The Perfect Honeymoon: Honeymoon Registries

Sure it's great fun to grab a scan gun and zap all of your dream items. But let's face it, you are going to have a TV (plasma or not), a china set (maybe not Bone) and that proverbial standup mixer anyway. By setting up a registry for your honeymoon, family and friends will help you create memories you'll cherish a lifetime.

Why Register? Guest expect to give you gifts and many will want to shop from your registry. What better way to have the honeymoon of your dreams than to register for it? Even if most gift givers opt for the more traditional registries or that discreet envelope on your wedding day, a registry is also a good way for you to manage your honeymoon online. The internet's also perfect to manage your honeymoon payments. You can even plan to make regularly scheduled payments of your choice.

Work with a Travel Professional. You can find flights and book a hotel over the internet, you can even book a honeymoon package but a travel professional can save you money by discussing insider tips--where you'll get the most bang for your dollar, when to go, and some specials that the public just isn't privy to. Most importantly, they know honeymoon registries and can work with you to ensure your dream honeymoon is realized. Any travel professional worth their weight in knowledge has access to honeymoon registries, have done them before, and know a little something about romance.

Know Your Costs. Many hotel chains, some resorts and individual travel agents and cruise specialists offer honeymoon registries. All inclusives are usually recommended for honeymoons because you have a clear estimate of how much the honeymoon will cost; payments are normally completed before the wedding. And don't forget to find out exactly what is included in those costs! Some registries will even offer options to pay for meals at special restaurants or day trips and excursions..

So remember, start the honeymoon process early, plan, budget, and by all means register. Registries are now as ingrained in the wedding process as finding the right dress.

Emma McKnight is travel agent specializing in cruise vacations. View her website at: CruiseWithEmma or contact her.

As brides, we never want to think that it might rain on our wedding day.

Please, anything but rain!

Well, the worst happened to me. Jeff and I got married on October 27th (celebrating our 8th anniversary tomorrow!) and it rained. Not just any rain--icy, freezing rain at 45 degrees. Brrrr. You can see me shivering in some of my wedding photos.

I made my guests suffer with me through our ceremony because I didn't have a backup plan. Big mistake! My guests were pretty darn miserable.

Other than stay glued to the Weather Channel and pray with all your might...what can you do if it rains on your wedding day?

• Make sure you have a solid Plan B for anything happening outdoors. When you're searching for the perfect location for your Hudson Valley wedding, imagine your Worst Case Scenario, the absolute worst weather...a monsoon, a snow storm, hail, even...and what it will do to your wedding day. Does that location have a Plan B indoor option that is both available and acceptable for you? If not, choose another location. This will save you buckets of drama later on.


• Prepare for the worst, even if the weather report predicts clear skies. If your ceremony is outdoors, make sure you can switch to your Plan B at the last minute. Always, always provide shelter for your musicians...especially if they're plugged into electricity! They can't haul their equipment and run as fast as you and your guests can. You can keep your musicians dry with a pop up dome.


• Figure bad weather into your wedding budget. Make sure you have some cash in your "miscellaneous" bucket to handle any umbrellas, tents or flip flops you may need.


• Umbrellas! These are a life saver for wedding day photos. Make sure you have colorful, fashionable umbrellas for you and your bridal party so that you can pull off photos like these taken by Agaton Strom last June at Osborn Castle, the month that almost broke the record for NY rainfall. If you plan it right, umbrella photos just might be the highlight of your wedding album. Find some cool, colorful umbrellas for you and your guests at Umbrellas.com or try less expensive golf umbrellas or Chinese wedding umbrellas. If you're not proud, ponchos are always an option.


• Bring a second pair of shoes...SNEAKERS. If you plan to take outdoor pictures, even if it stops raining, you don't want your Manolo's sinking into the mud. Bring along a ratty pair of shoes so that you can brave the soggy ground. If you're worried about your dress, bring along a sheet to stand on so you can protect it.


• Take care of your guests. If you have a tented wedding, make sure you have sides and a dance floor. If the rain comes in sideways, it could put a halt to your music (electricity again!) and without a dance floor your wedding will turn into a mud pit. Flip flops can save the ladies in high heels from sinking into the mud, or provide plastic high heel covers. If you can, place hair dryers in the bathrooms for any drenched guests.


• Have the best day of your life, NO MATTER WHAT. It's true that you can't control the weather, but you can control how you feel. If you choose to have an amazing wedding day, no amount of rain can wash that feeling away.

It's true that a rainy wedding day is a bummer. But don't let that sunny optimism prevent you from being well prepared.

by Emma McKnight

Honeymoons elicit fantasies of breathtaking vistas and romantic nights. This is the time for a bride and groom to unwind and spend relaxing days together after all of the festivities. Most brides spend months planning their perfect wedding day...A dream honeymoon deserves an appropriate amount of planning time as well. Regardless of your vision, here is a "must do" list to ensure you enjoy the honeymoon of your dreams.

1. Budget. If you haven't already budgeted for your honeymoon, sit down and do it immediately. Only you two knowwhat you can afford and this is something that also must be paid before you enjoy it. Now there are several ways to pay, but for now, just know that you don't have to pay for your honeymoon all at once.


2. Destination. You and your fiancé need to decide where you want to go on a honeymoon. Do this by each drafting a list of what you want to do on y our while away. Skiers may envision a Colorado trip or Switzerland; while snorkelers may opt for Belize or Florida. This is when having your budget already planned, assists in your decision-making.


3. Length of Stay. These days people couples take anywhere from a long weekend to two weeks for a honeymoon. Dependent upon the time you plan on taking off pre-wedding, you may opt to take this trip anytime during the first year of your marriage.


4. When to Go. Once your destination is decided, you need to determine the best time of year to go. High season is always the most expensive but also the most crowded time to visit a locale. Off season, is the most cost-effective but may not be the best time. Shoulder season is right on the cusp of high season, which may give you the opportunity to visit your locale without the higher costs.


5. Seek Assistance. Do your own research but remember most travel agents do not charge any fee for their services and usually have additional deals that you just can not find on your own. So consult with a professional.

Now that you have the bare basics for starting to plan your honeymoon don't leave the honeymoon of your dreams to chance.

Emma McKnight is a travel agent specializing in cruise vacations. Emma McKnight at Cruises Inc.

Planning A Wedding In the Hudson Valley? I Need Your Help!

At the risk of being overdramatic...I desperately need your help!

Okay, maybe not desperately. But let's just say I really, really want it.

Here's the Story...

Jeff and I not only want to build this Best Hudson Valley Wedding Ever website for couples planning a wedding here in New York, we want to build it with you.

I've been racking my brains to figure out the features, topics and blog posts you want. Problem is, I'm still waiting for those psychic abilities to kick in.

It occurred to me that the simplest way to make sure we include the stuff you want is to ASK YOU. Duh. That's the sound of me slapping my forehead.

Will you help us make this the best website for planning a wedding in the Hudson Valley?

I've got lots of cool ideas about features to add to this website: a chat room where you can connect with other Hudson Valley brides; a list of local wedding events, sales and promotions; a store where you can purchase the best favors, gifts and accessories; tons and tons of featured weddings with photo inspiration galore.

But I don't want to do this stuff unless YOU want it.

How You Can Help

• Tell me what you are looking for. Share your frustrations of riding this wedding planning roller coaster. What topics would you like to read and see? Do you like videos? Downloadable reports? Blog posts with pictures? What big, gaping holes in the wedding website universe do you see? If you tell me what you want, I'll do my darndest to make it happen.

This survey is completely anonymous, so feel free to let it all hang out!

Click Here to take the Brides Only Survey now

• Become a featured Real Hudson Valley Wedding! Share what you've learned with other couples like you.

Learn how to be a featured Real Hudson Valley Wedding here

I confess...this website doesn't have everything. YET. But I'm committed to getting there, with your help.

Do me a favor and send me a quick email your thoughts and suggestions. That's right, do it now before life gets busy again.

Thanks!