Generally speaking however, I am not postulating that one cannot both be married and love and adore their parents. That has nothing to do at all with this particular story in which the jilted bride-to-be decided to take her mother on the honeymoon instead.
Now I try putting myself in that situation. I was married some 30 years ago and I also had a big honeymoon planned. If my wife left me at the altar, I can think of no scenario in which I would go on the honeymoon anyhow. I would feel like the world's biggest loser. Especially if I took my mother with me!
I can just picture myself coming back afterwards. People would ask me "How did the wedding and honeymoon go." And I'd say "Well, ahhh, my bride never showed up for the wedding...but hey, I did go on the honeymoon anyway...and I took my mom with me."
Doesn't everybody see how pathetic that sounds?
Personally I would have been devastated if that happened to me. And I'd be in no mood to go on a trip. Maybe I would let both my parents go - let them have a second honeymoon.
I think about the honeymoon my wife and I did have 30 years ago. A couple days in New York City, seeing shows. A cruise to the Caribbean. Days of sandy beaches, nights of walking together on the beach and romantic dinners, etc. All of this was planned ahead of time by the way. In those days, you have travel agencies book everything as there was no Internet.
I try to substitute my wife with my mother on that trip and...sorry, but it just doesn't work!
It sounds completely pathetic because you are supposed to be a man. A man is supposed to learn to honor and protect the women in his life. It's supposed to be in his cultural DNA.
Cause you're a GUY, Sam. The same doesn't hold for a young woman jilted almost at the altar. And I'm sure the public activities would have been the same regardless of who was on the trip.
You're a dude. You take your friends with you and turn it into a bacchanal.