Honeymoon planning: when to book and what to watch out for with IDs and passports

Updated 16. October 2026 · Svatební plán editorial team

You usually end up planning your honeymoon right when your head is full of the wedding itself. Booking early lets you tick it off and forget about it until the big day. Just watch out for one crucial detail under Czech law: if either of you changes your surname when you marry, your national ID card (občanský průkaz) expires after 45 days and your passport expires after 3 months.

Below you will find when to book, how to handle flight bookings and passports after a surname change, what to include in your budget, and how to ask guests for a honeymoon contribution. Jump straight to passports and IDs after the wedding

Right after the wedding, or later?

There is no single right time to go. It depends on how much annual leave you have, where you want to travel, and how tired you expect to be after the wedding.

Right after the wedding: Your trip flows straight on from the celebration while you are still in the wedding spirit. You won't have the time or headspace to plan a trip in the final weeks before the wedding, though, so everything needs to be booked well in advance.
A few months later: You get time to catch your breath after the wedding and travel outside peak summer season. Anyone changing their surname also has time to get a new passport and ID card first and book tickets under their new name.
A short break now, a longer trip later: A few quiet days somewhere nearby right after the wedding, followed by a longer trip later in the year. Ideal if you can't take two weeks off work straight away or don't fancy packing for a long-haul flight the morning after the party.

Under Czech labour law, your employer grants two days of wedding leave for your own wedding (with wage compensation for one of them). For the honeymoon itself you will use regular annual leave — book it at work as soon as your wedding date is set.

What to arrange and when

You can start as soon as your wedding date is fixed. If you are travelling straight after the wedding:

Around six months before the wedding, pick your destination and dates. Check the Ministry of Foreign Affairs travel advice for entry requirements: visas, vaccinations, and minimum passport validity.
Book flights and accommodation. Enter passenger names so they match the exact passport or ID card you will physically travel on — see the rules below for why this matters.
Take out travel and cancellation insurance as soon as you book. Many insurers only allow trip-cancellation cover to be added within a few days of paying the deposit.
Two months before the wedding, double-check the spelling of names on all bookings and the expiry dates of both partners' passports and IDs.
A week before the wedding, save tickets and confirmations to your phone and agree on who will take care of wedding gifts, hired decor, and leftover food after the party so your morning after is clear.

Passports and IDs when changing your surname

If you take a new surname at a Czech wedding, your existing documents still show your previous surname right after the ceremony. Under Czech law they remain valid for a limited transition period — each for a different length of time:

Your Czech national ID card (občanský průkaz) stays valid for 45 days from the wedding date. You then have 15 days to apply for a new one (free within the standard processing time).
Your Czech passport stays valid for 3 months from the wedding date, regardless of the expiry date printed inside. After three months, it automatically becomes invalid by law.

That leads to one simple rule: always book flights and hotels under the exact name printed on the document you will travel with — and count from your return date, not your departure date.

If you return within three months of the wedding

Travel on your existing passport and book every flight and hotel under your previous surname. Apply for your new passport once you are back. The name on your boarding pass must match the passport you show at the airport, and airlines often refuse or charge heavily for name changes on issued tickets.

If you are travelling within the EU on your national ID card alone, remember the window is shorter: your old ID card is valid for only 45 days after the wedding.

If you set off more than three months later

Get your new ID card and passport first, and book your tickets under your new surname. You can apply for a new passport as soon as the registry office (matrika) issues your marriage certificate (oddací list). Standard passport issuance takes up to 30 days, or faster for an express fee.

Example

Klára and Ondřej marry on Saturday 12 June 2027, and Klára takes Ondřej's surname. Her old passport remains valid until 12 September and her old ID card until 27 July. Because they fly out on 20 June and return on 3 July, they book the flights under Klára's maiden surname and she travels on her existing passport. Once they return, she applies for a new passport and — by 11 August at the latest — a new ID card.

You cannot apply for new documents without your marriage certificate (oddací list). Keep it safe alongside your passports as soon as you collect it so you don't have to hunt for it after your trip.

If neither of you is changing your surname, none of these transition deadlines apply. Simply check that your passport won't expire during the trip — many destinations outside Europe require at least six months' validity beyond your return date.

Including the honeymoon in your budget

Add the honeymoon as its own line item in your wedding budget right from the start. When couples leave it out of the initial budget, the honeymoon is usually the first thing sacrificed if the reception ends up costing more than expected.

Beyond flights and hotels, remember to factor in:

travel and trip-cancellation insurance,
getting to the airport and airport parking,
local transfers, car hire, and excursions,
visas and travel vaccinations,
mobile data roaming outside the EU,
tips and local tourist taxes.

In the planner, the honeymoon has its own budget category and checklist task. For advice on building the rest of your budget, see How much a wedding costs.

Budget in the planner

How to ask guests for a honeymoon contribution

Many couples already have a fully equipped home and would much rather put gifts towards travelling together. Telling your guests that is completely normal — keep it brief, warm, and unapologetic.

On the printed invitation, one short sentence is plenty. Put your bank account number and QR payment code on your wedding website, where guests can find them easily when they are ready.

Sample wordings

Having you with us is the best gift we could ask for. If you would still like to give us something, we would be grateful for a contribution towards our honeymoon.

Our kitchen cupboards are already full, so we are saving up for a honeymoon in Portugal. If you would like to give us a wedding gift, a contribution towards our trip would make us very happy. You will find our account details on our wedding website.

We don't expect any gifts. If you would still like to treat us, you are welcome to contribute to our honeymoon pot — or bring a bottle of wine we can open together when we get back.

After the wedding, note down who contributed so you can thank everyone properly. Sending a postcard or photo from the trip they helped make happen is a lovely touch.

On a Svatební plán wedding website, you can add a monetary gift option alongside physical gift ideas. Guests see your account number and a mobile banking QR code with a pre-filled payment note such as “Honeymoon”, and enter whatever amount they choose. In the planner, you can log gifts by household and tick off thank-you notes as you send them.

How the wedding website works

Package holiday vs booking independently

Travel agency package: Package holidays sold by licensed travel agencies are legally insured against operator insolvency, and if flights change you deal with a single contact. Handy for long-haul destinations or when you don't want to piece transfers and hotels together yourself.
Booking independently: Gives you complete freedom over where you stay and how long you spend in each place. If an airline cancels a flight, however, sorting out connecting transfers and hotel nights falls on you.

Whichever way you book, mention to your hotel or guesthouse that you are on your honeymoon — there is no downside, and many places leave a small welcome treat or room upgrade.

What next

Your honeymoon is just one piece of the puzzle. See what else to arrange and when in our wedding checklist.

Start planning for free

Find more practical planning advice in our wedding guides.