Why stop the wedding fun when the ceremony ends? According to Condé Nast Traveler, couples are extending the festivities by inviting their friends along on the honeymoon, creating a phenomenon dubbed the buddymoon.
A survey from Travelex indicated that one in five couples have already shared their honeymoon with more than just their spouse. CNT suggests that the trend stems from a bit of celebrity influence. Back in 2015, Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux invited Chelsea Handler, Jason Bateman, and Courteney Cox along for their honeymoon in Bora Bora (must be nice, right?).
"We had thought about it; we could just do a normal honeymoon or we could go with friends, keep the party going, relax, and have fun," Theroux told Extra at the time.
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Another reason for the rise in buddymoons? CNT adds that with more couples living together before they get married, the honeymoon isn't seen as such a "precious" occasion anymore.
"For them, I think having friends come along is less of a big deal," W. Bradford Wilcox, sociologist and director of the National Marriage Project, told The New York Times. "And in some ways makes it more of a special and exceptional occasion."
Additionally, weddings in general have become more relaxed. Long gone are the days of white tie and tails — at least for most people planning a ceremony. Traditions related to the ceremony are changing and evolving, so it makes sense that the honeymoon would follow suit. For destination weddings, where people have already jetted off to a faraway locale, it also makes sense to keep the party going.
"As people tend to get married later in life, weddings have become a lot less traditional," Lia Batkin, cofounder of planning company In The Know Experiences, told CNT. "Couples are planning more destination weddings than ever, so they’re tacking on a trip with their friends at the end of it to extend the celebration."
So, not only are honeymoons becoming a group hang, they're also getting longer, sometimes extending to monthlong excursions. Seeing the sites with your new partner may be fun, but it seems that more and more people are letting their pals join in real life, not just via social media.