A wedding in a country you do not live in
A wedding at home is one country's rules, one currency and a guest list that can drive. Move it abroad and every one of those becomes a question — usually about nine months before anyone thinks to ask it.
Start planning free →The paperwork decides the country, not the photographs
Every couple picks the place first and meets the law afterwards. It is worth ten minutes the other way round: Portugal will marry two tourists, Spain wants two continuous years of residency, and France wants you in the commune for thirty to forty days. The guides here say which is which, with the fees and the notice periods, before you put down a deposit.
Guests who have to buy a flight need answering early
A destination guest list is a travel list. The wedding website carries the dates, the airports and where to stay, and the RSVP on it writes straight into your guest list — so the count you are quoting the caterer is the count that actually replied, not a spreadsheet somebody last touched in March.
Two currencies, and neither of them converts by accident
The venue quotes in euros and you pay the photographer at home. Every amount in the budget keeps the currency it was entered in, so a €4,200 florist never silently becomes £4,200 because someone changed the display.
The contracts live with the money
Deposit receipts, the venue contract and the celebrant's terms sit in the documents vault on the Budget hub, next to the line each one belongs to — rather than in an email thread in one of your two inboxes.
One workspace, two people, several time zones
Partners share a single plan rather than emailing a file with -final-v3 in the name. Whoever is awake when the venue replies is the one who updates it.
When should we start planning a destination wedding?
Work backwards from the paperwork rather than the venue. Greece needs a week's notice but documents apostilled and translated before that; Italy needs your own consulate to issue a nulla osta inside Italy and then a Prefettura appointment; France needs you resident in the commune for thirty to forty days. Twelve months is comfortable, and the country guides say what each one actually costs in time.
Is Elos free for a destination wedding?
The free plan carries unlimited guests, the checklist, the budget, one wedding website theme, a seating plan you arrange by hand and 20 registry items. Premium is €149 once — not monthly — and adds auto-arrange, multiple floor plans and events, every website theme, cash funds and unlimited Dani.
Do we have to get legally married abroad?
No, and many couples do not. Signing the register at home and holding the ceremony at the destination is the standard way around a country whose residency rules are impossible — it is the only realistic route in Spain, and it turns France from forty days into an afternoon. The comparison guide sets out when it is worth doing.
Can our wedding planner work in the same plan?
Yes. A planner runs their client weddings from their own workspace and opens each one exactly as the couple would, so there is one plan rather than a copy each.
The tool pages say what the product does. The guides carry the law, with the fees, the notice periods and the sources behind them.
Wedding guest list manager
Households, plus-ones, RSVP status and dietary notes in one place — fed by the RSVP form on your wedding website, so replies land in the list.
Wedding budget planner
Ten categories, from venue to honeymoon, with what you planned against what you have paid. Amounts keep the currency they were entered in.
Wedding website builder
A shareable wedding site with your story, travel and stay details, the wedding party and a registry — plus an RSVP form that writes to your guest list.
Where is it easiest to marry in Europe?
Portugal takes tourists. Spain wants two years' residency. France wants forty days. Greece wants €18 and a week's notice. The honest comparison.
Getting married in Italy as a non-resident
The four documents every foreign couple needs, why the nulla osta has to be issued inside Italy, and the town-hall appointments nobody warns you about.
Getting married in Portugal as a tourist
No residency requirement, any registry office, and you can arrive as a tourist. The conservatória process end to end, and the 4–6 weeks that matter.
Lake Como
€90,000–€140,000 at 50–80 guests, and outdoor music stops around 11pm. What a Lake Como villa wedding costs, holds, and will not let you do.
Santorini
Caldera venues cap at 24–30 guests, the licence is €18, and September has the warmest sea. What a Santorini wedding costs, holds, and asks of your guests.
The Algarve
The easiest country in Europe to marry in, at 30–40% below Italy. What an Algarve wedding costs, and the Atlantic detail couples get wrong.
Elos Weddings is one shared plan — the guest list, the budget, the wedding website, the seating chart and the day-of timeline in the same place, with your partner in it too. Free to start, and Premium is €149 once rather than every month.
Start planning free →Getting married in Europe
Portugal marries tourists, Spain wants two years' residency, France wants forty days. Europe is not one rulebook, and the difference is worth knowing before you choose a venue.
Read more →Elopement planning
An elopement abroad is the same licence, the same apostille and the same notice period as a hundred-guest wedding — with nobody to help you do it. The paperwork is the whole job.
Read more →