We get more enquiries than ever about weddings abroad, with money saving a huge factor in the decision-making process – the average UK wedding costs £20,000, while the average price for an abroad wedding is only £6,500.
This, along with the guarantee of beautiful weather, and the novelty of combining the ceremony with a holiday, and an intimate guest list, has convinced thousands of couples to tie the knot in another country.
We gathered some handy tips and statistics about getting married abroad in 2017/18:
The major wedding destinations for weddings differ seasonally – of course, there’s consistently popular options like Italy – but the range of countries we see couples choosing changes every year.
The hotels and facilities in established wedding locations, like Cyprus and Mexico, are used to hosting ceremonies and receptions, which makes finding a venue much easier. Cyprus is a particularly good option, because, unlike other countries, the paperwork and ceremony are in English.
More unusual options, such as New York, Thailand, and New Zealand have grown significantly in popularity in recent years, with some couples opting to make their wedding part of a longer break. Sri Lanka is another emerging location, but bear in mind that you’ll need to be in the country for a minimum of 5 days before the ceremony.
While France is known as the city of love, it can be a tricky destination to get married in. You’ll need to be in the country 40 continuous days before the ceremony, with copies of your birth certificates- issued less than 6 months ago, with proof of domicile, certificates of your single status, and translations of all documents, to name just a few of the requirements. If your heart is set on getting married in France, we recommend performing the legal element in UK beforehand, with a symbolic ceremony in France.
Booking early will help you save even more money, as well as make the possibility of amazing weather even more certain. More couples are looking to make a wedding part of a longer experience, with multiple days spent in different destinations in the build-up and directly after the ceremony.
Multi-centre holidays are a great way to experience a city break, a beach holiday, and a wedding, all in one trip, but you need to get with so much to plan, get in there early. To avoid disappointment book tickets and reservations for all the activities and day trips you have planned well in advance.
Research the climate at the time of year you are considering booking your wedding. Flexibility is the key when getting married abroad, so be prepared to move things around if the month you had in mind clashes with adverse weather.
Organising a wedding is stressful enough without taking into account different laws and customs, so hiring a multilingual wedding planner to translate and organise the logistics and legal requirements can be a lifesaver.
There are horror stories out there of couples who opted for an untested travel agent for their wedding, resulting in wasted money. Using a reliable travel agent to arrange hotels and flights will ensure you get personal requirements you’re looking for, and give you peace of mind.
A certificate of no impediment is a legal document that non-commonwealth countries require to prove you are free and able to marry of your own free will. The rules of a CNI differ for Scotland – they are only valid for 3 months after being sent out – so make sure you apply close enough so these documents are valid for the big day.
CNIs from England, Northern Ireland, and Wales don’t have any time restrictions, so get one early doors. Both you and your partner will need a CNI, unless you’re getting married in a Commonwealth countries and both British citizens,
While there’s considerable benefit to getting married in another country – the beautiful weather, idyllic setting, and financial savings – there’s also added risk. Hotter climates can be susceptible to storms and other forms of extreme weather, not to mention issues around hotels and air travel that could impact, or worse, make your ceremony impossible. Wedding insurance gives you the security that you’ll be able to reschedule your special day, whatever happens.
Despite what we often see at the movies or on TV shows, flight upgrades for nearly-weds or honeymooners rarely occur. You’ll stand your best chance of getting an upgrade while travelling alone, so don’t expect to be bumped into business or first class on the way to your destination.
Most hotels will offer an upgraded room for the couple if you’re getting married abroad. Las Vegas, due to the frequency of weddings in the city, won’t offer an upgrade, so you’ll have to book your own if you’re looking for luxury.
Many trendy locations like Thailand, and other destinations found on the Indian ocean, will upgrade your rooms as standard if you’re getting married, but make sure to check availability before your trip.
If you’re a same-sex couple and you’re looking to get married abroad, unfortunately your options are slightly limited. Despite the year being 2017 rather than 1017, there are many countries where same-sex married still isn’t legal. Luckily, most of the most popular destinations are available, but check out our infographic to see which countries you can choose from.
Our experienced personal travel consultants will ensure you find the most suitable holiday, whilst taking care of every last detail. Everything from start to finish will be effortless.
We can use any hotel, in any destination, so we will craft an itinerary to suit your exact needs. Also, as we can provide any itinerary, the only holiday we'll offer, is the one that's right for you.
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We travelled with eShores to Andalucia last year, and Emily did an amazing job of compiling an itinerary with good but affordable hotels - we would heartily recommend each one that she chose for us, and all the arrangements between cities worked beautifully. This year we have gone back to her for another holiday and…
This is my second holiday with eshore. The service I received was excellent. Kelly was very professional, understood all my requirements and booked a fantastic holiday for us. It was a very pleasant experience dealing with Kelly and definitely recommend friends to book holidays with her. A real 5 star service.
As always, our go-to girl came through with a fab itinerary for our very last minute booking to USA. Kadie arranged another 3 city break and made sure everything fitted in with our requirements. Always use eShores for our bespoke long distance travels and they never fail to provide excellent service.
eShores is a fantastic company for crafting tailor made itineraries. I have just booked my fourth trip with them, this time to Colombia. Gavin was exceptionally helpful and nothing was too much trouble in meeting my wishes even though it requred a lot of back and forth adjustments. If this is anything like my previous…
Matt Got us everything we wanted for our USA trip
I have yet to take the holiday so I can't comment on the hotels and transport provided etc but Nick was very helpful with the booking. Despite me asking numerous questions he sorted out exactly what I asked for within my budget. Thank you
So far our experience with eShores has been great. Of course the real test will be when we are on holiday so hopefully this will continue :)
Nick did exactly what I asked for, was prompt and helpful. Couldn't have asked for anything more.
We had been recommended eshores by a friend who had holidayed in Croatia. We phoned and then used email to communicate with Chris Eaves who made the whole process very easy. He adjusted the holiday to exactly how we wanted it and was very speedy in his replies. We are hoping the holiday goes as…
The trip has been planned with our requirements fulfilled and also given options to change where we wanted. Looking forward to the trip and hope that all goes as smoothly as the booking side
So this is my second time using eshores and I won’t be going anywhere else to book my future holidays. I gave Claire a horrible job in finding what I needed and kept changing the brief but she persevered and found me the best holiday. I’m going in September and can’t wait. I’ll be back…
Excellent prompt service from Michelle. Hotels she suggested all look amazing and the itinerary for the four areas of Italy looked perfectly planned .
Nick was very understanding in as much as we did flex the itinerary quite a bit before booking and we have a holiday package which more than meets our needs.
Great and friendly customer service from Andy, as before. Andy always goes out of his way to find a holiday that matches our requirements.
Excellent service again from Dave. Having booked with e shores on a number of occasions they now understand our parameters. Price, days types of hotels etc.
Having dealt with eShores for several years, and with Dave Felton in particular, the latest holiday arranged by the Company was done smoothly, professionally and to our total satisfaction. Well done and keep up the great service.
Talked with Dave asking for assistance to finf flights for my sister and injured niece from Edinburgh to Perth in W.A. avoiding the Middle East. Dave again came up trumps with flights to suit and at a good price. First class service much appreciated.
Our holiday with Eshores was excellent. Hannah went above and beyond getting us exactly what we wanted and suited us. We couldn’t recommend them enough. The holiday was excellent and all the hotels (this was a multi centre holiday) were well situated particularly the Aston Kona by the sea on The Big Island it truly…
Quick and easy to contact and arrange a basic holiday in Europe. Good price too.
Greek island hopping sorted to perfection. Anna listened to everything I wanted and came up with a detailed plan which exceeded all my expectations. Every island on my to do list and with a choice of hotels. Thank you Anna.
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