llb weddings - romance report

BEACHCOMBER HOTELS SURVEY 2012

Love to travel or travel to love?A survey of 1000 adults commissioned by Beachcomber Hotels

“The British love travelling and it appears they are increasingly travelling to celebrate their love. Be it to propose, marry or celebrate an important occasion or anniversary, the desire to share some time away from the hustle and bustle of 21st century life and swap the pavement and street lights for the beach and stars has never been greater.”

- Survey introduction and executive summary- Findings of survey- Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen’s top tips for

a perfect beach wedding

Contents

The bespoke research, commissioned by Beachcomber Hotels, was carried out by OnePoll. The survey questioned 1000 adults in the UK and provides us with a snapshot of the nation’s attitudes to matters of the heart, how we communicate romantically, how we seek to celebrate milestone moments in our relationships, and how we contextualise love in a 21st century. The results are outlined over the following pages.


TROU AUX BICHES RESORT & SPA, MAURITIUS

From the outset, it is manifestly clear; the state of the nation’s love life is in rude health.

Executive summary

70% of couples tell each other they love them on a daily basis.

58% of couples choose to tell their partner this via text.

19% of us still give flowers to our partner of a frequent basis.

35% of us want to get engaged on the spur-of-the-moment.

20% want to get engaged whilst on holiday.

In the last five years there has been a 27% rise in couples getting married abroad – this represents nearly one in five couples in the UK.

17% would choose the Indian Ocean for a wedding making it the preferred location abroad.

40% of us want 20 or fewer guests at our wedding.

1 in 20 of us would like to get married just by ourselves.

37% would like to get married on a beach.

63% would choose a relaxing beach holiday for our honey moon.

The UK embraces a mix of 21st century and old school methods when it comes to romance.


SAINTE ANNE RESORT & SPA, SEYCHELLES

Everyday loveThe good news; the UK as a nation of romantics is more “Love Actually” than “No Sex Please - We’re British”. In spite of the collective impression of ourselves as being less romantic than our continental cousins, the Brits are officially a nation who take matters of the heart seriously. According to the survey, over 70% of couples in the UK tell each other they love them on a daily basis.

“i luv u”For a nation which has produced some of the most romantic writing ever produced in any language including Shakespeare’s sonnets, some may rue the decline in the use of quill and paper to express our inner most feelings. However, new technologies have impacted our cultural construction of romance as well as our every day experience of it since the dawn of time and texting “i luv u” is simply a natural progression of this.

However, good news for florists, a respectable 19% of us still give flowers to our partner on a regular basis and a generous 9% of all those surveyed like to put a smile on their loved one’s face by booking the odd surprise holiday.

Findings of the survey

The Big QuestionWhen it comes to the question of proposing, the Brits like to be spontaneous with over a third, 35%, believing that asking our partner’s hand in marriage should be a spur-of-the-moment thing. 20% of us like the idea of proposing when on holiday, whilst 8% think Valentine’s Day is an opportune time to pop the question.

The FinancialsWith the average wedding in the UK costing £21,000, it comes as little surprise that 55% would now choose a foreign backdrop for their big day. With the average overseas wedding costing around £6500, more and more UK couples are choosing to tie the knot abroad. In the last five years 27%¹ more UK couples chose the sun, sea and sand over rain, rip-offs and registry offices. Weddings overlooking the palm-fringed Indian Ocean proved the most popular with 17% choosing locations such as Mauritius as their preferred wedding destination; this was followed by the Americas at 12% and Europe with 11%.

20 attendees is a wedding, more’s a crowdThe findings highlighted the odd social contradiction; it seems that while we may enjoy an ever growing circle of virtual friends via an array of social networks, we do not replicate this virtual, gregarious streak when it comes to our wedding.

As the survey figures illustrate, when it comes to weddings we hope for a more intimate occasion, preferring to spend our wedding day with close family and our best friends; 40% of us wish no more than 20 guests at our wedding; (19.3% want between 1-10 guests, 19.5% want between10-20 guests). Only 23% of us would like 60 or more guests to attend our big day.

BEACHCOMBER HOTELS SURVEY 2012BEACHCOMBER HOTELS SURVEY 2012




ROYAL PALM, MAURITIUS

“Just the two of us”Just under 5% said they would like to celebrate their big day just by themselves.

Get me to the beach on time37% of all respondents said they would like to be married on the beach, with a steady 29% seeking a traditional marriage in church. A surprising 20% stated they would like to tie the knot in a garden.

The findings suggest that the trend is towards couples opting for unique weddings – breaking with tradition and doing something that reflects more accurately what they are about as a couple rather than fitting in with the time-honoured, standard nuptials. This is a trend which is likely to continue as our ties with the church diminish and hotel groups such as Beachcomber offer cost effective, luxury and classic alternatives to a traditional wedding at home.

Hello HoneymoonWhile we may becoming a country of pragmatic romantics, keen to avoid starting married life in the red after a white wedding, the reasons for celebrating our love abroad are firmly rooted in the best romantic traditions. Blending the exotic with the intimate for many is now preferable to a traditional wedding at home with all its fraught hurdles.

Firstly, the allure of getting married in the sun will always be preferable to the possibility of a wet wedding. It is billed as one of the happiest days of our lives; who needs drizzle? Secondly, couples are increasingly eschewing big weddings for a more intimate day with family and a few close friends; “big is not necessarily better” is the way ahead.

Finally, the ability to get married one day, go to bed and wake up as man and wife already in the honeymoon destination of your dreams is an appealing option for many.

Out of those surveyed, a sizeable 63% cited a relaxing beach holiday as their dream honeymoon. 18% expressed a desire to tour and an adrenalin-burning 13% sought an element of adventure on their honeymoon; a trend that looks like increasing as couples seek out shared experiences in ever far flung places.


Keypad is mightier than the penIt seems the impact of technology and social networks has transformed our culture of dating and romance, with 58% of us expressing our love for each other via texts and emails.

TROU AUX BICHES RESORT & SPA, MAURITIUS

PARADIS HOTEL & GOLF CLUB, MAURITIUS

Love in the UK could be viewed as a romanticcontradiction. –whilst the notion of love is burgeoning – how we express our love for each other is an amalgam of 21st century technology with all its immediacy and accelerated romance mixed with our traditional sense of love with its bunches of flowers and a longing to swap the street lights for the stars and the chance to celebrate our love on a distant beach.

Beachcomber Hotels are the pioneers of luxury romantic holidays in the Indian Ocean, with nine hotels in Mauritius and one hotel on the private island of Sainte Anne in the Seychelles. If you are looking for an unforgettable wedding, honeymoon, renewal of vows experience or an overdue romantic escape – A Beach-comber Holiday is for you.

SummaryRomantic contradiction


DINAROBIN HOTEL GOLF & SPA, MAURITIUS

LE MAURICIA, MAURITIUS

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen is known for his success as an interior designer and television presenter. But the success he is most proud of is his happy marriage to Jackie, his wife of twenty-two years. And like a third of the UK who dream of a beach wedding, Laurence and Jackie recently renewed their vows on a Mauritian beach.

Surrounded by family friends, under a gazebo, designed by Laurence, overlooking the diaphanous, Indian Ocean Laurence and Jackie renewed their vows at the Dinarobin Hotel Golf & Spa, one of Beachcomber’s luxury hotels on Mauritius.

Laurence and Jackie chose Beachcomber because they operate a strict one wedding a day policy with a dedicated wedding co-ordinator. This ensured a day to remember for all the right reasons.


Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen’s top tips For a perfect beach wedding/

renewal of wedding vows

3. Take your vows with your back to the ocean, so your guests can take in the view of you as well as the beautiful scenery.

4. Go barefoot - you don’t want to be carrying your shoes as well as your flowers, and it’s more authentic!

5. Wear lots of sunscreen - you’ll still get burnt, wedding or not! Pick an oil free cream or spray so you don’t look greasy in your photos and it doesn’t leave marks on your dress!

6. Have a backup plan in case it rains - you may think it is all part of getting married in the natural elements, but will your guests be concentrating on your wedding if they are stood getting wet?


1. Make sure whoever is running your big day runs a one wedding a day policy – no one wants to feel they are on a conveyer belt, least on their wedding day.

2. Bear in mind the sea breeze when you’re considering your hairstyle. Unless the beach is very sheltered, wearing your hair down is not a good idea!

Finally, the best beach wedding tip is to relax. The whole point of a beach wedding is to be informal and go with the flow!

For further information: llbweddings.com¹ MINTEL REPORT 2010

‘ Travelling tends to magnify all human emotions.’ Peter Hoeg

llb weddings - romance report

Documents

beachcomber hotels survey

survey introduction

daily basis

relaxing beach holiday

century life

regular basis

frequent basis

nation of romantics