congratulations flowergirl! Welcome to HT. Although all the places you mentioned are in this forum I am going to move this to GHE forum as there may be other suggestions for you ( but not Europe!) Members of the Indian Ocean will still be able to view it on their forum as well.

The Caribbean islands and Mexico are popular for weddings but in July/August you run the risk of being caught up in a hurricane.
Personally I've always fancied the Maldives, never been, but always looks lovely.

I don't think you can get married in the Maldives, if so then thats an easy one to cross of your list...how about marriage in Sri Lanka followed by honeymoon in the Maldives instead. I was suprised to find that Sri Lanka is Kuoni's number one wedding destination.

Don't discount Europe as not being special. A lot of caribbean weddings are a bit like a production line - lots of guests doing the exact same thing during your two weeks there, and often on the same day as well.

I would like to get married on a turkish gulet, had that idea this year, boyfriend didn't seem to be very interested in my comments of 'wouldn't it be a great place to get married on board a gulet - hey darling? Darling? Darling?'.......................

SandC mentioned getting married in Turkey, well thats exactly what my friend did. She got married in Olu Deniz (think thats how you spell it)
I have seen the photos and it looks stunning.

Like you say some of these faraway destinations such as Barbados are like wedding production lines.

Greece also looks a fabulous place to get married - what about Santorini?

Have a look at this site: - http://www.weddingsabroad.com/

Good Luck!!
Carmel

Was it last year's GMTV wedding that was in Cyprus? That looked gorgeous.

Greek islands as well I think would be lovely, and you can do it in a tiny little chapel as well if you want.

The only reason I wouldn't pick the Caribbean in the summer is that there is more of a danger of some rain ( and obviously the hurricane risk)- I haven't seen any production lines in Barbados or Antigua.
Re Greece- Lindos is a stunning place to get married. ( However, now that IS one place where there were rather a lot of brides every day! But I don't think that matters- it just made it a very happy place!! )

I married in Barbados, and had a wonderful wedding. I didn't join the 'production line' I actually chose to marry in chruch with all the trimmings
Kath HT Admin

Sounds lovely!

No, of course not all caribbean places are like production lines, but I'd say go as exclusive as you can to avoid it, but like others have said, it does make for a very happy holiday!

Though I'm on wedding pics of 2 couples back in 1995 in Dominican Republic - I can't remember any of their names so I doubt they recall me!

Hi

If I ever got married again ( I would have to get rid of the Husband I have had for 21 years and find a new one first) I would get married in the Seychelles and honeymoon in one of those wooden suites on stilts over the sea. That is one destination I have always wanted to go since I was young. It is something I am going to consider for our Silver Wedding though.

Rgds Jackie

personally, i think i would go for somewhere exotic like seychelles or maldives..rob...rob..you are looking slightly pale....

You cant get married in the Maldives YET. They are trying to change the law at the moment so that a few hotels will eventually be able to offer this service. You are now able to renew your vows on some of the islands and it is a wonderful setting and it truly is paradise.

We renwed our vows in the Seychelles and it was not the most beautiful setting. We also saw a very tacky wedding in Mauritius. However, both the Seychelles and Mauritius are very beautiful places (Seychelles however is overpriced and overrated in my opinion). Wherever you choose to get married find out where the ceremony will take place and will it be suitable if it is raining on the day. If not, where will the ceremony take place then. Its worth checking these things out as your paradise wedding should like paradise.

Good point Michelle about asking what the alternatives are if it rains. Let's face it most of the dream locations have rain whatever the season. We watched a lovely ceremony on a beach on Antigua. The next day, same time, we were in the beach bar being entertained by the most spectacular thunderstorm and saying how fortunate that couple were in their choice of day.

Thank you everyone for your useful comments. I may have changed my mind over Europe Santorini looks lovely! I have now narrowed my choice down to 2 hotels in Mauritius (Hilton and Le meredien) am now looking for a super hotel somewhere in Greece which may change my mind about location. Am a bit worried that Mauritius is not 'busy' enough for other half (he gets abit bored sitting on a beach all day!)

We saw some brilliant weddings in cyprus at the avanti hotel.

Brides being picked up by horse and carriage, guests in an old fashioned bus with ribbons.

The venue is perfect, photos taken by waterfalls etc.

Lovely restaurant with beautifully laid out tables and chairs.

Flower girl you could combine your wedding in Mauritius with safari in Nairobi? My friend did that as honeymoon.

Santorini is beautiful with marvellous sunsets and also some adorable 'boutique' hotels. It is a fairly quiet island though for anything other than rest, relaxation and some bars and restaurants (with the odd club).

Dont think Mauritius is quiet. It is a very busy island with lots to do. However if you just want to relax on the beach, you can.

We have been to Mauritius twice and still not seen everything we would like.

Grand Baie is the busiest area by far (apart from the very busy Port Louis) and here you will find lots of shops, restaurants, bars and a few nightclubs. The most popular hotel in this area is the Merville.

There are lots of excursions to do in Mauritius, go to the south of the island see the coloured earths, up into the mountains to see the waterfall and the black river gorge. There are Hindu temples to visit, botanical gardens, tea plantations, rum distillery etc etc. Also the new waterfront area in Port Louis is great for shopping with some good shops and great bargains to be had, next time we go it will be with an empty suitcase!

On the east side of the island there is a waterpark (take aqua shoes as the ground gets very hot) and the isle aux cerfs which is a bit busy when you arrive but great if you want to do any watersports. We paid only £12 for both of us to go parasending which was amazing. If you walk on a bit you can find deserted beaches.

We went on a fantastic day out on a catamaran on the south west of the island. It was a realy great day out, all food and drink included and we saw dolphins, went snorkelling and to a deserted island. All for £25 each. The staff on the boat were absolutely briliant.

The best way to get around the island is to hire a taxi for the day. Negotiate a price before hand. We paid about £30 for the day.

All in all we found Mauritius to be a destination with lots to do and fantastic staff offering excellent service and hotels with high standards of accommodation.

Sounds fabulous Michelle! Somewhere I really fancy visiting some time now I've read all that.

have to agree mauritus! we got married there it was amazing so much to see and do,have a look at beachcomber-hotels.com.a mauritan company with some very nice hotels,we stayed at le victoria hotel,wonderfull service and people.have also been to barbados and would love to go back. but in my opinion out of the two mauritus was that bit more special and luxurious