Well, reader, it sounds like a “congratulations!” is in order! You and your partner have decided to tie the knot, and now you’ve opened up a whole other door of decision-making conundrums, starting with, “Where?”

Knowing you’d rather elope takes off a whole load of pressure in terms of guest list, and now the world is kind of your oyster. Leaving the hubbub at home can undoubtedly save you a few quid, but it can also earn you a real headache if you choose the wrong destination. Wedding planning is stressful enough without trying to jump through hoops in a foreign language from afar.

Mexico is a good example of somewhere you might think you want to get married, but really, you probably don’t. Aside from the fact that ceremonies legally have to be conducted in Spanish, so you might not have a clue what’s going on, some states also require blood tests and chest x-rays just to get the paperwork in order!

We’re guessing, reader, that you’d rather get hitched somewhere that makes life a little easier? Somewhere with online applications, or non-existent residency requirements, perhaps? All while still serving up an epic photo, of course. Well, never fear, we’ve got a few ideas up our sleeves…

US Virgin Islands - St. Croix, St. Thomas & St. John

White sands, turquoise waters, and the same rules as the rest of the USA—that’s what makes the US Virgin Islands our pick of all the glorious Caribbean options. Even if you’re from the UK or elsewhere in Europe, for example, you won’t have any problems with your marriage being recognised once you get home. We reckon that’s pretty important.

You can easily apply online for your marriage licence (min. 8 days in advance), and there are no residency or medical requirements to worry about either. One of the other things we really appreciate about the USVI is that there are no restrictions on same-sex marriage, unlike many of the most popular Caribbean destinations.

The easy—and cheap—way to do it is a courthouse wedding, which will cost you around $600. Both St. Croix and St. Thomas have that option, but beware it’s an early start, with ceremonies taking place first thing in the morning. Unsurprisingly, you’ll find that hotel resorts are often the easiest place to look for a more romantic (afternoon!) beach wedding.

On St. Croix, The Buccaneer offers a choice of stunning beach-front ceremony locations, with packages starting at only $2000 for the two of you—and they’ll even throw in a couple of witnesses if you’re going it alone. You can also opt for the typical St. Croix sugar mill, which is rare to get permission for outside a resort.

For St. Thomas and St. John, contacting a wedding planner like Island Bliss Weddings will help you avoid inflated resort prices and find hidden spots for your nuptials. Lindquist Beach on St. Thomas is one of the idyllic, more secluded options, away from the busy resorts. On St. John, Jumbie Bay offers a perfectly tiny sandy beach, rarely discovered by passers-by, and occasionally with bonus flamingos.

And once you’re hitched, you won’t have far to go for a honeymoon packed with coral and sea turtles, rewarding hikes featuring seriously cool ruins, and islands with so few residents, you’ll think they’re deserted.

Denmark

Despite having long been considered one of the easiest places to marry in Europe, Denmark might not even be on your elopement radar. But let us change your mind!

For a quick and easy elopement from other parts of Europe, Copenhagen is well-connected and offers up endless historical buildings to act as a backdrop for your wedding photos. In fact, you can even get married inside one of them. But there’s are soooo many more places to consider than just Copenhagen.

Danish islands are practically guaranteed to provide an opportunity for windswept walks along the beach. Ærø is commonly considered the most beautiful of them all, with its unusual cliffs, and cute cobblestone streets winding past colourful, wonky houses.

The island of Lolland is popular for its easy access by ferry from Germany—and for its fancy manor house fit for eloping lords and ladies. But if your notions of grandeur go a little further, or you’re into a bit of Shakespeare, you’ll want to head to Kronborg Castle, aka Hamlet’s Castle, just north of Copenhagen.

The location options just keep coming, with everything from sand dunes to Viking re-enactments on the table. But it’s the ease with which the whole event can be organised that really makes Denmark a winning option. Essentially, you just need your valid passport (and visa, where applicable) and £210. Apply online, and you could be ready to go within a week.

And the icing on the Danish pastry? If you choose to be married by a member of the City Council instead of a private registrar (at Copenhagen City Hall or elsewhere), it’s free of charge, leaving you more money for a hot dog or two afterwards!

New Zealand

This one’s for those atmospheric mountain-top photographs. Or simply for the couples who want to elope far enough away that their family and friends definitely can’t show up!

Applying for a marriage licence in NZ is incredibly straightforward. As long as you have your passport and visa in order, all you need to do is pick between a registry wedding and one performed by a celebrant in the location of your choice. And boy, are there locations to choose from…

Let’s get it out of the way—yes, you can get married at Hobbiton. Mount Doom (aka Mt Ngauruhoe) is an option too, but we’re not sure the sentiment really fits. Either way, remember that you’ll probably want two rings instead of only the one. But neither of these locations are anywhere near as spectacular as it gets.

There’s no shortage of extreme mountain vistas in New Zealand, especially on the South Island. Queenstown is the gateway to the Southern Alps, and getting married in the town itself offers up a good balance of stunning scenery and accessible venues, including a steamship. That said, you might as well hop on a helicopter to Cecil Peak, since you’re there.

On the North Island, it’s more about sunset walks along the beach and black volcanic sand. The Bay of Islands is made up of more than 140 islands featuring hot springs, ancient forests, waterfalls and cute little port towns. It’s also a fairly significant spot in the country’s history, as New Zealand’s founding document was signed here on the Waitangi Treaty Grounds in 1840.

Cathedral Cove, in The Coromandel, is a good choice for a more secluded seaside ceremony, and you can arrive in style on a boat (which will save you a 2-mile walk). Just prepare for an early start, since the views are best at sunset.

We hope these suggestions have given you a few ideas, reader! Let us know where you end up choosing, and don’t forget to send us a postcard :-)

Got a burning travel question, or an idea for an article you’d like to see in The Detour? Let us know below :-)

I've got an idea! 🌴

To find North Dakota on a map, aim straight for the centre of the US, then go allllll the way up. The fact you had to check that probably says enough about this lesser-known part of the country.

The state is pretty wild, with less than 10 people per square mile over most of its surface area. It’s wide open, it’s quiet, and it’s full of gorgeous vistas.

It’s also cold. The coldest city in the continental US is Grand Forks, ND, where temperatures of -29 °C have been recorded. Half of the country’s coldest cities are in North Dakota. No wonder most of its European settlers were from Scandinavia, which you can easily see at sites like the Gol Stave Church Museum.

The state was originally settled by Native American tribes, mostly Sioux and Ojibwe groups. Heritage sites dot the region and allow visitors to engage with the culture, from Sitting Bull’s grave to the sacred Standing Rock to the Knife River historical village, where explorers Lewis and Clark met Sacagawea.

When president Teddy Roosevelt first visited as an assemblyman in the 1880s, he fell in love with the region and established a ranch there. He continued to visit all throughout his life, and today Theodore Roosevelt National Park stands in his honour.

The park has three units, North, South, and Teddy’s old ranch in the middle, with looping scenic drives that take you through open plains and badlands. Most visitors catch a glimpse of herds of bison, and you’re sure to come across prairie dog homes, too — delightfully known as “dog towns.”

Film fans will undoubtedly recognize our final stop: Fargo! All the way on the eastern border, this town was made famous by the 1996 movie that shares its name. The city’s a bit more charming than the film made it seem (but just as cold) and you can see the famous woodchipper, signed by the Coen brothers.

All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across the web this week.

• Don’t worry, Duo is fine! If you’ve been freaking out about the language-learning owl’s melting face, it’s just a ploy to get you to open the app. Sneaky!
• This week, the US State Department issued an unprecedented worldwide caution alert, citing increased tensions around the world, in part due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East.
• Most of us have already forgotten about the UK-wide air traffic control outage in late August, but not Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary. Renowned for his way with words, he has accused air traffic control system engineers of “sitting at home drinking tea” instead of doing their jobs.
• And finally, Instagrammers The Archbishop of Banterbury this week kindly reminded us of a completely unfathomable incident that happened in 1990, where pilot Tim Lancaster was partially ejected from the window of his cockpit and lived to tell the tale.
  We’d imagine the following 20 minutes were the most harrowing of his life, as a flight attendant kept him from being fully sucked out the window by holding onto his legs. If you think you can stomach it, you can watch the full story here.