Why Does the Travel Industry Own the Honeymoon Space?
Written by Sophie Linton, Honeymoon Expert
When you get engaged, it begins with excitement.
The celebrations, the congratulations, the endless questions about the proposal. It's a season filled with anticipation and joy. And then, very quickly, you enter the world of wedding planning.
For many couples, that's where things start to feel a lot more overwhelming.
Suddenly your evenings are full of Pinterest boards, Instagram saves, venue visits and supplier emails. You're comparing photographers not just on price, but on their editing style, their personality, how comfortable they make you feel, whether you can actually picture them capturing one of the most important days of your life. You're speaking to florists, stylists, caterers, musicians and planners, all focused on creating something that feels deeply personal, emotional and unforgettable. Every detail is considered, because it matters to you.
And then, somewhere in the middle of all of that, the honeymoon enters the conversation. Arguably the first chapter of married life.
The problem is that by this point, most couples are already running at full capacity. Wedding planning can easily become a second job, and now you're also expected to plan what might be one of the most expensive holidays you'll ever take. Not just a holiday, the trip that follows one of the biggest moments of your life.
This is where the disconnect takes place.
The problem is not the travel industry.
I want to be really clear about this: this isn't a criticism of travel agents. I am one at the end of the day!
The travel industry is incredible at what it does. The expertise involved in sourcing flights, navigating supplier relationships, arranging complex itineraries, understanding destinations and managing the practical realities of travel is enormous.
But honeymoons aren't just logistics. They're not simply a case of choosing a destination, picking a hotel and confirming a booking. A honeymoon is wrapped up in months, sometimes years, of anticipation, emotion and celebration. It comes at the end of one of the most significant periods in a couple's life, and it carries a weight that's completely different from an ordinary holiday.
And yet so many couples say some version of the same thing to me. That they've spent so much time planning the wedding they haven't really thought about the honeymoon yet. That it's still sitting on their to-do list. That they know they want it to feel special, but they have no idea where to start, or how to make it feel different from any other holiday they've taken.
That's not simply a booking problem. It's a planning problem.
Weddings are curated. Honeymoons should be too.
Think about how much thought goes into a wedding day — the atmosphere, the pacing, the food, the music, the lighting, the guest experience, the moments you want to remember forever. Why should a honeymoon be any different?
Choosing a honeymoon isn't just about the destination. It's about how that destination feels. It's about the rhythm of the trip, the balance between adventure and rest, the experiences that matter most to you as a couple, and the memories you actually want to walk away with.
Some people assume honeymoon planning starts and ends with finding a luxury hotel with a private pool. That can absolutely be part of it, but it's rarely what makes a honeymoon feel truly complete. Do you want the trip to feel romantic, restorative, adventurous, indulgent? Are you food lovers who'd rather spend an afternoon at a wine estate than a day by the pool? Would a sunrise hot air balloon over Tanzania create a memory that stays with you forever? Would you love a mix of safari, beach, culture and incredible food, rather than one resort for ten nights?
There's no right or wrong answer. These are exactly the kinds of conversations that happen naturally throughout wedding planning, and I think they should happen in honeymoon planning too.
Luxury is not defined by a minimum spend
This is something I feel incredibly strongly about.
Everyone deserves to feel understood, supported and excited about their honeymoon, whatever their budget. At The Honeymoon Club, we don't believe in an approach that says we only work with couples spending a certain amount. A £3,000 honeymoon can be just as meaningful, personal and unforgettable as a £20,000 one. In the same way that every couple deserves a wedding that feels perfect to them, every couple deserves a honeymoon that reflects their relationship, their priorities and their story.
Luxury isn't simply a price tag. Sometimes it's someone listening carefully to what matters most to you. Sometimes it's finding a destination that genuinely fits your personalities, taking the stress of endless research off your plate, and building a trip that feels thoughtful from beginning to end.
Why The Honeymoon Club was born
The Honeymoon Club was born from working in both weddings and travel.
Working in weddings taught me what couples actually value — reassurance, transparency, collaboration, creativity, someone who shares their knowledge freely, who sweats the smallest details, who solves problems before they become stressful, and who is genuinely in their corner.
When I planned my own honeymoon before joining the travel industry, I realised something that surprised me: the process felt remarkably similar to booking an average holiday or a weekend city break. The emotional weight of the honeymoon simply wasn't being reflected in the planning experience itself.
That was the moment I started asking what honeymoon planning might look like if it borrowed the very best parts of wedding planning. What if couples had a dedicated expert to help curate their experience, proper time to explore ideas instead of making rushed decisions, options carefully selected around their personalities, honest guidance on the flow and balance of the trip and what's actually worth prioritising, and support that felt personal rather than transactional? That's exactly what we're trying to build with The Honeymoon Club.
A honeymoon should never feel like a tick on a checklist
If the words "book honeymoon" are sitting on your wedding to-do list between finalising the seating plan and chasing missing RSVPs, I honestly think something has gone wrong.
Because it should feel so much bigger than that.
Your honeymoon isn't simply the holiday that happens after the wedding. It's the moment you finally get to pause after months, sometimes years, of planning, decision making and emotional investment — a chance to reconnect with each other, to properly breathe for the first time in months, to reflect on everything you've just been through, and to start married life without timelines, spreadsheets or supplier emails demanding your attention.
That deserves care, creativity and genuine attention.
Bridging two worlds
The future of honeymoon planning, in my opinion, sits between the wedding industry and the travel industry.
We absolutely need the expertise, financial protection and destination knowledge that professional travel planning provides. Those things are invaluable. But we also need the thoughtfulness, storytelling, collaboration and personalisation that couples experience throughout their wedding journey. We need someone to ask not just "where do you want to go?" but "how do you want this trip to feel?" We need honeymoon planning to feel less like a transaction and more like a carefully designed part of the wedding experience itself.
That's the gap The Honeymoon Club was created to bridge.
The most memorable honeymoons aren't simply the ones with the highest price tags. They're the ones that feel thoughtfully curated, deeply personal, and completely aligned with the couple living them.
That's what we believe honeymoon planning should be. Not just a booking. But the beautiful beginning of everything that comes next.
Planning your honeymoon?
The Honeymoon Club is part of MNT's Book of Love and will be at showcasing at Make New Traditions: Live on 4 October 2026 at Kachette, Old Street, London.
