Planning Answers
Turkey is the destination UK couples underestimate. It is a four-hour flight, it sits outside the eurozone, and the Antalya coast has one of the longest dry seasons in the Mediterranean. The catch is that the same sun makes July and August hard work for a ceremony. For most couples flying from…
Yes, UK couples can hold a legally binding civil marriage in Turkey, and many do, from the beach municipalities around Ölüdeniz and Antalya to the registry halls of Istanbul. The ceremony is a civil one, conducted by a municipal marriage officer, and a marriage that is valid under Turkish law is…
Turkey is the quiet achiever of the wedding-abroad map. The flights are short, the lira makes catering and venues cheaper than almost anywhere else on the Mediterranean, and the Antalya, Fethiye and Bodrum coasts have been hosting British weddings for twenty years. What couples cannot find easily…
Spain is not one climate. Seville in July and Barcelona in October are two different problems: one is heat, the other is rain. For most UK couples the choice narrows to late May and June, or the first half of September. The better question is which region suits which month.
Sometimes. Spain is a favourite where the honest answer for most UK couples is “the party, yes. The civil paperwork, probably not”. A civil marriage in Spain is tied to where one of you lives, and two people who both live in the UK usually have no Spanish address to start from. That is why the…
Spain publishes two sets of wedding prices. One is what Spanish couples pay to marry at home. The other is what a couple flying in from Britain is quoted for the same coastline. Most budget confusion comes from reading the first and being sold the second. Here is what the latest data says, in the…
Portugal is a short country with a long Atlantic coast, and the ocean decides more than the calendar does. Porto in October and Faro in October are two different weddings. For most UK couples the choice comes down to June or September. The better question is which end of the country suits which…
Usually, yes. The guides agree that two visitors can open a marriage file in Portugal without living there. Where they split is one document: published guides say British couples need a certificate of no impediment, and a notice on GOV.UK says some do not. Everything below is what usually applies.…
Portugal is sold as the good-value corner of Western Europe, and the published prices mostly support that. The trouble is that the published ranges are not for the same wedding. One is for 50 guests, another for 100, and a third is in sterling. Here is what the latest data says, in the currency it…
Written and checked by the I Do Abroad team · Last updated 10 November 2026 · Sources listed at the end of this page Ask a resort coordinator for the best month and you will get the month with a gap in the diary. The best month to marry in Mexico is the one where…