When it came to destination weddings in 2020, tying the knot abroad got all tied up in pandemic restrictions. As a result, couples lost hundreds of millions of dollars in hotel and flight cancellation fees and many wedding planners were forced into bankruptcy.
Heading into the peak wedding season this year — July to October — experts are predicting a slow recovery for the lucrative $300 billion a year industry as COVID variants continue to rage, borders remain closed and vaccine distribution in Canada, at least, rolls out at a snail’s pace.
However, it seems many Canadian couples are still married to the idea of getting wed abroad and that has industry insiders hopeful that 2022 will be a banner year.
That hope is being fuelled by reports that 14 per cent of Canada’s 170,000 annual weddings are held abroad and that figure is only expected to climb in the years to come.
Provinces where destination weddings are most popular, like Ontario, B.C. and Alberta, are especially optimistic, and for good reason. According some reports, Ontario’s wedding planners, who lost almost $800 million in 2020, will rake in more than $2 billion in 2022, thanks to previous postponements and pent-up demand.
American and British couples like getting married abroad even more than Canadians. Of the 2.4 million weddings held in the U.S. in 2020, 350,000, or 25 per cent, were destination weddings, while in the U.K., 24 per cent of all vows are taken on foreign soil.

All signs are pointing to a recovery for the destination wedding industry but how long will the recovery take?

Unfortunately, the destination wedding industry was left with a black eye in 2020 when some international resorts refused to offer refunds to couples who were forced to cancel their far-flung nuptials at the height of the pandemic.
Now, many resorts and wedding planners are adding COVID-19 riders to contracts to protect themselves from future pandemics or other global events.
One New York wedding vendor told NBC News: “I previously had verbiage in my contracts pertaining to ‘an act of God’ but now I use very specific language regarding pandemics.”
Couples are also being strongly urged to take out trip cancellation insurance. The policy that reads “cancel for any reason” is the one most recommended — it usually reimburses 80 per cent of costs. And make sure you buy the cancellation insurance before you make your final payment for the destination wedding.
Such insurance policies, though, are the most expensive and will only add to the cost of a wedding abroad, which wasn’t cheap to start with.
According to weddingwire.com, destination weddings are actually 11 per cent more expensive than hometown ceremonies.
And considering Canadian weddings already cost $33,000 on average, the added expense of getting married abroad in the future may cause some couples pause.
Travel companies that specialize in destination weddings are coming up with some creative virtual alternatives for clients. However, virtual destination weddings lack the romance and fun of the real deal.

Destination weddings are popular but they are not cheap. In fact, they can cost 50 per cent more than traditional ceremonies.

One alternative for couples is to hold their destination wedding on a cruise ship. That way, they can enjoy the wedding and honeymoon in the same place. As part of their new pandemic protocols, most major cruise lines are requiring passengers and crew to be vaccinated before coming aboard. That ensures a much safer environment for everyone.
Even before the pandemic reached our shores, cruise weddings were becoming a popular alternative for Canadians. In fact, Royal Caribbean (RCCL) told the Toronto Star that they do about 1,000 onboard weddings a year.
According to RCCL, the average cost of a cruise ship wedding ceremony is about $10,000 for 100 guests. But that does not include the cruise cost or airfare for guests.
While Las Vegas remains the top wedding location in the world, Canadians prefer the Caribbean and Mexico for their destination weddings. That’s mainly because those locations guarantee lots of sunshine for those all-important wedding album photos, are well serviced by charter airlines, which offer cheaper airfares, and are within easy reach from most major Canadian cities. Italy, Hawaii and Ireland have also gained in popularity with Canadians planning destination weddings in recent years.
Because international travel is still being discouraged by our federal government, many Canadian couples will hold their ceremonies at home this year. That means wedding halls in places like Vancouver and Victoria, Ontario’s Muskoka cottage country and romantic Quebec City and Prince Edward Island will be in much demand this season.
If we can divorce ourselves from this dreaded pandemic, that is.