lull between the Big Day and first day of your official honeymoon to occur.
So what exactly do you need to think about? Let us give you the guided tour.
Firstly, if you are heading off on honeymoon on the night of your Wedding, stop wasting time reading this, and move onto something else!
Now that we have the attention of the chosen few, let us begin. The most important thing to consider is where you will spend your first night as a married couple.
If you have held the Reception at a hotel or other venue with accommodation on site, this should be your first port of call. A number of venues across the UK will offer free rooms to the happy couple (often as an incentive to make the booking in the first place) although it is likely that certain spend criteria must be hit before this is offered.
If you fall into this category then you could be in luck, although you should always:
1. Ask to see the rooms first, and if possible, the actual room that you will stay in.
2. Ask if they have any ‘superior’ rooms or a Bridal Suite. However, do not assume that you will get anything other than a basic room – you may have to pay a fee to be upgraded to such a room or it may be that the room(s) are already booked. Be sure to confirm this up front.
3. Ask how many other rooms are available on your Wedding Day and how many can be reserved for your friends and family (if there is another Wedding on the same day as yours, the allocation may be split).
If after asking the above questions, you get the answers you wanted, then ‘Bob’s your Uncle’ – go ahead and make the reservation. However, if accommodation on-site is not offered, or you are not happy with what you are told then don’t despair, you do have other options.
The most obvious option is to book a room elsewhere. Perhaps there is a fantastic place to stay nearby that would be ideal for the night, but was perhaps too small or could not cater for your Wedding requirements - if you know of such a place then go ahead and book up as soon as possible. However, if you don’t know of somewhere off-hand it’s time to do some research and you should try to track somewhere down that meets at least some of the criteria outlined below:
· Is near to where your Reception is taking place so you won’t have too long a journey.
· Does it allow you to check in/arrive in the early hours of the morning.
· Does it have other rooms available (essential if you want your close friends and family to stay also).
· Has it taken any bookings already from a couple you’ve invited to your Wedding ‘because you didn’t have a choice’ – do you really want to have breakfast with them the next morning?
· Can it offer you a ‘Bridal Package’ (fresh fruit and champagne in your room for example) or perhaps even a free upgrade.
If you still can’t find anywhere then you either have to extend the search area, or consider going back home. Granted the latter may not seem particularly romantic, but there are things you can do to spice it up a little (see below) and it also has numerous practical advantages (it’s much cheaper and there’s no need to worry about luggage to mention just two!). Wherever you do decide to stay, there are things you can do to enhance the mood, for example:
· Turn the lights down low
· Light some candles
· Put on some romantic CD’s
· Light some scented jos-sticks.
One final thing to remember, is to make sure that you have suitable clothes for the next day – if you’re travelling you will need something comfortable (and smart, if you’re trying to scam a free upgrade on the flight), or if you are hanging around for a day or two remember to pack suitable clothes for the whole time (perhaps smart clothes for breakfast or a night out and casual clothes for the day).
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