gettin married abroad

margaretclare

My stepdaughter got married in Jamaica 2 years ago. It was her third wedding, his second - although she's only in her 30s she's now a step-grandmother!!

They did it very very simply. I've no idea what it cost, but they both have good jobs. They both wore loose white shirts and white crop trousers. The hotel provided the flowers, and it was on a beach.

No one else was there, and their honeymoon was diving in the same place. They had a family party/reception/garden party when they got home, hired garden furniture and glasses from Tesco. I actually got to meet my DH's first ex-wife, the bride's mum - that was a strange experience. However it did not suit certain family members - you can't please 'em all.

There seem to be plenty of 'civil' venues around the world, but when we got married in 2002, it was our little local Methodist church where we're members. And that was far better than being married somewhere exotic but among strangers.

Margaret Clare

boltonangel

we got married in the dominican republic last year, and to be honest we didn't realise how much hassle it would be with the documents.

you have to 1st of all both have full birth certs, you then have to each have an affadavit prepared to say that you are single and free to marry, these have to then be certified by the british commonwealth office (£12 per doc) and the translated into Spanish (i think the passports also have to be treated the same way, but can't quite remember). the spanish translations and original docs then have to be sent to the dominican embassy for them to certify (it was either £55 or £80 per doc) although we didn't send the spanish translations because we found a translator that was well known to the embassy, so they didn't need to check she had done a good job. Oh, and all this can only be done within 3 months of the holiday, so it is a mad rush!! :eek:

despite all this, it really was a brilliant wedding and holiday, and once we got there everything was really easy to arrange with our co-ordinator, we stayed at superclubs breezes, puerto plata.

best of luck. :A

veggieburger

We got married a year ago in Ayia Napa, Cyprus at the Venetian Monastery. It's a beautiful setting and the ceremony is an Anglican church service. It was absolutely fantastic and we had our reception afterwards at Sunset Beach which is a more or less private venue right by the sea just out of Napa. The whole day was so unique - something totally different to weddings in this country!

eddie_2-2

I agree that you don't have to go with the tour operators and book one of their packages if you don't want to.
I have been to one of these weddings booked through an operator and it was lovely, and just what the couple wanted.

But I also got married abroad and organised it myself without having to pay an operator.
I got married in Australia. There is no requirement to be in the country for a specified length of time before marrying, no blood tests required, you do all your paperwork before you go and get it checked by the Celebrant marrying you usually about a day or 2 days before the wedding - passports, birth certificates required as well as other documentation if applicable such as divorce papers etc.

Plus there are so many amazing locations in which you can get married, it doesn't have to be a building. You can research yourself and find somewhere amazing - eg. on the beach (and there are some wonderful beaches!!), in Botanic Gardens (I saw someone getting married in Sydney's Botanic Gardens - beautiful), Syndey Opera House (saw someone getting married here too!), Hotels, private gardens, tropical rainforests, beautiful islands (saw someone getting married on an island in the Whitsundays!!)

I could have employed the services of a wedding co-ordinator to help organise things for me, but it was actually really easy to do myself. Plus it was very affordable, obviously depending on the scale of wedding, as in total
the ceremony cost about £300. I had flowers and a photographer which increased the price, and these were also easy to arrange.

I know it sounds like I work for the Australian tourist board (!!), but I was just really impressed by how straightforward it all was. Plus I could have chosen a beautiful wedding location about ten times over, you're spoilt for choice. And it makes a great honeymoon!

bylromarha

My SIL is getting married in Cuba at the end of this year. Seems to have been hassle free so far.

OH and I won't be going though, despite all the notice she gave us. We'd love to be there, but it's really beyond our price range to go. We told her this early on so she made an informed decision about whether she wanted to continue getting married abroad. She decided to go ahead with it, which is great as she'll get the wedding day she wants to have...and we'll just have to ensure our brother in law to be sets up a good weblink!

ALI1973

Another vouch for Las Vegas, very easy and great place to visit. Theres no requirement to be "resident" either so you could do it on a short trip.

Luv Ali

Becles

We live in England and got married at Gretna Green - does that count as abroad?

Seriously it was a brilliant day. The venue was gorgeous and the people there and at the hotel we booked for the reception really looked after us.

It was cheaper than getting married in local places, and easy for all the family to travel and be with us. A wedding abroad was not an option for us, as the older family members would not have travelled abroad, and some others would not have travelled for finance reasons.

sc123_2

Congratualtions

We got married 3 years ago in Jamaica. We booked it all through Sandals which was fantastic. the hotel, food and service was brilliant. Your guests would be able to attend. You can even pay a fee for them to enter the all inclusive hotel for the day, if you wanted them to stay in another hotel rather than in yours. Sandals are adult only holidays so no children under 18 (i think) would be able to attend but you could book your wedding at a Beaches resort which is also run by Sandals but caters for children as well.

Good luck.

boots_babe

We got married in Finnish Lapland in February this year. It was beautiful, everything we had hoped for and more, such a beautiful and peacful setting. All the guests (who had initially thought us a bit mad I think!!) ended up realising why we chose such a location. Couldn't recommend it enough.

Older_but_not_wiser_2

We got married in South Africa at http://www.lanzerac.co.za/index_main.htm, although there are many other wine farms/ gardens that will accommodate you.

It was fantastic. Superb scenery, lovely weather, and great value for money as the rand isn't that strong against the pound.

Also, honeymooning in SA will cost you less.