Wedding abroad - where to start??

[bumbleberry]

Hi all,

We've decided after much thought to get married abroad, we were looking locally in the UK and did have a nice venue picked out but still never got round to booking it as we just weren't sure it was us.

Ideally it is going to be very intimate - we're both happy with it being just us and our daughter. But we would keep it open if family wish to come. I know I won't have family there on my side due to health reasons but my family are happy with our decision so I do not need to worry about that.

I have made a few enquires online and have been into the local Thomson travel agent and was given a whole host of literature. But my question is where do I start? I feel a little swamped by all the information.

A lot of the places seem to cater for larger parties but initially we're only looking at it being us 3, with a private ceremony on the beach then going for a nice meal afterwards. If we were to add any extra people it would not be more than another 3-4 people max.

Can anyone with a bit more experience in this area help? Do we pick somewhere then approach a tour operator or local wedding planner?

Thanks!

 

[OhHappyZ]

Hello! How exciting about the planning! Picking the venue is the hardest part!! After that it all falls into place, because you can visualize it! I have a somewhat destination wedding. We are in southern California, and our wedding is in wine country, which is about 2 hours away from us. All my family except my dad is out of state, so I took the liberty of choosing where we felt we wanted to get married. We love wine country, we go there at least twice a year, and the ambiance and look and feel of the area is just so perfect for us. It is a lot of fun!! So what I did, was I researched a few places online that I liked the look of their pictures and website. I personally narrowed it down to 4, two of them were wineries, the other two were strictly venues. Then I set tour appointments with all four of them in one day. It was tough because we had to rush from one to the next to the next, but at the end of it, we went to our favorite basement bar, enjoyed some cocktails and appetizers, and then we had a vote. My fiancé and I brought his mom and sister, and my dad and his wife, so we had a few people to weigh in on the decision. It was pretty clear once we had seen the places and asked all my questions where we wanted to go. Now the wedding is only 2 months away and I am so beyond happy about my decision!!!

So step one for you, I would say figure out what general area, or vision you have. If it is a place, research places. If it is a vision, research where has that vision.

As for it being a smaller place, maybe research local churches (if you are religious), or local parks, or something. Maybe not strictly venues, as you are right, they typically have a minimum guest count.

Once you find "the one" it will be just like finding your fiancé, meant to be!! xoxo good luck!!

 

[Bekah78]

How exciting to be planning your wedding.

We got married abroad. We selected Austria (Zell am see -lake the real von trapp family house is on (sound of music film) registry office is the old castle) because that's where we'd had our first holiday together. Ours was organised through first choice and they were great (almost 12 years ago).

I'd look into options available. What services are available. If they can do the full wedding package or just a blessing. Some countries weddings aren't recognised here so you'd need to do a registry wedding here in the uk.
I'd also ask how many weddings they host a day. There was only one a day where we booked but some venues it's like a procession of couples getting married which for me would have taken the feeling of it being special away.

Happy planning.

 

[bumbleberry]

Thanks both for your messages. It has helped

I think you're right OhHappyZ, I need to a starting point then I can decide on where etc. I love your idea of your wedding being in the wine country, a girl after my own heart

I've always lived by the sea and I like the idea of a beach wedding, one which is not easy to do in the UK. However I love some of the rustic themes too... before we decided to definitely go abroad, I had found a lovely little venue which matched the rustic themes I had seen (think lots of browns/golds/olive colours, burlap flowers, rustic cake etc) but the expense involved was incredible! I had thought about Italy but again this seems to be a very expensive option and there seems to be quite a lot of paperwork for this destination

Bekah78, I like your idea where you chose a destination which had special meaning to you both. We had our first family holiday abroad together in Zante last year so that could definitely be an option too.

So I suppose at least I have a vision - beach & rustic - now I need some ideas for destinations/venues!

 

[x_WelshGirl_x]

We are getting married in Cyprus next year (I have never been, but took my OH's word it is beautiful). We booked through perfect weddings abroad which is more expensive than booking yourselves direct but didnt want the stress of looking for photographers etc ourselves.

I think decide on a country first then look at hotels etc then email them. Also if you are on facebook see if there are any groups, i'm on a couple of cyprus brides to be pages and wish I had found that page before booking through a company as it seems so easy to book everything yourself rather than have the middle man.

 

[Faith001]

I think the best option for you will be to book a beach side hotel so that you can have a nice beach wedding as well as have a nice meal post wedding! So in this way you can have a nice intimate ceremony, you can try this out and even if you have a few guests it will be within the budget!