How to Plan Your Winter Honeymoon on the Slopes
Avid skiers frequently use their honeymoons as an opportunity to go on amazing trips down the slopes. If you fit into that category, or if you’re new to the sport, make sure you’ve done the prep work so your adventure’s a downhill breeze.
Once you decide to ski for your honeymoon, register somewhere that has ski equipment. This is smart and practical; also, guests love knowing they’re getting you something you need. Sporting goods stores have registries, and you can pick pricey items (new skis) and budget-conscious gifts (goggles, gloves). You should register somewhere unrelated too, for additional items you need and to give guests a wide variety to pick from.
If you love skiing, but are not pros (or if, say, one of you is a beginner), take a trip before your wedding planning, so that you’ll have mastered a lot of the basics. Like scuba diving, skiing is a serious and time-consuming sport. Some people decide they don’t like it after taking lessons, and others have more difficulty learning the skill. You want to spend your honeymoon enjoying the recreational aspect of skiing, not tripping over yourself on the bunny hill.
Unlike scuba diving, skiing has more specific seasons. Plan accordingly: If Colorado or Vermont is your destination, arrange your wedding so that it coincides with the winter months, or plan on delaying your honeymoon. If you go abroad to the Alps, know that surrounding European areas probably won’t be in the middle of tourist season, which means lower fares but colder weather.
One of the advantages of ski honeymoons is that resorts are aplenty, and not far from most sections of the United States. You can easily combine a ski honeymoon with a destination wedding—Aspen and Tahoe make wonderful wedding locales. Winter weddings are spectacular; just make sure you provide plenty of non-skiing activities for guests, from sledding to hot-cider “cocktail” hour.
You and your spouse will probably already have a good idea of how many days you want to spend on the slopes. No matter how ski-happy you are, make sure you spend some romantic time in local restaurants and back in the lodge. If one of you is much more of a lie-by-the-pool vacationer, now’s the time to start practicing your new life of compromises. Ski on your honeymoon, and go to Aruba for your first anniversary.
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