Seven chic destination wedding ideas

Planning a spectacular, stylish destination wedding? Sure, you could go for something classic, like Venice (as Mr and Mrs Bezos recently did, to great tabloid fanfare), the dazzling white isle of Santorini, or the quintessential capital of romance, Paris. But why not consider somewhere a little unpredictable? These are our suggestions for chic wedding destinations to start an extraordinary marriage.

Bhutan

Amid monastic chants, fluttering prayer flags and lushly forested valleys, a wedding ceremony in Bhutan will take on a deeply spiritual gravitas. Consider accommodations such as the myriad lodges of Amankora (above), Six Senses or &Beyond Bhutan.

Tweed Hinterland

Crowned Australia’s Number 1 Ceremony and Reception Venue at the 2025 ABIA Awards, the ‘Oscars of the matrimonial industry’, Summergrove Estate offers an extraordinary destination wedding experience with panoramic hinterland-to-ocean views, a gorgeous private white chapel, a purpose-built reception barn, and six beautiful villas providing accommodation on site. Its elegantly understated offering is part of The Hinterland Collection (a curated suite of venues including Elysian Hills, Cascade Springs and Potager), creating a platform for multi-property celebrations blending romance, nature and caring, attentive service.

Iceland

Contrast that pristine white gown against a tableau of black volcanic rock churches, epic lava fields, geothermal mist and midnight sun – your wedding photos will be the envy of all. Stay at Iceland’s first five-star hotel, the Reykjavik EDITION, next door to the city’s ultra-modern opera house, offering yet more impactful photographic potential.

Patagonia

Peaks sculpted by the elements over millennia, glacial lakes, scampering vicuna, infinite skies… Jaw-dropping nature serves as a backdrop for vows that feel all the more poignant and poetic given the majestic surroundings. Logistically challenging? Perhaps. No one said marriage was meant to be easy. Have the good people at Abercrombie & Kent – experts in luxury escapes to unexpected locales – arrange the whole destination wedding for you.

Antarctica

Stage a truly white wedding at White Desert – ideally, their ‘sky pod’ Echo Camp, which houses a perfect intimate wedding party of 12 people. Experience the closest thing possible to getting married in outer space, then toast the nuptials with Champagne on polar blue ice.

North Stradbroke Island

Adept at arranging helicopter adventures, have Brisbane’s five-star Emporium Hotel ferry a celebrant, you and your loved one – perhaps a handful of your nearest and dearest, too – by chopper to a remote beach on North Stradbroke. Say, “I do”. Then return to the hotel (number one winner at the Australian Wedding Industry Awards) for a stylish celebration of the new union. It’s the stuff destination wedding dreams are made of.

Scottish Highlands

Get hitched at a plush lochside property such as The Torridon – a castle-style boutique hotel in the northwest highlands. Think smoking jackets, tartan, kilts and torchlight processions, plus a private whisky tasting to end what promises to be a bonnie wee night.