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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think minimoons are ridiculous!?

100 replies

GoldenNuggets08 · 21/05/2025 13:57

Can someone explain why the term "minimoon" was invented? Did the tourism/ travel industry come up with it to get even more money from people?

I had a conversation recently with people about where to go on honeymoon, and a significant proportion of the group were going on "minimoon" shortly after the wedding to places like Italy, Malta, Portugal, Greece, Croatia..... and then 6-12 months after the wedding were doing a bigger trip like safari in South Africa or Mexico... surely the "minimoon" is the honeymoon and the other trip is just a holiday??? It's a bit "you went to Tenerife, I went to Elevenerife"...

OP posts:
Fancycheese · 21/05/2025 14:24

Davros · 21/05/2025 14:19

Aw, I thought this would be about those Mochi balls

They’re wonderful. Those plus a mini moon would be delightful.

bostonchamps · 21/05/2025 14:25

Davros · 21/05/2025 14:19

Aw, I thought this would be about those Mochi balls

Oooooh I could go for a pistachio one right now.

A few mochi balls might sweeten up some of the bitterness on here Halo

SchnizelVonKrumm · 21/05/2025 14:26

BobbyBiscuits · 21/05/2025 14:21

It grates on me, the actual 'word'. Why not just say we are going away for a few days, we're going on a short holiday/trip?
'minimoon' sounds like something to do with chocolates or sweets or very small children's cartoons? It's just cringe sounding!

In some cases it's to signal to people that the short break isn't all they can afford🙄

Dinoswearunderpants · 21/05/2025 14:29

In my opinion a honeymoon is a big luxury holiday so I completely understand the logic.

Spain, Greece, Croatia etc are places you'd normally holiday at. A safari, Caribbean island etc is far more special so that's the main honeymoon.

I can understand why people delay it too. They get to live in the newlywed bubble longer.

BobbyBiscuits · 21/05/2025 14:29

SchnizelVonKrumm · 21/05/2025 14:26

In some cases it's to signal to people that the short break isn't all they can afford🙄

Show quote history

Yeah. The only person I knew who said it had a ridiculously expensive wedding where her groom mentioned in his speech that she was a gold digger who only liked him for his money?! She seemed completely fine with that description of her character!

Dontlletmedownbruce · 21/05/2025 14:30

Wasn't it Hugh Grant's character in 4 weddings and a funeral who said it was called Honeymoon because it was the first time a couple saw each other's bottoms 😆

ExpressiveDelivery · 21/05/2025 14:34

The word is very twee and grates on me for that reason (see also Betwixtmas, niblings) but it does get the meaning across and saves using a load of words.

OverpricedCupcake · 21/05/2025 14:35

Yanbu.
I hate all these new silly terms and words.
I came across, 'Shandals" on here recently, shoe/sandals.
No, just go away.

ZenNudist · 21/05/2025 14:43

I thought this was to do with weather in your chosen destination immediately after your wedding so we got married in May then went on honeymoon in September as Soon as 'winter' was over in my chosen location. We got married abroad so we has a 'weddingmoon' and a 'honeymoon'.

They honeymoon applies up to a certain period after your wedding and we got room upgrade, couples massage and a beachside meal for 2 included in our honeymoon package that we wouldn't have got if we hadn't disclosed recent marriage. We showed marriage certificate to qualify.

TorroFerney · 21/05/2025 14:44

id not realised that we did it (wasn’t a name then). We got married in August and wanted to go to south east Asia but the best time to go was November so we had a couple of days in the uk straight after the wedding. Looking back it was good to have a holiday to look forward to but it made you come back down to earth with a bump leaving work on a Thursday then being back in work on the Tuesday.

littlemousebigcheese · 21/05/2025 14:47

a lot of people I know who have done this is because they asked for money towards honeymoon as gifts so needed time to get it together (cash cheques etc) and then booked the bigger one. Mini one was what they paid for as a little trip straight after wedding

Piratejenny99 · 21/05/2025 14:50

The people I know who have done this asked for money / vouchers to put towards their honeymoon as wedding gifts. They couldn’t book the honeymoon until they knew what their budget was so had a short break after the wedding and a proper honeymoon a few months later.

ObelixtheGaul · 21/05/2025 14:54

Commonsenseisnotsocommon · 21/05/2025 14:02

You do you, sunshine, but some of us weren't able to take a stretch of time off to get away on the big dream honeymoon. Why does it bother you so much?

Well, no, but it doesn't have to be a big dream holiday to be a honeymoon, does it? The honeymoon is the trip you take after the wedding. My husband and I had a week pootling round the local canals on a hired narrow boat. It was still a honeymoon, because it was after the wedding. It wasn't less of a honeymoon because we weren't drinking cocktails in the Seychelles.

I think that's what OP is getting at.

NoctuaAthene · 21/05/2025 14:59

I think to be honest the honeymoon thing, whether 'mini' or 'full' is a bit stupid in this day and age. In the days when couples weren't meant to even spend time together alone never mind live together or have sex, the days immediately after the wedding were naturally quite a big deal experiencing all those things for the first time (whether you also went on a trip of a lifetime around the world or had 24 hours in a b&b by the sea or nothing at all). Plus of course when travel was so much more expensive most people genuinely did only expect to be able to go away on holiday once in a lifetime (or only go on a big foreign trip once).

Nowadays when nothing practically changes when you get married for most people and there's nothing (aside from money) stopping an unmarried couple or a 20 year married couple going on big holidays, and most people do expect to go abroad many times in their lifetime, the honeymoon concept is pretty redundant other than as a way of marketing holidays and/or persuading the friends/family of the couple to contribute towards a holiday which wouldn't otherwise be the social norm. I vote people do what they want when they want in terms of holidays, and call it what they want, but no-one should feel they need to buy or contribute to a particular type of holiday at a particular time just because of tradition or other people's expectations...

thetrumanshow · 21/05/2025 15:00

Concept is perfect.

The actual word annoys me, but then why did someone invent the word "moist". I have a few like these.

CloudywMeatballs · 21/05/2025 15:00

I've never heard of this, but you're right! The honeymoon is the holiday you take right after the wedding, however small. If you go on another more extravagant holiday later, great! Good for you. But it's not a honeymoon.

BunnyLake · 21/05/2025 15:02

I thought this was going to be about those little ice cream desserts😁 Never heard of a minimoon but I suppose it’ll enter the vocab like staycation did.

thetrumanshow · 21/05/2025 15:03

NoctuaAthene · 21/05/2025 14:59

I think to be honest the honeymoon thing, whether 'mini' or 'full' is a bit stupid in this day and age. In the days when couples weren't meant to even spend time together alone never mind live together or have sex, the days immediately after the wedding were naturally quite a big deal experiencing all those things for the first time (whether you also went on a trip of a lifetime around the world or had 24 hours in a b&b by the sea or nothing at all). Plus of course when travel was so much more expensive most people genuinely did only expect to be able to go away on holiday once in a lifetime (or only go on a big foreign trip once).

Nowadays when nothing practically changes when you get married for most people and there's nothing (aside from money) stopping an unmarried couple or a 20 year married couple going on big holidays, and most people do expect to go abroad many times in their lifetime, the honeymoon concept is pretty redundant other than as a way of marketing holidays and/or persuading the friends/family of the couple to contribute towards a holiday which wouldn't otherwise be the social norm. I vote people do what they want when they want in terms of holidays, and call it what they want, but no-one should feel they need to buy or contribute to a particular type of holiday at a particular time just because of tradition or other people's expectations...

I completely disagree

There are still so many newlyweds who do go on the trip of a lifetime, spend a lot more than a normal holiday, go to places they wouldn't have been for just a holiday. It's special
and often it's before the children which will make every other holiday different anyway.

A honeymoon is often part of the wedding, in term of costs, organisation and as you said gifts.

It's not just a holiday abroad, it's another celebration of their weddings. The most touristy ones make a fuss of newlyweds, it's nice.

WeAreNotOutnumbered · 21/05/2025 15:04

yay holidays!

I'll take any opportunity for a holiday, no matter what it is called. (Unless it is called a 'Camping holiday'.)

paulhollywoodshairgel · 21/05/2025 15:06

We had a mini moon because I was pregnant and couldn’t be bothered to go far!

TheNightingalesStarling · 21/05/2025 15:06

We had a "premoon". We had a week off before the wedding (DH army summer leave, I was a teacher so had 6 weeks off), all the planning was done... so we just took of camping for a few days to relax before it got manic.

The "minimoons" I've heard of were just a night or two relatively close by. Not a holiday abroad. Just relaxing after the wedding, then the honeymoon with in a few months.

alcoholnightmare · 21/05/2025 15:06

We did it the other way around… as soon as I found out I was pregnant with long wanted baby, we booked a £10k holiday to Sri Lanka and Maldives, sea planes, private driver, was very very luxurious.
then when we got married at 7 months pregnant (nothing extravagant at all) we went with the dog to stay in a gatehouse of a beautiful UK estate for three nights.

Pickingmyselfup · 21/05/2025 15:08

I don't see what it matters, if people want to have 2 breaks after the wedding then good for them, whatever they call it.

We had a night away the day after we got marri e because our proper honeymoon wasn't for ages after. We couldn't get the dates to tie in to have the honeymoon directly after the wedding.

Unless you're expected to pay for it then leave people to have as many breaks and holidays as they like and call it what they like.

Westfacing · 21/05/2025 15:11

I thought you were referring to Little Moons ice cream which I recently had for the first time - I was thinking yes a ridiculous price at £5! Grin

Pickingmyselfup · 21/05/2025 15:14

thetrumanshow · 21/05/2025 15:03

I completely disagree

There are still so many newlyweds who do go on the trip of a lifetime, spend a lot more than a normal holiday, go to places they wouldn't have been for just a holiday. It's special
and often it's before the children which will make every other holiday different anyway.

A honeymoon is often part of the wedding, in term of costs, organisation and as you said gifts.

It's not just a holiday abroad, it's another celebration of their weddings. The most touristy ones make a fuss of newlyweds, it's nice.

Show quote history

Definitely, we went all out for our honeymoon because it was potentially once in a lifetime situation. It cost a fortune but because we were planning on buying a house/having kids it was a case of let's go for it now incase we never do.

11 years later and we were right, it's just not feasible to spend that much money when we have a house and kids but even if we did, taking the kids would change the whole break, it wouldn't be as relaxing and we wouldn't be able to do half the stuff we did with them. Can't imagine managing to get childcare for 2 weeks solid either.

Hopefully one day in the future we will be able to do something equally as extravagant but I can't see it being in the next 10 years!