Peru and its impressive number of bucket list entries has always inspired me, from Machu Picchu to the Nazca lines to the famous Cuzco square and dreadfully patterned alpaca wool sweaters, it has called to me and promised that there IS a land where it is acceptable to wear rainbow cheesecloth pants and live on organic chocolate and Pisco Sours….but once we arrived, it became so much more than that.

The Peruvians have kept hold of a life that belongs half in the past and half in the future. They don their handknitted traditional outfits everyday like we do our jeans and look incredibly genuine in doing so…because they are. They herd their cattle, donkeys or goats up the hills, across the streets, along the roads with whittled staffs and a pouch holding their lunch…while they text on their mobile phones. It is such a unique place to visit and offers as much to an adventurous heart, an open spirit and a cheesecloth, dreadlock lover as it does to a stylish, technology wielding luxury hunter.

The same applies for weddings or Elopements of course, it is all available. At one extreme you can find luxurious private villas, peaceful romantic resorts with their own chapels and tinkling streams, fancy hotels that you can only imagine exist in dreams and stylish renovations in old Inca ruins. On the other end of the scale you can find wonderment and enlightenment in ancient traditions and wedding rituals that have been carried forward into today by incredibly special individuals.

Our wedding in Peru was an ancient Andean ceremony in the Sacred Valley and was the most beautiful experience. The Xaman touched our hearts with his blessings, reverberated around our souls with his chanting and bound us together as one for eternity. He gave us a new beginning as husband and wife and though not legally wed, we have classed ourselves as married ever since.

There is sadly a downside to getting married in Peru as a foreigner and that is the massive amount of paperwork needed to do so. But don’t feel put off by this, most things involving anything legal are a nightmare, even down to getting a camera out of the post office (I speak from experience)…but persevere and you will be rewarded (eventually) by being allowed to have a civil ceremony in this stunning country. Then you can go and enjoy your wedding day which will probably be somewhere else entirely…honestly, unless you are marrying a Peruvian (in which case you have no choice), I would personally suggest having a civil ceremony at home and enjoying your destination wedding day stress free and without having to worry so much about paperwork. Spend the time instead visiting the couture bridal gown boutiques or the amazingly unique suit designers and thinking of ways to incorporate the beautiful Peruvian culture into your special day. An experience far more pleasant than you can imagine.

Peru has so much to offer with so much ancient history to explore, culinary adventures to be had (try the Guinea Pig) and such colourful, friendly people which means you should definitely consider spending your honeymoon there too! With a perfect balance of adventure and luxury available; it has something for absolutely everyone.

How to get legally married in Peru

More info on how to get married in Peru... yep it can be complicated.

A Traditional Andean ceremony in Urubamba, the Sacred Valley.

The ceremony was incredibly spiritual and a beautiful assault on the senses with smells, music, chanting, drinking and making offerings to Pachamama, and to each other. This ceremony was a real turning point for us in our adventure. The Peruvian wedding made us realise how much culture and tradition there is to explore in this world and how much we were willing to do to experience as much on this journey as we possibly could. Highlight - We made meaningful offerings to one another, symbolising our roles as husband and wife which were just so touching. We were also tied together with a special ribbon to signify our unity and buried offerings for Pachamama which will be there until the end of time. At this wedding we felt truly married in the eyes of Mother Earth

Our Wedding in Peru

Peru Wedding Video

We would love to feature more weddings in Peru right here!