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.
Advice for destination weddings
We gathered some handy tips and statistics about getting married abroad in 2017/18:
The top destinations for 2017 and 2018
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.
Getting married in France
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.
Book early
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.
Consider the climate
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.
Hire a wedding planner
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.
Book through a reliable travel agent
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.
CNI
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,
Wedding insurance
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.
Flight upgrades
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.
Hotel upgrades
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.
Same sex marriage
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.
Why choose eShores?
One to One Service
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.
100% Tailor Made
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.
Fully Protected
Our ATOL bonding provides you with the financial protection you need and as a member of the Travel Trust Association, you'll have 100% financial protection. Covering you for any eventuality.
Competitive Pricing
As a tour operator & travel agent, we'll search the market to ensure that we find you the best price. Also as an online business, we can ensure our prices are as competitive as possible.
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AlisonFletcher
Brilliant trip organised by Dave, included Helsinki, Tallin, Vilnius and Riga. (4 different countries) Everything ran smoothly. Dave organised hotels, flights, taxis, ferry and coach. Have used this company a few times and can't recommend highly enough they are fab 😀
Posted 2 days ago -
Sandra
As always, Chris was extremely helpful and knowledgeable. He gave me good advice on my travel plans and booked the holiday on my behalf. I've used eshores a number of times, and will continue to do so.
Posted 5 days ago -
Harrison
We haven’t been on our trip yet but based purely on the experience of booking the trip we are pleased with the result. It started with a bit of a hiccup as we spoke to a member of staff who never came back to us but when we reached back out again we were placed in the hands of Andy who has helped us book a 2 week trip to India including the golden triangle and then a few days on the beach. Andy was very patient with us with our changes to our tailor made holiday, even when we asked him to explore different areas only to revert back to the original plan. He also recommended moving the holiday back one week which created a saving of over £700 which meant we could upgrade the room for our beach stay in Goa. Andy was also available on weekends if we wanted to speak and regularly picked up the phone as opposed to keeping it to purely email dialogue. Hopefully the holiday will be amazing but based on the booking experience I would recommend eShores if you’re looking to book a tailor made holiday
Posted 5 days ago -
Wendy
I spoke to Lynette who was extremely helpful in understanding the trip that myself and my sister in law wanted from Thailand. Myself and my sister in law are both 72years young and we are really looking forward to our trip.
Posted 6 days ago -
Dawn
Excellent service from Matt at eShores. So very helpful and nothing was too much trouble. I booked Mya holiday after all his hard work finding me the perfect holiday that I wanted. Superb service and not pushy all all.
Posted 6 days ago -
Amrik
We have booked two big holidays this year for a group of 8 and a group of 10, Rachel has coordinated our holidays with the utmost excellence, during the consultation we changed countires hotels and even flights but it did not phase Rachel one bit. Exceeds customer expectations by helping advising and supporting throughout the holiday. We are off to Thailand and Dubai in August and then followed by India and Thailand in November, I have rang emailed Rachel many times during the booking and I got very prompt responses even on her days off. Rachel is a credit to EShores and EShores is setting standards regarding customer focus.
Posted 1 week ago -
IainWilliam
I can’t praise Lynette at EShores enough. She has organised my trips perfectly to the point that I wouldn’t use anyone else. She listens to what I want or to the problem I have and comes up with a solution. Nothing is too much trouble. Try them out yourselves and I bet you become a repeater too!
Posted 1 week ago -
Kevin
At short notice, I needed a quote to travel through the USA (July the 20th) I emailed eShores with an idea of what I wanted to do, within a short period of time I had a response from Matthew, After several amendments to my holiday which wasn't any trouble to Matthew, Holiday all booked, now looking forward to travelling through the USA Have to say, the service I had through eShores was fantastic, well done Matthew for working through the changes,
Posted 1 week ago -
Marcus
Dealt with Adam who was great, I went back and forth many times, nothing was a problem for him. We got there in the end and Adam arranged a 3 place holiday to Malaysia and Singapore. We go on 5th August, will if update review when we return. EShores so far brilliant hats of to Adam.
Posted 1 week ago -
Jill
We as a family used eShores last year to go to USA, and they were brilliant, my husband and 1 are going to Italy with them this September and we have just booked again to go back to USA with them next May, very efficient and Matt is lovely to deal with
Posted 1 week ago