{"id":18076,"date":"2014-03-04T01:04:29","date_gmt":"2014-03-04T01:04:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/?p=18076"},"modified":"2021-10-28T16:46:46","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T16:46:46","slug":"expedia-american-altar-report-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/expedia-american-altar-report-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Expedia American Altar Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Expedia\u2019s American Altar Report finds 69% of Americans believe a destination wedding would alleviate stress; 42% of married Americans would choose destination wedding
if they could do it over<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Bellevue, Wash., March 3, 2014<\/strong> \u2013 Expedia.com today revealed the results of a study, conducted by Northstar that examined American attitudes towards weddings. Expedia\u2019s 2014 American Altar Report found that Americans find traditional wedding planning to be hugely stressful, ranking it ahead of such stress-drivers as paying taxes, going for job interviews and taking driving tests. Eighty-four percent of Americans believe that destination weddings are more fun, and among those who have had a destination wedding, 76 percent believe they are far less stressful than traditional ceremonies. <\/p>\n

Forty-two percent of married Americans, if given the chance for an \u201cI Do-Over,\u201d would choose a destination wedding the second time around. That figure jumps to 63 percent among Americans under 35 years of age. A full 67 percent of married Americans say they are likely to renew their vows at some point during their marriage. An equal proportion of Americans (67 percent) report that if they were to ever renew their marriage vows, they would choose a destination ceremony.<\/p>\n

In response, Expedia has introduced Expedia Weddings<\/a>, a service that gives couples the resources to plan a low-stress destination wedding in Hawaii, Mexico (Cancun, Riviera Maya, Los Cabos), Jamaica or the Dominican Republic. Expedia destination wedding experts are available to help prospective couples access special rates and packages, and find the perfect venue.<\/p>\n

Couples who have had a destination wedding report that \u201ceasier to plan\u201d (37 percent) and \u201cless stressful\u201d (48 percent) rank among the potential benefits of planning a destination wedding. In comparative terms, traditional weddings fared poorly in the 2014 American Altar Report, with \u201clong church ceremonies\u201d (32 percent), \u201cexperiencing the same rituals over and over\u201d (26 percent) and traditional weddings\u2019 failure to feel \u201cunique or special\u201d (25 percent) among the top list of gripes.<\/p>\n

\u201cDestination weddings are one of those dreams that most people have, but few people experience,\u201d said Sarah Gavin, director of public relations and social media, Expedia.com. \u201cWe set out to learn why people fail to follow through on this, and we found that turnout and cost were two top worries. We have created a service in Expedia Weddings that works to solve both of those issues, offering wedding experts to help brides and grooms with every step of their guest\u2019s travel planning and to help guests save a lot of money on their travel. When guests book their flight and hotel together through Expedia, they can save up to $525 or even more to places like Cancun or Maui where they can save up to $912 and $1572, respectively. Imagine the relief of knowing your guests can save that kind of money to join you for your special day all while taking travel planning off your own to-do list.\u201d<\/p>\n

The New Rules of Destination Weddings
<\/strong>Expedia\u2019s American Altar Report found a wide range of opinion as to rules of decorum, as they relate to a destination wedding. These include:<\/p>\n