A wedding is the highly visible sign of a couple's commitment to each other. You want every detail to be fairy-tale perfect, and no doubt you'll work for months to make it so. But the honeymoon is the beginning of your life together.

Don't leave the planning to chance or the last minute. Experts recommend couples meet with a travel agent five to eight months before a wedding.

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"If you book everything online yourself, there's no one to call when there's a glitch," said Viki Couch, travel consultant with Explorations, a travel agency in Vinings.

"Our job is to make sure your trip happens exactly as you envisioned it, and we have the contacts to do that."

"Not only do we go to bat for you, but we know the market, the locations and can help you find ways to stretch your budget," said Marissa Barker, senior travel counselor with Uniglobe Five Star Travel in Buckhead. More than just plane and room reservations, an agent can book rental cars, day-tours and entertainment.

A good travel agent will ask about your dream honeymoon, what activities you like, how much time you'll have and how much you can spend. Do you want to relax or explore? They'll make suggestions based on your preferences.

About $4,500 to $5,500 is average for five to seven days in an exotic, resort location. A deposit is due at booking and the balance about 45 days before the wedding.

"We like to talk to the couple together because the bride is often thinking romance and the groom may be thinking budget. Our job is to find a good compromise that meets everyone's expectations," Couch said. "Maybe they could stay fewer nights in a nicer property or extend their stay at a smaller hotel."

An all-inclusive resort with everything paid for ahead of time may eliminate daily budget considerations, leaving the couple free to have fun and enjoy as many frozen umbrella drinks as they wish.

St. Lucia, Jamaica and other islands in the Caribbean are hot destinations for Atlanta couples, as is Mexico.

"The area south of Cancún — the Mayan Rivera — offers good dollar value. There are some fabulous hotels, beautiful beaches, the same blue, blue water of the Caribbean, and Mexico is a two-hour flight away," Barker said.

"Air fares have gone up in the past year, so if you can drive to your destination, you can save money," Barker said. Consider a beach in Florida, or using a vacation charter company instead of a commercial flight.

"We're seeing many more destination weddings these days. Couples are choosing to marry in Jamaica or on a cruise ship, and take their family and guests with them as a sort of 'wedding-moon,' " Couch said.

Many hotels will offer the wedding gratis as part of the package. For honeymoon privacy, couples can invite the guests for a shorter time, or switch resorts after the wedding.

There's no hard-and-fast rule about who pays for a honeymoon. It can be the groom, the couple or a family member.

A new trend is for couples to register their trip with a travel agent and guests can contribute to the fund as a wedding gift. Couples who opt to use a honeymoon registry should be careful to choose a wedding trip that is within their own budget. If wedding guests elect to give other gifts, the couple will have to make up the difference.

"Trip insurance is also a good idea," Barker said. "It doesn't cost that much and, if anything unforeseeable happens, it means the couple can get their money back and go later."