After the wedding reception, the newlyweds usually leave for their honeymoon, a trip to the destination of their choice. During this trip, which lasts anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, the couple consummates their marriage. The term "honeymoon" comes from ancient Teutonic weddings, where the newly married couple would drink honey wine for thirty days after their wedding. Weddings were only held on a night where there was a full moon. They drank the honey wine for a month, thirty days, until the next full moon, hence the name "honey moon.".
The tradition of the groom carrying his new wife across the threshold has many different interpretations. The act today symbolizes luck and the bride giving the groom her virginity. Similarly in older generation, brides had to appear unwilling to give in to their new husband. The husband would pretend to force his new wife into giving in to him by carrying her over the threshold. In the days when men captured their wives and actually did force women to marry them, she was also forced over the threshold because she was unwilling.