My personal tips on planning your wedding abroad

I wanted to give a couple of my own personal tips on getting married abroad when it comes to the planning stages. There are many general tips online about getting married abroad, however the difference with my tips are that these are based on things I see often or have arranged so these are personal to me.

Tip 1: Think of yourself

I often see couples getting too caught up with what their family and friends want and choosing their wedding location just because they feel it would suit the budgets of their guests over what the couple actually want to do. My advice - do what you want to do!

Get married at your dream location (providing your budget allows it). Those who can go will go. I have had numerous couples in my years as a travel agent choose a wedding location because it was affordable for their guests, only for those guests to later cancel and the couple then felt they could have gone where they originally wanted to when they first started making plans to marry abroad.

If you do have a lot of guests attending to think about then find the right balance and importantly do what is right for you. Do not let family and friends dictate where you have your special day. I find this is one of the main things I see my couples stress about when they have a group of friends and family attending their wedding abroad.

Tip 2: If you can visit your wedding destination prior to your wedding, do so

Depending on your chosen wedding destination and how visible it is to go there before your wedding. It would be ideal to visit before your big day to look around the area. I would arrange for you to meet the wedding planner and you can have a look at wedding options in the resort. If you are staying elsewhere rather than the hotel you plan to get married at, I would arrange a day pass with the wedding planner, so you can have a look around and have a feel for wedding ceremony locations.

If you are opting for a long-haul wedding this may not always be an option but if you are thinking of a wedding which is 3-5 hours flight away, it may be an idea to visit for a short trip prior to your wedding.

Tip 3: Make sure you can legally marry in your chosen destination

Don’t assume you can have your wedding anywhere abroad. There are restrictions on where British citizens can legally get married. Before you start having your heart set on a destination, make sure you can legally get married there. Also, it is important to check the period of time you have to be present in the country before you can get married. Many destinations need you to be in the country three full days before your wedding, but some countries require longer and some shorter.

I have first-hand experience. I got married abroad at Sandals Grande Antigua, just me and my husband on the Free Beautiful Beginnings wedding. At the time our daughter Erin was 18 months old, so we choose a simple no fuss wedding and had a reception when we got home. I was up against being an only child and breaking the news about this to my parents and making sure I had their support before we committed, and we missed our daughter of course, but this was perfect for us going away in paradise for a week and our wedding being just about us.

I have to date arranged 26 weddings in the last seven years as a Travel Counsellor. Although I have been a travel agent for over 20 years, I have found that people want the personal service of a personal agent to always be the person they speak to.

I know how exciting it is to get married abroad and I also know how worrying it can be when it comes to having the correct documents sorted. Having a personal agent by your side all the way is a godsend and I always feel honoured that couples choose me to arrange their weddings. I have a couple of blogs on my webpage from couples I have arranged their wedding for with their story of me being their personal Travel Counsellor. Do take a look.

If you would like to discuss your plans give me a call 01502 558910. Once in the planning stages we can get together if local and talk through your options over coffee.

I have arranged weddings for lots of couples all over the UK and Scotland so please don’t feel you need to be local for me to help, I can help everyone. I just don’t get to meet those couples who are further away unless I am privileged enough to be invited to their reception which I often am, and I always try to attend where possible.

It would be a great honour to help arrange your wedding and I hope to hear from you soon.