A recent report has revealed that destination weddings or ‘Bikini’ weddings as they are sometimes known are on the increase.

It would appear that the conventional wedding is being swapped for a beach ceremony in the sun, with one in six weddings now taking place overseas.

An increasing number of couples are deciding against an extravagant white wedding in a church or a costly ceremony in a hotel, and are opting to exchange their vows in the sun, at a third of the cost of the average British wedding.

Since 2003, the market for destination weddings has grown by an astonishing 33%, and additional research indicated that this figure is set to grow further as the credit crunch across the UK deepens and a full blown recession grips the country.

A travel analyst for the market research company that published the report said:-

“Getting married abroad has become an increasingly popular choice for couples looking to tie the knot.

As the credit crunch bites and recession looms, this could be the perfect cost-saving measure allowing couples to have the wedding day they have always dreamed of.

The market is benefiting from a growing willingness amongst couples to break with social convention and experiment with new wedding styles. From beach ceremonies in the Caribbean to ’snow weddings’ in Lapland, this special occasion has certainly become more niche and personalised.”

Official findings have confirmed that the number of marriages taking place in the UK is at its lowest for more than 100 years as growing numbers of couples settle for living together rather than tying the knot, and the numbers of couples who are actually married is at its lowest ever, at less than 50% of the UK’s adult population.

Those couples who are getting married are choosing to wed in sunnier climes, lured by lower costs and elevated temperatures. The report also revealed that the average cost of a destination wedding came in at £6,500 in contrast to the £20,000 average that it costs for a wedding in the UK.

Best friends Gary Campbell and John Collins resolved to marry their fiancées in a dreamy double wedding ceremony at a luxury resort on the island of Jamaica.

The two Scottish grooms forked out almost £14,000 in order to fly family and friends to the Caribbean for a fortnight in October, wherethey planned to wed their gorgeous brides on a beautiful beach, in complete highland dress.

But the dreams of the two couples soon turned to nightmares after airline Virgin Atlantic told them that John’s entire luggage had vanished on the way to Jamaica.

33 year old John from Kilmarnock lost his kilt and wedding rings for his own big day and was forced to dress in a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt when he was best man at Gary’s ceremony.

Fortunately he was able to reschedule his own wedding ceremony until the last day of the holiday, whilst he arranged to have another kilt flown in from his naïve Scotland.

The kilt arrived in Jamaica safely and John was able to marry in full highland dress, but incredibly, Virgins bungling baggage handlers managed to lose the 2nd kilt when the wedding party flew back to the UK.

He said:-

“It was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was - but for all the wrong reasons.

Virgin are useless. We’ve been back a month, the bags have still not turned up and I’ll have to pay the kilt hire shop.”

Virgin told me: “We have located one bag and are making every effort to find the other one. We apologise for any inconvenience.”

I owe the kilt hire shop £1000 and I’m down about £3000 for the rings, the laptop and the rest of my clothes. We were promised an upgrade on the way back but didn’t get it. We ended up 40 rows apart.

I’ll never fly with Virgin again.”

A recent study has revealed that the number of couples whose dream is follow their favourite idols by marrying abroad is on the increase.

The research which was carried out by a leading British Travel Insurer confirmed that hte number of couples requesting insurance for weddings in range of destinations had risen sharply over the first six months of this year.

Popular destinations included Las Vegas where Peaches Geldof recently wed US indie rocker Chester French and the picturesque Italian Riviera where Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney married his long term girlfriend Coleen McLoughlin earlier this year.

A spokesperson for the high street insurer explained:-

“Destination weddings are increasing in popularity as the likes of Coleen and Wayne and now Peaches and her husband opt for such a thing. The choice of location both of these celebrity couples made featured in our research proving that a wedding abroad is something many of us think and dream about.”

“Destination weddings are comparable to planning a holiday overseas and it is important to consider travel insurance as a mandatory aspect in the wedding preparations. The bride and groom may also want to consider taking out the additional cover that specialist wedding insurance providers can offer, while guests travelling abroad will need to ensure they have a travel policy that includes cover for loss of baggage.”

The Caribbean was identified as the number one dream location in the overseas wedding study, closely followed by Hawaii and Italy’s’ Almafi Coast.

What might once have been considered as eloping in days gone by is becoming a more frequent choice of wedding amongst many couples. For a wide variety of reasons couples are opting for destination weddings rather than a tradition ceremony at home and whilst a destination wedding can take a good deal of planning, the benefits and rewards can easily compensate for the time spent.

These days so many resorts within the UK and abroad offer wedding packages the choice is apparently endless, but some couple still opt to make the individual arrangements themselves. Your destination wedding should be able to fulfill your dreams as a couple and you should bear this in mind when selecting your destination.

If you will have any number of family or friends in attendance you will need to consider access to the venue. The ceremony, reception and guest accommodation locations should be within close proximity to each other, so that guests are able to freshen up or change clothes as and when required. If you do opt for a wedding package do check whether there are discounts available for group bookings and make sure that you take advantage of them.

You should also check if your desired wedding location requires any legal documentation or requirements in order to process the wedding prior to your arrival, particularly if the destination you choose is outside of the UK.

If you opt to plan your wedding as a package, information such as this should be offered by your agent, along with details of local photographers, florists, caterers etc so if you decide to make arrange your destination wedding yourself, you should be prepared to source this information well in advance.