The traditional white wedding does not conjure up pictures of the newly-wed tumbling down a slope in Colorado, red-faced and wind-swept in full ski-costume, the bride's locks escaping from her goggles, the groom, falling on his backside and sliding down a self-made avalanche. As travel agents point out though: "Everybody's dream is different." Las Vegas, Rainbow Reef in Barbados, the Seychelles or Sun Valley in Idaho, favoured by Judy Garland, Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe, these are some of the destinations for a growing number of bizarre and exotic weddings. Whether it's 6,000ft above sea level or four degrees south of the Equator, sometimes you just have to get away.
Ski the American Dream specialises in weddings at ski resorts. The bride and groom are escorted by horse and sleigh, from an old western-style cottage to a ski-lift. Ceremonies held on the mountainside enable the couple to ski back down afterwards. The thrill is in the risk.
Slippery you'll agree. Alternatively there's the choice of underwater, on a yacht or in a drive-through in Las Vegas. Do we want a whole new romantic movement where getting married is part of the dare? When all is said and done, a bungee jump is not exactly a long-term commitment and whatever about love, it takes time and dedication to learn to ski. Action shots of your wedding day are hardly the stuff of classic fairytale, but anyone who remembers the opening scene of The Commitments knows that the typical Irish wedding is sometimes far from a romantic affair. Drunk uncles, marquees, faulty microphones, lashing rain, doilies and bad jokes all make for disturbingly authentic weddings.
Dubliner Suzanne Larkin didn't know what she was getting into when her boyfriend Alex proposed last Christmas Eve. Six months later she was walking, not down the aisle, but on a gazebo, under a white trellis joined at the top in an arch and decorated with exotic flowers. Locals played the bongos while a black minister conducted a 20-minute service in the sweltering heat of St Lucia. The only patriotic indulgence came in the form of a Celtic crochet dress which the bride bought last November.
A few signatures and two goblets of champagne later, the party was whisked to an adjoining private beach for photographs, where a cream and strawberry cake lay waiting on a table set on the sand. A horse and carriage took the couple around the extensive grounds of their hotel and back to a reception room where a congratulatory fax from work mates at Roches Stores was waiting. Suzanne recommends it: "There's nobody in your ears saying `have you got this?, or, `did you do that?' " However, she did have to contend with mosquito bites on her face days before the wedding. A honeymoon couple who they met on the plane acted as witnesses and became fast friends. Indeed, Suzanne noticed a lot of happy couples on the island, many English and Irish descent.
How many Irish couples are eloping to avoid their big day? "Too many," groans Budget's Andrea Penrose jokingly. She must be working overtime: 73 people so far have booked civil weddings in the Caribbean through Budget this year. The usual format is to pay for the honeymoon package here, book the wedding and then pay for it when you get there (from $300 approx). Bingo - you've got the package wedding.
But a note of caution for those who think getting married in paradise will somehow seal the bond of matrimony with divine absolution. Civil weddings are not recognised by the Catholic Church and a Catholic wedding abroad will involve a far lengthier and costlier process with a local priest and the Department of Foreign affairs.
A thriving wedding industry has evolved around the sacrament of marriage, putting tremendous pressure on young couples who may also face heavy mortgage repayments. Father Alan Hilliard came up with a novel idea to address this problem in his parish of Lucan in Co Dublin where plans are underway to bring 10 couples to Rome next August to be married in the Irish College or another suitable venue. Father Hilliard differentiates between marriages and weddings. "There is no reason why anyone can't afford to get married in Ireland," he says. "All you need is your belief, a bride, a groom, two witnesses and a priest." Indeed, God doesn't stipulate the videographer, the stretch limousine or the hairdressers which are requisites of the "proper" wedding - not the "proper" marriage.
