Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
January 9, 2002
Honeymoon gives time for couple to adjust to new life together
Couples use days following their wedding to relax, rejoice in new life together
Legend has it that in early times when couples were first married it was a ritual for them to eat honey with every meal.
``They would do this for the first 30 days of their married life,'' according to Jim Stefanik, an Agawam, Mass., beekeeper and member of the Hampden County Beekeepers Association. ``It was thought that eating the honey would help the couples to obtain a healthy start to their marriage.''
Today, after months of hectic wedding preparations, most newlyweds look forward to the honeymoon as a special time to spend together relaxing, sightseeing and adjusting to married life.
Jon and Deb Szumny were married on a cold winter morning at St. Thomas More Church in Englewood, Colo. Yet, the couple knew they would be leaving the next day to bask in the sun for a weeklong honeymoon to somewhere.
``We didn't have any idea where we were going, we just knew that it was going to be warm,'' said Deb Szumny, explaining that the couple's honeymoon destination was a surprise trip to Hawaii, planned completely by her new husband's parents.
``The surprise was really fun because we didn't have any expectations. And it was one less thing to worry about with all of the stress of the wedding preparations,'' she said. The couple used the time to relax and do some sightseeing.
One memorable day that they will not forget is when they ``got lost on the lava rocks'' of Kihei on the Island of Maui. ``We were supposed to find this snorkeling sight but we were walking for three hours and never found it,'' she said.
But, she said, they did not stress out about anything on the trip.
``What made it really fun was that we didn't have any expectations. We kind of planned day to day. We woke up when we wanted to wake up and did what we wanted to do.''
Following the honeymoon, the couple used a three-day drive from Denver to Alexandria, Va., where they would now be living, to ease back into reality.
They stopped along the way to visit her grandparents in Indiana who were not able to make it to the wedding.
``The drive was a very nice transition because everything in Hawaii was so unreal and dreamlike,'' said Deb. ``It did kind of help mentally prepare us for getting back to work and real life.''
According to a survey of more than 3,000 travel agents, the top 10 honeymoon spots are: Hawaii, Jamaica, Mexico, Tahiti, Florida, England, Italy, Bermuda, France and St. Lucia.
According to the publication USA Bride, cruises are popular among honeymooners for three reasons: affordability, all-inclusive packaging and overall pampering.
Anthony and Shelley Mutti chose a Disney Cruise followed by a stay at Walt Disney World in Florida after their wedding in Springfield, Mass.
They both agreed that if they had to do the trip over again they would do it in reverse. ``We went on the cruise first and then to the parks,'' said Anthony Mutti. ``Next time we take a Disney vacation we will do the parks first and then relax on the cruise before coming home.'' He recalled the honeymoon's most memorable moment. ``Shelley almost lost her engagement ring at the Green Eggs and Ham fast food place at Universal Studios,'' he said. ``Apparently while wiping her hands, she stripped off her ring into the napkin. We would not have known it was missing if it hadn't been for the wind. A strong gust knocked the paper cup off the tray I was going to discard into the trash. When I went to pick up the runaway dirty napkin, her ring fell out onto the ground.''
Most couples use the days following their wedding to relax and rejoice in their new life together.
According to Shelley Mutti, it can be an opportunity to do something or to go somewhere out of the ordinary.
``Tony and I thought, after the fact, that Iceland might have been a more interesting place to go,'' she said. ``But I would suggest to just use the honeymoon as a time to relax. Take the days as they come. Don't have an agenda where every minute is planned.''
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