The vows exchanged by a couple on their wedding day are to be cherished and remembered forever.

Spanish Weddings and Parties

To be legally married in Spain you must be either practicing Catholics or one of the couple must be resident in Spain. As there are restrictions as to who can be legally married in Spain, some of our clients fulfill the legal requirements or their marriage with a short civil ceremony in the registry office in their home town or Gibraltar and a blessing ceremony in front of family and friends in Spain in celebration of their real wedding day.

Catholic Church Ceremony in Spain
It is very popular for foreigner couples who are both practicing Catholics to be married in the Catholic Church in Spain.

In the churches in Nerja, Frigiliana, La Herradura and Almuneacar the priest will marry you in English.

The paperwork is organized by your local parish priest. Your parish priest will liaise with the priest of the parish that you want to be married in Spain. It is recommended that six months is allowed to complete the paperwork. Please refer to our legal requirements section for more information on what is required.

A donation of €270 for the service to the Church is normally expected. Further costs will be incurred for flowers, pew decoration, music and choir, if requested.

Nerja Church on the Balcon de Europa

Civil Ceremony in Spain
To marry in a civil ceremony in Spain one of the couple must have been a registered resident living in Spain for the last 2 years.

All the documents required must be translated to Spanish by a sworn translator and legalized by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. These documents must be presented to the Town hall court at least three months before the marriage can take place. For more information on the documentation required please refer to our legal requirements section.

Each town hall operates differently In Nerja the ceremony can take place in front of the Judge on the 3rd floor in Spanish only or can be conducted by councillor Emma Hall in Spanish and English in the town hall chambers.

In Frigiliana the ceremony takes place in the Cultural Centre and is conducted in Spanish and translated to English.

Frigiliana civil ceremony at the Cultural Centre

Civil Ceremony in Gibraltar
Many people choose to have a civil marriage ceremony in Gibraltar and a blessing ceremony and celebration event in Spain. A civil marriage in Gibraltar requires no more than 24 hours notice, but due to popularity and limited number of marriages performed each day, you should book a civil marriage two months in advance.

New legislation now allows you to have a civil ceremony in Gibraltar outside the registry office at Sir Joshua Hassan House, if requested. The new registered locations in Gibraltar include ‘The Dell’ in the Alameda Gardens, the historical building ‘The Mount’ and four luxury hotels, The Caleta Hotel, O’Callaghan Eliot Hotel, The Rock Hotel and The Queen’s Hotel.

For more information on the paperwork required please see the legal requirements section.

Civil ceremony at the Gibraltar registry office

Many couples will have a private legal civil ceremony to marry in either Spain, Gibraltar or their home town but would like a wedding blessing ceremony to celebrate their union with family and friends.

A blessing ceremony can be designed to suit the individuals, being as religious or spiritual as they want. Blessings can be flexible and follow any format that the couple might choose.

Spanish Weddings and Parties

Blessing ceremony on the beach

Andrew Hunter
If you are planning an important life event and want to blend different beliefs, traditions and customs into a ceremony that is special and unique then Andrew would like to be your Inter-faith minister. “As an Inter-Faith minister, I have performed many kinds of ceremonies and aim always to make each one special by designing it around the specific needs and desires of those involved. I don’t offer stock ‘off the shelf’ ceremonies.”

Whether you are religious, spiritual, humanist or of any other belief, if you would like a ceremony especially tailored to your own ideas and wishes then this maybe the approach you are looking for.

Andrew offers ceremonies in; wedding blessings, same gender blessing ceremonies, commitment ceremonies, baby naming ceremonies, house blessings and other rituals and celebrations.

All ceremonies can be delivered in English, German, French and Spanish. The way Andrew works, he prefers to have a meeting in his home town of La Herradura but can prepare the ceremony through telephone and email communication. Andrew’s fee is 550 euros. For more information on Andrew click here

Andrew Hunter - photo by Alex Olson

Elaine Walker
Elaine is an Interfaith Minister trained to serve people of all faiths and none. “Interfaith ministry is concerned with finding a common ground for respecting and accepting one another’s unique spirituality”.

Based in Spain, Elaine is available to people who wish to have a spiritual ceremony in beautiful Andalucia. She will work with you to create something that reflects your values and traditions, however formal, unusual or contemporary you choose it to be. Either way your ceremony will be memorable.

Elaine is available for marriage blessings, same sex blessings, renewal of vows, baby blessings, rights of passage or memorial services.

The way Elaine works requires at least one meeting face to face prior to the ceremony and regular email contact. Elaine’s fee is 550 euros. For more information on Elaine Walker click here

“Thank you Elaine for making this day so incredibly special” – Dawn 2005