Best places to get married abroad for less

Couples seeking sunshine and low costs for their wedding are looking to head overseas in a bid for the perfect big day. Wedding and travel insurance experts at Quotezone.co.uk conducted a survey that showed 61% of couples are worried about unpredictable weather ruining their wedding.

With over 20% of British brides and grooms-to-be now considering going abroad to get married, destination weddings are set to become even more popular in the next few years. The team at Quotezone have created an International Wedding Index to help couples search for their ideal wedding destination, and clear blue skies.

Ten of the most sought-after destinations for a romantic wedding were analysed and ranked by a number of factors such as rainfall, average temperatures, hotel costs and approximate total wedding costs.

Mexico came out on top as the ideal place to host a wedding – with blissful warm weather and cheaper wedding costs. The average estimated cost of a wedding in Mexico was £15,725, which includes factors such as venue hire, photography, food and make-up.

Hosting a wedding in the UK is estimated to set couples back over £23,000 – the country also ranked worst of these dream locations to host a wedding due to low temperatures with an average of nine degrees plus over 1,200 mm of rainfall.

The most expensive country for approximate total wedding costs in the index was France costing over £26,059 for the big day. France ranked in ninth position – being one of the worst countries for weddings due to expensive costs and low average temperatures of just 11°C.

Aside from Mexico, Barbados is the warmest county on the index – perfect for couples worried that the weather will spoil their celebrations, with average temperatures of over 26°C. Barbados also has some of the most affordable total wedding costs – coming in at approximately £16,252.

This is significantly cheaper than wedding costs in Italy which are approximately £24,738. Italy ranked in eighth position, with average temperature of only 12°C despite low levels of rainfall.

Tiffany Mealiff, wedding and travel insurance expert at Quotezone.co.uk said: “Couples planning their weddings all over the world are looking for several key factors which will make their day as perfect as possible.

“We’ve analysed weather as well as expenses to reveal the ideal countries to plan and host their dream wedding. “It’s interesting to see Mexico at the top of the index – the sunny country also has some of the cheapest total costs making it top choice for destination weddings.

“And the UK at the bottom of the index is perhaps unsurprising – the rainy weather and expensive hotel and total wedding costs including venue hire, photography and food will cause many British couples to think about heading off elsewhere to tie the knot.

“Our survey shows that over 20% of couples from the UK have considered getting married abroad.

“It may be worrying for some couples making the decision to get married in a different country, there are a lot of moving parts to consider when planning a wedding and it can be stressful enough without considering travel logistics.“But  cost is becoming one of the biggest factors putting couples off staying in the UK – with 41% agreeing that it would be cheaper today to get married abroad.

“Our index shows how couples could save a fortune on wedding costs with better weather by going overseas. I would expect to see a surge in couples heading for warmer climes in the foreseeable future as soaring inflation costs at home make wedding planning a challenge.

“Most wedding insurance policies don’t cover a rainy day, so to speak, but they can help with extreme weather conditions such as flooding and storms, and should compensate couples for cancellations or rearrangement costs.

“Like travel insurance, it’s best to take out wedding cover as soon as bookings are made, couples won’t be covered if they wait until weather warnings start to roll in.”