Considering Getting Married Abroad

tawecdl

Hi All,

My partner and I are starting to consider getting married abroad and invite the friends and family if they want to come.

I have searched for deals but all I can find is things like Thompson and First Choice.

The thought of a wedding abroad feels fantastic but I know companies like Thompson and first choice will charge over the odds.

We are also worried about planning it ourselves in case things go belly up and not being covered for it. Therefore I am seeking a medium alternative and any suggestions would be welcomed.

We have literally only thought about it for the last fortnight as we were supposed to be getting married in this country in August, but because my previous employment suddenly ended we had to put it off. I am now in another job and looking to get wed next year.

Due to the cancellation we want something new and fresh to look forward to, hence a wedding abroad.

I want to ask you all for suggestions of companies to use, any feedback websites I can scour through to find reputable companies and also any legal advice etc.

Anything is welcomed, thanks in advance,

Tom

[purplesignup][/purplesignup]

silvercar

We are also worried about planning it ourselves in case things go belly up and not being covered for it.

Not being covered for what exactly?

Some hotels have in-house wedding planners that could arrange everything for you, if you wanted to book direct.

LilElvis

Any idea of what country you are thinking of as some have a minimum period of time you have to be there before you can marry.

I got married in Las Vegas - took me a couple of hours tops to book the ceremony, the meal and flights and hotels for a dozen guests. Beyond simple and everything done online.

tawecdl

silvercar wrote: »

Not being covered for what exactly?

Some hotels have in-house wedding planners that could arrange everything for you, if you wanted to book direct.

Do you know of any hotels with in house wedding planners as that sounds like the perfect solution?

onomatopoeia99

My brother married in Italy. They used a local wedding planner where they wanted to marry (that spoke many languages, not just English and Italian, and knew all the rules for overseas couples coming in to marry), made initial contact online and agreed the main bulk of the planning that way, then went over for a short holiday about six months before the wedding to confirm details, view venues and so on.

So much cheaper than an equivalent wedding in the UK, though obviously more expensive for the guests.

Ozzuk

I got married the first time with Virgin (lol) in Antigua many years ago and the experience was fantastic from start to finish. Even the flight felt part of the experience, they couldn't do enough for us.

It was ironic as I worked for British Airways at the time and they wouldn't do a single thing!

also, to keep the cost down you can always take the minimum of people (parents maybe) then have a big party/reception when you get home.

Izadora

Ozzuk wrote: »

I got married the first time with Virgin (lol) in Antigua many years ago and the experience was fantastic from start to finish.

Whereas my recent experience with them has been far from fantastic and I ended up sorting out the wedding direct with the hotel instead. We've got a little under 3 months until we get married so I can't say until then whether or not it all went smoothly but, up to this point, it's been very easy to organise. That's probably partly to do with the fact that we don't want anyone else there so it's only the two of us to worry about though.

niallmitch

We got married there almost 8 years ago, was easy to arrange and pretty cheap.

Because English is the official language, there wasn't any issues with documents and translations etc. We went over in November to make arrangements and instead of 2 days to sort, took us less than half a day and then we got married in April with 15 family and friends there.

The registrars will marry you at a number of places - we chose the local botanical gardens then a restaurant down by the docks.

Only real challenge we had was accommodation, we did think about tourist places up the coast in Spain but eventually rented some in. Local block.

We then had a reception for everybody when we got home.

alwaysskint96

I got married in \Sri Lanka in 2010. Was a villa we married in and they were very helpful and sent a lot of info by email Even got my dress made out there- traditional style dress but made with sari silk and tailored for £80

Had a garden wedding then rode elephant on beach. Great wedding- just a pity i chose wrong groom lol

Place was http://shangrilankavilla.com/food_acc_wedding.html

Placitasgirl

Don't forget that by adding a "company" or "hotel wedding planner" into the equation you're employing another party who are in business to make a profit, so that will add another layer of expense to your arrangements.

My husband and I were married in Tivoli in Italy two years ago. There were some legal formalities to complete here in the UK which were pretty straightforward (lots of guidance online), and I did this myself. We also arranged our and our guests' flights and accommodation and had our reception in a beautiful restaurant in the countryside that we had fond memories of visiting just after we met. We did have to have a translator at the ceremony (a legal requirement there), but we hired a local so this was inexpensive too. A honeymoon in the same country after the ceremony is of course another bonus! I thoroughly enjoyed the planning and organisation of the wedding (I'm an Executive Assistant so it comes pretty naturally) and this way we were able to have everything exactly as we wanted it.

Pollycat

LilElvis wrote: »

Any idea of what country you are thinking of as some have a minimum period of time you have to be there before you can marry.

It might just be me but I find it odd to want to get married abroad - anywhere as long as it's 'abroad'.

No preference for Greece?
Turkey?
Caribbean?
Far East?

Your wedding abroad might 'feel fantastic' to you but will you be putting friends and family to expense that they might struggle with?