The Honeymoon
By Barrington H. Brennen, June 9, 2026
The
honeymoon is vacation time for the newly
married couple to celebrate their new
beginning. Traditionally, a honeymoon is a
time to get away from family and close
friends for the couple to celebrate with
each other in very tender and special ways.
The honeymoon can be as short as two days
and as long as two weeks.
From a teenager, I have been intrigued by
the word “honeymoon”. I wondered where that
word comes from. Then one day, I was reading
one of the children’s storybooks we had at home
that had a story about the word honeymoon. This
is what I can remember reading. It explained
that there was a tradition of a tribe of people
that required newlyweds to drink a honey mixture
for moon days. Moon days are thirty days, one
month.
This week, I did an online search and found
this. Here’s what Wikipedia states: “The
original concept involved honey wine, also
called mead. Newly married couples received a
month's supply of this sweet drink made from
honey. They were expected to consume it for one
full moon cycle after their wedding day. This
practice gave birth to the term “honey month,”
which eventually became honeymoon.”
A honey mixture! Wow! Today, most couples do
not have a month of honeymoon. Neither do they
drink a money mixture. However, it is great
that most, if not all, couples do have a
honeymoon: a short vacation to celebrate the
marriage. Occasionally, a couple I am preparing
for marriage would tell me that they cannot
afford a honeymoon. Hence, they will be going
back to work the following day. They would say
that they would plan for it a year later.
I
would quickly explain to them the purpose of the
honeymoon and suggest that spending at least two
nights in a local hotel could be their
honeymoon, even though they can still plan for a
bigger one in a year. I would remind them that
celebrating the beginning of a life-long
journey, marriage, is worth doing, even if it is
not grand. I am happy to say that all of the
couples I suggested to do this were happy to
have had that “short honeymoon.” They never
regretted it.
My wife and I very own honeymoon, about fifty
years ago, was at the brother-in-law and his
wife’s little bungalow at the rear of their home
in Port-Au-Price, Haiti. We spent one entire
week there with no expense. It was wonderful.
We got married in Martinique (my wife’s native
home), and the flight back to Jamaica, where we
were still college students, stopped in Haiti.
It would be thrilling and free of cost to take
up the offer to spend our honeymoon in Haiti.
There are many parents, grandparents, or other
relatives or friends who would be delighted to
offer a “free honeymoon” for the couple they
know who would be getting married. I encourage
families not to let their relatives not have
a honeymoon because they cannot afford a trip to
Florida, Europe, Thailand, or a Family Island.
Offer them your extra cottage for free. But
remember, it is to be private. Do not see or
disturb them.
Let’s discuss further about planning for the
honeymoon. In the article “Who Pays for the
Honeymoon? The Answer Will Likely Surprise You,”
states: "In older traditions, it was
customary for the groom’s family to cover the
cost of the honeymoon, while the bride’s family
typically paid for the wedding itself. . . .
However, this standard has evolved with time.
With modern couples, it's more common for them
to fund their own post-nuptial getaway, split
the costs between their families, or even ask
guests to contribute to such a vacation, she
says. "There's no one-size-fits-all rule
anymore!"
Today, older, responsible adults are getting
married. They both have successful career paths
and substantial income. Thus, they are
organizing, planning and financing their own
weddings. If parents give funds towards it, it
is considered a bonus blessing, not necessarily
a requirement.
I truly believe it is appropriate for parents to
plan to contribute financially to their
children’s weddings. I am speaking about
first-time marriages and younger adults first
starting out. I am not referring to senior
couples or divorced couples getting married
again. That’s their own doing. There are
parents who truly cannot afford to give their
children any funds due to a lack of employment
or underemployment. That is okay.
Truthfully, lack of funds for a grand wedding
ceremony, reception or honeymoon should not be a
reason to not get married. The cost for a
wedding in The Bahamas would be, first, the cost
of the application to get married, which is
$100, and then, if there is a small fee for a
marriage officer, if the church pastor is not
performing the wedding for free. In addition,
add the cost for the two nights in a local
hotel. The total cost to do all of this can be
as little as $1000.
If you are getting married, make sure you have a
honeymoon right away. It is a wonderful way to
celebrate the beginning of a life-long journey.
Barrington H.
Brennen is a marriage and family therapist.
Send you questions or comments to question@soencouragement.org
or call 1242 327 1980 or visit www.soencouragement.org
Quite honeymoon spot in The Bahamas
Crooked Island
