When During Your Trip Should You Get Married Abroad?

You step off the plane, feel the sea breeze and want to head straight for the beach. But there’s more on this trip than swimming and sunshine. You’ve come here to get married, too.

Perhaps you’re thinking of leaving the ceremony until the last few days. You’ll have had time to unwind, maybe picked up a tan, and you imagine looking great in your wedding photographs. It sounds appealing. It can also leave you with problems there’s little time left to solve.

After years of organising destination weddings, we’d generally recommend holding the ceremony roughly in the first third of your stay. Not straight off the plane, but not just before you fly home either. There are good practical reasons for that timing.

Sunburn doesn’t wait for your wedding day

It’s tempting to spend as much time as possible on the beach when you first arrive. Between a swim and an afternoon in the sun, it’s easy to forget how quickly skin can burn.

Instead of the tan you had in mind, you might find yourself getting married with sore, red shoulders. Or pale lines left by swimsuit straps may suddenly stand out when your wedding outfit leaves your shoulders bare. And sunburn isn’t just a problem for the photographs. It hurts, and it can make the ceremony itself uncomfortable.

Protect your skin even if the wedding is only a few days away. Seek shade, cover up and use broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher, reapplying it regularly and after swimming. Even a high SPF doesn’t make hours in strong sunlight risk-free.

The ceremony isn’t the only date that matters

If you’re getting legally married abroad, the wedding day isn’t entirely up to you, the resort or the photographer. The relevant civil authority, the person authorised to conduct the ceremony and the paperwork can all affect when it can happen.

Some arrangements need to be made before you travel. Others involve a visit to an office after you arrive. And depending on the destination, there may be formalities after the wedding as well.

For a civil wedding in Mauritius, two people who are neither Mauritian citizens nor residents must submit documents in advance, then have the originals checked at the Central Civil Status Office after they arrive. In Greece, you need to confirm the timing and procedure with the local civil registry responsible for your ceremony. Different destinations, and different kinds of ceremonies, have different requirements.

Don’t assume you’ll be able to collect your marriage certificate immediately after the wedding, either. In some circumstances, documents can be requested or delivered after you’ve returned home. The exact process depends on the authorities involved. A symbolic ceremony is different: on its own, it doesn’t create a legal marriage.

Before booking the date, find out whether you need to attend any appointments after arrival, when the ceremony can actually take place and whether anything needs to be arranged after it.

A second chance for wedding photographs

Imagine the ceremony goes well and everyone enjoys the reception, but rain puts an end to your plans for portraits on the beach at sunset.

If you have several days left at the destination, you may be able to arrange another photo session. In our experience, changing the date before the photographer had travelled usually meant no extra charge. If they had already photographed the ceremony at a backup venue and needed to return for outdoor portraits, couples generally just covered the petrol costs. It always depends on the photographer’s availability and what you agree. Moving the photography session does not mean you can automatically move the legally binding ceremony.

When the wedding falls on the day before departure, you’ve lost most of that flexibility. The days after the ceremony may prove more valuable than a few extra days spent sunbathing before it.

And then there’s the honeymoon

There’s another lovely reason to marry earlier in the trip. Once the ceremony is behind you, the days that remain can be spent as newlyweds. You’re no longer waking up to check the forecast or wondering whether everything is ready for a wedding that’s still ahead of you.

So when should you book the ceremony? First, check the earliest date that actually works after your arrival, any rest you need and the local requirements for your type of wedding. If you have a real choice, aim for roughly the first third of the stay. On a very short trip, or when local office schedules make that impossible, a later date may make more sense.

Then enjoy the time you’ve travelled all that way for — together, with the wedding behind you rather than still waiting on the calendar.

Photo credit: Innahura Maldives Resort 3* Superior, Maldives