All you need to know about a perfect wedding in Spain

Getting married outside the USA can be very complicated (see U.S. DEPARTMENT of STATE) if the bride or groom is not resident in Spain (or generally anywhere in Europe) and it’s a huge lot of paperwork.

A commitment ceremony is often very similar to many other kinds of weddings. The difference is that rather than being a legally binding ceremony, it is more like a public affirmation of a couple's commitment to one another.

The level of commitment is the same, just without the law to back it up.

That's why, before going on a destination wedding, Americans prefer to get married at their town hall of residence, which is rather simple :

1. Fill out the application for the license online


2. Then you have to complete the application in person at the City Clerk’s office (make sure to bring proper identification and documents)


3. 24 hours to 3 days after obtaining your marriage license, you can have your wedding held at the Office of the City Clerk.

   If no appointments can be made for the ceremony, you will generally wait between 45 minutes to 2 hours for the entire process. If you can, come early in the morning when the chances are better of a “speedy” process.
   That's it! You are legally married. Now you can have your wedding ceremony in any country you like...

See procedure in NYC or Boston

A commitment ceremony leaves you a lot more freedom : because it is not governed by any rules, you can decide to do absolutely what you want.

A commitment ceremony may be religious or secular, formal and traditional or loose and relaxed. The makeup of the ceremony will depend on the couple's own preferences.

For you to decide at every step of the preparation. However, the wedding officiant's role will be to guide and advise you.

Even if a commitment ceremony allows the greatest freedom, it is clear that it is still structured according to recurring highlights. How could we skip walking down the aisle or the exit of the bride and groom, for example?

The "classic" structure is most often as follows :

A commitment ceremony lasts an average of 45 minutes.

If you reach an hour, some guests may find the time long and 30 minutes can give your ceremony a quick look.

Three quarters of an hour from the installation of guests to the exit of the bride and groom is a good compromise to ensure everyone has a good time without being bored. And do not forget that you probably do not want to stay in front of everybody for an hour or an hour and a half ...

A speech that does not exceed 5 minutes is ideal.

This may seem long when it comes to a speech, but do not forget that the person must stand up, put themselves in place, possibly present themselves, say their speech, and kiss the bride and groom. All this takes time, so do not minimize the length of each speech, at the risk of making the ceremony too long.

So be sure to ask your speakers to limit their text to 350-450 words

I generally suggest a maximum of 4 speeches.

If you respect the 5-minute rule, this means that the interventions will last a total of 20 minutes, which is almost half of the ceremony. It's perfect, but you should not go beyond that, or else you'll run the risk of having redundancies in the texts and speeches or having a ceremony a little lengthy.

Keep in mind that we want to capture the attention of each guest and that a perfect ceremony is a well-paced ceremony.

Once again, you do exactly what you want. If you are two great sentimentals who want to declare your love on the day that celebrates it, do not hold back. And conversely, if you are more modest style, nothing requires you to spread your feelings in public. You can also decide to say a part of your wishes during the ceremony and then find a moment in a tete-a-tete to share a beautiful declaration of love.

The wishes of the future bride and groom can be identical and in this case, each one will repeat a sentence that you have written or chosen together. They can also be written separately. Again, there are no rules.

Here are a few tips to help you write your vows...

Rituals are symbolic acts that punctuate the ceremony.

There are dozens, which you can create, copy or adapt according to what touches you. It may consist of planting a tree as a sign of your love, of tying a link around your hands (i.e. handfasting), of creating a cocktail whose ingredients represent your character traits, etc.

However, nothing requires you to chose a ritual. Let's not forget that the exchange of vows and rings is already a ritual in itself, and not least.

Here are a few examples of favorite rituals...

A Commitment ceremony can take place in the open air, on the beach, in the middle of an olive garden or in a dream destination in a foreign country, even a castle or a vineyard.

It can be tricky to define what a "destination wedding" really is.

Indeed, if your partner is from NYC and you’re from Los Angeles, and you choose to wed in either of those places, half of your guests will need to travel. Or, if you and your partner are both from NYC but you’re living and getting married in Los Angeles, it won’t feel like a destination wedding for you, but it will for many people who attend.
No matter how you ponder it though, there’s one thing that will probably be required for the majority of attendees: a flight.

Thus, the true definition of a destination wedding is somewhere that has special meaning to the bride and groom, or their respective families, but isn’t a place of residence for anyone.

A destination wedding is therefore an occasion for a change of scenery, a way of combining your wedding and your honeymoon.

The question is then to choose a dream place with great service and attractive prices.

The average cost of a destination wedding is $20,000, which is far less than the national average for traditional weddings.

According to specialized website Weddingwire, the average cost of a wedding in the US varies in 2018 from $22,000 in Cleveland, OH, to $50,000 in New York, and this is just an average as the cost can reach $100,000 and even more.
The national average wedding cost is $33,931.

On top of this, you need to add plane tickets for people who don’t live near the wedding venue.

So, yes, we can definitely say that a destination wedding is cheaper than a wedding on American soil.

Depending whether your want it in Valencia or in Madrid, wedding expenses in Spain range from 12,000 Euros to 21,000 Euros for 100 guests.

The cost of an average wedding in Spain is 16,500 euro. This figure is only half of a wedding’s expenses organized in the United States.

A flight ticket to Spain is twice the price of a flight from NYC to LA but it will be a smart investment.

Spain is at the forefront of the current marriage trend and offers you many unforgettable advantages, among which

• good weather (even in January and February, you can have 72 °F during the day in the Valencia area)
• breathtaking landscapes and historic places
• exquisite, generous food
• good wines
• good music, as Spain the country of guitar
• and on top of that, a “tranquilo” way of life

It’s no wonder then that the number of international weddings organized in Spain is on the rise.

Learn more about the advantages of a destination wedding in Spain here...

An officiant is the person who performs the wedding ceremony.

Professional officiants, celebrants, and interfaith ministers are trained to create personalized ceremony for couples of all backgrounds. A good wedding officiant is open-minded and willing to work closely with you to create the kind of ceremony you truly want.

Therefore, you need to feel comfortable with the wedding officiant you choose. As he or she will be the person who will speak for your couple, it is important to feel that you can do a great job together.

Depending on how much you value your wedding ceremony, you will find different types of wedding officiants.

To make things simple, I'll say there are 3 kinds of wedding officiants, and of course, 3 price ranges.

• Less than $500
• From $500 € to $850
• From $850 € to $1,500 €

To understand better what justifies such prices higher than in the US, read this...

A recommendable, reliable wedding officiant will accompany you throughout the whole preparation phase of your wedding.

As described in the page called "An Accomplished Wedding Officiant", he or she will go though each and every element and step of your wedding ceremony, before, during and after your wedding.

For more information, read "A Curated Preparation"

As soon as you have chosen the place and date, you should look for the wedding officiant that will suit your expectations.

Indeed, the sooner you start working with your wedding officiant, the better he or she will be able to advise and accompany you throughout the whole preparation phase. Especially if you opt for a destination wedding beacause he or she will be able to help you find the best vendors and represent you through the negociations.