LGBTQ Weddings Abroad: Our Top Three Destinations

Choosing a destination for your wedding is never purely about the view, and for LGBTQ couples it is rarely only a matter of taste. It is also a question of recognition — of knowing that the marriage you plan with such care will be honoured, both on the day and when you return home with your certificate. Some of the world's most beautiful wedding settings are, for this reason, simply not where we would send you. These three are. Why legal recognition comes first Before we talk about light, landscape or logistics, we talk about law. A destination can have glorious scenery and a long history of welcoming visitors, yet still not offer full marriage equality to same-sex couples, or may recognise only civil partnerships rather than marriage. For UK and Irish couples, this distinction has real consequences for how your marriage is treated at home. We confirm the current legal position in writing before any planning begins, because requirements and recognition can change, and because you deserve certainty rather than assumption. With that principle in mind, three destinations consistently rise to the top of our recommendations. Spain: four decades of certainty Spain was one of the earliest countries in Europe to extend full marriage equality to same-sex couples, and that history shows in how smoothly things tend to run. Civil registries, hotels and venues across the country are long accustomed to LGBTQ weddings, and there is little sense of being a novelty or a test case. The practical appeal runs alongside the legal one: mainland Spain and the Balearic and Canary Islands offer everything from quiet countryside fincas to clifftop terraces, with reliable warm weather for much of the year. Southern Spain in particular suits couples wanting a long wedding weekend with guests, since flight times from the UK and Ireland are short and direct routes plentiful. If you want a destination with no legal ambiguity and a well-worn path for international same-sex weddings, Spain is difficult to better. Malta: a small island with a strong record Malta has built one of the more progressive legal frameworks in Europe for LGBTQ rights, including full marriage equality, and this is reflected in a genuinely warm welcome for same-sex couples marrying there. The island itself has the advantage of being compact and photogenic in equal measure — honey-coloured bastions, baroque churches used as backdrops rather than venues, and the sea rarely out of view. English is widely spoken, which simplifies everything from legal paperwork to briefing suppliers, and the civil marriage process is well established and reasonably straightforward to navigate with the right support. For couples who want something a little different from the more obvious Mediterranean choices, without sacrificing legal confidence, Malta rewards a closer look. Zakynthos and Greece: new ground, timeless scenery Greece changed its law to allow full same-sex civil marriage in 2024, and this shift has opened up one of our most requested settings — Zakynthos — to couples who previously had to look elsewhere. The island's turquoise bays, olive groves and dramatic limestone coastline were always suited to a wedding of real visual impact; what has changed is that same-sex couples can now marry there with the same legal standing as anyone else. Because this is still relatively new ground, it is especially important to have a planner who keeps pace with how local authorities are implementing the law in practice, and we do exactly that, confirming the current requirements with the relevant Greek authorities as part of your planning. For couples drawn to that particular combination of Ionian light and laid-back island pace, Zakynthos now offers both the setting and the standing to match. Planning with confidence Across all three destinations, the practical questions are much the same as for any couple marrying abroad: how guests will travel, where they will stay, how a civil ceremony sits alongside any blessing or celebration you want, and how to make sure every document is in order well before you fly. We handle the full planning for you — the ceremony, the guest accommodation, the transport and the concierge details that otherwise eat into the months before your wedding — so that the only real decision left to you is who stands beside you. Our destination-wedding packages, across Zakynthos, Spain, Malta, Italy, Cyprus and beyond, run from £6,799 to £25,499+ depending on guest numbers, season and the scale of celebration you have in mind. A gentle next step If you are weighing up where to marry and want honest guidance rather than a sales pitch, we would be glad to talk it through. Get in touch for a free consultation, and we will help you find the destination — and the legal certainty — that suits you both.