UK Wedding Directory. When you're ready to say I do, we do.

Weddings Abroad

Getting married abroad can be a difficult decison, many people will find the idea daunting, but we are here to help!

Organising a wedding abroad is no more difficult than organising a wedding in the UK, we can't promise that it will be straight foward but we are here to help with any advice and tips to make it easier for you.

idowedo.co.uk Top Tips

Destination
Go to your local travel agent and pick up some brochures and decide on what country you and your fiance want to get married in. The tour operator should be able to provide you with lots of ideas of perfect wedding locations.

Time of Year
You will need to consider what time of year you want to get married as this may affect your choice of location. For summer weddings you may want to consider Europe and if you are opting for a winter wedding you may want to consider the Caribbean where you are almost guaranteed good weather.

Budget
Once you have made a decision where you would like to get married, work out a budget including flights, accommodation and your wedding package. All this will be paid in the UK prior to your departure.

Book It
Try and book as early as possible, you may have family and friends travelling with you. They will need notice to pay their share. Plus certain countries need up to 12 weeks notice before you plan to marry.

Group Discounts
If you are travelling with a large wedding party, many tour operators will also find you the best group discounts available, don't be afraid to ask for discount, you could save hundreds of pounds.

Send Out Invitations
Send out your wedding invitations at least six months prior to the wedding, we would recommend earlier if possible as most tour operators will take bookings up to a year in advance. This sounds early but guests will need to arrange flights, accommodation and time off work.

Establish a Contact
Once you have made a booking, you will either have a wedding co-ordinator within the holiday company or you could request an email address for the wedding co-ordinator at your wedding location. This way you will be able to get all the correct information you need to arrange your wedding package.

Visit Your Doctor
You will need to contact you local doctor to make sure that all your vacinations are up to date depending on the wedding destination. Some countries will require you and your partner to take you medical certificate.

Age Concerns
The legal requirements vary from country to country. In most cases you will need to be over 21 years of age. You also need to ensure your British passports have at least six months left before they expire before travelling.

Contact Embassies
Investigate all the legalities for getting married in your chosen wedding desination. we advise you to contact relevant embassies to find out the exact requirements and that your marriage will be valid when you get back to Britain.

Documents
Put together a folder or file that contains all your original required documents, such as your birth certificates, decree absolute and death certificate of a former spouse if this is required. You will not be able to get married without them in most desinations. Most tour operators will require photocopies of these documents ten weeks prior to departure.

Wedding Dress
When buying your wedding dress keep in mind the climate of your wedding desination, In most cases it will be warm, therefore you should consider dresses in a cool, natural fabric like silk or chiffon and maybe a light linen suit for the groom.

Luggage
You may want to check with your airline on the rules about you wedding outfits as some airlines let you have them with you on the aircraft and others will let you have extra luggage weight so they can go with the rest of your luggage in the aircraft hold.

Wedding Hair and Make Up
If you are after a certain hairstyle, take a picture along with you, the hotel or resort will be able to offer you a hairdresser and make up artist that can create the look for you. We suggest that you pre-book beauty treatments before your wedding day. Always remember to sunbathe sensibly, you would not want strap marks in your photographs.

Wedding Readings
In a lost of cases the wedding ceremony will be simple and informal. If you want to have specific readings most registrars are happy to include these but do speak to the wedding co-ordinator on site before hand.

Wedding Video
We recommend you have a wedding video, this is a great way to show you friends and family back home that could not join you on your big day. You should be able to book this service through your tour operator before your departure.

Wedding Certificate
In some cases you will receive your marriage certificate at the hotel/resort after the ceremony. It is important that you check every detail of this carefully. When your certificate is not issued prior to your departure, your tour operator will send it to your home address. In many cases this can take up to four months.

The Last Word
Please check every detail with your tour operator/wedding co-ordinator before you depart, you want to make sure that you do not have any hidden extras when you arrive at your destination.

For all the information you need on changing your surname visit our After The Wedding section.

Good luck with your wedding abroad, and let us know how it went! Click here to download a form to share your story and we will do our best to publish it.