The three-person honeymoon in the letters of Katherine Philips and Sarah Scott.

This article explores two instances of the three-person honeymoon as a popular custom among the pre-nineteenth-century English gentry and aristocracy. It argues that the presence of the bride's sister or closest companion on the holiday allowed female friendships to survive the marriage of one or both parties, albeit in a drastically changed form. The comparison of a successful and a failed marriage demonstrates that the third wheel could intervene on the bride's behalf in cases of marital incompatibility or abuse.