As Ms. Nobody wants a rainy wedding day, as Morisette reminded us in her song. And lets face it, the Brits are no great shakes on the family stakes. Extended family no longer plays much role in Britain when it comes to planning important or big day events. Weddings are a case in point. Tying the knot in an English country churchyard under a leaden sky is no longer the height of romantic ideals,or so it seems. More and more Brits are opting for marrying abroad, with almost a quarter of weddings taking place in a foreign country.The main motive, according to surveys, is to avoid the family.

South Africa, with 6% of the votes, is high on the list of wedding destinations, closely followed by Sta Lucia at 5%. Tying for third place are a variety of locations including Mauritius, las Vegas, Antigua and Jamaica. Greek Islands and Mallorca within Europe remain popular while Republic of Ireland, a foreign country with little guarantee of unwanted ironic rain, promises ten times charm and fun.

Surprisingly, the expenses are about the same as a blow-out wedding at home, despite of the travel tickets for the guests, knowing that only close friends are invited. A third of couples who opted for tying the knot in balmier climes wanted just that - the guarantee of a rain-free day. More than a quarter admitted they were avoiding being driven round the bend by relatives. 20% of couples wanted to roll wedding and honeymoon into one great holiday.

The origin of that term itself is disputed. One theory has it that newlyweds used to drink fermented honey to boost fertility, although it is far-fetched to think they were supposed to do so for an entire lunar cycle.A less romantic but more plausible theory is that it was simply a great metaphor that stuck, the first phase of a marriage being sweetness itself, after which the dross of routine sets in.

The days which follow should perhaps be referred to as bitter or chunky-cut marmalade. But it seems that traditional weddings are like Christmas - try as you might to resist, come the big day, you are likely to feel the tug of tradition. Recent research shows that traditional church weddings are making a comeback in Britain even though religion naturally plays little or no part in the peoples preferences. No, couples are going back to the church because it is a cute setting - something they may have learned from their trips to Mediterranean countries, where couples take out something like a mortgage and book their church with a view up to a year in advance.

In a survey commissioned by the Church, the Henley Centre questioned 1,800 people who had decided on a church wedding. Just over half, 55 per cent, did it because of their religion or their partner's. But 75 per cent said that they had their wedding ceremony in church because they wanted a "proper wedding" and 69 per cent chose a church because of its location. In the year 2005 church weddings surprisingly increased from 57,200 from 57,2000 in 2004 and after several years of decline. If you are one of those people who feel that the whole reception thing is a bit of a rip-off, you will enjoy the BBC3 video available on YouTube, "Wedding cake" from man stroke woman.