A Catholic Girl’s Guide to Packing for Her Honeymoon
Because here's the thing. I *thought* I had done so well. I thought that I was on top of things. And about a day into my honeymoon, I realized I was so utterly wrong to the point where John and I had to stop at Target about two days into our honeymoon because even though I'd packed a few days in advance and wasn't throwing things in a bag last minute, I packed nothing useful. I'm typically a pretty good packer, and I'm usually pretty practical about things, but in this case, wedding week stress seems to have destroyed every last shred of my brain's typical practicality.
I'm not a lifestyle influencer in the least, nor do I have any desire to become one. However, I really wish I'd had some kind of list to help me pack, and because I didn't have it, I'm making it for the next woman. So, if you're an engaged woman who's getting close to her wedding, here's a wedding gift from me to you: a comprehensive list of what to pack for your honeymoon.
Clothes. I know it seems self-explanatory, but apparently it wasn't for me in my half-comatose, anxiety-riddled, exhausted state the week of my wedding. Think about what you're going to do on your honeymoon and pack accordingly. For example: are you planning to go hiking? Bring hiking clothes. Is your honeymoon at a beach resort? Pack a couple of swimsuits, but also don't forget to bring some dresses and shorts/t-shirt combos that will go over your swimsuit easily. You get the gist.
Functional underwear. You've probably bought lingerie for your honeymoon and it's at the top of your honeymoon packing list. By all means, keep it on the packing list! Lingerie is great. Lingerie is fun. Lingerie is also absolutely terrible when you want to go on a hike and realize all you have is something that's going to give you a wedgie within your first three steps. Believe me, I speak from experience. Functional underwear is not limited to panties, though. Bring a comfortable bra. You will be so thankful that you did.
Pajamas. Your lingerie is not comfortable to sleep in. I repeat: your lingerie is not comfortable to sleep in. Bring functional pajamas.
Appropriate footwear. We planned on going hiking in the Shenandoah mountains for one day of our honeymoon. I ended up wearing my birkenstocks instead of sneakers because guess what? That didn't make it in the honeymoon bag!
A hairbrush, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, and a toothbrush/toothpaste. At this point you may be wondering, "Cecilia, what on earth did you actually pack for your honeymoon?" Actually, I did manage to pack all of this. And I was SO grateful I did. It came in handy on my wedding night in particular, when the first order of business was to take forty hairpins out of my hair and wash all the hairspray out.
A prayer book/rosary/devotional. You might have the most locked-down, airtight prayer routine in the world that you do faithfully every single morning without fail, and you might have an idea in your head that you're going to keep it up during your honeymoon, but please believe me when I say that your ideas of that will probably go out the window pretty quickly. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Marital intimacy is a *really* good thing, and you and your husband might find that mornings are a great time to get to know each other better. Or, you might just want to relish in being able to snuggle in bed with your husband when you wake up instead of cracking open your daily devotional. However, I really recommend packing some kind of prayer aid because it might be nice to have on hand. For instance, we brought decade rosaries with us and it was so nice to be able to pull them out in the car and pray a rosary together while driving, or say a decade together while hiking.
If you're planning on practicing NFP, everything you need for your NFP method. You're welcome in advance for this one.
Wedding night/honeymoon specific things. This list has already been made by Good Catholic Sex, and I'm linking to it for you here.
Now go forth and pack for your honeymoon confidently! And tell your about-to-be-husband that you guys have just saved a lot of money in avoidable but necessary honeymoon purchases. He'll probably be really glad to hear that, especially as you guys wrap up paying the last invoices for your vendors.
Know of my prayers for you! Marriage is truly beautiful, and I hope you have a wonderful start to it.
