Top romantic and affordable Wedding Spots

The global economic crisis is indeed biting almost everyone in the world. If you have just gotten engaged and still want to get married overseas. There are still places where you can go which would not burn a very big hole in your financial pocket. The only thing you need to consider though is whether your family and guests can afford to pay for the extra costs of plane fare and accommodation if you decide to get married abroad.

Image: sxc.hu

The Guardian UK reveals 20 of the most romantic and affordable wedding spots that you might like to consider in planning your wedding venue:

OLD FASHIONED GLAMOUR

1. Masseria Torre Coccaro, Puglia, Italy
A week’s B&B at the Masseria Torre Maizza costs from £835pp, while the wedding package at Torre Coccaro costs £530, covering the priest, flowers, legalities and a translator.

2. Taormina, Sicily, Italy
A week at Casa Turchetti costs from £2,478 per couple, including ceremony, interpreter, documents, flights and transfers through Long Travel (01694 722193; long-travel.co.uk).

3. Lesic Palace, Korcula, Croatia
Lesic Palace costs from £2,600 per night, including accommodation for up to 26 people on a B&B basis. Book on 00 385 20 715 560; lesic-dimitri.com. Wedding packages start from £2,200, including fees and legal paperwork, through weddingsincroatia.com.

4. Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
Three nights’ B&B at Hotel Bristol in Vienna costs from £787pp including flights through Kuoni Travel (01306 747008; kuoni.co.uk), and the ceremony at the palace costs an additional £2,658 per couple, including limo transfer from your hotel. The registrar’s fee, payable locally on arrival, is about €650.

5. Aubeterre-sur-Dronne, France
A week’s stay at the Hostellerie Perigord in Aubeterre costs from €304pp through Get Married in France (00 33 9 60 400895; getmarriedinfrance.co.uk), with weddings in the underground church costing from €850.

URBAN CHIC

6. Havana, Cuba
A week at the Saratoga, room-only, costs from £957pp including flights, through Virgin Holidays (0844 557 3860; virginholidays.co.uk). The Deluxe Wedding package costs an additional £899, including flowers, formalities, transfer to the church and a city tour.

7. New York City, US
Quickie weddings got a glamorous overhaul at the beginning of the year, when the Manhattan Marriage Bureau opened at 141 Worth Street. The 20s building has an art-deco feel, and the elegant wedding chapels feature artwork on loan from the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The wedding licence costs just $25, leaving you plenty of spare bucks for cocktails and horse-drawn carriage rides round Central Park.

8. Miami, US
The slick art-deco streets of South Beach are about as far away from a traditional English wedding as it’s possible to be and at the Hilton Bentley Miami you can marry on the sands, or in the lush gardens that surround the hotel before celebrating with cocktails on the Skyline Terrace, which has great views of the city.

A week at the Hilton Bentley costs from £1,095 per couple, while the basic wedding package costs from £1,250 for a beachfront ceremony, champagne and chocolates. Book on 00 1 305 938 4600; hilton.com. Flights from £385pp with British Airways (0844 493 0787; ba.com).

9. Sydney, Australia
One of the most beautiful cities in the world, Sydney makes a spectacular destination for a wedding, particularly against the backdrop of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. From £3,775 per couple, including five nights in an Opera House room at the Park Hyatt, fees for the minister, photos, flowers and transport between hotel and venue, through Bridge & Wickers (020 7483 6555; bridgeandwickers.co.uk), who can also book flights, from £765pp.

ESCAPIST ADVENTURES

10. Masai Mara, Kenya
A week in Kenya, combining the Mara with the exotic island of Lamu, costs from £2,429pp through Somak Holidays (020 8423 3000; somak.com). The standard wedding package costs an additional £980, including all formalities and a decorated wedding location.

11. Arizona, US
A western-style wedding may sound an unusual choice, but Arizona is the perfect location for a real away-from-it-all day. A week costs from £1,049pp through Virgin Holidays (0844 557 3860; virginholidays.co.uk), including flights and room-only accommodation at the Stratosphere. The Ranch Deluxe wedding package costs an additional £1,369, including the minister’s fees, helicopter transfers from Vegas, cake, sparkling wine, but not the marriage licence (payable locally, $55).

12. Stellenbosch, South Africa
Most people who marry in Cape Town opt for Table Mountain, but head out into the Stellenbosch – South Africa’s wine region – and you get something far more unusual. A week’s accommodation and flights costs from £2,066 per couple; book through St Andrews Travel on 01204 397367. The wedding package costs from £454, including the minister, flowers and hire of the chapel, book direct with Zorgvliet Estate (00 27 861 967485; zorgvliet.co.za).

13. Banff, Canada
If it’s a mountain setting you’re after, head to the Canadian Rockies, where you can say your vows in the beautiful wilderness of Banff National Park. A week at the Fox Hotel & Suites in Banff, room-only, costs from £1,304pp including flights through Kuoni Travel (as before). The company offers a wedding package from £1,108 per couple, including location permit, marriage licence and certificate.

14. Praslin, Seychelles
For tranquillity and beauty on your wedding day, the Indian Ocean is the ideal scenario. Weddings in the Seychelles are never a bargain option, but they do offer something utterly unforgettable. A 12-night trip, with eight nights on Praslin and a four-night luxury catamaran cruise, costs from £2,499 through Tropical Sky (0845 543 2185; tropicalsky.co.uk), including flights, the ceremony, cake, champagne and flowers.

15. Hotel Budir, Iceland
Located on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, the Budir offers an awe-inspiring natural backdrop for a wedding ceremony; tumbling glaciers, sweeping fjords, volcanoes and soaring mountains. A five-day break to Iceland, with two nights at Reykjavik and two nights at the Hotel Budir costs from £594pp, including flights through Discover the World (01737 218800; discover-the-world.co.uk), who can also arrange the wedding package which starts from £250 for ceremony fees and church hire.

BAREFOOT ROMANCE

16. Dominica, Caribbean
The lush, unspoilt landscapes of Dominica offer something different from the traditional Caribbean beach wedding. The ceremony can take place by dramatic waterfalls or natural volcanic rock pools, or on one of the wild Atlantic beaches. A week at the Jungle Bay hotel costs from £1,779pp, including meals, a daily spa treatment and activities, through Harlequin Holidays (0845 277 3397; harlequinholidays.com). The company can arrange a wedding package from £1,000, including flowers and formalities, cake and a CD-rom of photographs.

17. Koh Phangan, Thailand
The island of Koh Phangan is most famous for its full-moon parties, but the palm-backed beaches and lively atmosphere make it a memorable place to get married. A week at the Santhiya costs from £915pp, including flights, through Tropical Locations (0845 277 3310; tropical-locations.com). A western wedding package, including flowers, formalities, dinner for two and an overnight upgrade to a villa, costs an additional £1,400.

18. Peter Island, British Virgin Islands, Caribbean
Get married on a high bluff, known as the Loop, with sweeping views of the ocean and the neighbouring St John and Norman islands. A week at the Peter Island resort costs from £2,949pp including flights, full-board accommodation and wedding package – licence fees, flowers, cake and champagne – through ITC Classics (01244 355527; itcclassics.co.uk).

19. The Cook Islands, South Pacific
If you’re thinking of heading to a tropical idyll for your wedding, the Cook Islands offer something really different. Tie the knot on the unspoilt island of Rarotonga, and the ceremony will take place against a backdrop of high mountain peaks scattered with lush rainforest. 12 nights’ B&B at the Takitumu Villas costs from £2,054pp, including flights, flowers and formalities, a bottle of bubbly and a wedding co-ordinator, through All Ways Pacific (01494 432747; all-ways.co.uk).

20. Beaches, Bermuda
For an eco-friendly wedding (if you overlook the flights), this resort combines a laid-back approach with green credentials. A week’s B&B costs from £798pp, including flights, through BA Holidays (0844 493 0758; baholidays.com). The basic wedding package, bookable at 9beaches.com, costs $1,150; organic add-ons cost extra.

Hmm, quite surprised that New Zealand was not included in this list as there are a number of romantic spots to get married here in this country of mine for very affordable costs too. Perhaps I should invite the writers Annabelle Thorpe and Nicola Iseard to come visit and explore New Zealand or maybe, I should write about the wonderful wedding spots here down under.