Amore: Ignite Italian passion with a wedding on the glorious Amalfi CoastFrom a blissful ceremony on the Amalfi Coast to barefoot luxury in Malaysia, with so many perfect travel options, there's no need to stick to a British wedding.
TravelMail picks out the most magical locations to celebrate marriage....
Top of The Table
Ride the cable car to the top of Cape Town's spectacular Table Mountain in South Africa, and exchange your vows in the open air, with the city and sea spread out below.
You can marvel at the scenery, from the narrow finger of land running down to Cape Point in the south, the hazy blue mountains inland and the two landmarks of Devil's Peak and Lion's Head to either side.
If you are there in the morning, you may be in time to watch as the famous 'table cloth' of flat cloud clears to herald another glorious day.
Make the grand old Mount Nelson hotel your honeymoon base.
Get the love: Take a carriage drive for two through Cape Town's historic areas, complete with champagne and a picnic if you choose Cape Town Carriage Company (00 27 21 703 4396, ctcco.co.za).
Travel abroad organises weddings on Table Mountain, weddingsabroad.co.za. The Mount Nelson hotel is on 00 27 21 483 1000, mountnelson.co.za.
An Italian passion
You like the idea of spiritual surroundings, but you also appreciate the ultimate in luxury. So
there can be few better places to get married than the Four Seasons Hotel Firenze (above), a former 16th-century convent and 15th-century palazzo in Florence, which the political dynasty of the Medicis once called home.
Civil marriages take place in the chapel, in the convent's old church or on the private rooftop terrace with spectacularly romantic views of the Duomo. The Renaissance suites with outstanding frescoes are the perfect place for post-wedding frolics.
Get the love: Stroll over to the iconic Galleria dell'Accademia to see how the bridegroom measures up to Michelangelo's David.
Contact 0039 055 26 26 1, fourseasons.com/florence.
Capital of romance: Lend your wedding a touch of class at the Four Seasons in FlorenceViennese whirl
Say your vows high above Vienna in one of the private cabins on board the Giant Ferris Wheel in the city's Prater amusement park. This was built in 1897 to mark the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Franz Josef I.
The iconic 65-metre-high wheel with its 15 cabins, each designed in a style depicting a period of history from the Roman Empire to the mid-20th century, has starred in a number of films, including The Third Man. The luxurious Art Nouveau cabin, which accommodates 12 - including the bride and groom, two witnesses and the registrar - is the one for weddings.
Have your reception and honeymoon at the Sacher hotel in the city centre, opposite the Opera House and a short walk from St Stephen's Cathedral and the Hofburg Imperial Palace.
Get the love: Take in a Strauss concert to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Der Rosenkavalier.
For details on the Giant Ferris Wheel, call 00 43 1 729 54 30 or wienerriesenrad.com, and the Hotel Sacher Wien on 00 43 1 51 4560, sacher.com.
Riding high: Pick a uniquely decorated carriage for your own private nuptialsSweet nothings in San FrancIsco
Tie the knot at San Francisco's City Hall, where Marilyn Monroe got married to baseball player Joe DiMaggio - think grand sweeping staircases and impressive architecture - then have your reception in Golden Gate Park with the famous bridge in the background.
The choice of hotels is huge, but if you are on a budget, stay at Hostelling International's HI-San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf.
Get the love: Bag a high-backed booth for two at Harry Denton's Starlight Room, a lavish Thirties-style nightclub at the top of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, overlooking Union Square.
City Hall Events is on 00 1 415 554-6079, sfgsa.org. For Hostels international SF, call 00 1 415 771 7277, sfhostels.com/ fishermans-wharf.
California Dreamin': One of the most iconic backgrounds in the worldKing and Queen of the castle
There's something special about an English castle - and this one is very special indeed. Highclere Castle, near Newbury, Berks, is where TV's Downton Abbey was filmed.
It's the ancestral home of Lord and Lady Carnarvon, whose forebear, the fifth Earl, and Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun's tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings in 1922. The Saloon, at the heart of the Castle, is licensed for civil ceremonies. As the music begins, the bride walks around the Gallery above the guests, beforedescending the sweeping Oak Staircase.
Reception options are the Drawing Room, Smoking Room, Castle lawns and gardens with a Wedding Breakfast in the Victorian Library.
Start your honeymoon at The Vineyard at nearby Stockcross, which some describe as a superb restaurant with rooms; others as a small country hotel retreat with a fabulous restaurant.
Get the love: Take a snoop for two around the antiquities from Ancient Egypt.
Highclere Castle's wedding co-coordinator is on 01635 253210, highclerecastle.co.uk. The vineyard at Stockcross, 01635 528770, the-vineyard.co.uk.
Classic castle: Staying in Britain does not mean having to sacrifice style at Highclere CastleAmore In Amalfi
Villa Cimbrone in Ravello is fairy-tale Italy at its most theatrical. Its gardens and elegant rooms, high above the Amalfi coast, provide a blissful backdrop for couples.
Follow the ceremony by taking a slow walk along the Avenue of Immensity with its exotic scented plants, and head off to the Terrace of Infinity, lined with 18th-century marble busts, from where you can down towards the coast.
Get the love: Take the ferry from Amalfi to the island of Capri for a days of togetherness at the luxury Hotel Caesar Augustus, which has the best views over the of Naples.
Villa Cimbrone is on 00 39 089 857459, villacimbrone.com. The Caesar Augustus (00 39 081 8373395, caesar-augustus.com) reopens in the spring.
Marry In Marrakesh
Have a Moroccan-style wedding in the exotic surroundings of the iconic, and recently refurbished, La Mamounia in Marrakesh. You may have to take care of the paperwork in a civil ceremony beforehand, but this is the perfect place for the blessing and celebration.
Traditional Moroccan weddings go on for days and are marked by the use of vibrant colours (yellow to scare away evil and green for good luck), plus henna tattoos for the bride and groom, the latter of whom's job it is later to find his initial hidden on his new wife!
Get the love: The fab little Riad Due is in the Souk area of the city.
La Mamounia, 212 524 388600, mamounia.com; riad Due, riaddue.com.
Barefoot luxury: Escape to exotic MalaysiaWedded bliss
Round up friends and relatives for the holiday of a lifetime as they witness-your marriage in the exotic jungle location of the Malaysian island of Langkawi.
Stay in one of the traditional Malay houses, gathered from around the country and then rebuilt, which form this small resort. This place is so laid-back you may never want to leave. And there are some great beaches nearby.
Get the love: Leave the formal clothes at home.
For details, phone 00 604 955 1688, bontonresort.com.my.
source: dailymail
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