Weddings are an expensive business. These days, the average couple looking to get hitched will spend £20,822 on the ceremony itself, without even factoring in the cost of the ring and honeymoon. There’s the caterers, the venue and the dress to budget for, all of which cost thousands of pounds.
And with the cost-of-living crisis to contend with too, it’s no surprise that couples are increasingly choosing to dodge the prospect of a bells-and-whistles week away in Italy in favour of something a little closer to home. A report from wedding planning app Bridebook showed that over one in six newlywed couples chose to have their honeymoon in the UK last year, rather than travelling abroad. It’s for good reason: the average staycation honeymoon costs 42 per cent less in the UK than in other European destinations, and is 65 per cent cheaper than a trip to American or the Caribbean.
Add to that the fact that searches for cheap honeymoon destinations are spiking – TikTok recently saw 229,000 searches for the same phrase in just one week – and what you have is an excuse to explore a corner of the British Isles in the name of romance. As for where’s best? Well, the Bridebook survey showed that the top destination – in terms of the number of 5-star hotels, spas, Michelin Star restaurants and romantic hikes – was Edinburgh. However, hot on its heels was London , with almost 200 luxury honeymoon hotels and 168 Michelin-starred restaurants to choose from.
Manchester was third.
