After the stress of organising a wedding, let alone forking out an absolute fortune for it, one might argue that it's the thought of the honeymoon that keeps you going.
Well, things didn't particularly work out for a couple of newly-weds who were stopped from getting on their honeymoon flight because the plane was too full.
Alex and Willow Rymer, from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, were blocked from boarding a TUI jet from Manchester Airport to Cape Verde, saying the down-sized plane had been overbooked.
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Alex, 52, who after a year of waiting to go on his honeymoon at the BLUE Cabo Verde resort, said: "I spent 20 plus years working for a FTSE 100 banking group and am a stickler for good customer service.
"This is the worst I have ever experienced.
"The thing is we had done everything to make it go as smoothly as possible. We booked to include extra legroom seats both ways on the 787 Dreamliner and private transfers as a treat as it was our honeymoon.
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"We even booked a night's stay in a Manchester Airport Hotel with parking to ensure everything went smoothly and we didn't get stuck on the notorious M62.
"We had booked an adults only all-inclusive resort right by the beach and perfect for relaxing with excellent food and wonderful staff. It's the perfect getaway break. I'm a full-time carer.
"This type of holiday while combining it as our honeymoon would have been the ideal break.
"My brother had made special arrangements with his work and partner in order to move in to look after our mother.
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"Willow had also taken specific time off work which clearly cannot now be altered so a complete waste of time."
Alex tried to check-in online the day before they were due to depart, however, he received an error message, prompting him to call the TUI helpline.
After being told there was no problem, Alex claims that the spacious 787 Dreamliner had been changed for a smaller 767 aircraft, yet the seats remained the same.
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Alex added: "I became suspicious things were not all as they seemed when I was unable to check-in online and print boarding passes.
"I phoned TUI but had lengthy delays and kept getting cut off. I was eventually told there was no problem and I would just have to print them at the airport. Then I tried to order champagne for the flight but was told this wasn't possible. Obviously alarm bells were ringing here.
"We arrived at the airport three hours early, checked in, printed boarding passes which had the correct seat numbers, so there didn't seem anything to worry about. The bags were dropped, went through security and then waited in departures. Did the normal things you do, bought suncream and coffees and just waited.
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"Then we heard our names on the tannoy and went to the information desk to be told by the Swiss port employee we were two of 26 to be offloaded from the flight due to it being downsized.
"There were no reps from TUI and we were marched through security with our passports as if we had been on holiday. When I called the helpline it just sounded like the customer service were reading off a script with the same fake emotionless apologies every time I raised a concern.
"How generous of them! It's not the holiday cancellation itself – it's all the before and after nonsense and the inability of TUI to hold themselves accountable or take responsibility.
"In my opinion, they knew the 787 Dreamliner was never going to make the trip so why sell tickets based on that aircraft?"
A spokesperson for TUI said: "We would like to apologise for the inconvenience to our customers on flight TOM586 from Manchester to Sal, Cape Verde, on Sunday 22 May who were affected by an aircraft change due to operational issues. "We contacted affected customers as soon as we became aware of the change, offering the options to cancel their holiday for a full refund, amend their holiday with an incentive or change onto an alternative flight.
"We understand how frustrating and disappointing this will have been and are very sorry for the inconvenience caused."
Topics: Travel
Anish Vij