Christine Rochet-Jacob: A honeymoon...but what for, honey?

At the Drake, Marco and I, last Friday - chilling out in the shade and discussing our wedding plans... (Photo Miguel Jacob)

Soon, we are getting married in France, as you already know... Soon, we will go on our honeymoon. But what is a Honeymoon, this moon of honey, for? I looked it up and found that, in Ancient Egypt, the Pharaohs who were getting married would drink a beverage made of honey and propolis for a full lunar month (29 days) to favour prosperity, fertility and happiness over their couple, hence the name Honeymoon. The tradition of a honeymoon has significantly changed over the years in Western culture. The custom of a newlywed couple going on a holiday together originated in early 19th century Great Britain. Honeymoons in the modern sense (i.e. a pure holiday voyage undertaken by the married couple) became widespread during the Belle Epoque, as one of the first instances of modern mass tourism; thus merging the two terms into one, that is to say, the holiday voyage taken after a wedding literally became the honeymoon...

The most popular honeymoon destinations at the time of the Belle Epoque were the French Riviera and Italy, particularly its seaside resorts and romantic cities such as Rome, Verona, or Venice.

But why go on a holiday after your wedding when everything is done and you already feel relaxed? That sounds a bit redundant, doesn't it? For it is a well-known fact that wedding preparations can be exhausting, and even tedious to some extent, although very exciting at the same time! On our end, we had to organize everything from across the Atlantic; I am a French woman abroad, remember! It then took us a certain amount of time and energy to sort everything out with my family and friends in France. Let me tell you that after 7 months of wedding preparations, talking on the phone to do a check-up with my family every weekend, writing countless emails to my sister (one of my two amazing maids of honour) to make reservations, sort the flatware and tableware, the cakes, the flowers, and so on and so forth, plus liaising with our international guests to help them plan their trip to France; yes, after all, the thing we desperately need NOW is a break ! So why not reverse the whole process and set off for a nonchalantly romantic trip, a real holiday voyage before our wedding? It should help us look beautiful for our photos on our big day! Why not glow like two suntanned lovebirds who are just back from a holiday abroad? Isn't that a cunning plan?

Dancing and singing through the pastoral landscape of France, like Audrey Hepburn with Fred Astaire. Looking good! From Funny Face.

That is why, in early September, we will embark on a modern pre-wedding honeymoon. We will go to Venice, Italy, for a few days, and then we will take the ferry to Rovinj, Croatia. There, we will attend a friend's wedding, she is Croat, he is German, they met in India and now live in Beijing...Two citizens of the world, in a word.

Then, we will eventually fly back home to Toronto, back to work; just a couple of days after the wedding. Beaming with the glow of joy and wearing our new golden bands (memo: ...that we made ourselves), we will be happy to resume our daily life, the two of us officially united. I will probably have to get used to my new name and not forget to sign, Christine Rochet-Jacob. I am so looking forward to being Just married!