Wedding trends

'Buddymoons' are latest wedding craze taking off from Texas and beyond

Buddymoon, friends on vacation, travel, trip

The more friends the merrier on a "buddymoon."

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Picture this: You and your significant other have tied the knot in the wedding your dreams and are off to paradise. But rather than get away from friends and family, they're all coming with you.

Romantic? Maybe not. An adventure to remember for a lifetime? Definitely.

Over the past decade, "buddymoons" — yes, you read that right — started bubbling up on Instagram and TikTok and have only become more popular. Luxury wedding planner Marcy Blum told the Washington Post that out of the 10 weddings she usually plans yearly, at least two couples want a more communal post-nuptial celebration.

Recently, several Texas couples have described to CultureMap how they've extended their wedding festivities into longer celebrations with family and friends: via a boating party the day before the wedding, an epic after-party at a hotel, or a winery crawl through Fredericksburg the day after their nuptials.

But toting family and friends along to the honeymoon, especially overseas, is next level.

Social media influencers Hannah Godwin and Dylan Barbour of Bachelor in Paradise took 13 of their friends to Mykonos after their nuptials in Condécourt, France, in 2023. Back in 2019, singer Meghan Trainor and Spy Kids star Daryl Sabara jetted off to Bora Bora with friends and family in a "familymoon" to celebrate their union.

Like at weddings, where friends and family are witnesses to a traditional ceremony, inviting friends to a honeymoon functions much the same way, Francez Curbelo told The New York Times after visiting Europe and taking a cruise with her buddies following her nuptials: "You want them to be witnesses to how great of a trip you had."

Of course, this is just one of the many reasons couples opt for a buddymoon.

Curious to know what else nudges couples to take the leap with a big group of friends, Contiki talked to wedding and travel experts, combed the experiences of Redditors, and pulled in interviews of past buddymooners to understand the allure of honeymooning with friends and how the rationale for the trend has changed over time. Here's a closer look at the trend.

When did 'buddymoons' begin?
One of the earliest reports of a buddymoon came from an Australian newspaper in 2010, arguing that perhaps the "buddymoon" was "taking the 'honey' out of honeymoon;" the story was picked up by American media when The New York Times covered it two years later. Back then, Brandon Warner, founder of Traveler's Joy, a website registry that creates a wish list for couples' honeymoons, told the Times that the tough economy meant fewer people were taking vacations. Wedding guests were more inclined to tag a vacation onto special events like a wedding to maximize their time investments.

Actors Justin Theroux and Jennifer Aniston were early adopters in 2015, when they invited Courteney Cox, Chelsea Handler, and Jason Bateman to their honeymoon in Bora Bora. Both were in their mid-40s at the time, deciding to "keep the party going, relax, and have fun" rather than opt for a "normal honeymoon," Theroux told Extra.

Honeymooning differently
Relationship scientist Rachel Vanderbilt told the Washington Post the buddymoon phenomenon is a result of marriage traditions changing over time.

"The initial conception of a honeymoon was a discovery process," she said, whereas now "the honeymoon is no longer that really foundational part of starting your marriage."

Americans are saying "I do" at an older age. Additionally, the Pew Research Center found in 2021 that a quarter of 40-year-olds in the United States had never been married. While couples delay tying the knot, they still move in together. In 2022, almost 1 in 4 never-married adults ages 40 to 44 chose to live under one roof instead.

Buddymoons, then, become an exciting departure from a couple's normal patterns, seeing their partners at home day in and day out.

As Michael Torbiak of M.domo Travel explained to The Zoe Report, people celebrating a second marriage may also want to honeymoon differently than was once the norm. "People want to keep the wedding going sometimes instead of going on a quiet honeymoon with just their spouse," Torbiak said.

Sarah Schreiber, associate editorial director of the wedding publication Brides, told Travel Weekly the rise of buddymoons is tied to larger wedding trends like longer, more elaborate destination weddings that can stretch a week and include multiple events. On average, U.S. couples spend seven days on their honeymoon, spending around $4,800 if they travel by plane.

Luxury destination trips can cost up to $35,000, Laura Frazier, destination wedding and honeymoon expert, told Brides. Splurging during a big honeymoon on things like renting villas or yachts can be more manageable financially when shared among additional people.

Schreiber also said that in this age of honeymoon luxury, she's noticed a trend for couples to take traditional honeymoons — and buddymoons. The website Weddingbee also proposes buddymoons as a co-ed, pre-wedding ritual that replaces bachelor and bachelorette parties.

Friends forever
The COVID-19 pandemic may have also boosted the popularity of buddymoons. Brandon McConnell of the wedding venue Lake Lawn Resort in Wisconsin told Stacker that, especially after the pandemic, clients repeatedly saw "the value of being able to have guests stay and spend time together under one roof."

Zoe Burke, editor of the wedding planning site Hitched, agrees. She told the U.K. publication The Times: "Let's face it, you have the rest of your life to be just the two of you, so why not max out the rare time where you have all your loved ones around you?" It can also be a way to show appreciation for friends and family by carving out more time with them rather than just a hurried hello on a busy wedding day.

Jesse Reing, owner of Events by Jesse, which offers customized wedding and travel planning, told Stacker that her clients who have gone on buddymoons have had positive experiences. Couples tell her it feels nostalgic to go on a group trip with people from different phases of their lives and spend quality time with them. In fact, Reing has seen more bachelorette parties focus on wellness rather than partying (and Texas has become a top playground for luxury spa getaways). Buddymoons offer a chance to continue the celebration differently.

For better, for worse
The unique honeymoon format does have its pros and cons. Lifehacker suggests buddymoons are great for tight-knit friends who hardly can see each other. Extended vacations like these provide valuable time to catch up on each other's lives.

Redditor raininfordays also adds that it can work if the buddymoon group is fairly independent or helps suggest fun activities. And while raininfordays said they "did [a lot] of things suggested [by others] that we wouldn't have done otherwise and got some great memories," they caution couples to "choose wisely," as inviting self-centered friend groups can make for a bad buddymoon.

However, there may be times when buddymoons aren't such a good idea.

According to Lifehacker, there are three potential reasons why these honeymoons with friends may not work out: when one or both of the newlyweds are introverted, if the couple values more traditional honeymoons, or when romance is the main objective. As Redditor linerva put it: "I love my partner's friends, it's a fun mixed group and we do holiday together sometimes. But if he insisted they all came on our honeymoon it'd be such a red flag."

So, will buddymoons take over how we traditionally celebrate marriage? Schreiber is skeptical. "I wouldn't say the just-for-two honeymoon is taking a back seat to buddymoons by any means," she said, "but they're becoming more common."

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This story was republished with permission from Stacker.com and was edited per CultureMap style. It originally appeared on Contiki and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. Story editing by Carren Jao. Copy editing by Paris Close.

buddymoons trends weddings

Houstonians welcome

First look at new boutique hotel now welcoming guests in Montrose

Photo by Julie Soefer

The Hotel Saint Augustine has opened its doors.

Montrose has gained a new saint. Long associated with luxuriously quaint boutique properties, the anxiously awaited expansion of Austin-based Bunkhouse Hotels to Houston has finally arrived. The undeniably chic Hotel Saint Augustine may be sparkly and new, but with the succinct efforts that went into the seamless introduction of its presence in the neighborhood, it’s purposefully difficult to notice.

Thankfully, Hotel Saint Augustine lacks what all Bunkhouse properties lack — the gaudiness and unapproachability typically associated with high profile luxury hotels. It’s comfy. Located near what is arguably one of the most serene and lauded museum parks in the country, The Menil Collection, Hotel Saint Augustine’s buildout is so successfully unassuming that the line of which property is an amenity to the other begins to blur — and that’s the goal.

"In the design of Hotel Saint Augustine, we were inspired by both the adjacent Menil Collection and the surrounding neighborhood. The architecture of the hotel references the gray palette of the Menil Collection and the low-rise, residential scale of Montrose,” Lake|Flato partner Chris Krajcer tells CultureMap. “Drawing inspiration from the early modernist houses of Louis Khan and Rudolph Schindler, the architecture is very quiet in spirit, balancing a composition of solids and voids. We crafted the site as a succession of buildings ordered around a series of courtyards, so that the guest experience is one of being immersed in an inviting garden."

Spread out over two acres, five buildings, and expertly curated green spaces, the utilization of muted brick, raw wood, and black steel, catwalk-style elevated walkways allows Hotel Saint Augustine to feel like an extension of its neighbors: The Menil Collection and The University of Saint Thomas.

Upon passing through the main entrance into the courtyard, visitors will notice fragrant Douglas Fir clads the underside of all overhead structures, permeating the air during any time spent on the property.

Notably, the courtyard and Augustine Lounge are open and accessible to the public — you don’t have to be a guest to show up and hang out. The aforementioned Augustine Lounge is comprised of a multitude of seated gathering areas, including an elongated common table with seating to match. This space, along with all others within the lounge, has been designed with an intention for actual utility—it is not for show.

Once engrossed in the space, one can feel the intention. Comfortably-upholstered vintage lounge furniture populates areas around work spaces, one-on-one seated table nooks, a walk-up lounge bar, and 70s-era seating beneath an ambiance-setting, reel-to-reel tape deck confirm that the Augustine Lounge is a legitimate “third place” for the neighborhood. The vibe is decidedly a good, old-fashioned throwback to the original Montrose mantra: show-up, get comfortable, stay awhile.

“For us, Hotel Saint Augustine offers a chance to become part of a neighborhood that deeply aligns with the Bunkhouse ethos,” Bunkhouse senior VP of design and development Tenaya Hills says. “Montrose, and by extension, the Museum District and Houston at large, foster an incredible sense of community, of creativity, of old world and new. We wanted to create a place where everyone could come and feel as welcome and inspired. As the next iteration of our Saint hotels, we aim to provide the same unique feeling of seclusion, of permission to be indulgent, and, most of all, completely at ease.”

Bunkhouse enlisted architectural firm Lake|Flato for this project, accompanied by New York and Wyoming-based Post Company for interior design, with Ten Eyck taking charge of the landscaping. Award-winning Houston chef Aaron Bludorn is at the helm of the highly anticipated Perseid restaurant, which will be open all day, seven days a week beginning in January and also accommodate Augustine Lounge and in-room dining. While the hotel is mainly named in honor of the patron saint of printing and sits across the street from the Menil Drawing Institute, Perseid is aptly named after the annual meteor shower that peaks during — you guessed it — the month of August.

The architecture of Hotel Saint Augustine reflects principles of famed Houston architect Philip Johnson, who was the architect for The University of Saint Thomas, as well as the personal architect to John and Dominique De Menil, while the hotel’s interior is a very intentional nod to the De Menil’s personal interior designer Charles James. James and Johnson were famously as fond of one another as Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. Yet, here they are, paired once again.

Guests of the 71 room hotel may be delighted to learn that over 50 percent of the mostly courtyard-facing rooms and suites have either balcony or terrace spaces, complete with ceiling fans for Houston’s oftentimes stagnant summer days. Speaking of summer days, the quaint circular pool can be heated as well as cooled. Those who opt for a a dip in the pool will find it refreshingly cool.

Rooms and suites (starting at $429 per night) offer opulently-upholstered velvet beds with crisply-pressed and embroidered white linens. Whimsically-upholstered furnishings solidify the cozy atmosphere throughout the rest of the property. Bathrooms turn moody with the introduction of shiny, deep-green tiles, bullnosed marble, and glistening chrome hardware fixtures. Marquee-style vanity lighting intentionally mimics that of the primary bathroom of Dominique de Menil, while thoughtfully wall-hung shelving is provided for storing personal items. Elegantly subtle in scent, in-room spa products are by Los Angeles-based, woman-owned Klur. Aside from the furnishings and the seamlessly integrated minibar and fridge, guest rooms are noticeably stark in hopes of engaging a guest’s subconscious — go explore.

Perched above the future Perseid sits the treehouse-like ballroom. In addition to its 1,850 square feet, there is a 1,200-square-foot pre-event space as well as a 260-square-foot balcony. In total, the ballroom can accommodate 130 seated or 250 standing guests. The mostly glassed-in space offers courtyard views.

Landscape architects at Ten Eyck worked alongside Hempstead’s The John Fairey Garden for years cultivating mostly native plants that will provide lush views year round. No one should worry about the large pecan tree that vastly predates the hotel; it remains in what is now the courtyard and is poised to collect an entirely new generation of fans.

The well-curated retail and check-in space of Hotel Saint Augustine’s lobby is designed in juxtaposition to the other public-facing spaces. Bright red, high-gloss, cubist shelving encapsulates the expertly-mitered Calacatta Viola marble desk that is central to the room. Alongside the somewhat expected offerings of coffee table books and branded accoutrements lie gilded boxes of jewelry, interesting accessories and objets, as well as branded, bright blue tennis balls for any very-welcome four-legged hotel guests to enjoy.

Hotel Saint Augustine chose Louisville-based Miscellaneous Goods Company to provide “Grayhaven,” which will be the signature scent for the hotel. The incense is a combination of moss, pine, and saltwater scents that lend themselves to a decidedly “rich guy library” vibe. The best part about this very singular scent is that when greeting friends for a meal at Perseid, one won’t need to share that they’ve just strolled over from pre-drinks at Augustine Lounge — they’ll already know.

Photo by Julie Soefer

The Hotel Saint Augustine has opened its doors.