Destination weddings: Getting married away from home is not new, but it's becoming increasingly popular. According to a recent study of 1,619 brides conducted by the Condé Nast Bridal Group, 16 percent of couples now have a destination wedding, a 400 percent increase in the past 10 years. The trend has been fueled by the desire to save money: Because guests traditionally pay their own way to the wedding venue, fewer guests make the trip, resulting in lower reception costs. ''It's a big trend," especially in places where weddings are expensive, said Harvey McGarry, a ''romantic destinations consultant'' at MacNair Travel & Cruises/American Express in Alexandria, Va.
Many resorts will kick in a free basic wedding package when a couple honeymoons at the resort for at least a week. Stay at a Sandals property for at least seven nights, for example, and get a wedding valued at $750 that includes wedding officiant and documentation, a small reception, wedding cake and more.
But the money-saving aspect of a destination wedding may be waning. The Condé Nast study reported that destination weddings cost an average of $26,000 - only $2,000 less than a traditional wedding - and that's just for the ceremony and reception; airfares and lodging are extra. Scott Ellingboe, spokesman for The Honeymoon, a Web site that offers a honeymoon gift registry, said the average destination now has 56 guests. Jim Augerinos, honeymoon travel consultant and destination wedding coordinator for Perfect Honeymoons & Holidays Travel in Vienna, Va., said, ''Every single hotel in the Caribbean now has a wedding coordinator, and they're capitalizing on the hype. The whole reason people were doing this was to save money, but now many brides are planning huge affairs.''
Favorite spots for destination weddings, according to Augerinos and McGarry, include:
* Jamaica - the Ritz-Carlton Golf & Spa Resort in Montego Bay and the various Sandals and Beaches resorts.
* Hawaii - top island is Maui, especially Four Seasons Maui at Wailea, Fairmont Kea Lani and Hotel Hana-Maui.
* Mexico - Secrets Excellence Riviera Cancun.
* St. Lucia - Sandals Regency St Lucia.
Augerinos also recommends La Samanna in St. Martin, Atlantis on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, Caneel Bay on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Palms in the Turks and Caicos.
Cruise weddings: All major lines offer wedding planners; most offer weddings while in port, either onboard ship or on land. Princess Cruise Lines takes it one further by offering ceremonies at sea performed by the ship's captain. The Caribbean is a favored cruise destination for wedding/honeymoon combos, but couples can also opt for other itineraries, including Alaska and Europe. Cruise lines are less likely than all-inclusive resorts to throw in free ceremonies or honeymoon extras. For example, a wedding ceremony on the beach in Barbados arranged by Royal Caribbean will cost at least $1,895. And honeymoon packages, with such extras as chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne, are also priced separately. Some cruise lines, such as Carnival, offer slightly reduced rates when eight or more staterooms are booked together, but a good sale price is often lower.
Action-packed trips: Lying together on a palm tree-dotted beach still has its fans, but honeymooners today are looking for more adventure. Augerinos say that most of his couples ''can only do max two or three days on the beach.'' Then they start getting bored. ''I talk to my mother and she tells me that in her day, honeymooners never left the hotel room,'' he said. ''Now they're out of the door at 8 a.m. looking for things to do.'' They also don't want to stay in places without cell phone service or Internet access. ''I say, hey, it's your honeymoon. Relax. But they don't know how to unplug.''
Far-flung locales: Plenty of couples still go to Sandals, but more are asking for out-of-the-way destinations where they can engage in unique activities. ''They want to go shark feeding in Belize, swimming with dolphins in Hawaii, zip-wiring in Costa Rica, zorbing [rolling around in a giant hamster ball] in New Zealand,'' Augerinos said. McGarry said classic destinations, such as Italy, Hawaii, Tahiti and the Caribbean, are still the norm. But he said he's also seeing more interest in less-well-known Caribbean islands, such as St. Lucia, and in less-visited areas of Mexico, such as towns in Baja. ''Couples are looking for the beach experience, but in Europe,'' he said. ''Spain's Costa del Sol is big right now.'' Cultural capitals, such as Budapest and Prague, have also become more popular, especially with older couples, McGarry said.
Honeymoon registries: Forget the department store gift registries. Honeymoon registries, whereby gift-givers pay for items such as airfare, hotel, upgrades and excursions, are the rage. The registries have raised some eyebrows in the etiquette set. ''I personally find it tastless to have one's honeymoon expenses paid for by one's friends. (Family is different),'' said Letitia Baldrige, the author of New Manners for New Times: A Complete Guide to Etiquette, in an e-mail. ''It becomes as emotionless a gesture as paying for the bride's teeth-whitening or the groom's car insurance - both necessary, but not wedding-like.''
But most travel agents believe they are here to stay.
Each registry works differently, and couples should read the fine print before they sign.
Registry sites include The Honeymoon, http://www.thehoneymoon.com; Send Us Off, http://www.
sendusoff.com; Honey Luna, http://www.honeyluna.com; Distinctive Honeymoons, http://www.distinctive
honeymoons.com; Moon Rings, http://www.moonrings.com; Honeymoon Outlet, http://www.honeymoonoutlet.com; and TheBigDay, http://www.thebigday.com. WeddingChannel.com (http://www.weddingchannel.com) operates a registry for Sandals and Starwood hotels and resorts. Some resort chains, such as Secrets (http://www.secretsresorts.com), operate their own honeymoon registries.
Modern Bride magazine surveyed 6,000 travel agents last year - its ninth annual survey on the subject - and came up with a Top 10 list of honeymoon destinations and lodgings. But what if these trips exceed your budget? We've added our own suggestions on how to bring them within bounds.
* Hawaii came in No. 1 overall for the ninth year running, ranking first for romance and beaches. Among the resorts getting special mention were the Grand Wailea (at least $405 a night) in Maui, which garnered a top spot for its spa, and the Four Seasons Hualalai ($625 and up a night) on the Big Island, which received top marks for its over-the-top bathrooms.
Cheap alternative: Stay at a bed-and-breakfast inn. GLAD (Global Adventure) Travel (888-207-6236, http://www.gladtravel.com), for example, offers a $99-a-night room less than 300 feet from Maui's Kamaole beaches.
* Italy, not surprisingly, is tops in the food and culture categories. Among the hotels singled out for special honors were the Westin Excelsior Florence ($454-plus a night) for its fine beds, and the Palazzo Sasso in Ravello for its sea-view Infinito Suite ($2,464 a night).
Cheap alternative: If you're not fussy about lodging, book a package with tourist-class accommodations. Go-today.com (800-227-3235, http://www.go-today.com), for example, recently offered a six-night special for $2,220 per couple, including air and hotel.
* Tahiti's claim to fame is ''sexy ambience.'' Bora Bora Lagoon Resort ($419-$858 a night) and Le Taha'a Private Island & Spa ($900 and up), which both feature over-the-water bungalows, garnered special mention.
Cheap alternative: Travel from January to March and book a package. Prices for a weeklong deal run about $1,500 per person double including air and decent hotel; try Swain Tours (800-22-SWAIN, http://www.swaintours.com) and Air Tahiti Nui (877-824-4846, http://www.airtahitinui-usa.com).
* Anguilla placed in the top 10 for seclusion, food, beaches, romance and ''up-and-coming locale.'' Cap Juluca ($345 and up a night) was singled out for its ritzy bathrooms.
Cheap alternative: Stay at a small inn (try http://www.inns.ai), where a week will run about $450.
* Fiji rated tops for seclusion. The South Pacific island also got high marks for snorkeling and diving, romance, beaches, up-and-coming locale and sexy ambience. The all-inclusive Turtle Island resort ($1,975 per night per couple) was rated the ''ultimate resort for seclusion.''
Cheap alternative: Opt for a package that includes lodging and air. For example, Pleasant Holidays (800-742-9244, http://www.pleasantholidays.com) recently had a five-night deal with hotel and air from Los Angeles starting at about $1,300 per person double.
* St. Lucia is another winner in the romance category. The Sandals Regency St. Lucia Golf Resort & Spa ($360 and up a night) got a nod for its private plunge pools.
Cheap alternative: Track the sales. Air Jamaica Vacations (800-LOVEBIRD, http://www.airjamaica vacations.com) recently offered a deal good for travel through the end of the year that included round-trip air from Baltimore Washington International Airport and six nights all-inclusive hotel for $996 per person double.
* Mexico was rated high for affordability, as well as beaches, culture, night life, and snorkeling and diving. Noteworthy resorts include Paraiso de la Bonita ($595-plus a night) and Maroma Resort & Spa ($480-plus a night) in Riviera Maya and Las Ventanas al Paraiso ($450-plus a night) in Los Cabos.
Cheap alternative: Package an all-inclusive with airfare. Vacation Express (800-309-4717, http://www.vacationexpress.com), for example, recently offered a deal with air from BWI and a weeklong stay at a three-star all-inclusive for $1,740 per couple.
* St. Barths, a tony French island in the Caribbean, made it into the top 10 for the first time, garnering mentions for romance, food, seclusion and sexy ambience. Hotel Guanahani & Spa ($406-plus per night) was ranked high for its plunge pools.
Cheap alternative: Instead of flying to St. Barths, which can cost upward of $1,000 round trip, fly to St. Maarten (about $580 on American) and take a ferry to St. Barths (about $110 round trip). Book a villa through a private owner: At Vacation Rentals by Owner (http://www.vrbo.com), a three-bedroom villa starts at about $1,650 a week.
* Jamaica was voted into the top 10 for affordability and sexy ambience. Several resorts with locations in Jamaica - Sandals (from $270 a night per couple), Couples (from $493 a night per couple) and SuperClubs (from $398 a night per couple) - were named as top all-inclusives.
Cheap alternative: Scour the all-inclusive Web sites for special deals. Couples, for example, sometimes offers a deal with air whereby it chooses which of its four resorts you'll go to in exchange for serious savings: One recent deal was about $3,000 for two with air for a weeklong stay. Also, many travel agents have special deals with the major all-inclusives that are cheaper than rack rates.
* France earned mentions for romance, food, night life, culture, sexy ambience and winter sports. The honeymoon suite at Four Seasons George V Paris ($875 and up a night) received an ''ultimate honeymoon suite'' rating.
Cheap alternative: Go in late fall, when round-trip airfares often drop to $500 or less per person. Rent a private apartment, with rates starting at about $120 a night; try Rentals in Paris (516-977-3318, http://www.rentals-paris.
com) and Venere.com (011-800-83637300, http://www.venere.
com).
