Organising a wedding can be incredibly daunting, expense being one of the most stressful parts of the wedding. The average price of a U.K wedding is now just over £30,000, not an amount to be sneered at. The good news is that destination weddings can actually work out being cheaper than having a wedding at home. This could mean that you can actually save money AND have your dream wedding without compromising on your taste and budget. Nonetheless, it’s imperative that you plan accordingly, knowing where to cut costs and where the best places to go are.
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For the modern bride, the local church hall may not be as attractive as it might have been for previous generations of brides and grooms. In terms of convenience, cost, and availability, you would have most likely got married at the closest church or registry office to you, the same way your parents and their parents got married.
And while traditional weddings are still very popular, there is an increase in couples deciding to go for an alternative approach to their wedding. This may be through combining elements of a traditional wedding with modern touches, choosing artisanal decorations and flowers, unusual wedding dresses, alternative entertainment, and of course, choosing a completely unique location.
The good thing about organising a destination wedding, is that you can find cheap destination locations, and pay far less for the cost of the ceremony than you would at home. The wedding locations listed below are some of the more popular locations for destination weddings for their cost:
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Location Location Location
If you’ve always dreamed of a hot beach wedding, then it’s reassuring knowing that as well as having some of the most beautiful beaches on its Yucatan peninsula, Mexico is also a favourite wedding destination due to the lower cost of living, favourable exchange rate, and large selection of tailored wedding packages. Places like Tulum or Cancun in Mexico are very popular however, and tend to get booked up. It may be worth doing your own investigation as well as using a local service to help you with the logistics of the law and knowing how to choose safe locations.
Going somewhere like Costa Rica, as with Mexico, will offer you beautiful beaches, woody backdrops, or even a volcano! If a slightly more adventurous exotic location takes your fancy, then Costa Rica may be the ideal location for you.
If you want a European wedding, then places like Prague and Budapest or even Poland can be very reasonably priced if you are careful with the package you go for. There are many beautiful cities and towns in Eastern Europe that haven’t been taken over by tourism, and you may be able to find some hidden gems in Portugal or Croatia and avoid the overpriced wedding packages that you tend to find in more well-known European destinations such as Paris or Italy.
Of course, it’s entirely up to you to do your own research, finding the location that works for you and your partner.
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Saving on your Honeymoon
Quite often destination weddings are far more affordable than the cost of organising a wedding in the U.K and other similarly priced countries. Using local vendors and choosing locations that have a favourable exchange rate to your currency, means that you may have enough money set aside to spend on your honeymoon. But here’s the added bonus of having a destination wedding, you can also choose to have your honeymoon in the same location and save the cost of additional hotels and travel.
Sticking with Close Family and Friends
Depending on where you live, and where you plan to get married, the travel costs will need to be factored in, not only for you, but for the guests who will be attending. It may be unreasonable to expect everyone you invite to attend your wedding if it will cost them hundreds, or even thousands of pounds to get there. This is also very much dependant on how intimate you want your ceremony to be, perhaps you only want close friends and family to attend, in which case it will be easier, and cheaper to organise a destination wedding.
Save On Added Extras
It’s true that ‘Pinterest’ weddings are now very popular, and as well as giving you all kinds of inspiration, is also a cheap way to decorate without looking cheap. Boho chic, and vintage weddings are very of the moment, and you don’t need to spend a fortune on brand new items, with repurposed decor and quirky home-made centerpieces that you can find on sites such as Etsy being both cheap and chic.
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You might, however, be limited with what you can bring abroad, or how much help you will be able to have at your destination of choice. Going for a minimalistic approach is far easier when you already have nature as a backdrop, with a beautiful beach or European period building providing the character and natural aesthetic to your wedding.
Other things that seem to bump the cost of your wedding, but can in reality be eliminated, includes bridal hair and makeup. This is not an insignificant amount of money that can easily be saved by doing your own wedding makeup (YouTube tutorials can be a life-saver) and hair, or asking a friend or family member to do it for you. Especially if you are in a tropical location, simple, tousled hair, and a warm glow (natural tan or otherwise) can stand in for more professional makeup and hair.
One of the most important things about organising a wedding is trying to keep it as stress-free as possible. Destination weddings offer you the opportunity to experience a truly unique wedding without having to break the bank. By eliminating the added stress of finding a honeymoon, or not having to invite certain guests that perhaps you’d rather not, and removing many of the little extras that can bump up the price of your wedding quite considerably, you also remove a lot of stress.
Holiday Park Guru has advice on places to stay around Europe for travellers in Germany, France and the Netherlands.
