Got the post-honeymoon blues? Here’s how to deal
I think my husband coined this new phrase of ours, “honeymoon hangover” about 30 seconds after our plane landed, delivering us back home from our honeymoon. This hangover of sorts began with a quick pang of reality when suddenly we were seeing that this vacation away from work, responsibilities and the real world was coming to a very abrupt end. All the awesome memories, the week full of lots of great food and drinks were now giving me an almost literal headache and a feeling of anxiety.
In the days and weeks (and even months, if I’m being honest), ahead I’d sometimes be hit with an inner sadness that something I had looked forward to for so long was over, and that everyone was moving on. Or even an unrealistic longing to go back to that one moment on that one day when everything was perfect. “Can’t we just go back?!” was my much-too-common thought. In my right mind, I totally understood that life moves on and our wedding, in fact, does not get to be everyone’s most important day for the rest of their lives, but that’s hard to swallow!
Luckily for me, I was surrounded by a handful of friends that were going through this same weird feeling once their wedding and honeymoon days were over and we could band together and talk ourselves off the post-wedding cliff. Although the planning and big event may be over, it can be a good thing that we’re now back to real life. I think it’s something a lot of newly married couples can relate to, and sometimes we need a little nudge to dig ourselves out of the post-wedding rut. By cautiously moving forward with life, while keeping the awesome memories close by, there are some ways to ensure a honeymoon hangover doesn’t ruin your honeymoon high.
Recreate one of your favorite vacation meals
Chances are once you’re home from your honeymoon, you’ve got a slew of random kitchen utensils and tools that you registered for and now are trying to figure out how to actually use. This is a good problem to have! No matter where your honeymoon took you, you probably can look back to at least one completely drool-worthy meal. And although you may not recreate it exactly authentically, it’s fun to try! So get out those kitchen gadgets, browse for a similar recipe on Pinterest and get your kitchen party started. And hey, there’s always pizza delivery if it doesn’t turn out as well as desired!
Never underestimate a good date night out
While staying in and making an awesome meal can be so fun, and so rewarding, there’s never a reason to discount a good ol’ fashioned date night. One of the coolest things about a honeymoon? Serious one-on-one time with the love of your life! Fun day excursions, awesome romantic dinners – those can happen back in real life too. It doesn’t have to be as fancy as your five-course meal on the beach, but could even be a reservation at your favorite local place, and cheers-ing the survival of the first bit of married life. Marriage isn’t easy, so why not celebrate all the time?
Sift through some #tbt pics
Pick any day of the week, but a good #tbt can work nostalgic wonders, to sit down and go through all your awesome pictures. From the wedding, the honeymoon and beyond. If you took your honeymoon trip right after the wedding, it’s probable that you left your phone and computer alone for a few days post-wedding and may have missed some hilarious pictures tagged with your wedding hashtag on instagram, or maybe your photographer has now posted them on their blog. Or really, maybe you just need to take five minutes dedicated solely to lol’ing at how awesome your friends were on the dance floor. Either way, it’s refreshing and sentimental to go back and remember, in picture form, why your day was as awesome as it was. And chances are, your friends and family helped make it that awesome, so they’ll probably appreciate a good photo tag on social media. Bring on the #tbts.
Plan another vacation
Date nights and picture memories won’t cure your long-lasting honeymoon hangover? Maybe you could use a mini getaway to rejuvenate your mind, body and marriage. Sometimes even just getting out of the house and out of normal routine can cure the post-wedding blues. Plan a night away to a nearby city or venture off your usual path to try someplace new in your city. Most of the time, you quickly realize it wasn’t the vacation you were missing, but the alone time you have together to enjoy just yourselves. Getting away from life and work can be a true stress reliever, and who best to share that with than your new spouse! So hop in the car and make a plan to destination-anywhere, and bring back those cool getaway, honeymoon vibes.
Relax. No, really relax
I catch myself, admittedly quite often, aiming to always be on-the-go. Having free time must mean I’m not doing as much as I could. For the first time in a long time, you actually have more time than usual for some R&R. Gone are the days of organizing the seating arrangements and last-minute dress fittings. You absolutely deserve some days of relaxing, so even if you somehow think you’re missing wedding planning now that it’s over, let’s all remind ourselves how deserving we are for a break from it. If you really need something to do, start writing down all your wedding planning tips and learnings because before you know it, you’ll have a BFF looking to you for answers, and now, you’ll have them.
Enjoy your post-honeymoon time, my friends. Remember what made the greatest day of your life so great. Enjoy each other’s company, continue adventuring and rest your busy minds.
[Image via 20th Century Fox]
