From Mega-Moons to Duo-Moons, a Glossary of the Post-Pandemic Honeymoons

Back in February, The New York Times reported that nearly 2.5 million weddings were expected to happen in the United States in 2022, according to data from the Wedding Report — a Tucson-based trade group. The findings estimated that roughly half of the weddings originally set for 2020 were postponed to 2021 or beyond, and roughly 20% of the weddings planned for 2021 had been postponed to this year.

And with all of those postponed weddings, too, came postponed honeymoons. In fact, according to a new study from Expedia, 97% honeymoon plans were impacted by the pandemic, with nearly every couple forced to cancel, pare down or postpone their post-nuptial trips over the last two years. Now, the study notes, an estimated 4.7 million weddings are expected to take place over the course of the next year and a half — the difference, however, is the way couples are approaching their honeymoons this time around.

“Coming out of the pandemic, couples are clearly determined to have an epic honeymoon,” says Christie Hudson, head of U.S. public relations for Expedia. “For many couples that will include flights, luxurious accommodations and even romantic in-destination activities.”

Which checks out, considering that — according to Expedia’s Travel Trends Report released last November — two-thirds of Americans were planning to take big, extravagant trips to far-flung destinations in 2022. It is as a direct result of this that this year was eventually dubbed the year of the “GOAT” — or, rather, the “Greatest of all Trips.” In effect, after two totally stagnant years, travelers are ready and waiting — to spend more, fly further and stay longer, all in the name of making up for lost time. As evidenced by this latest study, that same sentiment applies to honeymooners, too.

So much so that the term “honeymoon” doesn’t apparently doesn’t even really suffice anymore. Instead, couples are taking “mega-moons,” “duo-moons” and “redo-moons.” What in the fresh hell does that mean, you ask? Here’s the breakdown from Expedia:

Trips instead of toasters: 65% are more likely to add a honeymoon fund to their wedding registry, prompted by the pandemic to prioritize their once-in-a-lifetime trip over traditional registry items.
Mega-moons: More than half (53%) plan to spend more on their honeymoons than they originally budgeted and 59% are more interested now in going to a bucket list destination.
Duo-moons: 83% of those in a relationship are planning a “duo-moon” or multiple honeymoons, such as a quick trip immediately following the wedding and an extended trip later.
Redo-moons: 54% of married couples are not completely satisfied with the honeymoon they took during the pandemic and want a “do-over.”

In short, people are just traveling and there are no longer any rules where honeymoons are involved. Although…were there ever any rules to begin with?

You want to take a second honeymoon? Who cares? Hellbent on a do-over? Go for it! Want to blow all your money on a mega-moon? Carpe diem! For what it’s worth, I’d much rather contribute to a couple’s honeymoon fund in lieu of gifting them a household item off their registry that they probably don’t even need in the first place, anyway!

That said, I’d be totally fine to put the term “mega-moon” to bed, indefinitely. Please don’t ask me to contribute to your “mega-moon.” Honeymoon is just fine, regardless of scope.