Wedding index reveals best places to get married…for less

Couples seeking sunshine and low costs for their wedding are looking to head overseas in a bid to have the perfect big day.

Wedding and travel insurance experts at Quotezone.co.uk conducted a survey that showed 61% of couples are worried about unpredictable weather ruining their wedding.* 

With over 20% of brides and grooms-to-be now considering going abroad to get married, destination weddings are set to become even more popular in the next few years.

The team at Quotezone have created an International Wedding Index to help couples search for their ideal wedding destination, and clear blue skies.

Ten of the most sought-after destinations for a romantic wedding were analysed and ranked by a number of factors such as rainfall, average temperatures, hotel costs and approximate total wedding costs.

Mexico came out on top as the ideal place to host a wedding – with blissful warm weather and cheaper wedding costs.

The average estimated cost of a wedding in Mexico was €18,376 / £15,725, which includes factors such as venue hire, photography, food and make-up.  

Hosting a wedding in the UK is estimated to set couples back over €27,000 / £23,000 – the country also ranked worst of these dream locations to host a wedding due to low temperatures with an average of nine degrees plus over 1,200 mm of rainfall.

Greece is the second-best country for a wedding – due to good value hotel costs (€241 / £206 for three nights) and 652 mm of rainfall a year, despite approximate total wedding costs being €26,592 / £22,755.

Spain ranked fourth, with a hotel costing just over €300 / £260 for three nights and good weather making the country a desirable place to tie the knot.

Apart from Mexico, the Maldives was the best country outside of Europe to have a wedding – ranking in fifth position overall, with the lowest approximate total wedding cost at €15,316 / £13,106.

The most expensive country for approximate total wedding costs in the index was France costing over €30,453 / £26,059 for the big day.

France ranked in ninth position – being one of the worst countries for weddings due to expensive costs and low average temperatures of just 11°C.

Fiji is the country with the highest levels of rainfall – with 2,592 mm per year. However, the exotic destination ranked in sixth position overall with average temperatures of over 24°C.

The exotic country also has one of the cheapest total approximate wedding costs at €16,447 / £14,074 with a three-night stay in a hotel costing €535 / £458.

Portugal is the third best destination for a wedding because of cheaper average hotel costs at €274 / £235 for a three-night stay and desirable weather.

Aside from Mexico, Barbados is the warmest county on the index – perfect for couples worried that the weather will spoil their celebrations, with average temperatures of over 26°C.

Barbados also has some of the most affordable total wedding costs – coming in at approximately €18,992 / £16,252.

This is significantly cheaper than wedding costs in Italy which are approximately €28,909 / £24,738. Italy ranked in eighth position, with average temperature of only 12°C despite low levels of rainfall.

Credit – iStock.com SolStock

Tiffany Mealiff, wedding and travel insurance expert at Quotezone.co.uk said: “Couples planning their weddings all over the world are looking for several key factors which will make their day as perfect as possible.

“We’ve analysed weather as well as expenses to reveal the ideal countries to plan and host their dream wedding. 

“It’s interesting to see Mexico at the top of the index – the sunny country also has some of the cheapest total costs making it top choice for destination weddings.

“And the UK at the bottom of the index is perhaps unsurprising – the rainy weather and expensive hotel and total wedding costs including venue hire, photography and food will cause many couples to think about choosing elsewhere to tie the knot.

“Our survey shows that over 20% of couples have considered getting married abroad.

“It may be worrying for some couples making the decision to get married in a different country, there are a lot of moving parts to consider when planning a wedding and it can be stressful enough without considering travel logistics but cost is becoming one of the biggest factors putting couples off – with 41% agreeing that it would be cheaper to get married abroad.

“Our index shows how couples could save a fortune on wedding costs with better weather by going overseas, I would expect to see a surge in couples heading for warmer climes in the foreseeable future as soaring inflation costs make wedding planning a challenge.

“Most wedding insurance policies don’t cover a rainy day, so to speak, but they can help with extreme weather conditions such as flooding and storms, and should compensate couples for cancellations or rearrangement costs.  Like travel insurance, it’s best to take out wedding cover as soon as bookings are made, couples won’t be covered if they wait until weather warnings start to roll in.”

Rank	Country	Rainfall (mm)	Temperature (°C)	Three Nights Hotel (£)	Total Wedding (£)	Three Nights Hotel (€)	Total Wedding (€)
1	Mexico	758	21.31	211.31	15,725	246.76	18,376
2	Greece	652	14.24	206.93	22,755	241.65	26,592
3	Portugal	854	15.62	235.15	19,381	274.6	22,649
4	Spain	636	13.93	262.08	19,832	306.03	23,176
5	Maldives	1972	27.8	794.48	13,106	927.72	15,316
6	Fiji	2592	24.3	458.41	14,074	535.29	16,447
7	Barbados	1422	26.73	637.16	16,252	744.01	18,992
8	Italy	832	12.81	258.84	24,738	302.29	28,909
9	France	867	11.69	251.68	26,059	293.93	30,453
10	UK	1220	9.07	271.65	23,141	317.25	27,043

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Credit – istock.com pop_jop

Methodology:

Sources correct as of February 2024.

• Rainfall (measured in mm per year) – https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/precipitation/
• Temperature (10 year average measured in °C) – https://listfist.com/list-of-countries-by-average-temperature
• Hotel costs (three-night stay, converted into £) – https://www.budgetyourtrip.com/
• Currency converter – https://www.xe.com/
• Total approximate wedding costs (data from 2019) – https://www.sntravel.co.uk/types-of-holidays/weddings-abroad/cost-getting-married-abroad/
• Sought-after locations selected from lists of most popular dream wedding destinations;  https://tieronetravel.com/12-amazing-countries-for-an-incredible-destination-wedding/ ; https://www.wedinspire.com/articles/destination/best-places-to-get-married-abroad/;https://www.hitched.co.uk/wedding-planning/honeymoon-articles/beach-wedding-destinations/

The rainfall levels, average temperature, hotel costs for three nights and total approximate wedding costs have all been analysed for this index.  Each country was given a nominal score which was totalled up to give a final ranking.

 References

*Survey – Quotezone’s findings are based on a randomised survey of 1,000 respondents in February 2024, which represents a margin of error of approximately 5% at a 95% confidence level.

Photo credit – Paris photo with couple and red umbrella in front of Eiffel Tour – Credit – iStock.com anyaberkut