Have you had to opt for a replacement honeymoon getaway within the last couple of years? Well, you’re not alone. Over the past two years, Google searches for ‘honeymoon cancelled’ shot up by 180%1 and in September 2020, nearly 80% of newlyweds reported that they would be postponing their honeymoons – so what are they doing now?
You will have heard of renewing your vows but personal travel management company, Winged Boots has shared the latest travel trend to lean into this year, and it’s renewing your honeymoon.
What does ‘renewing your honeymoon’ mean?
This latest travel trend is all about renewing or upgrading your first honeymoon to experience MORE, whether that’s more adventure, more relaxation, or just simply enjoying the honeymoon you had always dreamed of.
So, whether you’ve experienced delays related to the Covid-19 pandemic and opted for a low-key staycation or you’ve been keen to upgrade a getaway that failed to live up to expectations, couples are choosing 2022 as the year to renew their original getaway.
Renew your honeymoon: Case studies
After originally planning a wedding for the 13 June 2020, which has now been rearranged five times to celebrate in May of this year, James Ashton and his fiancée, from London, also tried their best to rearrange their honeymoon but after being met with several blockers they’ve had to enjoy their experience in reverse.
James said: “Although it has been really stressful having to rearrange our wedding five times we are really gutted that we haven’t been able to have the dream honeymoon we had originally planned.
“We had always planned to go to Africa for two weeks with the main highlight of gorilla trekking in Uganda before visiting Rwanda and Tanzania with a final destination of Kenya to stay at the iconic Giraffe Manor.
“On the final round of rearranging the wedding we tried to do the same with the honeymoon but unfortunately couldn’t secure new dates for our final stop and by this point, all of our other original plans had fallen through, so we made the unusual decision to go on our honeymoon two months before our wedding in March 2022.
“On reflection, we actually really enjoyed the chance to get away and relax after all the last-minute changes but we are planning to head back to Uganda to experience our dream of gorilla trekking and celebrate our honeymoon the way we originally planned.
“We did consider cancelling this trip altogether but with plans to start a family having been on hold for the last few years we just had to bite the bullet and celebrate in the slightly backwards way we have, and we’ve enjoyed throwing both traditions and timelines out of the window!”
Rachel Spensley and her fiancée decided to go ahead with their wedding during the Covid-19 pandemic but due to travel restrictions at the time, they celebrated their honeymoon with a minimoon in Cornwall, however, they have plans to renew their honeymoon, with a couple of extra ‘guests’.
Rachel said: “We made the decision to go ahead with our wedding in the middle of the pandemic as soon as it was confirmed we were allowed up to 30 guests. Everything had been on and off for so long, it was great to have something to celebrate and to have even a small number of our family and friends in one room together felt like such a treat.
“During this time, borders around the world were still closed and travel was still very restricted so we decided to put off our honeymoon until we could travel more freely. For a while, we held our breath thinking any day now more travel corridors would open – they didn’t. In the end, we enjoyed a very happy and sunny minimoon in beautiful Cornwall.
“Today our honeymoon fund is still sitting untouched, life has continued, our family is growing with the expected arrival of twin babies this summer. However, one thing is for sure, we are determined to still enjoy a dreamy holiday and celebrate becoming Mr and Mrs in style – it might just look a little different to our original plans with double trouble in tow. At the moment we have our sights set on the Maldives as it ticks all of the boxes, an incredible honeymoon destination and plenty of family-friendly resorts for us to choose from!”
David Ox, Managing Director of Winged Boots says: “We look forward to seeing how the renew your honeymoon trend grows and develops after seeing married couples find their own unique ways to celebrate their honeymoon over the past couple of years.
“We hope that this trend also encourages couples who may be coming up to momentous anniversaries to renew their first honeymoon experience, to celebrate their relationship now that we can travel more freely.”
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