Elopements and Destination Weddings – What is so great about them?

In October last year I married the man of my dreams… in Madeira, Portugal. Neither of us is Portuguese, and we do not live in Portugal. I did not want to elope, since I did want my closest family and friends to be present, but I did want a destination wedding in a great location.

The more I think about it, the more I know that I would do it again – we never regretted our decision to get married in Portugal. I do hope that me and my husband get old together, so I hope that that wedding in Madeira was my first and last… So since I am not able to plan any more weddings for myself, I turned very passionate about promoting destination weddings, to make sure that more people can have the time of their lives, just like we did. Soon after seeing what great option destination weddings are, I started my website https://sayyestomadeira.com/en/ with which, next to sharing my travel tips about Madeira, I would like to promote elopements and destination weddings.

We chose Madeira. Big choice of different sorts of wedding venues for all budgets, spectacular scenery, great weather, great food, beautiful nature, lots of English -speaking wedding suppliers doing their best to make your day special – all that makes Madeira a perfect place for an elopement or a destination wedding. I will write another post about all that soon. This time, I would like to focus on advantages of destination weddings and answer the question: What is so great about destination weddings – no matter where they take place.

1. A destination wedding is a great option for those, who do not like organizing big events (and paying for them… ).
An elopement or a destination wedding is a great escape option for couples, who do not have the time or do not like planning huge events. The choice of a venue, arranging formalities, finding suppliers, all that can be delegated to a local wedding planner. We barely need to do anything once we arrive.
Many locations in Southern Europe are very affordable. We can easily find a great venue for less than half of what we would need to pay, for example, organizing a similar event in the UK. We will probably invite only our closest family and friends, so the total bill for the wedding reception will be much lower.
During the destination wedding, we do not even have to spend a lot of time and money on decorations. No one will probably even notice the lack of decorations, when the ceremony takes place in a beautiful garden full of exotic flowers with a sea view, on a cliff, during a beautiful sunset… Our guests will be relaxed, in a good mood, they won’t be that ungrateful or moody about the way we planned our wedding. It is more about the destination, the true adventure, true emotions, than the party itself.

https://tietheknotwedding.co.uk/listings/destination-weddings-vow-renewal-ceremonies-honeymoons-in-portugal

  Picture credits: The Memory Shop –  thememoryshop.pt

https://tietheknotwedding.co.uk/listings/destination-weddings-vow-renewal-ceremonies-honeymoons-in-portugal

   Picture credits: Miguel Ponte Photography

https://tietheknotwedding.co.uk/listings/destination-weddings-vow-renewal-ceremonies-honeymoons-in-portugal

Picture credits: Miguel Ponte Photography

https://tietheknotwedding.co.uk/listings/destination-weddings-vow-renewal-ceremonies-honeymoons-in-portugal

Picture credits: The Memory Shop – thememoryshop.pt

 

2. Unforgettable outdoor photoshoots in spectacular locations.
A destination wedding means also that we will have the opportunity to take beautiful wedding pictures in wonderful landscapes, while the weather is good. I recommend everyone to book a good local photographer and organize an outdoor photoshoot. They can be easily found on social media.
In case of Madeira for example, there are a couple of great Madeira based, English–speaking photographers. An outdoor photoshoot in places such as the Laurissilva forest or Pico do Arieiro summit, covered with white clouds, can not go wrong and our pictures will certainly be impressive.

3. A destination wedding in places like Madeira is an unforgettable adventure!
Not only for you, but also for your guests. A wedding abroad is not only about the half-hour wedding ceremony. It turns into a wedding weekend, or wedding week, together with your loved ones. Most of the guests will plan their holidays around the wedding date and stay for at least a couple of days.
Few of us can afford a vacation together with all our relatives, friends and loved ones. We either do not have the money or time to get everyone together and spend some quality time. The decision to get married abroad is a great opportunity to give everyone an excuse for a wonderful holiday, great adventure and wonderful moments together.
I still smile when I think about my wedding adventure – not only about the short wedding ceremony in Funchal, but about all the trips we took together, a wonderful dolphin watching cruise with my niece, who had never been abroad before, and my parents… All the late dinners and Poncha drunk in local Poncha bars with our friends and family, who came from all over the world to be there especially for us. It was a busy, intensive and unforgettable week.
We had guests from South Africa, USA, India, Korea, different countries of Europe, and it was the first and last time in our lives, when we could actually travel and spend some quality time all together as a group.
These are the moments worth living for – Moments, which we created ourselves!

Check out my blog – www.sayyestomadeira.com/en/ to read about my wedding adventure and about how you can organize an even better one for yourselves and your guests!

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