Times may be tough, but the tradition of taking a honeymoon is flourishing.
Despite global realities and the recession, ”couples are refusing to forgo this once-in-a-lifetime experience,” notes Cliff Johnson, owner of Johnson Travel in Oak Park and a national director of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA). And, indeed, according to a recent survey by Bride`s magazine, 99 percent of their readers take a honeymoon trip.
The honeymoon, as an institution, though, is always evolving. According to Don Ahlm, proprietor of Nelson World Travel on North Michigan Avenue, ”The nature of the trip is far different these days. Couples are taking two types of excursions: Most still want to pursue interesting leisure activities, but a substantial number are seeking `thinking` sojourns that are cultural experiences.”
Although it is difficult to pinpoint where the custom actually originated, honeymoons in ancient times generally lasted a month, hence the lunar reference in the term itself. But where these couples spent this first phase of their married life-at home or away-remains unclear.
What they did is another matter. Morton Freeman, author of ”The Story Behind the Word,” says that the first part of the word refers to a special potion rather than a person, or as many would logically conclude, the bride. And, in fact, honey was the base for a brew that was drunk by newlyweds for the first 30 days of their life together. This concoction, which was consumed daily, was noted for its powers as an aphrodisiac.
Honeymoons later became an important introduction to married life. Johnson points out that young couples often had to get away together to get acquainted, and Barbara Tober, editor-in-chief of Bride`s, notes that they also had to escape from their parents. ”It wasn`t all that unusual to take a six-month excursion to Europe, complete with steamer trunks,” she says. In either case, the journey in question often lasted longer in decades past than the seven to 10 days that is the average today.
Seven to 10 days hardly seems long enough, but as Tober points out,
”Times have changed. Honeymoons have been transformed from the great escape to the great experience. Couples don`t necessarily need to get away from their families or get to know one another a bit better, they need to have a wonderful time together.”
And it appears that couples today are finding ways to do just that. Ahlm`s agency has recently arranged excursions for honeymooners that have run the gamut from ballooning in France or rafting in Holland to exploring ethnic roots by visiting the countries the couples` families came from.
Yet despite the growing tendency to take such trips, the favorite honeymoon hants are still tropical and tied to leisure activities. The Bride`s survey found that just-marrieds most frequently go to Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean. Honeymoon Destinations market research this past year substantiates these findings, but the top three destinations on their list were the same locations reversed.
So where are newly married Chicagoans jetting off to? Four just-married couples went to Hawaii.
”One of the main draws of Hawaii is its diversity,” Ahlm notes. Tober points out that it is an ”extraordinary place to go, and it offers everything. You can explore the wilderness both above and below sea level, and there are great beaches, gorgeous mountains and superb hotels. There are also activities-everything from horseback riding to snorkeling-and cultural offerings.”
One rather avant-garde Chicago woman, known for her discerning cultural appetite and superb taste in international travel, recently wed and went to Hawaii on her honeymoon. She surprised everyone but the spouse who went with her. ”It sounded like a cliche to us at first, and we certainly had some lengthy discussions with our travel agent. But it turned out to be just what we needed.”
What the couple needed turned out to be days of relaxation in remarkable hotels that were rather uncommercial. ”I told my travel agent we wouldn`t stay anywhere with elevators, and we ended up in two great places, one on Hawaii-which is known as the big island-and the other on Maui,” the woman says. ”You can decide to make Hawaii as white bread or exotic as you want.” Anne and Hugh Tuomey`s trip to Hawaii was anything but ”white bread.”
”Never in my wildest dreams would I have wanted to go to Hawaii,” says Hugh, a securities trader with a major Chicago bank. He had always identified ”flowered shirts and sandals with the place.” But despite an acknowledged
”animosity” for the spot, he and his wife wanted to relax after their wedding last summer.
They found the haven they longed for in Hawaii, on the rather isolated and underdeveloped island of Lanai. ”The only thing there was the Dole pineapple plantation until a few years ago,” Tuomey says.
Attorney Paul Morton, also married last summer, and his bride went to the islands of Hawaii, Oahu and Maui and found that ”the place was exotically beautiful but also convenient and relaxing.”
”Everything we wanted to do was there,” says Morton, who reports snorkeling, sailing, playing tennis and golf and taking nature tours on the trip. As an avid theatergoer accustomed to the cultivated life in the city, Morton recalls the trip as ”not that culturally engaging but beautiful, interesting and just what we needed.”
Chicago actors Chris Fascione and Diane Zimmer ”live culture,” as Fascione puts it, so Hawaii was the perfect place for their honeymoon this fall. ”After working hard and planning our wedding, we wanted to relax,”
Fascione says. They visited Kauai, called ”the garden island,” and were impressed with the national parks and beautiful beaches.
And they no longer think of the state as a ”tacky and commercial”
location. Says Fascione: ”When our travel agent suggested Hawaii, we both said, `Ick, Don Ho and Waikiki,” but we would go back there in a minute.”
