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Amplify your honeymoon with these love rituals.
By Deborah Roth
Last updated on Dec 08, 2023
You’re getting married! And after people ask “when,” the next question is, “Where are you going on your honeymoon?”
Playing with honeymoon ideas with your sweetie is like icing on the cake — the reward you get for surviving the whirlwind of planning that goes into making your big day special.
When it’s all over, you need that time to decompress, to disappear on a romantic getaway, just the two of you.
What if you could also use that time to deepen your connection further and create a stronger foundation for your marriage?
It’s about weaving in a few sweet moments to set intentions for the rest of your life. How can you take those vows in your wedding ceremony and make them more meaningful and powerful?
Here are 5 magical, meaningful honeymoon rituals to start your marriage off right:
1. Tie the knot for real!
Many couples include a handfasting ritual in their wedding ceremony. Their hands are bound together by a ribbon in one of the most universal traditions that symbolizes your lifelong bond and commitment to each other.
Whether you included handfasting in your ceremony or not, you can still enact a little binding magic on your honeymoon (or after you get home) to further strengthen the promises you made on your wedding day.
For your honeymoon version of tying the knot, you’ll need to bring a flower from your bouquet, one from your new partner’s boutonnière, and something to bind them with. Set aside some quiet time to sit together — cross-legged on your bed with your bathing suits on or on the balcony before dinner — whatever works for you.
Wind the ribbon around the flowers and re-state your promises to each other each time you tie a knot — feel free to do it as many times as you want… the more knots, the stronger your commitment!
When you get home, place your creation someplace prominent where it infuses your shared space with your loving intentions.
2. Create a special “love amulet.”
Your wedding rings will always be an outward demonstration of your vows of love and respect and a public showing of your commitment to each other. Imbuing a special honeymoon souvenir with love magic adds another dimension to that meaning.
It could be a beautiful shell from the beach or an unusual rock from a hike. It could be a fun tchotchke or trinket from the local marketplace or resort gift shop. The idea is to pick two of them, then take some time to create a little sacred space towards the end of your honeymoon, as you did for your flower binding.
Reflect on all the special moments you’ve had in this time away from time, this precious, intimate cocoon you’ve been in before you return to the real world. Then, infuse your little talismans with all of the wishes and dreams you want to take home.
Place them on your desks or someplace you can see them regularly. Every time you connect with it, you’ll be reminded of your magical time away and all the wishes and dreams you shared.
3. Conjur up some candle magic.
This is a favorite for many of the couples I work with. Like handfasting, it can be included in your wedding ceremony. But if you didn’t get a chance to do it, it’s a playful magical arts and crafts project to plan for your honeymoon!
Be sure to bring a 3” or 6” pillar candle (those are the fat ones) with you, along with a pen and a plate (you’ll see why in a minute). Create a little sacred space for yourselves … hang the “do not disturb” sign on your door, put on some romantic music, and maybe even sprinkle some rose petals on your bed! That’s also the best place to do your candle magic.
Using the pen and the plate to catch the shavings, you’ll each take turns carving into the candle words and symbols representing your vows to each other. They can be your actual vows that you recited during your ceremony, or you can let your intuition guide you in the moment.
If you want to get creative, you can also bring some essential oils for love (rose, ylang-ylang, and sandalwood are great ones) and even glitter to cover your candle with when you’re done carving. It’s a little messy, as all good arts and crafts projects should be, and you’ll have to be careful transporting it home, but it adds another layer of fun.
Then, every time you light the candle when you get home, you release all the promises into the world again!
4. Write love letters to each other.
This is an old practice that seems to have been lost in the rush of our busy lives. So, what better time to do it than on your honeymoon?
It’s pretty straightforward, and if you wrote your vows for your wedding ceremony, you’ve got a head start. The beauty of doing it during this romantic time away together is that you can say things you might not have been able to share in front of your friends and family. So. permit yourself to be a little risqué, outrageous, or mushy!
Find a quiet place away from each other to write your letter … under separate palm trees or in different cozy corners of your resort.
Reflect on all the traits and quirks you love most about your sweetie and your relationship in general. Write them down using old-fashioned pen and paper — no electronics here. Professional writers will tell you that writing longhand allows you to be more creative and mindful and to access your emotions more easily.
Then come together and read them to each other.
Photo: Frolov Oleksandr via Shutterstock
5. Bath or shower together with intention.
Lathering each other up in the shower or cuddling in the bath is always an uber-romantic practice anytime, anywhere. When you turn it into a special honeymoon ritual, you take it to a whole new level.
To reach that place of maximum love magic, you’ll once again think about what you can do to create sacred space, this time in your bathroom. Bring in your newly-carved candle, get some sultry music going, and grab those love-infused essential oils.
If you’re in the shower, you’ll start by scrubbing yourselves separately as you declare what old habits, patterns, or resentments you want to wash away to create a fresh body, mind, and spirit for your journey forward together.
Then, the fun part. You’ll wash each other using the oils, sharing everything you love most about your partner.
You can do the same thing in the bath but eliminate the part where you’re scrubbing away the bad stuff since it won’t flow down the drain till you’re done, and you don’t want to sit in it while you continue to snuggle!
All you need is a little planning, a clear intention, and the right props to create magical honeymoon ideas — the components of any powerful ritual. Think of it as sacred play!
Symbols are the language of the unconscious, so you’re anchoring all of your dreams, wishes, and promises deep within each of you in playful and powerful ways. And – oh, by the way — it also makes your honeymoon experience even more special and meaningful!
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Deborah Roth is a Life and Career Transition Coach and Interfaith Minister who founded Spirited Living™ to help guide spirited women and men through life’s big changes with joy and ease.