The Latest Trend in Travel is the Buddymoon

According to a recent Priceline study that surveyed more than 1,000 Americans on wedding travel, 12 percent of respondents reported joining a group honeymoon, known as buddymoons, in the past five years.

“The sudden interest in buddymoons partially stems from so many couples living together before their wedding,” explains Jordi Lippe-McGraw, who covered the trend in a recent story for Conde Nast Traveler.

McGraw suggests that honeymoons might not be regarded as ‘precious’ anymore, saying “as wedding customs have relaxed over time, the ideal of the honeymoon has shifted, too.”

Like most trends, the buddymoon is believed to have been inspired by celebrities, in this case power couple Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux who in 2015 brought friends Chelsea Handler, Jason Bateman and Courteney Cox on their honeymoon.

“We had thought about it,” Theroux told Extra. “We could just do a normal honeymoon or we could go with friends, keep the party going, relax, and have fun.”

In a 2015 study by The Knot, 21 percent of couples choose to have destination weddings. The growing trend of destination weddings may point to the rise of the buddymoon as couples opt to continue their celebration with friends who have traveled abroad for their nuptials.

Buddymoons also can help offset the costs of a honeymoon, which can average a wallet-cringing $32,641, according to The Knot. Buddymoons help split costs – whether it be a romantic Airbnb on a beach or daily expenses and excursions.

“I think having friends come along [on a honeymoon] is less of a big deal,” W. Bradford Wilcox, a sociologist and the director of the National Marriage Project, told The New York Times. “And in some ways makes it more of a special and exceptional occasion.”