People opt for foreign weddings

Mauritius is increasingly become a popular choice for people who want to get married overseas, an industry expert has said.

Ron Cropper, spokesperson for WeddingsAbroad.com, said that the availability of flights meant that people were thinking about planning a foreign wedding.

However, he explained that many people had become disillusioned with the idea of a Caribbean wedding as there was a perception that they "will be queuing on a beach with a number of other brides and grooms".

Instead, Mr Cropper said that "Mauritius is the most popular spot". He added: "Second, because people still want an overseas beach wedding, is Cyprus. Then third because of its fairytale style wedding is Austria."

Mr Cropper said that many people opted for overseas weddings because they often turned out cheaper than a ceremony in the UK.

He concluded: "If you want to know why people get married overseas the first main reason is the finance of it. The average cost of a UK wedding last year was about £18,000.

"The second main reason is that a lot of bride and groom's parents have been divorced and it makes things easier if the wedding is less traditional because of things like who gives the bride away and who sits at the top table."

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