Best Destinations for a Wedding Abroad: Complete Comparison

Quick answer: What is the best destination for a wedding abroad?

It depends on your priorities. Italy (Tuscany, Amalfi Coast) draws couples with its food and romance. Greece (Santorini, Crete) and Croatia offer beaches and clear water a short flight from most of Europe. Thailand and Sri Lanka often sell complete tropical packages, but compare what is included. Cyprus has a short legal process for foreign couples. Iceland and New Zealand suit adventurous couples.

How to choose the right destination for your wedding abroad

Choosing your destination is the most important decision when planning a wedding abroad. It affects everything - from budget and guest list to legal requirements, weather and the overall feeling you want to create. With 24 countries to choose from on our platform, it can feel overwhelming, but it does not have to be.

This guide compares the destinations across the categories that couples actually care about: budget, romance, beach quality, food, legal simplicity, weather and accessibility. The groupings are editorial judgements, not a ranking measured from data, and legal requirements should always be confirmed with the country's authorities or embassy.

Need detailed cost breakdowns? Read our complete cost guide by country. Step-by-step planning? See our planning checklist.

Best destinations by category

Best for romance and charm

Italy - Italy combines romance, culture and gastronomy. Tuscany's cypress-lined hills and vineyards, the Amalfi Coast's dramatic cliffs and lemon groves, Lake Como's elegant villas with the Alps as backdrop, and Puglia's whitewashed masserias with crystal-clear waters. Wedding dinners with several courses of local pasta, grilled fish and Chianti wine create memories for a lifetime.

France - Provence's lavender fields, Loire Valley's Renaissance chateaux and the Cote d'Azur's glamour. France has a magic no other destination can replicate. Wedding dinners with cheese boards, champagne and patisserie are an experience in themselves. Prices are comparable to Italy but France has a demanding legal process: one of you, or a parent, must have lived in the commune for at least a month when the banns are published, and the banns then run for 10 days (Service-Public.fr). Symbolic ceremony strongly recommended.

Portugal - An underrated wedding destination. The Algarve's dramatic cliff formations at Praia da Marinha, Comporta's hidden beaches south of Lisbon and the Douro Valley's vineyard terraces. Relatively simple legal process too.

Best for budget - most wedding for your money

Thailand - Complete wedding packages are common, often with resort, coordinator and dinner in one price. Compare exactly what is included. Koh Samui has luxury beachfront resorts with professional English-speaking coordinators. Phuket offers dramatic rock formations. Krabi has secluded beaches accessible only by longtail boat - perfect for elopements.

Read more: elopement guide for intimate ceremonies abroad

Croatia - A good-value choice in Europe with the Adriatic's crystal-clear turquoise waters. Dubrovnik's medieval walls, Hvar's lavender fields and Brac's famous Zlatni Rat beach. A legal wedding needs little paperwork, and the date is set 30 to 45 days after you give notice of your intent to marry (gov.hr).

Sri Lanka - Exotic tropical wedding, often at lower prices than in Europe. Golden beaches in Tangalle and Mirissa, tea plantations in the hills and historic temples. More budget options: Dominican Republic (Caribbean budget choice), Vietnam, Turkey.

Best for beach weddings

Greece - Photogenic beach weddings. Santorini's caldera with black volcanic sand and golden sunsets. Crete's white sand beaches at Elafonisi and Balos lagoon at significantly lower prices. Corfu's Venetian charm meeting turquoise waters. More in our beach wedding guide.

Mexico - Caribbean white beaches with bohemian luxury. Tulum's Mayan ruins above turquoise waters. Cancun's all-inclusive resorts with convenient wedding packages.

Maldives - The ultimate luxury beach destination. Private sandbanks, overwater villas, sunset ceremonies. Exclusively symbolic ceremonies. Other strong beach destinations: Cyprus (long dry summers), Jamaica, Bali, Costa Rica.

Best weather - least rain risk

Cyprus has plenty of sun and little rain from May to October. Greece and Spain (especially the Canary Islands with year-round sunshine) follow closely. For winter weddings: Dubai has very little rain November-March. Thailand and Maldives have dry season December-March.

Easiest legally - least bureaucracy

Cyprus also marries foreign couples in civil ceremonies; check processing times and documents with the municipality where you will marry. Croatia needs little paperwork, but the date is set 30 to 45 days after notice (gov.hr). New Zealand has a simple process outside Europe: you can apply for the licence online and must arrange it at least 3 working days before the wedding (govt.nz). Avoid France and Spain if legal simplicity matters. Full guide: Legally valid wedding abroad.

Best for adventurous couples

Iceland - northern lights, glaciers, waterfalls and black lava landscapes. Elopements at Kirkjufell or before the Seljalandsfoss waterfall create images that no other country in the world can match. The dramatic black sand beaches of Vik and the ice caves of Vatnajökull glacier add even more photographic possibilities. New Zealand - cinematic nature with helicopter weddings above the fjords of Queenstown and Milford Sound. The Lord of the Rings landscapes are real and even more impressive in person. South Africa - combine wine tasting in Stellenbosch with safari in Kruger National Park and dramatic beaches at Cape Town's Clifton Beach where Table Mountain meets the Atlantic Ocean. Morocco - desert weddings under the stars in the Sahara, riads in the medina of Marrakech, and windsurfing in Essaouira. Costa Rica - rainforest, volcanoes, beach and adventure in Manuel Antonio.

Best for intimate ceremonies (elopement)

Iceland and Faroe Islands for dramatic Nordic nature without crowds. New Zealand with helicopter ceremony above fjords. Switzerland with crystal-clear alpine lakes and mountain villages. Norway with midnight sun, fjords and the white beaches of the Lofoten Islands. Krabi in Thailand with secluded beaches only accessible by longtail boat.

Best for large guest lists (50+ guests)

Spain (especially Mallorca, Costa del Sol) has plenty of venue options for large parties at reasonable prices - fincas with pools, sea views and space for large parties. Turkey offers fantastic venues. Mexico with all-inclusive resorts in Cancún where the resort handles all logistics. Italy (Puglia, Sicily) for large wedding celebrations in masserias and haciendas.