(This post has been updated on 26th January 2024). Destination weddings are such a cool idea. Imagine getting married in Mallorca and having all of your family and friends celebrating with you at your dream location, everyone enjoying a little holiday, having fun, and creating exotic memories for a lifetime. A Mallorca wedding is also a great excuse to celebrate a smaller event with a more intimate group of friends or to do something different that your guests have not seen before.
If you’re planning a destination wedding in Mallorca (or somewhere in the Mediterranean, for that matter), here are some recommendations I want to help you with. These are based on my experience as a Mallorcan native, as a wedding photographer for the last 20 years, and as a bride myself. These are things that sometimes I wish my couples would have taken into consideration to some degree. Getting married in Mallorca or at any other destination with a different culture and weather can be fun but challenging at times, and the whole point is that you and your guests have the best time of your lives (rather than stressing out and regretting not having done something easier closer to home).
This goes without saying but let me remind you that you are planning the wedding of your dreams, not the wedding of your friend´s dreams, or the wedding of your mum´s dreams. Stay true to what you really desire and to what you really love and enjoy, and plan your whole wedding to suit your personality and style.
If you are having an elopement in Mallorca, email me if you need help finding the perfect spot. But remember I am not a wedding planner 🙂
- My top 1 recommendation is to enjoy the process. I remember getting quite stressed while planning my wedding and then at the end, your wedding day goes so fast! And if you are stressed you will not enjoy your wedding day so much. Do not let the small stuff ruin your day…and it´s all small stuff!! To enjoy the process, here are some tips:
- Hire a great Wedding Planner. This is one of the top tips I can give you. Consider hiring a professional wedding planner who is familiar with the local vendors and venues in Mallorca. A wedding planner can help you with all the logistics, including venue selection, vendor management, and day-of coordination, making your planning experience stress-free. Do some research and hire someone who gives you great vibes, very experienced, someone that will be there for you no matter what you need, who will support you, take care of you and your guests, with a smile, with professionalism, and with good taste and excellent attention to detail.
- Avoid DIYing your wedding. Remember what I said about enjoying your wedding? Well unless you are Martha Stewart, keep the DIY to a minimum. Why? Because you will need to spend time and money to put together things, that later you will need to put in your suitcase, that you might forget, and that will stress you out. If you can afford to buy it, do it. I remember I did my own wedding invitations. I photographed the iconic building of my venue (hello Son Marroig!) and printed out the invitations on my own home printer. They came out decently, but I would not do it now, they would look a lot better with a professional printer.
- Allow for 7 days at your destination. You need one day to fly in, another to fly out and two before the wedding and one after the wedding. If you even have time for a mini honeymoon at the same location or near, even better.
2. Plan ahead and do your research.
Start planning your wedding well in advance, especially if you’re getting married during peak wedding season, which is typically from May to October in Mallorca. This will give you more time to research and book the best vendors and venues. Allow yourself time to do all the research you need, for the location and all the suppliers you will need at your wedding (or the most important ones, for the rest you can rely on your wedding planner).
Here I give you some more tips regarding planning your wedding and researching:
- If you get married out of peak season, you will get better prices on everything, plus your favorite vendors will have more availability. During the summer season, vendors in Mallorca are doing events non-stop and sometimes it is just too much. Getting married out of high season could be a great idea. October and November are great months to get married in Mallorca. The vendors will be more relaxed, friendly and will have some room to offer better prices.
- if you want to get married during peak season, it is a good idea to get married during the week. You will find more available suppliers. If you want better prices, avoid weekends unless your guests can only travel during the weekend.
- When researching suppliers, do not rely only on social media. Check out their web pages, their reviews, chat with them, or get a referral from friends. Use vendors with experience, professionalism, trustworthiness, and friendly and that will honestly recommend you the best product or service that you need.
- Allow time for your guests to plan their trip and clear their schedules. This is why you need to send your invitations as soon as you have confirmed your Mallorca wedding venue.
- As you know, good wedding photographers have limited availability, so it is important to do your photographer research well ahead of time. One year before is ideal. My tip for you would be this one (and I am trying to be objective here): book the best you can afford. Once the whole wedding is over, you only have your photos to remember those precious moments. Video is fantastic but you cannot usually make a print or frame out of them. If you need to cut down on wedding costs, that is alright, but do not splurge on a vintage car, only to hire a cheap photographer. Cut down on flowers, cut down on the cake, on drinks, but not on Photography. At my own wedding, I made the mistake of hiring a photographer friend to take my photos, who was nice enough to offer the job for free (because we were friends), only to find that he only took a handful of photos, no candids, no photos of guests, just the very basic wedding photos. And then because he was my friend and offered to do this for me, I could not complain. Keep your friends out of the equation and only have them as guests, not to do work for you.
3. Choose the right location for you:
Before you choose Mallorca, or any other location for your wedding, think about logistics, budget, guests, circumstances, and preferences. Remember that this is your dream wedding we are talking about. Do not let others influence you too much. But you need to be practical and think about you and your guests. Do you dream of getting married in Bali, but many of your friends cannot afford the flight price? Or maybe your mum does not like flying for 14 hours? My husband wanted to get married on a boat here in Mallorca, but then we thought about our mums getting seasick easily, and about our grandparents with limited mobility, and we decided to get married at the beautiful Son Marroig instead.
I would recommend picking a location that is your dream location, or that is close to your heart, or that gives you great vibes and brings you joy and happiness. Budget is also a consideration, of course. Is getting married in the Swiss Alps more expensive than Marbella? It probably is, do your research and make sure you can make your dream wedding happen within your budget.
Once you have decided on your location, let´s assume Mallorca, you need to decide what type and style of wedding venue you want. Mallorca offers a wide range of stunning wedding venues, from beachfront locations to historic castles and luxury country hotels. Consider your guest list size, your dream vision, and your setting to select the perfect venue for your wedding. Do you want something classic and elegant? Something boho in the countryside? Do you want panoramic views? Sea views? Traditional Mallorcan versus sleek modern style?
Once you have decided on a few venues that you love, think about the logistics, the time it takes for your guests to get there from their hotels, if there are activities nearby that they can do, the conditions of the venue, noise restrictions, if there is accommodation at the venue for you and your guests, their flexibility with your desires, and your budget.
The final piece of advice regarding the venue is to pick a wedding dress and groom´s suit that match the venue. For example, if you get married in a church, think about covering yourself a little and then after the ceremony you can wear a sexy dress. Or for example, you pick a very rustic venue in the mountains, and then your dress is a huge princess-like dress that is difficult to move in. In general, I think lighter dresses with few fabric layers, that allow you to move easily, work really well. I especially love tulle, volume in the arms, sleek minimal dresses, sexy dresses with corsets, dresses with open backs, transparent pieces and original designs that I have never seen before.
The photo below is very special because the bride wore her mum´s dress (see photo below of the bride with her mum). They were both so beautiful and there was such a strong connection between the two of them! I loved capturing this moment!
4. Create a personalized experience for your guests:
First of all, let me remind you that the larger your guest list, the more expensive your wedding will be, and the more guests you will need to entertain. Think about who you really want to share this special day with.
One thing that I regret from my wedding is not taking enough time to personalise details for my guests. I had no favors, only a fan with our names on it for the ceremony, and I honestly did not think too much about my guests. If I had to do it all over again, I would invest most of my time in creating a more personalised experience for my guests. Something to show them that we care for them, it can be something creative, hand-made or something you bought just for them.
For example, I would make table seat plans with photos of them and ourselves, or write a special hand-made message on their table names, or I would give them a very customised favour. I remember one of my brides gave each guest a small cake with their name and a decoration specifically for each guest. Then during the pre-wedding dinner, the bride and groom gave a speech and introduced each guest to everyone, telling funny stories about them, or how they met and how special they were, and thanking them for being there. Then they gave each guest their personalised cake. That is what I am talking about. Do something for your guests that is personalised and that your guests will appreciate, that will tell them you love them and have spent time and money getting them something special. It can be something hand-made, or a small gift to put on top of the plate that is different for every guest.
Another thing to think about is how to entertain your guests during the wedding itself and prior to the wedding. Many of them will travel a couple of days in advance and will need help finding activities to do and places to go to. Take the time to recommend them places to see (if you have your own website you can add all the activities there), interesting things to do, saving money tips, and you can even give them a welcome bag with small things to use during their trip . For example, a small ocean friendly biodegradable sun block, some flip flops, a map, some sweets from a local village, a hat, a small bottle of olive oil…be creative.
Make everything you can to let your guests explore the location by themselves. Give them guidance but let them know you will not be with them for the whole of their stay. You need to relax the days prior and not worry about booking restaurant tables for 30 guests. Remember to arrange transportation for your guests on the wedding day, so they can forget about driving and dance the night away.
Another important thing I would recommend is to plan a pre-wedding event. This is a great opportunity for all of your guests to meet and have fun more casually. Think about incorporating things into this event that maybe you do not have time to do during the wedding. You can plan for games, or make a speech that otherwise you would not want to make on the day, or go on a boat, have a BBQ, and so on.
5. Be mindful of the weather:
Mallorca has a mild Mediterranean climate, but it can get hot and humid during the summer months. July and August are the hottest months, especially from the 15th July to the 15th August. Those weeks could be unbearable sometimes. If you’re planning an outdoor wedding, make sure to choose a shaded location for your ceremony, start the ceremony at a later time (why do you think the siesta was invented? because it is impossible to walk on the street in the middle of the day), provide fans and other cooling options for your guests.
I will never forget two weddings I did many years ago. One was held at the roof terrace of a luxury 5 star hotel, in July in the middle of the day (it must have been 13 or 14h) and we were literally melting away. It was so hot that my makeup was running and my lash mascara got into my eyes so much I could hardly see, then my eyes got itchy, plus feeling like the soles of my shoes were also melting. I am not exaggerating, this is how hot I remember it. My two videographers had to stop filming: their cameras stopped working due to the heat!
The other wedding that stuck in my mind is one in Son Marroig where it was so hot and humid that the groom appeared in all his photos with a wet pink shirt (that became transparent) with two large underarm stains that reached his trousers, and a handkerchief in his hand in every single photo. Insider tip: bring a second shirt for your groom so he can change if sweaty.
Also take into account the hot weather when choosing your wedding dress! I have seen some brides so hot that they were unable to enjoy the day until it was evening time!
Another thing to take into account is your makeup. When it´s really hot, it can run easily and you might be left with nothing in a couple of hours. Alternatively, if it is very hot, you might need less makeup altogether, but something that will cover your sweat. Make sure you talk about this with your makeup artist.
6. Incorporate local culture and cuisine:
Mallorca is known for its rich cultural heritage and delicious cuisine. Consider incorporating local elements, such as traditional music, decorations, or food, into your wedding celebrations to make your day unique and memorable.
Local music is not something someone immediately thinks about for their wedding. However we have ensembles (groups) of drummers that could be fun for your wedding. I saw that years ago at one of my weddings and it was so much fun for the guests. Imagine 20 drummers arriving at your wedding during the party, and how much that made people enjoy.
Food is very easily introduced with the great amount of delicious things you can eat in Mallorca. Pick a chef that will serve food using local produce and using traditional ingredients. Some of the most popular are sobrassada, ensaimada, almond cake, almond milk, oranges, and many more. Plus our delicious Mallorca wines and olive oil.
For decorations, something as simple as a lemon can be used for table decorations. Other typical Mallorcan handcrafts are senalles (baskets), handcrafted hats, fans, siurells (clay figures), ceramics, blown glass, and more. Tambourines were used at this fun wedding in Deià, and guests could not have enough of them. What a fun detail to add to the table.
7. Keep costs under control.
Having an overall budget is essential for every wedding (unless you are marrying Jeff Bezos), and regardless of your budget, whether is high or low, having the costs under control will help you feel more organized and relaxed. If you find a dress you really love and it goes over budget, go for it! Compensate the higher price by cutting down on something else. Just make sure you keep track of all the expenses so you know what the total bill will be. Your wedding planner should be able to keep costs under control and let you know if anything is out of reach. If you want to keep track of all your wedding expenses yourself, try this free wedding budget planner. Avoid surprise expenses by clarifying with all vendors the conditions of each service, so you do not run on overtime charges, extra unplanned expenses and the sort.
With me, when I give the bride and groom a quote, it clearly says the number of hours the service covers and the overtime fee. During our first chat, I make sure I ask as many details as possible about the schedule, so I can figure out if what the couple expects from me, and if that is feasible during the hours agreed on. If I have doubts that I can cover the wedding with the number of hours (or photographers) agreed, I immediately let them know so that there are no surprises. Communication is very important for me, so I can make sure that the couple knows what to expect from me (and the total price).
Taking into account that you have a budget, do not forget to keep your guests happy, entertained at all times and serve plenty of canapes and food and drinks. Do not let them waiting for long periods of time without food, drink and music!
Finally, if you’re planning on getting married in Mallorca legally, make sure to research the necessary documentation and legal requirements well in advance to avoid any last-minute surprises. A tip here could be to get legally married in your country and do a blessing ceremony here. Admin procedures here in Spanish are slow and complicated!!
Remember, planning a wedding at a destination can be overwhelming. But with proper research and organization, you can create a beautiful and unforgettable wedding experience in Mallorca. And let me give you a bonus tip: Hire a local Mallorca wedding photographer! We know the best spots, our way around, we are used to dealing with the heat and strong sunlight. We know the other suppliers at your wedding, and are just as good as anyone you can fly from thousands of kilometers away! 🙂
View comments
+ Leave a comment