This list shows the best countries for LGBTQ+ weddings, and the UK doesn’t even make the top 10
The best countries for LGBTQ+ couples to wed in has been revealed. (Stock image/Getty)
Wedding experts have discovered the best countries for LGBTQ+ couples to get married; unsurprisingly, the UK hasn’t even made the top 10 on the list.
Wedding experts at Hitched looked at the best LGBTQ+-friendly countries for queer couples to tie the knot, taking into account how long same-sex marriage has been legal, the average cost to get married there, and how safe the country is for those in the LGBTQ+ community.
After Greece became the first Christian Orthodox country to legalise same-sex marriage, experts analysed where different countries stand in terms of legal LGBTQ+ marriages. And in a less than surprising turn, it’s not great news for the UK.
Norway takes the top spot as the best place for queer couples to say “I do”, being one of the first five European countries to legalise gay marriage, as well as being one of the cheaper options with a high travel safety score, as per Asher Ferguson.
Same-sex marriage was legalised in the country in 2009, nine years after the Netherlands became the first country in the world to pass the legislation. The average cost of a wedding in Norway comes in at just over £6300 – over three times cheaper than the average wedding in the UK, which the brand revealed to be £20,700.
The second spot goes to Sweden, where same-sex marriage was also legalised in 2009. The average cost of a wedding is slightly dearer at just over £8,000. Meanwhile Canada, often hailed as safe haven for travellers and residents, comes in at ninth place for queer couples to get married due to its high wedding cost average, sitting at over £110,000.
The UK, however, has only landed at number 20 in the new index due to the late adoption of legal same-sex marriages. And with proposed anti-trans guidelines in schools and women’s spaces at the hands of the conservative government, it isn’t any wonder.
A spokesperson for the wedding planning site called the revelation “really disappointing” for the UK.
“We have always been quite far behind the rest of Europe when it comes to acceptance of many things that are quite honestly, basic human rights,” said editor Zoe Burke. “To be at number 20 is devastating — we can and should do better.
“While we continue to see great strides being made within the wedding industry here in the UK, there is obviously still a very long way to go to ensure that LGBTQI+ people are given the same opportunities, the same respect, and the same basic rights as cis-het couples.
“Love is love, after all. It’s quite possibly the one thing that everyone on the planet should agree on.”
Same-sex marriage is legal in 36 countries across the globe, including Greece’s new addition, out of a total of 195 counties. Only 18.4 per cent of countries currently have marriage equality.
