The Honeymoon Gift Guide: Wedding Night and Beyond
By Zoey Unicorn · 6 min read
Okay so here is my slightly unpopular opinion about honeymoons. Everyone spends nine months agonizing over the flowers and the seating chart, and then packs for the actual honeymoon in a panicked twenty minutes the night before. I mean, the wedding is one day. The honeymoon is the part where you are finally alone together with nowhere to be. That is the part worth planning for.
Whether you are the bride packing your own bag or the friend putting together a bridal shower gift that is not another set of monogrammed towels, this is the guide. What to bring for the wedding night, what to bring for the lazy honeymoon mornings, and one thing you should absolutely leave at home.
For the suitcase (the pieces that make you feel like a bride)
Here is what I have learned. The wedding night is usually less of a scene than the movies promise, because you are both exhausted and full of cake and slightly drunk on the whole day. That is completely fine. What matters is feeling like a knockout in whatever you slip into, even if you slip into it and immediately fall asleep. Something that makes you feel new. A bralette set or a marabou robe you would never wear on a random Tuesday, saved for exactly this.
A little ivory or soft pink plays into the bride energy without being costume-y, and if you want to set the scene, a Trail of Roses scattered to the bed is a sweet, cheap touch that photographs like a movie. Honestly, buy two of the pretty things, because the honeymoon lasts longer than one night and you deserve options.
For the wedding night
For the slow mornings after
The best part of a honeymoon is the nothing. No alarm, no in-laws, room service and each other. This is where a warm bath oil and a massager earn their spot in the bag. You run the bath, the oil turns the water silky, and suddenly a rainy afternoon indoors becomes the whole point of the trip instead of a disappointment. Slow is the entire assignment here, and slow is underrated.
Bring something that turns downtime into together-time. You will remember the lazy morning you gave each other a clumsy massage and laughed the whole way through it far longer than you will remember the fancy dinner reservation.
For the slow mornings after
For the playful in-between
You cannot be soft-focus romantic every single hour of a two-week trip, and you should not try. This is where a game or a new idea saves the day. A dice game that gets you both a little bold, a tiny position book to steal an idea from, a beginner bondage set if you are feeling adventurous, or a wedge pillow that quietly makes everything more comfortable. Marriage is mostly the goofy, curious in-between moments, so you may as well start practicing on the honeymoon.
For the playful in-between
If you are the one buying the gift
Bridal shower gifting can be a minefield, so here is my rule. Give the bride something she would feel a little shy buying for herself but would be thrilled to receive. A pretty bralette, a bath oil, a dice game, wrapped nicely and handed over with zero commentary. You are not making it weird, you are being the friend who thought about the honeymoon and not just the registry. That is the gift everyone remembers.
Keep sizing flexible where you can, lean on the oils and games and treats that fit anybody, and let the lingerie be her call if you are unsure. When in doubt, a beautiful bath oil or a sweet little massager is the gift nobody returns.
What NOT to pack
Do not pack expectations. Truly, leave them home. The pressure to have the most magical romantic night of your entire lives on the exact evening you are the most tired you have ever been is how good nights get ruined. Pack the pretty things, pack the playful things, pack the slow-morning things, and then let the trip be whatever it turns out to be. The marriage is long. The honeymoon is just the sweet, sleepy, cake-drunk beginning of it, and you cannot get that part wrong.