So, you're engaged and would like to get married abroad, but you have no idea where to start! Perhaps this checklist will help you decide
what's the best way for you to start planning your wedding abroad.
You have a choice of options to organise your wedding:
1. You could use a
tour operator and book your wedding package and honeymoon with them. This is the simplest option as they take care of
everything, but it may not give you the flexibility that you'd like to design your own wedding ceremony and have the exact day that you've
been dreaming of.
However, using a tour operator is a very safe way to get married abroad as you will be covered if the company you use goes into administration for any reason.
2. You could use a
wedding planner in the country in which you wish to get married. Using a local wedding planner gives you peace of mind as
they will take care of all the leg work and design your day exactly as you wish. They will also have access to local suppliers and will know
where to go to obtain all the services you require. We always say that a wedding planner is like an accountant, they should save you at least
the same amount of money that they cost!
Please note though that if you use a local wedding planner then you will need to book your transport and accommodation yourself, which you
can either do independently or you could use a tour operator to book a holiday and get married while you're out there.
3. You can
plan your wedding abroad yourself and source your suppliers via the internet, or via contacts you know in the country you're
marrying in. This is a more labour intensive way of planning your wedding, but if you know the country well and have contacts there already then it may be the right option for you.
Top Wedding Tips
- For anyone planning a wedding abroad we would always recommend taking out wedding insurance and also travel insurance. Check that the
policies cover all eventualities as they may be invaluable if anything goes wrong (which we're sure it won't!).
- Check
the weather where you wish to marry. Getting married abroad is very romantic, but less so when your ideal wedding is a wash out as
you didn't realise that it was the monsoon season! There's always somewhere in the world which has good weather in the month you'd like to get married - just make sure you're there and not somewhere else!
- Check the
marriage legalities before you decide to marry in a country. Some countries require more time to sort the paperwork out than others and you may have to obtain translations and apostille
stamps, depending on the requirements.
As you can see, organising a wedding abroad really does come down to what type of ceremony you want, but also what type of couple you are.
If you'd like everything to be taken care of then try a tour operator, if you'd like to have complete control over every little detail then
you'll probably plan your wedding yourself, or if you'd like a bit more control but to have someone else to do the hard work for you then try a
wedding planner. The choice is yours!
