Wedding Venues for Getting Married Abroad

Researching wedding venues for getting married abroad can be one of the most exciting parts of your wedding planning. (along with finding the perfect dress).

It’s both scary and fascinating and exciting in equal measures, exploring all the possibilities that you probably never knew were even out there. Anything goes now when it comes to weddings abroad, from tropical gardens in a rainforest to underwater ceremonies or even sky diving.

BUT….

We’ll leave those to the adventurous and we’ll look at the thpe of weddings we plan at The Bridal Consultant.

Ultimately deciding where to get married and choosing the right wedding venue abroad are probably the biggest decisions you’ll make about the wedding.

It’s the start of the dream and to an extent will determine the type of wedding day you’ll create and experience.

Booking the perfect wedding venue in the ideal destination means you’ll have a much more enjoyable wedding planning experience, and you’ll be more likely to keep in budget and have the wedding you’ve always dreamed of.

Choosing wedding venues for getting married abroad in my opinion happens in one of two ways.

You’ll fall in love at first sight with a venue and this decides the destination,

OR

You’ll already have a wedding destination in mind and it’s then a case of finding the perfect venue in that wedding destination.

Before you start researching here are some questions you can ask yourself to hopefully make your job that little bit easier……and more fun.

How far are you willing to travel to your wedding destination?

• Long haul is considered more than 5 or 6 hours away from the UK, flights can increase in price considerably the further away you fly so you need to consider what your guests will be happy to pay to attend the wedding.
• A shorter flight could mean a larger guest list which could be a plus or minus for you, depending on your budget and preferences.
• Are you restricted to travel at a certain time of year? It could be the school holidays or maybe you do seasonal work? Also give consideration to any important exams coming up for children in your party, work commitments or any other family events.
• What about the weather, do you love a hot sultry summer, or do you prefer cooler spring like temperatures?

What type of wedding destination have you always dreamed of?

• Are you a city girl with dreams of getting married on a roof top overlooking all the action? Or a princess in pursuit of a fairytale castle or maybe you’re a bit of a boho bride looking for the perfect beach to dip her toes?
• Would you prefer complete privacy or do you mind there being some people around?
• What style of venue do you desire? Modern and slick? Or historic and mystical? The style of venue may determine the destination for the wedding, for example you wouldn’t look for a rustic vineyard in New York!

A little preparation and consideration before you start looking for your wedding destination will help to narrow down the overwhelm you’ll find once you hop on Google!

It’s all about the research.

These days information is literally a click away, so make sure you spend some time researching weddings abroad, Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook are all great platforms for research and remember to ask family and friends about their experiences and recommendations. Pinterest gives you the options of keeping ‘secret’ boards of ideas, it’s a great way of keeping your plans under wrap until you’re ready to talk about them.

I suggest making a mood board of ‘haves’ and ‘have not’s’ for your dream wedding destination, do this separately to your fiancé and then come together to see what styles or ideas are prevalent and ‘bingo’ you may have the perfect idea for your wedding destination ….. you then just need to find the venue.

Overwhelm may kick it, it’s likely too, we get calls every day from couples suffering with it, when this happens speak to a specialist, a good wedding planner will work through the pro’s and con’s with you, so you can work out what you really want and DON’T want.

Trust me you will know when you’ve found the perfect wedding venue abroad.

When to book.

16 years ago when we first started planning weddings abroad people would quite often book in January to get married later in the same year, however times have certainly changed and now we have couples bookings up to two years in advance.

Weddings are larger now and couples like to give their guests as much notice as possible so they have time to save, most couples finance their own weddings so the extra year or so gives them precious time to save and get all those extras they dream of.

My recommendation is to book as far in advance as you like, taking into account how long you can cope with the planning (more than 2 years may send you a bit loopy) how long you need to save up and how far in advance your venue will accept bookings (some only work a year or so in advance)

We’ve planned weddings in as little as 4 months so anything is possible with the right help.

And finally.

Taking the time now to do a bit of research, write down your ideas, preferences and even making a mood board will help to define what a wedding abroad really means to you.

Once you have your priorities set, it’s time to find the perfect venue in your wedding destination and to ask the right questions BEFORE booking…..that’s in our next blog.

If you’d like to speak to one of our specialists about choosing your perfect wedding venue abroad, please email or call us, we always love to chat weddings.

Now it’s time to start looking at wedding venues for getting married abroad.

Click here to look at the wedding destinations we offer.

PREPARE TO BE INSPIRED

Other articles in this series

To see the first instalment of this series and read about the decision about getting married abroad v at home click here

And to read more about putting together a budget for getting married abroad click here.

For more information about our services in general please click here 

ALSO READ | Getting Married Abroad Legal Requirements