Brides abroad: UK wedding costs sending couples overseas

Updated
Brides abroad: UK wedding costs sending couples overseas
Brides abroad: UK wedding costs sending couples overseas

Rex


The soaring cost of UK weddings and the pull of warmer climbs have combined to create record numbers of Brits heading abroad to get married.

New research from foreign exchange provider Travelex has revealed that the average cost of a wedding in Britain is now £18, 500, and that a third of couples have already booked a wedding abroad, meaning around 80,000 Brits will flee the UK to tie knot over the next 12 months.

What's more, the cost of Church of England weddings will rise by 40% from January 2013.

The study also asked 500 engaged couples why they are scrapping UK wedding plans for foreign ones, and it found that "saving money" was the biggest factor for three in 10.

The pull of also being able to invite fewer and some "unwanted" guests was also a reason.

Elvin Eldi from Travelex told the Daily Mail: "It seems that the increasing costs associated with weddings these days, combined with the unpredictable British weather is driving many Brits to celebrate their nuptials abroad.

"With the pound at a 22 month high against the Euro and the likes of Spain and Portugal boasting less than half the average rainfall of the UK, it's little wonder we're saying 'I do' overseas."

The most popular "I do" destination appears to be Italy with more than one in five (22%) of the couples questioned booking a venue there.

Las Vegas, the Caribbean and Hawaii were also popular tying-the-knot spots.

Brides abroad: UK wedding costs sending couples overseas
Brides abroad: UK wedding costs sending couples overseas

Kate Smith and Frazer Seed were the first couple ever to marry on a beach in Britain. Photo: Rex


But if you did want to get married on British soil, it is actually now possible to marry on a UK beach for the first time ever.

A pair of competition winners recently became the first couple in Britain to get married on a beach. Kate Smith and Frazer Seed won a contest run by ITV show Daybreak to get hitched at the new wedding beach hut on Bournemouth beach in Dorset.

According to British law marriage ceremonies may only take place in a 'permanent covered building' - something that can be difficult on a beach. However, Bournemouth Council circumvented this by erecting a dedicated 'wedding' chalet on the beach where registrars from the town can marry happy couples.

Bournemouth or Bali? Hmmm...

Discover some of the beautiful places across the world that stars chose to tie the knot:

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