British couples spend nearly £2 billion on overseas weddings, according to new industry research.

Almost a quarter of couples who married in the last two years chose to tie the knot in a foreign destination at a combined cost of £1.7billion, Direct Line Home Insurance reveals.

The number of brides choosing foreign shores for their wedding has increased almost three times in the last ten years thanks to 'affordable airfares' and 'a sense of adventure'.

A popular reason cited for choosing top destinations like South Africa, St Lucia and Mauritis was to combine ceremony and honeymoon.

The average wedding abroad costs £4,356 compared to an average cost of £3102 for UK-based weddings.

There are some benefits of staying in the UK as Direct Line reveals that more than 43,000 newly weds arrived home to find they have had their wedding presents taken by burglars.

Simon Ziviani, from Direct Line Home Insurance, said: "It’s great that couples are choosing to reward themselves in this way, but it’s also extremely important that they make sure that their home contents are fully covered before they jet off."