Credit crunch brides

When it comes to getting married, usually no expense is spared for what is, after all, a once-in-a-lifetime event. "People tend to get married, whether they have a job or not, whether they get a promotion or not," says David Wood, the president of the Association of Bridal Consultants, a nationwide training organization for wedding planners.

A recent survey undertaken by the National Association of Catering Executives (NACE) reported that they are not seeing increases in cancellations of weddings due to the slowdown in the economy. However, a little less than half of those surveyed reported seeing a decline in wedding spending, and more than half said more couples are avoiding the Saturday premiums and opting to get married on Friday or Sunday.

Many couples and their families are happy to splurge on the big day - an average wedding costs $27,000 in the United States and that doesn't include the honeymoon. Twenty years ago UK couples spent an average £4,300 on a wedding, but this has more than quadrupled to £18,500 – rising at more than five times the rate of inflation. Yet destination wedding costs average at less than half these rates.

Increasingly couples are looking to create a unique wedding "experience" for family and close friends by taking a wedding abroad or wedding away from home, the venues in exotic locations look to gain the most as the move towards destination weddings is yet again on the increase.

The exponential move towards destination weddings is music to Karen Thornton-Brown's ears. As owner of WeddingsAbroad.com, one of the world's leading destination wedding planners. She is finding more and more couples seeking her tailored wedding organisational services - the general attitude being that "the show must go on", but not at any cost.

With the affordability of low cost flights to many destinations, WeddingsAbroad.com offers exceptional weddings at fantastic locations around the world which are well within couple’s budgets.

In the current economic climate, the increasing popularity of destination weddings, shows that couples and their families are now taking a closer look at wedding costs, and are discovering that a destination wedding ticks all the right boxes, with the wedding, location, travel and honeymoon costing a lot less than the wedding alone at home would cost.

As the economic storm clouds gather, destination weddings are providing a ray of sunshine to the blushing brides and grooms in these uncertain times, proving that when it comes to getting married, brides and grooms are determined the show will go on, whatever the economic climate.

Karen said "I have had some strange requests in my time, the most bizarre was definitely for twenty penguins to follow the bride out of the church! ... I tried my best I really did, but short of getting married in the zoo, this was one nut I couldn't crack!"

Karen, who hits 40 this year, somehow manages to combine bringing up a young baby & family, while running the company. Karen said "I thrive on challenge ... I have just set up a gay wedding site too and work on 'a just ask' policy. If a client wants something special, I will do my best to get it for them. Failing that, I will make suggestions to turn their wedding into a unique and memorable day for all the right reasons!"