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Getting Married Overseas - what you need to know

Tying the knot overseas has become increasingly popular - it's estimated that around 375,000 couples get married overseas each year. Although it's a more expensive and complicated option, a destination wedding as it is also known, is also an excellent way to combine the wedding itself with the honeymoon. The most popular overseas destinations are Hawaii, the Bahamas, Caribbean, South Pacific and Europe.

Cost is one of the biggest issues when planning a wedding overseas. With the average wedding today costing around $28,000, you may find that your wedding costs are getting out of control. You may want to consider a destination wedding a little bit closer to home to save money - Orlando and Las Vegas are both popular destinations and are easy and inexpensive to fly to.

Your guest list may have to be a lot smaller if you are planning an overseas wedding. Airline seats and hotel accommodation may both be limited - there may also be a limit on the number of guests allowed at your resort or venue. And keep in mind that some guests just may not want to travel a long distance due to poor health, work commitments or various other reasons. One solution is to have a second, smaller ceremony back home for those who cannot travel overseas.

There's quite a lot of paperwork needed if you choose to tie the knot overseas. Most countries will require birth certificates, passports and some document verifying that both the bride and groom are single, if applicable - divorce papers or a death certificate. And some countries also have a requirement that you must spend a minimum length of time in the country before getting married - usually between one and seven days.

One concern that many couples have is the legality of an overseas marriage. As long as the wedding doesn't violate any marriage laws in your own country, the ceremony is completely legal and will be recognized back home. Although most overseas weddings are non-religious civil ceremonies, it is possible to have a religious ceremony, not only Christian but Moslem or Jewish. Some countries may have unusual or historic traditions that you may want to incorporate into your ceremony; some established traditions might be considered in poor taste in another country.

So how do you go about planning an overseas wedding? Destination weddings have become so popular that there is an entire industry devoted to the success of your big day. Many tour companies and wedding planners specialize in organizing weddings overseas. You can do everything yourself of course, although it is almost certainly worth the extra cost to have somebody else take care of it all.

No doubt about it - an overseas wedding is more complicated and expensive. But with a little bit of work, it is possible to have a memorable wedding in a dramatic and exotic location.