There is nothing more exciting than the anticipation of waiting for your date to arrive and whisk you away on a romantic evening.  Being engaged or married doesn’t mean that feeling has to be part of the past.  Date nights are a great way to keep the romance alive in any relationship.  For some perfect date ideas, check out the collection of links below:

-Redbook has 100 Great Date-Night Ideas.  Pick one and treat yourselves each month.  If you want the fun to last even longer, check out Redbook’s book, 500 Great Dates, by Lisa Sussman.

-For 50 more date night secrets, check out About.com, where you’ll find ideas like local road trips and sharing a milkshake at a sweet diner!

-The Nest has an entire page dedicated to different date night categories.  Whether you’re in the mood for a cheap date or a high-rolling rendez-vous, you’ll find an option to suit your needs.

-Visit ThirtyDollarDateNight.com and click the big red button.  A new $30 date idea is generated with each click!  Visit this site on a whim to plan your weekend.  There is even an international city guide and the ability to add your own date ideas to the database!

A journey in itself, wedding planning can be both exciting and exhausting.  Luckily, it leads not only to an amazing celebration but also to an incredible vacation!  Your honeymoon will be your biggest reward (next to your new husband or wife, of course) for all the hard work you’ve invested.  A great way to slash the cost and involve family and friends in your trip-planning is to use a Honeymoon Registry.  My husband and I used one of these amazing websites, and not only did they help us plan the trip of a lifetime by assisting with hotels, transfers, activities and more, it also helped us to afford an even more extravagant vacation than we had originally planned.

-The Big Day has a detailed honeymoon registry with the option to personalize each gift that you list with your own images and copy.  Visit some of the sample registries available on their site to get a better idea of all that you can do.

-Honeymoon Wishes is a similar site with the same great options, including the ability to cash out on your gifts at any time and planning assistance.

-If you want to be your own travel agent and already have the destination, hotels and activities in mind, Honeyfund will be your perfect online destination.  No setup fees, transaction fees or travel booking is required to take advantage of this detailed honeymoon registry.

-The Honeymoon offers a network of professional travel agents local to your zip code so that you can actually meet with someone in person to plan your trip instead of relying on phone and email.

-Say thank you for your honeymoon gifts with style.  Check out Wedding Paper Divas for some chic thank you notes, like this Palm Leaf Thank You to reflect a tropical honeymoon.  With your note, include a photo of you doing whatever activity was purchased for you through your honeymoon registry.  Your guests will love that you were thoughtful enough to not only use their gift, but to think of them while you were doing it!  Such a personal touch will truly show your appreciation.

1. Pottery Barn just introduced its luggage collection, and I’m so excited! Check out their new stylish collection.

2. If you have trouble sleeping in new places, check out the new alarm clock everyone’s talking about. Brookstone’s Travel Tranquil Moments alarm clock is a clock, sound machine and voice memo recorder all in a compact style so that you can take with you where ever you go.

3. Tired of all those distorted, squished photos of the two of you? Bring along the Gorillapod so you won’t have to worry about who’s going to take your picture. Just attached your camera to this funny looking but useful tripod. (L.L. Bean, $22)

4. Planning on bringing home a ton of gifts for friends and family? These chic, reusable shopping bags fold up into a tiny little pouch that’s great for packing them up and taking them out to fill with all those great gifts!

I admit that the last few weeks there’s only been one thing on my mind…my honeymoon! I’ve searched the web for some great ways to get all of you recently wed brides geared for a romantic vacation.

1) If you’re heading for somewhere cold, this gorgeous Fair Isle Sweater dress will keep you warm and in style. The flirty little rosette dress is perfect for a night out with your new husband. The cure for the end of the summer blues? Warm sand, ocean breezes in a tropical dream. This halter maxi dress will help you get there. All from Victoria’s Secret.

2) These chic weekender bags are a stylish and useful accessory, carrying everything you need for short and long vacations. From left, Billabong Road trip bag, $74 from Swell, Victoria’s Secret Pink travel duffel $59.50, and Fossil Weekender Duffle $138.

3) Bring your wedding thank you cards with you and be inspired by the beautiful scenery to send out your words of appreciation!

Why not extend the bachelorette party with your girlfriends to a whole weekend instead of just one night? It’ll be a chance to relax with the girls, reminisce about your single days and celebrate the upcoming wedding. Check out HolidayGoLightly for planned destinations that include all types of trips, from adventurous tours like going surfing on Oahu to taking a relaxing sunset sailing tour at Martha’s Vineyard. Budget Travel also has its own magazine on traveling specifically with your girlfriends, and their website has great articles, including how to be sensitive to your bridesmaids worries about cost, an article titled, “How to Plan a Bachelorette Party” and a ton of featured deals for you and your girlfriends.

After you’ve figured out what you’ll do, send out these fun, chic cards to invite them all over for a memorable time!

This Spa Days Bachelorette Party Invitation would be great for–what else?–a spa themed weekend getaway! Or, if you’re having an elegant gathering involving museums, parks and maybe some shopping, send out these Lovely Butterfly Bachelorette Party Invitations.

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And, for an adventurous weekend including a few wild nights out, check out this Party Girl Bachelorette Party Invitations.

Planning your wedding can be fun, stressful, exhilarating and exhausting all at the same time. Your honeymoon, on the other hand, should be pure bliss! Take a few minutes to check out these 5 links and learn how to beat jet lag, book a holistic honeymoon and make the most of your time as the newest of newlyweds.

• Find beautiful locations, fabulous fashions and other fun honeymoon info with The Wedding Chicks.
• Everyday Health tells you how to avoid jet lag.
• From Paris to Prague, see The Knot’s list of the Ten Most Romantic Cities in the World.
• Check out DearSugar’s advice on how to beat the post-wedding, pre-honeymoon blues.
• Suite101 offers ten tips for a safe, happy and hassle free honeymoon