The ideal destination wedding has been revealed, with Mexico ranking in first position amongst the most sought-after locations as couples search for sunshine and low costs for their special day. Wedding and travel insurance experts at Quotezone have analysed data to create their International Wedding Index – as a recent survey reveals couples worry costs and bad weather will ruin their celebrations.

With over 20% of brides and grooms-to-be now considering going abroad to get married, warm and sunny destination weddings that cost less, are set to become even more popular in the next few years.  61% of couples told Quotezone they worry about bad weather and 41% agreed it would be cheaper to get married abroad.

Quotezone analysed 10 of the most sought-after destinations, ranking them by a number of factors such as rainfall, average temperatures, hotel costs and approximate total wedding costs across countries including the UK, Italy, the Maldives, Fiji and Spain.

Mexico came out on top as the ideal place to plan and host a wedding – with blissful warm weather and cheaper wedding costs.

The average total cost of a wedding in Mexico is approximately €18,376.91, which includes factors such as venue hire, photography, food and make-up.

Hosting a wedding in the UK is estimated to set couples back over €27,000 – the country also ranked worst due to low temperatures with an average of nine degrees plus over 1,200mm of rainfall.

Greece is the second-best country for a wedding – due to good value hotel costs (€241.65 for three nights) and 652mm of rainfall a year, despite approximate total wedding costs being €26,592.47.

The country with the least likelihood of it raining on a wedding day was Spain, with just 636 mm of rainfall per year. Spain ranked fourth, with a hotel costing just over €300 for three nights and good weather making the country a desirable place to tie the knot.

Apart from Mexico, the Maldives was the best country outside of Europe to have a wedding – ranking in fifth position overall, with the lowest total wedding cost at approximately €15,316.23. The most expensive country for approximate total wedding costs in the index was France costing over €30,000 for the big day.

France ranked in ninth position – being one of the worst countries for weddings due to expensive costs and low average temperatures of just 11°C. Fiji is the country with the highest levels of rainfall – with 2,592mm per year. However, the exotic destination ranked in sixth position overall with average temperatures of over 24°C and a three-night stay in a hotel costing €535.29.

Portugal is the third best destination wedding location because of good value hotel costs at €274.60 for a three-night stay and desirable weather. Aside from Mexico, Barbados is the warmest county on the index – perfect for couples worried that the weather will spoil their celebrations, with average temperatures of over 26°C.

Barbados also has some of the most affordable total wedding costs – coming in at approximately just under €19,000. This is almost €10,000 cheaper than wedding costs in Italy at €28,909.89. Italy ranked in eighth position, with average temperature of only 12°C despite low levels of rainfall.

Tiffany Mealiff, wedding and travel insurance expert at Quotezone said: “Couples planning their weddings all over the world are looking for several key factors which will make their day as perfect as possible. “We’ve analysed weather as well as expenses to reveal the ideal countries to plan and host their dream wedding.

“It’s interesting to see Mexico at the top of the index – the sunny country also has some of the cheapest total wedding costs making it an ideal destination for weddings.

“And the UK at the bottom of the index is perhaps unsurprising – the rainy weather and expensive hotel and total wedding costs including venue hire, photography and food will cause many couples to try elsewhere to tie the knot.

“Our survey shows that 61% of couples are worried about rain and bad weather ruining their celebrations – with over 20% of couples considering getting married abroad in warmer countries.

“It may be worrying for some couples making the decision to get married in a different country, there are a lot of moving parts to consider when planning a wedding and it can be stressful enough without adding travel logistics.

“Cost is also becoming one of the biggest factors couples are concerned about – with 41% agreeing that it would be cheaper to get married abroad.

“Our index shows how couples could save a fortune on wedding costs with better weather by going overseas. I would expect to see a surge in couples heading for warmer climes in the foreseeable future as soaring inflation costs make wedding planning a challenge.

“Most wedding insurance policies don’t cover a rainy day, so to speak, but they can help with extreme weather conditions such as flooding and storms, and should compensate couples for cancellations or rearrangement costs.

“Like travel insurance, it’s best to take out wedding cover as soon as bookings are made, couples won’t be covered if they wait until weather warnings start to go public.”