Weddings Abroad: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Married Abroad

Local laws may restrict service availability to all. See the Equality Index for more information.

If you’re hoping to leave your local village church in the rear-view mirror and take your love elsewhere with a wedding abroad, we’ve got everything you need to know about planning a destination wedding right here.

From the hottest destination wedding locations to legalities and costs, we’ll talk you through all you need to know before booking your sunshine ceremony.

Getting Married Abroad: Expert Tips & Everything You Need to Know

Are you ready to embark on the most beautiful and exciting trip of your life, but wondering exactly how to plan a destination wedding? With tips on how to get married abroad, expert advice from vendors in the know, what to expect from destination wedding packages and more, everything you need from take-off to touchdown can be found in our wed-away checklist below.

• Where to Get Married Abroad
• How Much Does it Cost to Get Married Abroad?
• How to Get Married Overseas: Dos & Don’ts
• The Legalities of Getting Married Abroad

Where to Get Married Abroad

When it comes to choosing where to get married abroad, the world is – quite literally – your oyster.

Some of the most popular destinations include Italy, with its excellent wine, sublime cuisine, fascinating small villages, fabulous climate and short flight time (Tuscany is just two hours, while Naples – which serves the Amalfi Coast – is under three), while a wedding in the Caribbean is perfect for those who want a relaxed celebration with white-sand beaches and lush scenery.

Other good places to get married abroad include the Maldives, Seychelles or Mauritius in the Indian Ocean (hello, turquoise sea!), as well as Las Vegas or New York in the US, while Ibiza and Cyprus are both great options for short flight times.

But before you book those flights, below are some of the things you’ll need to consider:

Cost of Travel & Accommodation

Ultimately the biggest consideration when it comes to choosing where you’ll get married is whether or not you feel it’s affordable for both you and your guests. If guests are being expected to pay for their own flights and accommodation, our top tip would be to send out your save-the-dates a year in advance, so they have time to plan and shop for the best travel deals.

Duration of Trip

How much time will you and your guests spend at your destination? If you’re planning on a far-flung destination like the Seychelles or Maldives, and potentially staying put for your honeymoon, you might want to think about entertaining guests for at least five days to make the lengthy travel and expense worthwhile.

Elsewhere, if a wedding weekend is more your vibe, consider hotspots in Europe. Some of the best destinations to get married abroad include Tuscany, Ibiza, Lake Como, Provence or the gorgeous Greek islands.

Degrees of Difficulty

From language barriers to legalities, be sure that your chosen destination doesn’t make wedding planning a nightmare. Many places make it easy to tie the knot there; they may only have one- or two-day residency requirements, if any, while others (such as France) require you to have a longer residency and fill in complicated paperwork, so it may be that you settle for a symbolic blessing after a legal ceremony in the UK instead.

It can also be helpful to have someone within your wedding planning network who is familiar with the area, whether that’s the wedding coordinator at your venue, a friend or family member, or someone else who can advise you.

How Much Does it Cost to Get Married Abroad?

Are destination weddings cheaper? With the average cost of a UK wedding now £20,700, getting married abroad could well save you money, though it’s worth noting that it’s often not a like-for-like comparison. For example, the average UK wedding has 80 guests – far more than the number for destination weddings, and often guests have to fork out more in order to attend.

Whether or not a destination wedding is cheaper will depend on a variety of factors:

Where: Where in the world you choose to get married will have a huge impact on the cost of getting married abroad. Popular destinations such as Italy, Greece and parts of France tend to cost more than lesser-known wedding destinations, such as Malta.

When: Peak wedding season in the UK is different in other parts of the world, so look into when weddings are most popular in your chosen destination.

What you’re paying for: When planning a wedding abroad, consider the costs you’ll be covering and what your guests will need to pay for. Will you be paying for everyone’s accommodation? Will you cover flights? Are you planning on providing food and entertainment for a weekend or longer, or will it just be on the wedding day?

The level of financial support you are offering guests will undoubtedly impact how much it costs to get married abroad.

Guest list size: As with weddings in the UK, as your wedding guest list grows, so does the spend. If you’re planning on a wedding abroad with just a small number of people, or with guests who will be paying for their own accommodation and travel, it’s likely that it’ll be cheaper to get married abroad.

Duration: It’s becoming more common for couples to plan a wedding weekend abroad, or even a wedding week before staying on for their honeymoon. This is a really lovely way to celebrate overseas and makes the trip worthwhile for your guests. However, adding on elements like a wedding-eve cocktail party or (much-needed) morning-after brunch, not to mention round-the-clock activities, does add up.

Suppliers: Where will your vendors be coming from? If you have your heart set on a hair and make-up artist or photographer from the UK, you will need to factor in travel and accommodation costs for them, too. “These costs will vary from supplier to supplier and may increase if they need to bring additional team members,” says destination wedding videographer Gaetano Di Giacomo, who frequently covers weddings in both the UK and Italy.

“Some suppliers will include these expenses in their wedding packages, providing couples with a final, all-inclusive price, while others may list them separately. It’s crucial to ask them up front to avoid any unexpected costs later on,” he adds.

Destination Wedding Packages

Some wedding places abroad will offer dedicated wedding packages that include everything from the food, drink and table linen to pre- and post-wedding couples’ spa treatments and guest rooms. Some will even include preparation of the marriage documents and dedicate you your own wedding planner to liaise with before you arrive.

And while these can be great and excellent value if you’re less bothered about the finer details of your day, if you’re someone who wants to personalise every aspect, these offerings can feel restricted.  

How to Get Married Overseas: Dos & Don’ts

Weddings abroad can be tricky to plan if you don’t know where to begin – but these vital tips will help get you started!

Do Plan in Advance

Even if you’re planning on eloping as a twosome, you’ll still need plenty of time to plan to get married abroad. We would suggest making enquiries around 12 months prior to your planned wedding date, in view of having the location booked at least 10 months before. This leaves you time to finalise all the logistics.

This is also helpful when it comes to researching and booking the right vendors. “You want the process to be smooth and low stress, and the easiest way to do that is to start early,” agrees Gae. “Ensure all your vendors are introduced and in touch with one another ahead of the wedding, too. This fosters a seamless collaboration and helps them avoid any logical mishaps on the day.”

Do Fill in Your Guests

Do you research before you book to ensure the journey is an easy one for your guests – are there regular flights to your planned destination? How easy is the onward journey from the airport? All this information – along with plenty of notice – will be hugely appreciated by your loved ones.

Do Understand the Cultural Differences

When researching destination wedding destinations, note that different countries around the world have different customs and traditions – and being aware of these ahead of your wedding is wise. That’s not to say you shouldn’t be able to make your day your own, but it can be helpful to understand how they would usually plan wedding celebrations with regards to timings and formats.

If you’re working with a local or in-house wedding planner, they should be able to advise on this.

Do Note the Exchange Rate

After all, you wouldn’t go on holiday without understanding this, and the same applies to weddings abroad. Remember to factor in things like international transfer fees – and have a contingency plan for potential currency fluctuations, as this could impact your final budget.              

Do Prioritise Your Guests’ Experience

Weddings abroad aren’t just about the couple – it’s super important to think about your guests’ experience as they’re paying so much money to be there. “Plan and provide clear information about their options,” says Gae. “Block bookings or group rates can make things easier and more affordable for everyone.”

Alongside clear and efficient travel and accommodation information, work with your venue or wedding planner to put together a useful guide to the local area.

Your guests will also undoubtedly thank you for a thoughtful bag of easy-to-forget essentials placed in their room on arrival – think flip-flops, sun cream and mosquito spray. If you’re tying the knot in a hotel resort, you could even give them beach bags subtly printed with your very own wedding motif – that way, they can spot each other as they’re wandering around and mingle before the big event.

Don’t Bet on Good Weather

For many, the promise of guaranteed sunshine is the biggest allure of a destination wedding – but never assume it’s a given. As you would do when planning a wedding in the UK, if you’re having an outdoor wedding, find out what the wet-weather plan is, should it rain.

This is also where experienced vendors will come in handy. “An expert will be able to adapt to every situation – even in a location that’s unknown to them,” confirms Gae. “Be flexible and trust your vendors to handle these situations professionally.”

Don’t Underestimate Your Luggage Needs

You will have a huge amount to take with you, so we highly recommend writing a detailed packing list well ahead of time so you can work out how many suitcases you will need. Avoid flying out the day before the wedding in case anything goes missing – where possible, give yourselves a few days at the destination to solve any issues, or simply relax before the big event.

The Legalities of Getting Married Abroad

Hefty amounts of paperwork are the last thing you want to be doing amidst all the more fun wedding planning elements, but it’ll be even more devastating if a missing document means you can’t get a marriage licence.

Helpfully, you can use the British Government’s online tool to find out what paperwork is required for each country, or on the Embassy’s website.

Essential Documents

The full legal requirements vary by country, but every destination will require both of you to have these documents in their original form (not photocopied), or a certified copy:

• Valid passport with at least six months remaining before expiry
• Birth certificate
• Deed poll proof of any name changes (if applicable)
• Decree absolute (if previously married)
• Marriage and death certificates of deceased spouse (if widowed)
• Adoption certificate (if applicable)

If you’re marrying in a non-English speaking country, your paperwork may also have to be translated and given an apostille (additional certification of authenticity) to validate the document abroad. This can be done by the Foreign Office in the UK.

Other Common Documents You Might Need

• Certificate of No Impediment (CNI) to prove that there is no reason why you cannot marry. These can be obtained from a local registry office or the embassy. They can take around a month to issue and last for six months from the date of issue.
• Single Status Statutory Declaration. Similar to the CNI, this is for people who have never been married to prove they are free to marry. They may need to be stamped and certified by a solicitor in the UK. Countries that require this include the Seychelles, Kenya and the Bahamas.
• Medical Test. This is not always required, but some countries such as Mexico, Turkey and some areas of the United States require a certificate of health.

Remember that many of these documents will add to the spend, so factor in the cost of obtaining these into your wedding budget.

Residency Requirements

Some countries have a minimum residency period before you can obtain a marriage licence there and it can vary between one or two days, or 40! In France, for example, at least one of you will need to prove that you have lived there for a minimum of 40 days prior to your application of a marriage licence.

Spain also has high degrees of difficulty, and, unlike in France, you can’t just enjoy a six-week holiday and call yourself a resident.

While other countries, such as Italy, don’t have residency requirements they do recommend that couples arrive three or four days before the wedding, so officials have time to process the paperwork. Begin researching early if you want your destination wedding to be legal in the UK.

Other Special Requirements

Some countries will have further additional requirements that you’ll need to fulfil before obtaining a marriage licence, so in many cases it’s easier to opt for a blessing after taking care of the legal bit at home. In Mexico, you’ll need to have a blood test in a local hospital and a minimum of four witnesses to marry – while in Barbados, you’ll need just two witnesses and a valid return ticket. It varies wildly!

Wedding Abroad: FAQ

What is a Destination Wedding?

A destination wedding is a ceremony and reception that takes place outside of where the couple live and usually requires a significant amount of travel for both them and their guests.

While the term ‘destination wedding’ used to conjure up images of a sandy beach or somewhere far-flung and exotic, that doesn’t have to be the case – everything from Italian villas to city celebrations in places like Rome, Barcelona and New York all count!  

Is a Vegas Wedding Legal in the UK?

A wedding in Las Vegas is legal in the UK, provided you have followed all the necessary requirements, and the ceremony is carried out by a licensed officiant. Often considered the elopement capital of the world (and for good reason), Vegas makes it quick and easy to obtain a marriage licence.

Are Destination Weddings Selfish?

It can be easy to get swept up in trying to please family and friends when it comes to planning your big day, but choosing to have a destination wedding is not ‘selfish’. Understandably, if not all your guests are able to come along, it can lead to hurt feelings, but those who care about you should understand that it’s your day and you should be able to have the wedding that you want.

Why not cushion the blow by planning a party for when you return? Finalise all the details before you depart for your wedding and include traditions like speeches, a first dance and maybe even a cake-cutting so the event feels like a wedding celebration as opposed to just a party, and hire a photographer to capture special moments with the guests who couldn’t make your destination do.

Since you’re already on your way – how about thinking about where you’ll head next for your honeymoon? We’ve listed the best honeymoon destinations by month.