Niagara Falls has been the traditional, ”Honeymoon Capital of the World” for more than 215 years. You see, it was when Niagara Falls first honeymooners, Theodosia and Joseph Alston, embarked from Albany N.Y. to the Falls in June of 1801 on their “Bridal Tour” with a number of servants and nine pack horses. Theodosia was the daughter of future U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr.

Passing through the frontier settlement of Buffalo, they came to the magnificent cataracts of Niagara.

Following their example, in 1804 there were two other high-society newlyweds: Jerome Bonaparte (younger brother of Napoleon) and his Baltimore bride, Elizabeth Patterson. And thus the new social custom, honeymooning at Niagara Falls, was born. At first, it was limited to the wealthy, but when the Erie Canal on the U.S. side of the border opened in 1825, Niagara Falls became accessible to middle-class lovers. Before long, railways were also bringing honeymooners to Niagara on a daily basis. Honeymooning at Niagara was so popular it became the song of the year, My Niagara Falls Honeymoon, in 1841. In 1839, a newspaper reporter wrote, “I have counted several cooing couples near the Falls, both Canadian and Americans, fulfilling the fleeting period of their honey-lunacy”.

Attached is a photograph of a honeymoon couple at the Falls in 1956.