Introduction
It is undoubtedly the most important holiday booking you'll ever make and the possibilities are as far-reaching as your imagination.
The number of couples marrying abroad have been rising sharply in recent years - around 45,000 British couples tied the knot overseas in 2000.
The growing popularity of foreign weddings is partly due to the relative cheapness of marrying abroad compared with the average cost of a traditional white wedding in Britain.
A survey conducted by You and Your Wedding magazine put the cost of an average reader's wedding at around £15,000, including the costs of gown and morning suit, marquee, champagne and wedding breakfast. A typical wedding in the Caribbean, by comparison, even taking into account the air fares, will cost only around a quarter of that.
Increasingly, couples are footing the bill for their own weddings, particularly those who have delayed marrying until their 30s or even 40s and no longer expect the father of the bride, now sometimes retired, to pay the costs.
Couples in their 30s also find the notion of celebrating with their friends more appealing than having to contend with the worries of battling in-laws, a tiddly great aunt or a lewd speech by the best man.
A wedding abroad also appeals to those who are marrying for the second or third time, for whom the notion of a traditional wedding with all the trimmings seems inappropriate.
And finally, getting married abroad is an obvious way to combine a wedding with a fabulous holiday! You can escape the unpredictability of the British climate, ensure a picture-perfect setting for your big day, and relax into honeymoon mode before you even tie the knot.
Doing Your Research
Deciding to tie the knot on foreign shores may be appealing for many reasons but you will need to be organised to ensure everything's perfect. Use our checklist of who you should seek advice from, and what you should ask:
• Start by gathering as much information as you can. Send off for brochures from the dozens of companies registered with ABTA (the Association of British Travel Agents) who organise weddings abroad. Many of these can offer a personalised service and it is worth taking your time and making sure you ask as many questions as you can.
• You can check ABTA's website to see if your preferred travel agent is accredited: www.abtanet.com.
• Some firms, like Weddings and Honeymoons Abroad specialise in providing foreign weddings, as their name suggests.
• Other companies have specialist departments and separate brochures for weddings abroad and most mainstream operators will have a section in their ordinary brochure for weddings. Almost all travel companies are prepared to organise a wedding for you - so it is worth asking, even if there is nothing specifically mentioned in their brochure.
• Speak to as many people who have visited your preferred destination as possible. Contact that country's tourist board for information - unlike travel agents, they are not on commission and will offer dispassionate advice. Use This is Travel's message boards to ask other readers for tips too.
• Make sure you seek advice from several different tour operators. A reputable one will tell you what to expect from the place you are planning to go, or advise you of developments in politically volatile countries.
Nick Cropper of Weddings and Honeymoons Abroad says: "It is vital to talk to someone who will be honest with you, rather than just take a booking from you. In the run-up to the elections in Sri Lanka, for example, we were advising clients to be extremely cautious about booking weddings and honeymoons there because we could not be confident there would not be any further upheavals."
Choosing Your Destination
It can be difficult to decide exactly where to get married because there is so much choice and you can tie the knot virtually anywhere. As a general rule, you should apply the same criteria as you would to booking any holiday.
• Do you want it to be quiet or lively? Is hot weather important to you? Do you want to be on the beach or in the mountains?
• You could get married on a safari holiday, in a European city, on a deserted beach, in the Las Vegas chapel where Elvis tied the knot with Priscilla, or on the ski slopes of Austria or Switzerland.
• How about underwater at Key Largo? Or you could even become man and wife in Disney World, Florida, and afterwards ride in Cinderella's glass coach.
• Then again, you could be married at sea by the captain of a Caribbean cruise ship.
One of the most important decisions to make in choosing where to get married is what time of year you want to marry, and what the weather will be like in your chosen destination at that time of the year. Don't forget that tropical paradises are lush because they have high rainfall at certain times of the year. Many also have fairly regionalised weather patterns that are not always reflected in the rough climate guides given in some travel brochures. Thailand, for instance, has a number of different monsoon seasons operating in various parts of the country at any one time and the Philippines has at least five.
Mauritius is a good case in point. Although the island is only 35 miles wide and 38 miles long, its weather is microclimatical - in July and August the east coast can be very windy, but the west coast is sheltered.
The most popular time for weddings abroad coincides with the traditional wedding season in Britain between May and October - but a reputable tour operator should point out to you that this is, for instance, also hurricane season in the Caribbean. So do your homework carefully.
Ultimately you may have to make a straight choice between whether it is the timing of your wedding or the destination that is most important to you.
Considering Your Budget
Most people are tempted to splash out beyond their means on their wedding and honeymoon - after all it is one of the most important events of your life. But it helps to think long and hard about what you really want to spend your hard-earned money on.
Remember that long-haul holidays need not necessarily be more expensive than European destinations, because of the cost of living locally and the strength of the pound against local currencies.
It is worth paying a bit more for the right hotel, particularly if you will actually be getting married there. You will also be spending a good deal of time in and around the hotel in the days leading up to the wedding so its facilities and the attitude of its staff could make a big difference to how much you enjoy the whole experience.
Don't be seduced by offers of free flowers, wine and cakes - these extras may seem generous but don't actually amount to much in the end. It is far better to select the hotel on its own merits.
Making It Personal
Many companies have designated wedding co-ordinators based at their hotels or resorts who can organise all the details such as the flowers, the cake, reception and entertainment exactly to your specifications.
Some resorts are particularly geared up for weddings and this can take a lot of the strain out of the organisation for you.
However, you should bear in mind that you will probably be one of a number of couples getting married that day on the hotel's beach or in its gardens - which might leave you feeling "processed".
Some Caribbean resorts, particularly, host a large number of weddings and it is important to be honest with yourselves if you think that this might matter to you. This is a crucial decision - and could influence not just your choice of hotel but also your destination.
Nick Cropper, of Weddings and Honeymoons Abroad, warns: "It can be a conveyor belt in the Caribbean - I know of places where they are laying on 14 weddings a day."
Ask your tour operator to check with the hotel how many weddings they hold each day - some may only hold one or two while others may have as many as they can.
Does your chosen hotel have a maximum number of weddings it is prepared to host per day?
Legal Requirements
As far as UK law is concerned, your wedding is legally recognised in Britain if you are both free to marry and you have fulfilled all the legal requirements of the country in which you choose to marry.
The legal requirements of different countries are many and various, however - in the USA they can vary from state to state. In New York, for instance, all you need is your passport and to allow one working day before the planned wedding in order to obtain a licence.
But in Bali, there is a long list of formalities you will need to satisfy before saying "I do". These include providing a birth certificate, passport, your parents' names, occupations and home addresses, an affidavit confirming your marital status which is completed by the British consulate in Denpasar, baptism and confirmation papers from your church and proof that both partners belong to the same religion - although it does not matter which religion.
This effectively means that anyone who has lost touch with a parent, anyone who has not been baptised or confirmed and couples of different religions cannot legally marry on Bali. In addition, the authorities require photographs of a particular size not commonly available outside Indonesia.
Other countries require you to complete medical tests. In Mexico, for example, you are required to take an HIV test and in Mauritius, a woman who remarries within eight months of her decree absolute coming through will be required to have a pregnancy test.
Most countries have rules about residency before you can get married, but this is usually only a few days and gives you the chance to unwind and get used to your surroundings before the wedding day.
Operators to tropical destinations such as the Caribbean, Kenya, the Indian Ocean and Sri Lanka tend to recommend that clients book at least a 10-day stay so that they can be sure to satisfy the minimum residency regulations and so that the formalities of marriage can be processed.
Generally, you will need to supply copies of the following before you travel: birth certificates, a valid ten-year passport with at least six months' validity remaining, affidavits confirming your single status, a decree absolute if you are divorced and parental consent if you are under 18 (21 or 23 in some countries).
You should check what documentation you will need with your tour operator and, for extra peace of mind, you could also call the consulate or embassy of the country you will be marrying in.
Go Alone Or Take Guests With You?
Be honest. Would you prefer to get married quietly, just the two of you, or take a party of family and friends along with you?
If you decide you want your nearest and dearest to accompany you, you need to think about whether you want to stick to the honeymoon tradition of going off on holiday after the wedding.
If you ask close friends and family to join you where you are getting married, will this be on the understanding that everyone will go their separate ways after the big day? You will probably have strong gut feelings about what you want to do.
Phil Boswell of the weddings abroad department at Kuoni, says: "One of the reasons for the enormous popularity of Sri Lanka in recent years is that it is very close to the Maldives, where tourists cannot marry because of its Islamic laws. Many of our customers have a wedding with family and friends in Sri Lanka and then the bride and groom fly off for a honeymoon in the Maldives by themselves. Or you can marry in New York and honeymoon in the Caribbean. This way, although the couple have got married abroad, they have also maintained the tradition of flying off by themselves on honeymoon."
Another thing to consider if you are going to invite a group of friends or family to join you is what their budgets are likely to be. Do you intend to cover the costs for any other members of your party - and if so, will this include extras such as meals and drinks?
The holiday budget is an issue that often prompts hurt feelings on all sides, so it is important to be realistic from the outset. Otherwise, it is all too easy for the bride and groom to feel let down when the number of guests actually attending is much fewer than they hoped for - and for the guests to be privately seething because they think they have been pressurised into something they cannot really afford.
It is a good thing to remind yourself that attending a foreign wedding is a substantial financial undertaking for anyone - no matter how close friends they may be.
Making Your Own Arrangements
The potential for local legal complications and the enormous variety of holidays now on offer are compelling reasons to use a reputable tour operator when booking your wedding abroad. However, it is also possible to make arrangements yourself, particularly using the internet and e-mail, but do bear the following important points in mind:
• You must contact the embassy in the foreign country of your choice to make sure you know about all the legal requirements of getting married there.
• The local tourist board or office will be able to help by suggesting hotels and other facilities.
• It would be sensible to double-check legal arrangements by finding a firm of British solicitors who regularly act in the country you want to marry in who can confirm for you that you have complied with all the local legal requirements.
• Make hotel bookings by fax or e-mail to minimise the possibility of misunderstandings.
• You may also like to register your wedding in Britain when you get back home, although you are not obliged to do so. Your tour operator will be able to advise you, or you should contact the Office Of National Statistics in Southport (tel: 0151 471 4200) to register it as a marriage that has taken place overseas.
Top 10 Destinations For Weddings Abroad
Wondering where to go for your big day? The following list of top 10 desinations for weddings abroad has been compiled by Kuoni, the UK's biggest organiser of foreign weddings.
1. Sri Lanka
2. St Lucia
3. Mauritius
4. Barbados
5. USA
6. Kenya
7. Jamaica
8. Australia
9. Seychelles
10. Thailand
Check List For Getting Married Abroad
12 Months To Go
With 12 months to go, you should be considering the following:
• Contact holiday companies who offer weddings abroad requesting brochures, price lists and all relevant information. Click here for our selection of tour operators
• Give careful thought and discussion to destination, budget and the travel company you choose. Draw up a guest list and a budget.
• Send flyers to guests to advise them of the date of the wedding so that they can keep it free and make sure that they will have enough time left from their holiday allocation to come.
• After choosing your location, contact your holiday operator to discuss arrangements. Ask for a cost breakdown and when money will be due.
• On booking, check with your tour operator what legal documentation they will need you to supply and when it will be due. This can vary enormously from country to country and from operator to operator. Most operators will need to receive photocopies of the necessary documents 16 weeks before you travel, but sometimes they will need them before this. If marrying in Switzerland, for instance, you will need to supply your operator with the paperwork six months before the wedding!
• If you're going to the expense of booking a UK-based photographer and videographer, organise this as soon as possible. If you are getting married in a church, ask your tour operator whether filming is allowed throughout.
• If you are planning to organise a wedding abroad independently, contact the consulate of the country you would like to marry in for information about regulations and legal requirements. Contact the local tourist office for a list of possible churches and hotels. Make contact via fax or e-mail so there is no possibility of not being understood on the telephone.
9 Months To Go
With 9 months left to your big day, don't forget the following from our essential countdown:
• Choose your wedding clothes, bearing in mind the climate you will be marrying in.
In hot climates, light, cool fabrics such as chiffon and georgette are preferable to satin and thick silk, while grooms will want to opt for linen and cotton suits.
Equally, a dress with spaghetti straps and a more informal cut will look more appropriate for a beach than a long veil and train. For a ski-slope wedding, you will want to track down good quality but pretty thermal underwear.
• Consider whether you want to order a cake in Britain and then transport it overseas for the wedding. If you want to take your cake with you, bear in mind that it will probably form part of your hand luggage on the flight.
Do check with your tour operator and airline for the most up-to-date regulations on hand luggage before you travel. Firms offering designer cakes include Choccywoccydoodah and cakes to travel by Pat-A-Cake, Pat-A-Cake
• Organise your wedding flowers. In most cases, indigenous flowers may be more appropriate to the setting of your wedding. However, if you want specific flowers that are not available in your chosen destination, ask your operator whether they can supply them for you. For instance, special requests can often be flown from New York to the Caribbean.
Failing that, you will need to call on the services of a good UK florist to help you. They will be able to suggest which types of flowers will be least prone to wilting during travel.
Some couples opt to take a dried flower bouquet with them, so that they can bring it home afterwards.
You will also need to consider how to transport the flowers to your wedding destination, bearing in mind any relevant airline hand luggage regulations.
• If you need visas, organise them early on as paperwork can be delayed during peak periods. Your travel agent will be able to advise you but you will also need to contact the relevant embassy or consulate in the country in which you plan to marry.
6 Months To Go
With 6 months left, you should be on top of the following:
• Send out wedding invitations early so that your guests can book flights easily, particularly if you have chosen either a popular destination and time of year, or somewhere more remote that is not well served for flights. This also gives your guests the chance to budget for your wedding.
• If you're planning to throw a party at home after your honeymoon for guests who couldn't attend the wedding, you should book a venue and caterers well in advance to avoid disappointment or a frantic, last-minute scramble.
5 Months To Go
• Choose the music, poems and readings for your ceremony. You may need to forward details to your tour operator, who will liaise with the hotel's wedding co-ordinator on your behalf.
All that is required for a civil wedding ceremony is for both parties to confirm that they are free to marry, that they promise to marry and for the celebrant to proclaim them man and wife - all of which only takes a matter of minutes.
Many couples, therefore, choose some music or a reading to give the ceremony a little depth and meaning, and to prevent it all being over too quickly.
Most ministers officiating at religious ceremonies are sympathetic to requests for extra words, music and readings to be inserted into the order of service, although they will insist that the religious content of the ceremony is also maintained.
• If you would like specially designed wedding stationery which will not be available at your chosen destination, now is the time to order it. Remember to include the table plan, order-of-service sheets, place and menu cards.
4 Months To Go
• Don't forget to send photocopies of original important documents, such as birth certificates, to your tour operator, who generally needs to receive them within a minimum of 16 weeks before your departure date.
• You must take all original documents with you. These include passports, which must be valid for at least six months from your date of departure, birth certificates and proof of any change of name by deed poll.
3 Months To Go
• Either contact the airline yourself or ask your travel agent to do so on your behalf to make arrangements about transporting your wedding dress.
You will probably want to carry it as hand luggage, but this is at the discretion of the individual airline. Click here to see essential tips about packing your wedding dress.
• Your travel agent will probably require the final number of guests travelling in your party.
2 Months To Go
• Send out invitations to the post-honeymoon party if you are having one.
• It's a good idea to courier wedding stationery direct to your hotel to avoid having to take it as hand luggage on your flight. Use a reputable courier such as DHL and allow plenty of time.
• Check what injections or anti-malarial tablets you will need for your trip and start taking any you need in advance. Your GP or your travel agent can tell you what's needed for your destination. Alternatively, you'll find a guide to the vaccinations you'll need in each of This is Travel's Destination Guides.
1 Month To Go
Make sure you are covered by a good travel insurance policy. Any policy should cover you for accidents, delays and any potentially disastrous losses. And if you're participating in any dangerous sports such as skiing or scuba diving, you'll need to ensure your travel insurance covers you.
Most travel firms can offer policies, and leading credit card companies such as Barclaycard also offer cover. There are also countless specialist firms out there.
Author: Judith Keeling
Website: www.thisistravel.co.uk