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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2nd time booking with eShores and they didn't dissapoint. Following our amazing holiday (1st booking) to Malaysia/Borneo we contacted Dave with an initial enquiry for an Australian multitrip holiday; compared to others Dave and team offered great knowledgeable, experienced advise and delivered an itinerary fully reflective of our wishlist travelling with a great airline and…
Just booked a holiday for later in year. I have total confidence on Hannah arranging yet again. Fab service given.
Consultant so helpful and so knowledgeable
My experience with eshores has been very positive, even to the point of a late evening enquiry being answered and resolved before bedtime. The holiday itinerary and choice of accommodation was excellent and the eshores staff were lovely to deal with.
Really responsive and hard working travel consultant. We are a regular customer. The consultant accommodated varied requests from our large group booking. Always patient and willing to go extra mile
The holiday that we were looking for was communicated to Eshore’s and after a couple iterations we have a holiday which meets our requirements. Looking forward to a relaxing holiday on Sicily
We have used Eshores a couple of times now and I must say they are fantastic. In particular, Laura at Eshores, was ever so helpful and changed our itinerary at our request multiple times and gave us the best prices available. It was quite a complicated multi-stop holiday with our party departing from and arriving…
My experience with Nadine has been great! She is lovely, nothing is too much trouble and she is very quick when replying to emails.
From the moment we were in contact with Emma McDonough, we had the confidence to book witheShores. Even though we had to completely change our original dates all down to ourselves, nothing was a problem for Emma. She guided us through the complete booking and we now have a tailor made holiday exactly how we…
Always a pleasure to book with these guys. Got my requirements bang on and looking forward to a great holiday in South Africa.
Booked my trip to the Philippines with Eshores. Nick was great, I had a lot of changes which he always accommodated, he made sure I was 100% happy before booking. He gave me a lot of recommendations which was really helpful. I’d definitely book with them again.
Excellent response from initial contact made and throughout the process. Nadine was patient, informative and couldn't do enough for us..brilliant customer service!!!
I would like to express my admiration for Kadie at eShores, her excellent work and efficiency. I value her tremendous expertise and vast knowledge in travel planning. I will be only too happy to express my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude for the highly professional and competent services, provided in both a friendly and accessible manner.…
A professional and experienced team that always deliver a quality service. Customer focused and willing to go the extra mile to help with planning the perfect trip! (Special mention to Michelle Porter - absolute star!)
Great service from Kelly - always spoke to same person and had her direct contact details . She tailored our holiday to exactly what we requested and within our budget. Kelly was able to answer lots of questions about the resists and included private tours and transfers. Highly recommended
Eshores was recommended to us by a friend and I am so pleased with the service. Booking our holiday and visit to family in Kenya has been made so easy and effortless. We will definitely by using you again and wish to say a big Thank You 😊
Emily has handled our Thailand holiday booking from start to finish ! She has been so accommodating and even with my constant tweets to the travel plans she has always been so helpful and reassuring that it needs to be just right ! Thanks to Emily I feel like we are now set and ready…
Shores were very easy to deal with, listened to what we wanted from our holiday and provided a very good travel package at a reasonable price. I would use them again and their representative, Dave, was never pushy or frustrated by any changes requested throughout the process.
Such an efficient service. I got in touch with a slightly complicated holiday request at quite short notice and the holiday was arranged later that day. Excellent price and very happy with all the arrangements so far
I was delighted with the quick response from Nick after enquiring about Island Hopping in Greece. Within 2 days he had got back to us with a quote for our holiday. All flights, hotels, ferries and private transport were arranged. Fantastic customer service and absolutely delighted with the standard of the hotels and the cost…
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