After a brief fling in 2017, ‘earlymoons’ have resurfaced again on social media as couples opt for a short-and-sweet (and affordable) pre-wedding honeymoon before the big day, offsetting stress and allowing them to splurge on more ambitious and longer travel later.
And that’s great news for travel advisors with the potential to assist couples with planning not just one but two romantic getaways.
After a US Vogue article last year, the earlymoon trend has taken off again with wedding experts seeing increasing interest in pre-marital escapes.
Pandemic disruptions also meant many weddings and subsequent honeymoons were rescheduled several times or even cancelled due to border closures.
This undoubtedly led to pent-up demand for more international travel with closer-to-home holidays to close the gap before jet-setting couples could head away on overseas honeymoons.
While some couples might make the earlymoon an additional investment, others are sidestepping the traditional honeymoon altogether.
Brides Senior Editorial Director Gabriella Rello Duffy told Good Morning America that the purpose of the earlymoon is “to unwind, relax, be really checked in with each other ahead of the wedding”.
One such newlywed couple told the TV program that earlymoons were an opportunity to take a break from all-consuming wedding planning to recharge, choosing a more affordable getaway to save for the larger honeymoon.
“We knew we weren’t going to be able to do the honeymoon right away. So we wanted to make sure that we took that time beforehand to make that happen.”
“The earlymoon was more budget-friendly. And it’s affording us the time to wait, postpone our honeymoon so we can have a bigger, longer trip.”
Recent research also shows more Aussies are opting to save for their honeymoon instead of splurging on a wedding and island retreats are top of the global honeymoon list.
