‘The hotel staff were convinced we were swingers’: Is the world ready for ‘buddymooning’?
Last summer, Marie-Claire Chappet and her husband tied the knot in the south of France. “Our honeymoon was planned as a road trip through Provence and then a week in Sicily,” she says. So far, so ordinary – yet, what wasn’t so ordinary about Marie-Claire’s honeymoon was that two of her friends came along. “We were very keen on encouraging anyone who wanted to, to join us for at least the French part of it,” Marie-Claire says. “It was one of my bridesmaids and her husband, who are both best friends of mine from university, who took us up on our offer.”
At this stage, some not-so-newlyweds might think that Marie-Claire and her husband lost their minds in the Provençal lavender haze. Isn’t the whole point of a honeymoon to have a romantic, relaxing time with your new spouse, alone? Wouldn’t bringing your mates along ruin some of the fun? Well, all the trad-heads out there will have to get with the times, because while the popularity of Provence may prove eternal, mere two-person honeymoons are officially passé. Now, if you want to kick off your marriage in the coolest way possible, it’s all about “buddymoons”.
OK, so maybe this is a slight exaggeration – “buddymoons” haven’t taken off to such an extent that every. Across and , many who are “just married” are showing off their post-nuptial group trips. Whether they’re , , or , they’re doing it all with a gaggle of mates in tow. “This is your sign to bring your buds on your honeymoon,” one declares, over footage of a friendship group apres-skiing in the French Alps. And, it has to be said, they look like they’re having a whale of a time.
