The traditional honeymoon likely won't be falling out of fashion
anytime soon, but wedding and travel experts report that a growing
number of couples are inviting friends to join them on their milestone
postnuptial trip.
Industry insiders have dubbed this emerging category a "buddymoon."
"Buddymoons have been on the rise for a few years now," said Sarah
Schreiber, associate editorial director of the digital wedding
publication Brides. "I wouldn't say the just-for-two honeymoon is taking
a back seat to buddymoons by any means, but they're becoming more
common."
According to Schreiber, the emergence of the buddymoon predates the
pandemic and can be linked in part to larger shifts happening within the
weddings space. This includes heightened demand for increasingly
elaborate and extended special-occasion trips.
"Destination events are booming and bigger than ever," Schreiber
said. "The modern destination wedding has become a weeklong enterprise,
often with multiple events. It's easy to understand where that buddymoon
element fits in."
And while some newlyweds may opt for a buddymoon in place of a
traditional honeymoon, the two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.
"Couples are taking both," Schreiber said. "Duos are taking multiple post-married trips."
Some hotels and resorts are vying for a larger slice of this growing
honeymoon pie. Since 2019, Mexico's Velas Resorts has promoted a special
buddymoon package that offers couples the opportunity to book a
four-day celebration with friends either before or after a wedding.
Available at the Grand Velas Riviera Maya, Grand Velas Riviera
Nayarit and Grand Velas Los Cabos, the customisable experience varies by
property, but it can include elements like a welcome cocktail party, a
cooking or cocktail class, a spa day, a fishing excursion or a luxury
yacht charter.
Who goes on buddymoons?
Courtnie Nichols, CEO and founder of the destination wedding and
celebration-focused travel company TravelBash, reports that she's
noticed an uptick in buddymoon bookings since the pandemic. According to
Nichols, her buddymoon clients tend to be couples in their 30s who are
well established in their relationships and have likely travelled
together in the past.
"They tend to have already been living with their partner for a
while," Nichols said. "And they're either getting a house or they're in a
great place in their career, or maybe they're getting ready to have a
baby, so they're not new couples or new to each other."
According to Nichols, buddymoons typically serve as a natural
extension to a destination wedding, with friends or the bridal party
either choosing to stay at a property with the couple for an extended
period or jetting off as a group to a second resort or destination.
"I have one bride, for example, who wants to 'honeymoon-hop,' or go
from one property to a sister property, and she's inviting all her
friends to do that with her, as well," Nichols said.
Other buddymoons that Nichols has planned have involved a client who
booked a family-friendly all-inclusive for her destination wedding,
followed by a honeymoon with friends at a nearby adults-only resort.
Another pair recently booked a 19-day Africa trip for their honeymoon,
and they plan to be joined throughout the trip by two other couples.
With friends, however, can come added complexities. While Nichols
said buddymoon-style trips still fall under the general umbrella of
honeymoon travel at TravelBash, she and her team may reassess that
categorisation in the coming year.
"We might need to look at how we're charging for and planning these,
because it's not just a traditional honeymoon, and there are so many
moving parts," Nichols said. "Some are requiring a lot more attention
than we anticipated."
Rebecca East, a luxury travel advisor at LifeStyled Group, has
similarly been fielding requests for buddymoons over the past several
years. These have included a 15-person Japan buddymoon that incorporated
a Mount Fuji hike. Next year, East is sending a couple and around 30 of
their closest friends on a buddymoon to Ibiza.
"Time passes so quickly," East said. "Couples who have been planning
their destination weddings for a year or eight months or however long
really want to have something else to look forward to that continues the
party and celebration."
Schreiber of Brides agreed that a buddymoon can be an effective way to keep the good times rolling.
"After many wedding plans were postponed for the pandemic, it makes
sense that more couples want their closest friends and family to relish
this moment with them and to make it last just a little while longer,"
she said.
Source: Travel Weekly