Honeymoon habits

Extravagant newlyweds are shelling out more than £1,600 on their honeymoon - £1,000 more than just 20 years ago, according to new research.

In the 1980s, the average couple spent £547 on their first holiday after getting married but since 2000, Brits have paid out on average £1,614.

That's not all though as newlyweds also take an average £615 spending money on their honeymoon - more than double the £268 taken by couples who wed in the 80s.

But because of extra expense, a whopping three quarters of Brits reckon there is a lot of pressure for honeymoons to be the holiday of a lifetime.

Mike Pickard, Head of esure travel insurance, which carried out the poll, said: "It's interesting to see how trends have changed over the years and how much pressure there is now on using the honeymoon as the ultimate break away.

"With the rise in the number of people cohabiting before they get married nowadays, the honeymoon is seen as a much bigger deal, as it offers the chance to have a dream holiday before couples can truly settle down to married life."

The poll, of 2,000 married Brits, also found that a huge 90 per cent of 80s honeymooners think the post-wedding trips today are more lavish and extravagant than ever.

Only a quarter of newlyweds ventured abroad in 1980 compared to a staggering 67 per cent of newlyweds since the millennium.

And just seven per cent of people surveyed visited more than one country in the 80's, while almost 20 per cent use their honeymoon as an opportunity to visit several different places nowadays.

Relaxing beach holidays have also become more popular though with just a third of 1980's honeymooners heading to the sea compared to almost half now.

But the money for the lavish honeymoon is no longer coming out of our savings as, while three quarters of 1980 couples dug deep into their coffers to fund it, only 52 per cent of people today do the same.

Instead, 39 per cent asked for cash towards the honeymoon, or spending money, as a wedding present.

Mike Pickard from esure, further added: '" When you are planning your trip of a lifetime - be it a honeymoon or a wedding abroad - amidst of all the excitement, it can be easy to overlook something as basic as travel insurance cover. Couples that are planning on spending extravagent amounts of money on making sure their honeymoon or exotic wedding is a memorable one, should double-check before buying their travel insurance policy to make sure they are adequately covered."

The poll also found that there is a growing trend for longer engagements, allowing couples to save up for months or ask for holiday money as a gift in order to book a luxury trip abroad and also a rising trend in delaying a honeymoon until months after the wedding, with almost a third of people who have married since 2000 saying they didn't head off straight after the big day.