July 27th, 2007 Tradition of the day: Honeymoons
Tradition detail: You get married. You celebrate. You take a deep breath. You and your partner travel to another destination; one where you’ll have some privacy after your big day and get to spend some QT with each other. Whether you’re heading to the Jersey shore or to an exotic tropical island, you get to relax and take some serious vacation time after your wedding.
Where it comes from: A long time ago, it was tradition for the groom to feed his new bride a honey alcoholic drink (a.k.a. mead) for the next month/28 days/moon cycle after the wedding. There are many wedding traditions that stem from when grooms captured their brides (yes, there was a time before the diamond ring), and some think this is one of them. Many understand this tradition’s purpose as to impregnate the bride immediately after the wedding.
How couples are changing it: If you have a long engagement and it makes more sense to use your vacation time before the wedding or a long time after, do it! There’s no need for the honeymoon to begin right after your wedding day. Many wait until the season is right, thank-you notes have been written, or save it for the next year’s anniversary.
Creative ideas: My fiancé is planning the entire honeymoon himself. Not only that, but it’ll be a total surprise to me! This is especially great for the bride who takes on most of the planning and the groom needs a big project to work on.
See also:
Origin of the Honeymoon Tradition
Why the Honeymoon?
The Honeymoon Tradition
Wikipedia - Honeymoon