Honeymoon

There is no etiquette on this. It's really what you 2 are comfortable with. If you think you won't be tired and want to start the road trip right after the wedding, then go for it! Just figure out logistics first! Like what you're doing with your dress, who is taking the gifts home, stuff like that.

I don't know if this will actually be helpful but I'll share what our plan is anyway lol. So we're driving 4ish hours away for our honeymoon and decided to wait to check in to the hotel until the Monday after our wedding and plan on driving the hour and a half back home after our reception. We much preferred to be able to go home, sleep in our own bed, and spend some time with our dog before leaving.

While when we're leaving is different, if we were doing what you were and leaving the day of/day after we would have immediately went to sleep somewhere before going. You both will probably be pretty exhausted after a full day, so it might be a better idea to get some sleep before heading on a road trip.

View Quoted Comment That is a good point. The reception is set to end at 8pm. So I hope we won’t be to tired. I know we forgot to send out where we are registered at, so I don’t know about getting any gifts.

We slept in our home the night of the minimony and we will also sleep in our home the night of the big wedding. Our big wedding is 10/2 and we are leaving for Mexico 10/4 - we only were going to sleep in a hotel when our wedding was going to be at a hotel. But that was cancelled because of Covid.

View Quoted Comment That’s what I was thinking. Then I feel like if we went back home after the wedding we won’t really want to get up and get going for the drive, we will just want to lay around our place.

View Quoted Comment Ah ok, you will have fun in Mexico. At least you have a plan, him and I don’t really have one. All I know is we are getting married 10/24 and we are at Disneyland 10/26-28th. The 25th we are planning on being at the ocean. We are planning on driving back the 28th or 30th.

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That should be fun though! How long does it take you to drive there?

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Are you guys the type who can go a full day like that and just keep going? If so, you could probably start for a couple of hours after your reception ends, but you will want to factor time into getting changed and getting those loose ends figured out before you go (where your dress will go, how will stuff get taken home, etc.) We know we'll be drained after a full day with people so there's no way we could do a trip without resting first. Maybe you can think out a timeline each way and it could help you make your decision.

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8 pm isn't bad so you may be able to do it. Although I act like a grandma and am ready for bed by 9 LOL!

Even if you don't have physical gifts people will most likely bring cards with cash or checks and you definitely want to make sure someone takes care of those! I've never heard of this happening at a wedding but at my friend's graduation party someone came in and stole the card box with all of the money. I am terrified of that happening! Our venue actually locks away the gifts/cards during the reception and only gives it to who we tell them. Definitely find someone, whether it be you or a parent, to be in charge of that. I'd recommend not you because you'll be out of town you don't want that stuff sitting in your house while you're gone.

View Quoted Comment I think it is a four or five hour drive, depending on traffic.

View Quoted Comment We only have the venue until 8pm. I’m thinking about us starting the drive, maybe an hour or two and then stopping for the night. I was thinking about who would take the dress after the reception. That is something him and I will need to talk about.

View Quoted Comment That is true, we where planning on using any of the money or gift cards we where gifted at the wedding, on our honeymoon.

Our wedding was at a hotel. We stayed at the hotel the night of the wedding and then flew out the next morning for our honeymoon.
In your case, I’d 100% get a hotel room somewhere either super swanky like the Wynn or campy like Excalibur. Toast to your marriage, get a good nights sleep, have room service breakfast in the morning and then make the long drive nice and refreshed. I don’t know if you drink but obviously that would be a huge factor in being able to fully enjoy your reception with a drive ahead of you.

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I personally wouldn't leave right after the wedding, I would imagine that you both will be tired. I probably would leave the morning after at least

While your reception ends at 8, will you need to change out of your dress and suit? Clean up any decor, etc.? Will either of you be drinking alcohol? All things that may also factor in besides being exhausted from the day as a whole!

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I agree with this. Even if the reception ends at 8pm, it's a long day and you'll be pumped full of adrenalin for the majority of it. I suspect that the instant you sit down, you'll suddenly realise how tired you are, and the thought of having to drive a few hours and manage the logistics of where to leave your dress, who will look after any cards, etc etc... that would not be my idea of fun.

We're staying at the house I'm getting ready in on the night of the wedding and the night following so we can relax, don't have to rush to check out, etc etc. We will leave for our honeymoon on the monday or tuesday after our saturday wedding.

We are planning to leave the next day so we recover that night, put gifts away, and get our stuff together.

Are you having your wedding at the hotel you originally planned to stay at the evening of your wedding?


How long is the drive to your honeymoon destination?

We went to the Bahamas for two weeks. First week was at The Cove at Atlantis and the second week was at The Rosewood. Both hotels were beautiful. We left two days after the wedding.

View Quoted Comment My fiancé actually got us a hotel room in a town like an hour away from Vegas, which is on our way to where we are going in California. There is some event going on in Vegas the weekend of our wedding and hotel prices are super expensive.