En route to the state of matrimony

Sedona, Ariz. â€”  The last thing hikers on the Cathedral Rock trail expected on a waning November afternoon was to witness a wedding.

But they were, in their sweaty T-shirts and muddy boots and carrying walking sticks. Between them and the towering, steeple-like red rock formations they had come to see knelt a bride and groom in striped serapes. Standing over them was a Native American shaman in flowing robes with a leopard scalp on his head.

The shaman, Uqualla, was shaking a rattle and rain stick over the couple as he chanted blessings. Periodically, he glanced at a stout woman in a black polyester dress and sensible heels who was waving her hands like a traffic cop as she directed a wedding photographer loaded down with Nikons.

The dramatic backdrop, the shaman, the photographer, the director and the serapes were part of a $675 package Atlanta residents Karyn and Tom Griffith had booked with Weddings in Sedona. The Arizona company is one of hundreds of wedding planners that have sprung up to meet the soaring demand for marriages held in faraway places.

Search on the keywords “destination wedding� on the Internet and more than 17,000 entries pop up for wedding planners, resorts and cruise lines offering to arrange nuptials aboard ships; on Caribbean, Mexican or Hawaiian beaches; at Scottish castles; in nature reserves; or at theme parks.

“Destination weddings are huge; the number of weddings away has quadrupled in the past decade,� said Tom Curtin, publisher of Bridal Guide, a Manhattan-based bimonthly magazine that reaches 500,000 readers. The publication includes a destination wedding story in each issue -- from gatherings in California’s Wine Country, where the couple departs in a hot-air balloon, to “Fairy Tale� weddings at Disneyland or Walt Disney World, complete with a horse-drawn glass coach.

“About 30% of American couples are choosing to be married away from either the bride’s or groom’s home turf, with many of them combining the wedding and honeymoon in one,� Curtin said.

“These are the children of baby boomers; they’re well traveled, well educated, adventurous and independent, and they’re not interested in wedding mills and banquet houses,� said Lisa Light, owner of Destination Bride, a Chatham, N.Y., agency that organizes weddings worldwide. “They want to be stars, and since more and more of them are footing the bill themselves, they’re determined to do it their way.�

The Atlanta couple said they had chosen Cathedral Rock, in Arizona’s Coconino National Forest, because Native Americans believe it is a “vortex� -- a power center that can strengthen the spirit of those who come near it.

Destinations and ceremonies may be chosen for spiritual, romantic or practical reasons. Tying the knot in a far-flung locale -- it used to be called eloping -- may be a couple’s way of limiting the number of guests (perhaps keeping even parents away), or it can be a sky’s-the-limit bash with friends and family jetting in.

Sara Shuman and Peter Duke of Los Angeles were married a few years ago on the Greek island of Santorini, and 15 friends and family members watched the bride and groom parade through town on donkeys decorated with fresh flowers. The wedding, booked through Markos Karvounis’ Greek Weddings, included traditional music by a local band, balloons released to the sky, fireworks, a sunset sailboat ride and a candlelight wedding dinner.

When the newlyweds returned home, they threw a post-wedding bash at a Greek restaurant in Malibu.

Julie Ingle and Adam Zolot, of San Francisco, exchanged vows on a private island in Fiji surrounded by 50 of their closest friends and family members. The two had met on a private island in the Philippines while celebrating the millennium with mutual friends and wanted their wedding to re-create their introduction. During the five-day celebration in Fiji, the couple arranged for their guests to go windsurfing, sea kayaking, scuba diving, snorkeling, sailing and deep-sea fishing. Guests paid their own expenses, but Ingle and Zolot arranged group airfare and lodging discounts.

Weddings at beaches, historic estates and other scenic spots around the U.S. and abroad not only can be romantic but also may save money.

“The average catered wedding costs more than $100 a head, meaning more than $20,000 for 200 guests, and then there’s still the honeymoon to pay for,� said Cheryl Floyd of All Seasons Travel, a Birmingham, Ala., agency that arranges destination weddings, mainly in the Caribbean, Mexico and Hawaii.

“The bride’s family can save big on a destination wedding, especially if they’re marrying in a place with a favorable exchange rate or one of the all-inclusive resorts, which may throw in the wedding and reception for free with a minimum stay,� Floyd said.

Some couples reduce their expenses by inviting friends and family to help underwrite their destination wedding through online wedding/honeymoon registries, such as www.honeyluna.com or www.thehoneymoon.com. Guests can contribute to the bride and groom’s airfare, hotel, restaurant expenses, massages and other costs instead of giving china or housewares.

The no-delay honeymoon

Wedding planners may charge a flat fee or a percentage for their services.

Floyd of All Seasons Travel said she charges $150 to $300 plus expenses. Other agencies may charge as much as 10% of the wedding cost. If that sounds like a lot of money, keep in mind that handling all the details, especially the legal ones, can be time-consuming, especially if the wedding is overseas.

Although some countries, such as Jamaica, make marrying a snap, requiring only 24 hours of residency and certified copies of birth certificates and proof of divorce from or death of a previous spouse, others require a slew of legal documents to prove everything from parentage to religion. Greece requires that all documents be translated into Greek.

Combining the wedding and the honeymoon can be a relaxing way to start a marriage. When the couple say they do, the honeymoon has already started, without a rush to the airport. The guests are the ones who must pack their bags and leave after the big day, although some couples party with their guests their entire honeymoon.

That’s what Sharon and Tim James of Dallas did several years ago at the all-inclusive couples-only Sandals Resort in Negril, Jamaica.

Because the couple had booked at least five nights (costing from $3,000), the resort threw in the wedding free, except for a mandatory $150 government administration fee.

Cruises present “wedding-moon� opportunities, whether guests sail with the couple or just join them portside for the ceremony and reception.

Princess Cruise’s Grand, Golden, Star, Coral and Island Princess are the only ships on which the captain can legally marry couples at sea. Most other cruise lines will arrange weddings on board before embarkation, with non-sailing guests permitted to board the ship for the ceremony and party. (U.S. customs regulations require everyone who boards a ship to provide security information, such as legal name, birth date and other passport information at least two weeks before the sailing date.)

Cruise lines also can arrange weddings on the beach at port stops, but that can be a problem if weather or other circumstances force a ship to change its route.

Carnival Cruise Lines, which handles about 2,000 weddings a year, offers on-board ceremonies starting at $750, with champagne and cake for a party of six.

Couples can book wedding cruises through cruise lines or a travel agency. Some companies, such as A Wedding for You, based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., specialize in cruise weddings.

While beaches in Mexico, Hawaii and the Caribbean are particularly popular wedding sites, any place that has a sentimental meaning to a couple can make a good spot to tie the knot.

Boston residents Brad Molyneaux and Lindsay Page, both graduates of New Hampshire’s Dartmouth College, had their wedding in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where they like to go rock climbing. Guests took over every bed-and-breakfast in the area. (A “hold-the-date� note came far ahead of time with suggested lodgings.)

Richard Smith and Cherie Michell were married during Blues Week at the Augusta Heritage Workshops, a summer music and arts program in Elkins, W.Va., and invited all the campers to the ceremony.

Hotels get with the program

Because of the growing demand for weddings away, more hotel and resort chains have set up wedding planning departments. At some properties, a hospitality suite is provided to wedding groups during their stay, and a wedding concierge may be available to make special arrangements or iron out problems.

Marriott International, which hosts more than 100,000 weddings a year, has trained and certified 1,100 staff members at 299 properties worldwide to be wedding planners. The chain also has developed ethnic wedding packages that culturally customize the ceremony, decor, menu and music. African, Latino and Indian weddings are popular requests.

If a wedding away doesn’t seem adventurous enough, there are several options.

At the Westin St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, dive-certified couples can say “I do� underwater during wetsuit weddings or take their vows airborne while parasailing.

Another option is a chilly wedding at Quebec’s Ice Hotel, rebuilt each winter with 300-pound ice blocks. But couples need to say “I do� before the end of March, when the hotel closes and begins to melt into Lake St. Joseph.

And let’s not forget the group weddings in the nude offered once a year at Hedonism III, a couples resort in Runaway Bay, Jamaica. Veils, but not gowns, are permitted.

But weddings away aren’t for everyone. Couples whose priority is making sure the people they love are in attendance may not want to chance a plan that asks so much of guests. All sorts of things can go wrong, just as they might with hometown weddings, and distance can complicate problems. But if you’re game, the world is your altar.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Say ‘I do’ to an exotic locale

Here is a selection of companies and resorts that arrange destination weddings.

A Wedding Co., (800) 827-0391, www.aweddingcompany.com. Weddings throughout Hawaii.

A Wedding for You, (800) 929-4198, www.aweddingforyou.com. Wedding planning, including cruise weddings.

Activities Inc., (800) 876-8708, www.activitiesinc.com. Arranges weddings and other events in sports stadiums, zoos, museums and other unusual places nationwide.

Destination Bride, Chatham, N.Y., (518) 392-7766, www.destinationbride.com. Plans weddings anywhere, including the Galapagos Islands and Tanzania.

Disney Fairy Tale Weddings, Anaheim, (714) 956-6527; Orlando, Fla., (321) 939-4610; www.disneyweddings.com.

Hedonism III, a SuperClub resort, (800) 467-8737, www.superclubs.com.

Ice Hotel, Quebec, Canada, (877) 505-0423, www.icehotel-canada.com.

Marcos Karvounis’ Greek Weddings, 011-30-2-286-07-1290, www.idogreece.com.

Marry Me Maui, (800) 745-0344, www.marrymemaui.com. Weddings on Maui, Hawaii.

Sandals, (888) 726-3257, www.sandals.com.

Weddings in Sedona, (800) 973-3762, www.weddingsinsedona.com.