Planning your Mediterranean wedding is one of the most exciting times of your life, especially a destination wedding where your family and friends are travelling with you to celebrate.

It can be daunting not knowing where to begin so here are 10 things all wedding planners would love you to know before you start planning your wedding in Marbella & the Costa Del Sol.

Summer Weddings are Hot!

Summer starts in May here, the temperatures are pleasant and we are gently lulled into warmer days and longer nights then that summer switch goes on, literally overnight, during June! Suddenly the temperatures have hit over 30, air con is your best friend and everyone is fighting for the shade.

Yet once that fierce sun sets on the day the magical Mediterranean nights begin. Perfect for outside celebrations with the exception of August where the thought of dancing in the humidity tests the most heat hardy people or those who have consumed many cocktails and are strutting their stuff on the dance floor!

Listen to your wedding planner, they know the venues, the best place to host your ceremony and have plenty of tips to keep your guests cool. One of their pet hates is seeing guests having to sit in the sun for usually about 40 minutes trying to look as if they are enjoying your ceremony whilst inside dying, wondering when it will finish and they can dash off and grab a cold drink.

Booking Your Own Wedding Venue

With many venues available for your wedding and on social media it is now very easy to book your own venue. Yet too many wedding planners are booked afterwards and immediately get the ‘I didn’t realize I had to pay these extra costs’. Can you help?’

Before you sign on that dotted line either enlist the help of a wedding planner first or do your homework.

Read their terms & conditions, check the contracts and always ask questions if you are not clear. Some terms and conditions can be endless and ambiguous, this is often because they are lost in translation or the venues keep piling them on after yet another incident.

You don’t want to find out along your wedding planning journey you need to hire in portable toilets, pay for their kitchen facilities to be used by your chosen caterer or cough up to use their rooms to get ready, even more if you wish to access the rooms early.

Most wedding planners here will guide you through the venues terms & conditions so there are no surprises.

Your Wedding Budget Is Your Best Friend

Tell your planner your wedding budget and what is most important to you. Is it the catering, the entertainment or the decor? This means the planner can advise you properly knowing these details.

You should apportionate your budget accordingly with venue and catering first, entertainment and all the what we call the basic working mechanics of a wedding. The ceremony, photographer, hair & makeup.

Once this part of your wedding budget has been used it is time to see what is left and work on the florals, decor & details such as extra entertainment.

If you have become obsessed with Pinterest and are pinning ceremony decor worth thousands, this is fine if you have the budget but disappointing if you find out your dream arch/chuppah/mandap is going to set you back 10k. That floating flower ceiling, gorgeous but needs scaffolding and a large team of Olympic standard florists.

A creative wedding planner will help you to create your dream within your budget. They can’t work miracles but will guide you and point out things you may not have thought of like on the day stationery so it isn’t another surprise.

Marbella Has Rules You Don’t Expect

Whilst Marbella is one of the best destinations for nightlife it has noise restrictions. 

Many of the clubs have permits or their music is inside after midnight, the same applies to any venue whether it be a wedding venue or a private villa. Wedding venues have a purpose built inside space (with aircon!) or their location means you can party outside at night because they are more remote without neighbours. No private villas can have music outside after midnight and if reported the police have the power to shut down the wedding or party.

Likewise you can’t just rock up to the beach with a celebrant and Bluetooth speaker (well, you can, but the police might join your ceremony too!).

There are rules and regulations so check them first.

Communication Is Everything Apart from Spain

The manana, manana sadly exists, it is hugely frustrating and whilst planners are actively working on your wedding one of the worst parts of their jobs is trying to get quotes and questions answered by suppliers. This is probably the top complaint of any wedding planner organizing a wedding in Spain.

There are exceptions but most wedding suppliers are either one man bands or a small team, they don’t have the budget for admin. Therefore during a busy season or when they down tools for a holiday it is crickets.

Often planners are dealing with couples from more proactive countries, the States, Northern Europe and the UK where emails and messages are answered fast yet it can take weeks to get any response in Spain.

Don’t shoot the messenger, and more importantly don’t panic, eventually you will get that catering quote or a response from the DJ.

Planners do tend to avoid the non responsive suppliers but it will take a little longer than perhaps you are used to.

Don’t Think You Are The Only Wedding In Marbella

This paragraph may sound a little harsh but isn’t meant to be. All weddings are important and this advice follows the previous paragraph.

Do consider each year in Marbella & the Costa Del Sol there are thousands of weddings along the coast as well as parties, events & concerts.

If your planner has sent you quotes from suppliers (hallelujah!) respond quickly. Too often a couple will leave a quote and finally come back saying yes we wish to book them only to find they have taken on another wedding, event or party.

If you really want that supplier pay the deposit and tick it off your list. Don’t delay and you won’t be disappointed.

Don’t Try to Organise Venue & Supplier Visits During Peak Wedding Season

As mentioned previously many weddings are being held every day during the summer months and not just at weekends.

If you are planning your wedding do try to visit off season, during the winter months to get the best experience for planner meetings, hair & makeup trials, food tastings, venue visits, etc.

There is a very high chance you won’t be able to book a food tasting or a venue visit during wedding season or if you do it won’t be the full experience you deserve.

Timelines Are Sacred

That beautifully relaxed “we’ll just see how it goes” vibe? Lovely for Sunday lunch, disastrous for weddings.

Timelines are not control freakery, they are essential to the running of your wedding day. They make sure speeches happen when everyone is still able to enjoy them, that the meals bought out are hot and haven’t become luke warm, the band doesn’t start while half your guests are still in the loo and your cake is bought out on time.

Do check your timelines and let the planner know if you wish to edit it, it maybe you are having a dress change and need to add 15 minutes in or a first look photo shoot, let the planner know so they can adjust and make sure the day still runs smoothly.

Hidden Costs Lurk Everywhere

Like a tapas bill, little extras add up. Power generators, corkage, ice delivery, wedding signage. shuttle buses for guests, wedding dress steaming, extra lighting along that dark pathway.

Your planner has seen it all and will warn you ahead of time. Also confirm with them about wedding purchases and whether they are really needed before you start buying random things off the Internet. That cute floral garland to drape over your wedding welcome sign may completely ruin the aesthetics of your wedding, that pretty hanging welcome sign maybe so tiny no one would see it.

Relax & Enjoy Your Day!

Here’s the ultimate wedding planner wish, that you actually enjoy your wedding day. It goes so fast and can be overwhelming so we are sharing this tip with you.

If you are feeling stressed have a bag of sour sweets to hand, when you eat one your brain jerks into focusing on that sweet and immediately takes your mind off what you were stressing about. Try it and let us know if it worked!

Stop stressing about where Auntie Carol is sitting or whether the napkins are at 45 or 90 degrees. Planners live for the moment you finally let go, laugh, dance and soak it all in. That’s when the magic happens and you will have the best day of your life.

Wedding planners don’t just coordinate weddings they save relationships, put out metaphorical (and sometimes literal) fires, and make sure your celebration feels effortless. Listen to them, trust them, and let them guide you.

And if you’re still hunting for yours, our Marbella Wedding Directory has some of the best planners in the business, the ones who know where to find the fans, the permits and the last taxi in town at 3am.

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Image credit of Marbella Little Wanderblog