Shhh… It’s A Secret Honeymoon Destination!

We spoke with newlywed Benjamin Harris on the biggest surprise of all – his honeymoon. This charming groom decided to surprise his lovely bride-to-be Naomi with a secret honeymoon destination… Bora Bora!

How did it come about that you would plan the surprise honeymoon destination?

I wanted to really treat Naomi, and I had a few possible locations in mind. I think it just worked out that in all of the wedding preparations I’d “take care” of the honeymoon. It started that way but then turned into a surprise (because I wasn’t completely sold on a destination) but I really wanted to spoil my bride!

Apart from the obvious beauty of the location, what made you decide on Bora Bora?

I wanted to really spoil Naomi with somewhere that we would absolutely love. We both prefer tropical destinations and I was thinking of a few possibilities. I’ve always wanted to go to Bora Bora and after looking through the glossy catalogues that the travel agent gave me, I was sold! We stayed at the Le Méridien Bora Bora – that decision was easy – they have a turtle sanctuary where you could swim with the turtles and Naomi LOVES turtles!

So you now have an incredible honeymoon planned, how hard was it to keep this secret?

It was incredibly hard!!! I was so excited about the destination and I knew Naomi would love it, and I love to share everything with her so it became increasingly hard to keep it a secret. Plus, I’d told pretty much all of my friends and family, so there were heaps of people who knew as well. It actually slipped out of a friend’s mouth once, however he covered it up and I think Naomi was listening to another conversation, so luckily she didn’t pick up on it!

Packing can be hard enough without having no idea as to where you’re headed! What clues did you give so that Naomi could pack without giving away the destination?

I told her “think tropical” – I gave her that much info, and figured that wouldn’t be enough to give it away. Plus we both had our hearts set on a tropical honeymoon.

I would have loved to be a fly on the wall the moment you told her – what was her reaction?

I told her on our wedding night – that was always the plan. Her reaction was shock to begin with. The travel agent who booked it was great and she had tied a big bow around our travel documents so I gave them to Naomi when we got to our hotel on our wedding night. She opened it and then I told her we were going to Bora Bora. I showed her pictures of the resort from the internet (on my phone) and that’s when she got really excited!

You successfully pulled off a massive secret and planned a dream honeymoon, so what top tips do you have for other grooms wanting to surprise their brides?

• Go for it! Obviously know what your girl likes to do in her down time, what her ideal holiday is, and get creative.
• Use a travel agent like I did which made life incredibly easy – she organised everything.
• Keep it a secret – don’t do what I did and tell everyone. I think I was incredibly fortunate that she didn’t find out earlier!

I think Ben certainly deserved to put his feet up after his great efforts!

Images taken by Benjamin and Naomi Harris