For some couples who are planning a wedding, it’s important to have the ceremony close to home. They want to be near the familiar when they embark on their new lives together. But for others, their wedding day represents the beginning of a new adventure together — and for these duos, only something a little more exotic and further abroad can do their love justice. Only a destination wedding will do! And honestly, when you see all the stunning photos of destination weddings out there, you can understand why. There's just something so bold and exciting about a wedding set in such a picturesque or even iconic location.
The venue you choose really does set a mood and helps tell a love story, so choosing a place with history, or even just a particularly beautiful backdrop, is a powerful way to tell your personal love story with just an image. After all, once the wedding day ends, those photos — and, of course, your love — is what lives on forever. Which is why these images of absolutely gorgeous destination weddings, taken in various places around the globe from world-famous locales to breathtaking vistas, just might have you rethinking your own wedding plans.
Las Vegas, Nevada
This couple took a gamble on a Vegas wedding and hit the jackpot. The only thing more gorgeous than this photo taken by Courtney Sandifer at the Neon Museum was the bride’s custom embroidered tulle gown.
Want a wedding location as exciting as you? Always bet on romance like Kenda and Marcus did for their Vegas wedding. In this setting, everyone's a winner.
Sedona, Arizona
For a wedding backdrop as magical as their love, there was no destination that would do like Sedona, Arizona at sunrise.
Venice, Italy
This couple embraced the old world romance of Venice with a gondola ride under the Bridge of Sighs, where, legend holds, if a couple kisses while they pass under it, their love will last forever.
Crete, Greece
The only thing that can almost rival the sweetness of these brides is the sweeping landscape of Crete behind them. Photographed by George Pahountis.
Paris, France
Is there a more iconic place on the planet to tie the knot than in the city of love itself? Photographed by Jenna Henderson.
It's impossible not to be swept away by the romance of this photo taken by Daria Lorman at a wedding ceremony on the Seine. (With bonus photobombing swan, too!)
Lake Como, Italy
For a wedding day full of romance and glamor, nothing can beat Flavia and Greta’s wedding day at the Villa Ca’ Prigioni in Lake Como.
San Francisco, California
There are seemingly endless scenic places to have a wedding in San Francisco, but the one that should be at the top of your list after seeing this photo has to be Grace Cathedral.
Nelson's Ghost Town, Nevada
I can’t think of a more hauntingly beautiful place to tie the knot than this gorgeous ghost town in Nevada.
Valle de Bravo, Mexico
Romance is in the air in this historic and beautiful lakeside town west of Mexico city. The scenery is stunning and the weather is as warm and inviting as this couple’s love.
Palm Springs, California
The desert oasis of The Pod Estate Palm Springs is a picturesque locale for a beautifully bohemian wedding. Photographed by Alexandria Monette.
London, England
Nothing says “and they lived happily ever” after like walking off into the future hand-in-hand at your London wedding.
Are all these photos making you have serious wedding day envy? I don’t blame you. It's hard to resist a wedding that doubles as a getaway. Looks like it's time to start scouting photo backdrops and saving up for that destination wedding!
