When I first started planning my wedding I knew that one thing that I was absolutely certain of was that I wanted it to be a sunny day. Unfortunately I live in England and as such those are very, very rare and very, very unpredictable! Like many others I therefore started thinking about having a wedding abroad. It would be small, simple and intimate with just close family and friends joining us, an outdoor ceremony with views of the ocean with the day spent outside soaking up the sun.

However I’ve discovered that it’s absolutely essential that you do your homework before progressing down this route. Just because you have a wedding in the Caribbean does not guarantee that you’ll have a picture perfect day. In fact if you go in the summer months you’re likely to be in the peak of hurricane season. In addition you might just find the weather oppressive and stifling with the lack of trade winds. So to save you the hassle here is a quick summary of what I’ve found out:

South East Asia is beautiful and the area spans over eleven countries so its quite simplistic to lump them all together, but generally in June through September is its monsoon season. In IndoChina relatively cool dry season is experienced from November to February.

Safaris in Africa would be an absolutely amazing experience but different areas of the continent have very different climates. East Africa has two dry seasons between December and February and June and October, in West Africa the rainy season is June to September. North Africa is cooler in October to March but the heat can be oppressive at other times of year. Where as August is the best for seeing the migration in the Masai Mara.

If you’re after a carnival atmosphere then South America could be a wonderful choice but be aware that their summer months are between December and March and rainy season between May to October. Countries in the Pacific Ocean have their winter in April to October, but this is also their dry season and results in very pleasant conditions.

In Australia their summer is November to March with the rainy season in December to February. I think that I’ve got my heart set on a Caribbean wedding and therefore am thinking of late April. This is just at the end of the high season as so hopefully the prices will start to drop and it won’t be so busy but I can also make the most of the best weather before the hurricane season starts and the phrase ‘swept away’ has a whole different meaning!

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