The Honeymoon Fight: Should I Give In?

Sophie, 25, was to start a new page in her life with Mark, 30, getting married in June. Though she wasn’t very eager about a big wedding and would have preferred something really low-key, Mark’s family had other ideas in mind. They wanted the whole thing to be elaborate because they were footing the majority of the bill themselves. Sophie was fine with it, but she had always dreamed of saving the budget for the wedding and instead splurging on a very luxurious honeymoon.

Mark, however, had a cultural background where men were expected to do everything relating to finances. He wanted to cover the expenses of the honeymoon entirely, but that’s where things got problematic. Sophie had planned an elaborate 19-day trip to two very expensive countries — a dream honeymoon she has always wished to have. But the entire cost put her way above Mark’s budget, with a $3,000 overdraft.

When Mark saw the price tag, he insisted that Sophie needed to change her plans, either by switching one of the destinations for a cheaper option or cutting down the days in the second country. Sophie was not willing to compromise on her dream trip, however, and she offered to pay the extra $3,000 to make it work. But Mark said that all the expenses were to be borne by him and that it was unfair for Sophie to pay for anything.

Sophie was stuck. She knew why Mark thought that way; however, she could not help but feel angry. He wouldn’t budge, and neither did she want to feel like she was being unreasonable herself. According to Mark, what he had allotted for honeymoon was quite sufficient, and anything beyond this was just overspending. Neither could they both seem to understand each other and find a way out.

Sophie recognized that the honeymoon was but a minor dispute within their financial concerns. She feared that their various opinions on money would become a bigger bother down the line. A portion of her felt that she just had to pay the extra $3,000 without discussing it with Mark, fearing that it would get more out of hand and damage the trust in their relationship instead.

At the end of it all, Sophie was between giving up her ideal honeymoon and taking Mark’s budget. She wanted to get the trip she had envisioned for their honeymoon, but this would cause her to have an issue with how Mark was being penny-pinching and really just not listening to her vision for their future together.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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