Your honeymoon is the perfect excuse to look for something really special. Not just something pretty, but something that will live in your home for years and quietly remind you of this season of your life. A conversation starter. A small piece of a place you loved. It doesn’t get much more romantic than that.
At some point on every trip, you realize you don’t actually want more stuff. You want something that will remember the trip for you. Something that still holds the feeling of that place long after you’ve unpacked your suitcase.
That’s how Zach and I started looking for antiques when we travel. Not because we needed anything, but because we wanted to bring a piece of a place home with us.
On one of our days in Paris, we navigated the Metro to the Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen. It was raining, the soft Paris kind, and we spent hours wandering through covered aisles and getting lost. We found some of our most treasured pieces there, things that still sit on our shelves and quietly carry that day with them.
That’s the thing about finding heirlooms on your honeymoon. You’re not really shopping. You’re listening.
A few things I’ve learned along the way
Look up markets before you go
Some are only open on certain days. Some pop up in the most unexpected places. A little planning helps you wander with purpose.
Have a loose wish list
Know what you love, but don’t hunt for one exact thing. The magic fades when you get too specific.
Trust what pulls you in
The right piece is usually the one you didn’t see coming.
Invest in art when you can
Buying from an artist turns something beautiful into something personal.
Look for things with quiet meaning
• A painting of flowers that happen to be your birth month blooms or maybe a flower that was in your bouquet.
• A landscape that reminds you of where you got engaged.
• A hand-thrown mug you’ll drink your morning coffee from.
• A linen tea towel you’ll keep long after it should’ve worn out.
• A simple vase that always seems to find fresh flowers.
• A portrait of the two of you from a local artist, the kind you might have sat for on a quiet street in Montmartre.
Plan to mail things home
Don’t let luggage limits decide what you love.
Your honeymoon is the beginning of a shared life. There’s something quietly beautiful about letting your first heirlooms come from a place you loved, chosen together. Years from now, those pieces will still be there, carrying the memory of who you were when you found them.
