Anyone done a Foreign Wedding?

saoirse88

Hi, I was wondering if any of the extremely helpful people on here have any advice?

Bascially myself and my fiancee want to try and get married close to Barcelona. It makes the most sense as it's somewhere we love to visit but also it's so accessible for everyone from Ireland with so many flights to El Prat and Salou daily.

I know it's a serious cost on everyone so that's also why Barcelona is appealing because return flights often work out at less than 100 euro. There's been a lot of weddings recently, within our group of friends and family, and they've all been in Ireland and quite a few have commented that they're sick of the typical Irish wedding now.

So we want to try and make it as cost effective for everyone involved. There's a venue we've been to in Rome, Borgo di Tragliata, and that would be exactly what we'd be looking for. Everything from accom to church is onsite and very reasonable for all the guests. The problem with this venue is we've been to a wedding there already and are due to go to two more in the next 12 months so we can't really book it. We need somewhere that has onsite accom for roughly 100-120 people.

What I'm wondering is, does anyone know if there is anything similar in or around Catalonia? Or somewhere else that's just as accessible and cheap? We've been searching but can't find anything.

Thanks in advance for any help

LirW

Imho go and look for an English speaking wedding planner in Spain. There are a few really good ones around, they're very experienced and know all the ways to make it work, especially with cost effectiveness for guests. They are really worth their money and make the cross country planning so much easier because they are veterans with local customs.
I don't actually know anyone in the Barcelona area but I'm sure if you dig a bit you'll find someone.

Faith

A cousin of mine got married in Sitges, near Barcelona, a few years back. I wasn't invited so I don't know the details, but I feel reasonably certain that this was the wedding planner they used: http://weddingsviaval.com

My parents really enjoyed it!

splinter65

You need a Spanish wedding planner if your getting married in Spain. It’s not something you can organize yourself as they’re very fussy on documents red tape etc

saoirse88

Perfect, thanks for the replies.

I'll research and find someone that knows the ins and out of a Spanish wedding.

Anyone here that's had a wedding abroad have any rough estimate on the costs compared to an Irish wedding?

Spanish Eyes

OP,

You know as well as many others, that a Destination Wedding is quite expensive for the guests. I wish you well, but you may find many a decline to your invitations.

Just be prepared for that, and also putting pressure on people to travel abroad is different to travelling an hour or so within Ireland too.

There is the annual leave required for this, and childcare to take into consideration too.

Just think it through and suss out the availability of your guests before deciding anything big would be my advice.

FWIW there is no way I would travel abroad for a wedding unless I was sister/brother. And even then I would give the B+G the evil eye!

saoirse88

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

OP,

You know as well as many others, that a Destination Wedding is quite expensive for the guests. I wish you well, but you may find many a decline to your invitations.

Just be prepared for that, and also putting pressure on people to travel abroad is different to travelling an hour or so within Ireland too.

There is the annual leave required for this, and childcare to take into consideration too.

Just think it through and suss out the availability of your guests before deciding anything big would be my advice.

FWIW there is no way I would travel abroad for a wedding unless I was sister/brother. And even then I would give the B+G the evil eye!

Thank you for your honest response.

I understand a lot won't be able to go. One of the reasons I'd like to have it abroad is because of the numbers, if it was at home there'd be 250+ guests so having one away will whittle that number down.

I've been to so many Irish weddings recently, from Ashford Castle, Adare Manor to a run of the mill 3 star hotel and to be honest they've all felt the same. I'm actually sick of your typical Irish wedding and nothing about it excites me.

The reason we've decided on Barcelona is that it's somewhere we love but more importantly it's probably the cheapest continential destination to fly to from Dublin with about 6 direct flights daily. So hopefully that'll make it more affordable for those travelling. Also, we were hoping that a wedding in Spain would be cheaper so we would then be able to maybe put on free drinks for the guests and further reduce their costs.

I definitely realise the hassle it is to travel as I've had two recently enough but they were by far the best weddings I've been to. Also we would try and have it during the holidays to try and accommodate people.

rainbowtrout

saoirse88 wrote: »

Hi, I was wondering if any of the extremely helpful people on here have any advice?

Bascially myself and my fiancee want to try and get married close to Barcelona. It makes the most sense as it's somewhere we love to visit but also it's so accessible for everyone from Ireland with so many flights to El Prat and Salou daily.

I know it's a serious cost on everyone so that's also why Barcelona is appealing because return flights often work out at less than 100 euro. There's been a lot of weddings recently, within our group of friends and family, and they've all been in Ireland and quite a few have commented that they're sick of the typical Irish wedding now.

So we want to try and make it as cost effective for everyone involved. There's a venue we've been to in Rome, Borgo di Tragliata, and that would be exactly what we'd be looking for. Everything from accom to church is onsite and very reasonable for all the guests. The problem with this venue is we've been to a wedding there already and are due to go to two more in the next 12 months so we can't really book it. We need somewhere that has onsite accom for roughly 100-120 people.

What I'm wondering is, does anyone know if there is anything similar in or around Catalonia? Or somewhere else that's just as accessible and cheap? We've been searching but can't find anything.

Thanks in advance for any help

Sick of the typical Irish wedding means they are sick of two hours in the church followed by a long drive to the venue, hang around until 6 for reception, followed by speeches, band, DJ, as the vast majority of Irish weddings are like that. It doesn't mean they necessarily want to spend a fortune going abroad. Be mindful of that.

Barcelona making the most sense, because you like it and there are lots of flights... by all means have a destination wedding, but don't try and convince yourself that it makes the most sense for everyone. It will work out cheaper for you and your fiance, but will almost certainly be more expensive for all of your guests. Not to mind the need for some of them to take annual leave to go.

Don't see why you can't go to the Rome venue just because other people have had their wedding there?

If you want a Spanish wedding you probably need to look for a Spanish wedding planner and get quotes and take it from there.

saoirse88

rainbowtrout wrote: »

Sick of the typical Irish wedding means they are sick of two hours in the church followed by a long drive to the venue, hang around until 6 for reception, followed by speeches, band, DJ, as the vast majority of Irish weddings are like that. It doesn't mean they necessarily want to spend a fortune going abroad. Be mindful of that.

Barcelona making the most sense, because you like it and there are lots of flights... by all means have a destination wedding, but don't try and convince yourself that it makes the most sense for everyone. It will work out cheaper for you and your fiance, but will almost certainly be more expensive for all of your guests. Not to mind the need for some of them to take annual leave to go.

Don't see why you can't go to the Rome venue just because other people have had their wedding there?

If you want a Spanish wedding you probably need to look for a Spanish wedding planner and get quotes and take it from there.

We completely understand that it's more expensive, what I mean about Barcelona making the most sense is, that out of all European destinations, it's probably the cheapest because of the quantity of direct flights.

We would look to try and offset some of the guests' expense with a free bar etc.

Regarding the Rome wedding, a close friend of mine is getting married there next summer and we more than likely will get married next summer also. I'm not usually fussed about what others would think but I don't want her to feel like I'm stealing her thunder in any way. Plus flights to Rome are more expensive.

splinter65

saoirse88 wrote: »

We completely understand that it's more expensive, what I mean about Barcelona making the most sense is, that out of all European destinations, it's probably the cheapest because of the quantity of direct flights.

We would look to try and offset some of the guests' expense with a free bar etc.

Regarding the Rome wedding, a close friend of mine is getting married there next summer and we more than likely will get married next summer also. I'm not usually fussed about what others would think but I don't want her to feel like I'm stealing her thunder in any way. Plus flights to Rome are more expensive.

Your hearts are set on Barcelona so go for it. I think what some posters are saying is that lots of Irish people (including yourselves!) are becoming jaded with the now traditional ostentatious, slightly vulgar, Irish style weddings.
That doesn’t mean though that they’d be thrilled either with a foreign wedding. It still involves looking for annual leave and at least 2 nights in a hotel, spending lots of euros on uncomfortable clothes and loads of hanging around, but you’ve also to add on passports airports Ryanair hire cars and suitcases of 10kg.
Have the wedding you want, as long as you accept that your invites will be greeted with groans by at least some of your guests, and don’t be offended if some of those find they’ve something else “on” that weekend.
Best of luck.

saoirse88

splinter65 wrote: »

Your hearts are set on Barcelona so go for it. I think what some posters are saying is that lots of Irish people (including yourselves!) are becoming jaded with the now traditional ostentatious, slightly vulgar, Irish style weddings.
That doesn’t mean though that they’d be thrilled either with a foreign wedding. It still involves looking for annual leave and at least 2 nights in a hotel, spending lots of euros on uncomfortable clothes and loads of hanging around, but you’ve also to add on passports airports Ryanair hire cars and suitcases of 10kg.
Have the wedding you want, as long as you accept that your invites will be greeted with groans by at least some of your guests, and don’t be offended if some of those find they’ve something else “on” that weekend.
Best of luck.

I definitely agree with everything that’s being said here. At the end of the day, friends and family are going to have similar opinions to people on here.

Ideally Barcelona is where we want it. But there are a few cons, those being, the cost on others and the hassle. We’d like to compensate people in some way, by offering a free bar or something. I suppose it’ll all depend on the difference between Ireland, cost wise.

Regarding the groans, I completely accept that too. And to be honest, I think no matter where we get married some will react like that. I react like that myself when a colleague or a distant friend sends me an invite to a wedding that’s 3 hours down the country. Having a wedding abroad will whittle down the numbers and hopefully those that truely want to be there will go. But I am mindful that some just don’t have the money.

salmocab

A close friend is getting married next summer in Rome and you want to get married in Barcelona the same summer? Presumably quite a few would be expected to go to both?

saoirse88

salmocab wrote: »

A close friend is getting married next summer in Rome and you want to get married in Barcelona the same summer? Presumably quite a few would be expected to go to both?

It's an old college friend, I think her and her fiancee and one other couple would also be invited to mine.

rainbowtrout

saoirse88 wrote: »

Ideally Barcelona is where we want it. But there are a few cons, those being, the cost on others and the hassle. We’d like to compensate people in some way, by offering a free bar or something. I suppose it’ll all depend on the difference between Ireland, cost wise.

Regarding the groans, I completely accept that too. And to be honest, I think no matter where we get married some will react like that. I react like that myself when a colleague or a distant friend sends me an invite to a wedding that’s 3 hours down the country. Having a wedding abroad will whittle down the numbers and hopefully those that truely want to be there will go. But I am mindful that some just don’t have the money.

I don't think a wedding three hours down the country and a wedding in Barcelona are comparable. The vast majority of people have to travel some distance to a wedding in Ireland, unless both the bride and groom are from the same town and holding the reception locally. Only difference is people can leave the wedding early and come home if they want. They will have to go to Barcelona for a minimum of three days. It's not like for like.


It does sound like you're going for the foreign option to keep your own costs down. You're perfectly entitled to do that, but it will already work out cheaper for you as you are unlikely to have 200 people flying out to Barcelona, and you already know that. But if you let slip to anyone that you're not providing any freebies like a free bar because you are trying to keep costs down (which you are already doing by going abroad), it will not go down well because your guests are already picking up the cost of your destination wedding.

saoirse88

rainbowtrout wrote: »

I don't think a wedding three hours down the country and a wedding in Barcelona are comparable. The vast majority of people have to travel some distance to a wedding in Ireland, unless both the bride and groom are from the same town and holding the reception locally. Only difference is people can leave the wedding early and come home if they want. They will have to go to Barcelona for a minimum of three days. It's not like for like.


It does sound like you're going for the foreign option to keep your own costs down. You're perfectly entitled to do that, but it will already work out cheaper for you as you are unlikely to have 200 people flying out to Barcelona, and you already know that. But if you let slip to anyone that you're not providing any freebies like a free bar because you are trying to keep costs down (which you are already doing by going abroad), it will not go down well because your guests are already picking up the cost of your destination wedding.

You’ve drawn your own conclusions here and I’m not sure how you’ve connected some of it!?!

“If I let slip to anyone that I’m not providing any freebies”? I stated that our intention was to provide freebies, bar, bus etc.

I also never compared a wedding down the country to one in Barcelona. I stated that regardless of where you have it some will have a groan about it. Some people don’t like going to weddings, and I completely understand why, they are a massive expense and hassle.

My reasoning for Barcelona isn’t to keep my costs down, it’s because I’ve been to close to 20 weddings here in Ireland and every one of them have been so similar, nothing about an Irish wedding excites me. I’m not knocking Irish weddings, it’s just I’m so over them at the moment. Also, we don’t want to have a very big wedding, but if it were in Ireland we would have to invite probably 250+ people or else we would offended some, so by having it away it will also mean only those close to us will come.

Im trying to be very mindful of the expense on everyone. So we want to try and cover any of the costs that we might be saving from going abroad by providing freebies to our guests...

Faith

It’s your day. Do what you want! After modding this forum for years, I can guarantee that someone will be unhappy about something, no matter what. Weddings abroad particularly get people’s backs up, but if it’s what you really want, then go for it and enjoy it!

saoirse88

Faith wrote: »

It’s your day. Do what you want! After modding this forum for years, I can guarantee that someone will be unhappy about something, no matter what. Weddings abroad particularly get people’s backs up, but if it’s what you really want, then go for it and enjoy it!

Thanks for that.

We’re not completely sold on the foreign wedding idea signed, because of the hassle for everyone. But I really don’t want your typical Irish wedding and there doesn’t seem to be anywhere really on the west coast that offers something different .

EagererBeaver

Bear in mind that Spanish weddings start much later and this will likely affect your choice of venue as they're not the most accommodating when it comes to changing their timetables. For example, my friend is getting married in Madrid in July and the ceremony starts at 7pm.

salmocab

saoirse88 wrote: »

Thanks for that.

We’re not completely sold on the foreign wedding idea signed, because of the hassle for everyone. But I really don’t want your typical Irish wedding and there doesn’t seem to be anywhere really on the west coast that offers something different .

Can I ask what you want different? Also what’s so different about foreign weddings. I’ve been to a couple and whilst they were nice and I enjoyed them they still had a ceremony, a bit of a reception (albeit generally in a nice sunny spot) a meal and a party. Tbh they struck me as not much different apart from far away.

rainbowtrout

saoirse88 wrote: »

Thanks for that.

We’re not completely sold on the foreign wedding idea signed, because of the hassle for everyone. But I really don’t want your typical Irish wedding and there doesn’t seem to be anywhere really on the west coast that offers something different .

What do you want from your wedding? A lot of hotels etc are used to offering the standard reception, but what exactly are you looking for? If you have an idea of what you would like that is different, then maybe it might be easier to find a venue that can provide what you want rather than expecting them to offer something different in their brochure.

To be fair the reason so many weddings are the same is that there are certain things that have to happen on the day so what has evolved into the standard Irish wedding is that way for a reason. The Spanish wedding isn't likely to be wildly different only that you will probably have better weather.


Do you want a small number of guests or a large number?
Church or civil ceremony?
Full on reception or a small group of immediately friends and family to dinner?
Music and entertainment?


Most people want these things in some form or other, so weddings end up being quite similar.


A guy I work with didn't want the big wedding with all bells and whistles, himself and the wife had a civil ceremony locally with less than 20 people at it, they had then booked a private room in a local hotel for that small group for a meal that afternoon. They were going to finish it there, but in the end decided to hire the function room and have a party later that night.

So basically they dispensed with the full on reception for 200 people with speeches etc. Guests were delighted they could rock up at 9 or 10 that night, less expense, less hassle getting time off work, many came after work without having to take the day off, much more casual vibe, plenty of women while dressed up for the night out didn't go the whole nine yards on going to the beauty salon to get hair and nails done and wearing a new dress. It was great craic. No long drawn out day for the guests.

splinter65

I think most under 35 singles with no kids enjoy Irish weddings...and that’s it. I think anyone else if you asked them to be honest and think about it would say it’s a lot of work and expense and time to repeat the same day over and over. Same people same hotels same food..
If I had to describe the perfect wedding for me from the point of view of a guest I suppose it would be the English model.
Waking up in my own home and having a leisurely breakfast before getting ready in my own home doing my own hair and make up and dressing smart casual before driving for not more than 1 hour to the wedding venue that lasts not more then 3/4 hour followed by a very short drive to a venue where the B&G arrive within an hour and nice hot food is served as soon as they arrive.
The rest of the evening is spent relaxing, enjoying a few drinks, bit of music and the whole thing wrapped up no later then 10.30 but if you want to leave before then it’s not a question of having to sneak off.
I’d like the entire party to be small enough that the B&G get to only invite the guests that they actually want, not people who they’re expected to invite.
I think if every B&G only invited who they really wanted then any wedding would have no more then 100 tops.
That’s it for me.
I’ve stayed away from 3 foreign weddings I’ve been invited too. One of the brides was very affronted by my “regret” and shunned me for a year after. When she decided that I’d been sufficiently punished she decided to bring me back into the fold and then was surprised to find that I had moved on.

lazygal

Why exactly do you want to get married abroad? Do you have a connection to the place?
We got married twice in Ireland, once was no frills registry office and our 'wedding' was a more standard Irish affair a week later, we had a humanist ceremony and then the wedding reception all in one venue.
You refer to the cost of flights but that is going to be an additional expense. Flying abroad is never just the cost of the tickets, you've got transport to the airport, time involved, hassle etc.
We travelled to a sibling's wedding abroad. We didn't go crazy with costs but it was still a hefty chunk of change and TBH I struggled to see why they needed to bring everyone over to a place we all had no interest in going to. I'd not have missed the wedding but it was a lot of time and expense when a ceremony and meal out in Ireland would have done the same thing.
Your wedding though.

GingerLily

Faith wrote: »

It’s your day. Do what you want! After modding this forum for years, I can guarantee that someone will be unhappy about something, no matter what. Weddings abroad particularly get people’s backs up, but if it’s what you really want, then go for it and enjoy it!

Its the same posters who moan the whole time about weddings I find!

Faith

We've been invited to a wedding abroad this year, our first one. I completely understand why it's abroad and I'm cool with that, but it was initially said to us as "Ryanair fly directly there and it's so cheap". Turns out, "cheap" still means the bones of £300 for us just for flights, and that's not with any bags. At a bare minimum, we'd need to take Friday off work, and do a Friday - Sunday trip. Considering it's a 3.5 hour flight, plus another 45 minutes to the airport on this side (probably the same on the other), that's 10 hours just travelling. Then there's two nights in a hotel, plus food and drinks etc outside of the formal wedding part.

On one hand, I really want to go because it sounds great. But my practical side is currently winning out and I'm tending to think that it's not worth it, particularly when I already have a hen party and wedding in Ireland (I live in the UK, so there's flights for both of those), and a major trip to the other side of the world booked as well.

I'm just posting this to give the perspective of someone who loves weddings and loves travel - I'm still unlikely to make the trip, but they're also not the closest friends we have.

lazygal

We love travel too. But with three children and work to juggle the family holiday will always take priority for our travel budget.

iluvfatfrogs

splinter65 wrote: »

I think most under 35 singles with no kids enjoy Irish weddings...and that’s it. I think anyone else if you asked them to be honest and think about it would say it’s a lot of work and expense and time to repeat the same day over and over. Same people same hotels same food..
If I had to describe the perfect wedding for me from the point of view of a guest I suppose it would be the English model.
Waking up in my own home and having a leisurely breakfast before getting ready in my own home doing my own hair and make up and dressing smart casual before driving for not more than 1 hour to the wedding venue that lasts not more then 3/4 hour followed by a very short drive to a venue where the B&G arrive within an hour and nice hot food is served as soon as they arrive.
The rest of the evening is spent relaxing, enjoying a few drinks, bit of music and the whole thing wrapped up no later then 10.30 but if you want to leave before then it’s not a question of having to sneak off.
I’d like the entire party to be small enough that the B&G get to only invite the guests that they actually want, not people who they’re expected to invite.
I think if every B&G only invited who they really wanted then any wedding would have no more then 100 tops.
That’s it for me.
I’ve stayed away from 3 foreign weddings I’ve been invited too. One of the brides was very affronted by my “regret” and shunned me for a year after. When she decided that I’d been sufficiently punished she decided to bring me back into the fold and then was surprised to find that I had moved on.

I'd say the exact opposite to this.
Its the older generation that enjoy the typical Irish wedding as its what they are used to and get to talk to their neighbours/ cousins / friends.
Single Under 35's would much prefer to pick where to spend their Fri/Sat night rather than be stuck at a wedding with aunts and uncles asking them why they are on their own!!

LirW

The what ifs are pretty irrelevant in my opinion, I think most people taking their wedding abroad are aware not everyone can make it due to time/money reasons. The ones who really want to will go.
Having a destination wedding is down to the couple and when you google the pros/cons you'll get a million pages that'll tell you that more people are likely to drop out, so I doubt it'll come as a surprise. Just don't be a d1ck about it.
Their day, their way, I never understand why people feel obliged to go to every single wedding they're invited to, it's not mandatory to show up (unless it's close family).

saoirse88

LirW wrote: »

The what ifs are pretty irrelevant in my opinion, I think most people taking their wedding abroad are aware not everyone can make it due to time/money reasons. The ones who really want to will go.
Having a destination wedding is down to the couple and when you google the pros/cons you'll get a million pages that'll tell you that more people are likely to drop out, so I doubt it'll come as a surprise. Just don't be a d1ck about it.
Their day, their way, I never understand why people feel obliged to go to every single wedding they're invited to, it's not mandatory to show up (unless it's close family).

I suppose what’s holding me back is those people that want to go but can’t financially, who’ll either not go or end up going and put themselves under pressure.

Is there any way of doing it cheaply where you can then pass on the savings to your guests?

woodchuck

OP have you mentioned to your nearest and dearest that you're thinking of having a destination wedding? I think this might be a good idea to gauge their reactions (in person). Even if they tell you it's a great idea, you should be able pick up on who is put out by the thought of it. Or if you are very close to them, you might actually be able to get them to be brutally honest with you.

Tbh it doesn't matter how many "freebies" you provide. Unless you're willing to pay for flights or accommodation (which nobody would expect), it's always going to cost more for the guests than a wedding in Ireland. Even if you try to minimise that as much as possible! And there's the extra hassle of travelling further too.

I know you said you're sick of typical Irish weddings - I get the feeling most people are these days! But that doesn't mean you have to have a destination wedding. You could still have a wedding in Ireland that isn't a typical Irish wedding. For example, I have a friend who got married and had a meal just with her closest family. Then she had an "afters" in town for her extended family and friends. It was brilliant - no need to travel or sort out accommodation etc! Sometimes when people say they're sick of Irish weddings, they mean they're sick of the hassle... and tbh, I think going abroad is just creating even more hassle

salmocab

saoirse88 wrote: »

I suppose what’s holding me back is those people that want to go but can’t financially, who’ll either not go or end up going and put themselves under pressure.

Is there any way of doing it cheaply where you can then pass on the savings to your guests?

How much can you realistically fork out to pass savings onto guests? Paying for drinks for the day is a bit of a saving but people will have to pay flights transfers at least 2 nights in a hotel plus spending money. Also airport parking and time off work. It’s expensive for people to go to as it’s at least a night more than a wedding at home plus all these extras. Unless your paying for peoples hotels or something there is very little you can do to soften the blow.

Signore Fancy Pants

OP,

We wanted a low key wedding with little fuss, no church etc and only a small number of people. Well that didnt happen.

Once the planning started, people stuck their oar in we were hitting 200+ guests, 2 day event in Wicklow with the usual shyte along with it. We were getting quotes of €30k+ for something we didnt even want but was "expected".

Anyway, we decided that we would enjoy it better if we went away to get married, just the two of us. Nobody had an issue with this.

We went away for over 3 weeks, San Fran, Honolulu, married on a beach in Maui, L.A, Vegas and home. Still cost less than half of the quote above.

We then had a shindig for family and fiends when we got home.

No dramas. Just make yourself happy, everyone else will get over it.

Best of luck.

skywayavenue

We got married in Ibiza. I organised the whole lot myself - no wedding planner. It wasn't anymore stressful than organising one here. We had around 70 guests. And I would say for what we had, comparably, we saved about 15k by having it abroad. Just to add we had to do the legal bit in Ireland, but that was no fuss or hassle just two witnesses and job done.

Big Vern

Hiya,
We got married in Malta, over 4 years ago. Like yourself we wanted something different. We invited a good number, but a lot couldn't make it. But we had a nice crowd of close family and friends that traveled to Malta. Most stayed for 5 days and we stayed on for another few. We provided a travel consultant in Ireland to help with bookings etc.

It was a bit stressful at times, but in the end it was worth it all. We got married in a lovely church and had a outdoor reception here:
https://limestoneheritage.com/

One piece of advice check out all the legalities, we had to be in Malta for 3 days before we could get married, so had to arrange our wedding day around that. There was a lot of forms etc to be completed, some only done when in Malta.

We did have a evening reception a week or so after we arrived home, so anyone that didn't make Malta could enjoy our wedding and be part of it.

So we had the best of both worlds!!!

theteal

We got married here just outside the village of Gaucin in the Ronda mountains. It's about a 90 minute drive from Malaga airport which is quite a bit further than I had hoped when we started planning but the last half hour of the drive and the village are nothing short of spectacular so we went for it. We are UK based so we decided that seeing as Irish weddings are ridiculously expensive and UK weddings are crap (most venues close by 11ish) which 95% of the guests would have to fly over for anyway, Spain made a lot more sense.

The expense of it all is always a concern so we booked and paid for (helped save guests a little) the whole venue for the Saturday which slept about 80 iirc. A lot of people came over on the Friday for whom we provided a bus from the airport. The shindig didn't kick off until 3pm so some people flew in the Saturday, had the craic and went home on the Sunday - it cost the price of a Ryanair flight and a rental car for a day. We also asked for no gifts as we were very conscious that we were "dragging them abroad for a party".

The venue provided the planner as part of the package. The free bar was surprisingly inexpensive!

realdanbreen

saoirse88 wrote: »

Hi, I was wondering if any of the extremely helpful people on here have any advice?

Bascially myself and my fiancee want to try and get married close to Barcelona. It makes the most sense as it's somewhere we love to visit but also it's so accessible for everyone from Ireland with so many flights to El Prat and Salou daily.

I know it's a serious cost on everyone so that's also why Barcelona is appealing because return flights often work out at less than 100 euro. There's been a lot of weddings recently, within our group of friends and family, and they've all been in Ireland and quite a few have commented that they're sick of the typical Irish wedding now.

So we want to try and make it as cost effective for everyone involved. There's a venue we've been to in Rome, Borgo di Tragliata, and that would be exactly what we'd be looking for. Everything from accom to church is onsite and very reasonable for all the guests. The problem with this venue is we've been to a wedding there already and are due to go to two more in the next 12 months so we can't really book it. We need somewhere that has onsite accom for roughly 100-120 people.

What I'm wondering is, does anyone know if there is anything similar in or around Catalonia? Or somewhere else that's just as accessible and cheap? We've been searching but can't find anything.

Thanks in advance for any help

Most regard an invite to a foreign wedding as just the couples way of organising a 'go fund me' wedding/holiday'

P2C

Got married in a place called Sant Llorenc del la Muga in 2012. It's north of girona and the name of the venue was hotel torre laurentii. The village was medival and very beautyfull. The venue was fantastic and we had 130 people. They cater specifically for wedddings. The dude that owned the place was American but a Spanish wife. A bit intense but delivered on everything

Toots

saoirse88 wrote: »

I suppose what’s holding me back is those people that want to go but can’t financially, who’ll either not go or end up going and put themselves under pressure.

Is there any way of doing it cheaply where you can then pass on the savings to your guests?

I’d just make sure you’re definitely right on the prices of flights to Barcelona. I’ve just booked a holiday in Spain, and we were initially planning to fly into Barcelona and stay within a couple of hours drive. However, the flights were working out really really expensive, to the point that we’ve actually decided to go to the south of Spain instead, because the flight to Malaga was about €700 cheaper - and that was with us booking the “plus” fare on Aer Lingus to Malaga (20kg bag included plus priority boarding etc) vs just the bog standard fare to Barcelona not including a checked bag.

woodchuck

^ Just to add to that, while you can sometimes get really good deals with Ryanair, you usually have to be pretty flexible with your dates. Obviously your guests will be aiming to be there for a set date, so they won't have the luxury of shopping around much.

Prices can obviously fluctuate too and the guests might actually push the prices up for each other when they start booking...

John_Rambo

Couples that have foreign weddings tell people how amazing their weddings are.

Guests that are invited to foreign weddings don’t.

Sir_Name

woodchuck wrote: »

^ Just to add to that, while you can sometimes get really good deals with Ryanair, you usually have to be pretty flexible with your dates. Obviously your guests will be aiming to be there for a set date, so they won't have the luxury of shopping around much.

Prices can obviously fluctuate too and the guests might actually push the prices up for each other when they start booking...

^This....
We are getting married in Bordeaux and have decided to have food/drinks covered for the weekend aswell as transfers to make it cheaper for everyone who can come. 
The only issue is that we picked Bordeaux mainly as A; we wanted it in France and b; it was €80 return flights when we checked last yr. unfortunately, this year its a good bit more expensive and i'm sure the demand for that weekend is pushing up the flights further.

Zascar

OP I recently did this and it was 100% worth it. As people have already said, Do what YOU WANT - its YOUR WEDDING. Don't let others sway you. I had 60 people in Portugal in a magnificent hotel, got married up on the cliffs and it was like nothing people had ever seen before. We got married in Ireland in a registry office in secret and then had a ceremonial wedding in Portugal, married by one of my close friends and it was the best decision ever. Paperwork overseas can be a pain so iuts easier that way. I had a wedding planner which is essential but mine was kinda rubbish at communicating and had me very stressed but did a fantastic job on the day. That's rare though most people have a great experience. I told people not to give me presents and make sure they book EARLY to get cheap flights. I said no kids which upset a few people but again best decision ever - people came and made it a holiday and it was an amazing experience for all.

Good luck and let us know any other questions.

qwerty13

I personally would not go to an overseas wedding. Too much time off and expense.

The only people I know who’d go, from hearing about it, are: very close relatives, or young singles with a lot to spend. If that’s the crowd you want, then grand. I’d actually want the middle crowd! - the younger, friend crowd, who couldn’t afford to be going away for a wedding.

saoirse88

Thanks for all the responses everyone.

We researched a lot online and narrowed it down to 3 venues that we might like in Ireland. We viewed all 3 venues in the last 2 days. Two were very unique and rated very highly on every Irish wedding website online and the other is probably one of the nicest hotels within an hour of our home.

While all 3 were beautiful, I couldn't imagine myself getting married in any of them. I suppose I really realised how much i don't want a big wedding. It's not about the money, but it's just hard to justify spending 30k out of our savings we have for a house on something we don't even really want...it just doesn't make sense.

I suppose the positive is we now realise we'd like even less at a foreign wedding. Family and very close friends. So I suppose I have another few questions for anyone that can help.

How do you whittle down your numbers? Where do you draw the line with friends?
With regards to entertainment for small foreign weddings, what do you do about entertainment? You need something to keep an atmosphere. Has anyone done a foreign wedding with 40 or less guests?

Thanks again for all the advice, it's really appreciated

splinter65

We had 15 guests at our wedding. We just invited our parents brothers sisters their spouses/partners and their small children. No friends work colleagues neighbors etc. Married (church) at 11 lunch followed in a hotel and we left at 3.30 for our honeymoon.

woodchuck

OP you seem to think that you need to go abroad to have a small wedding. You can have a small wedding in Ireland too. I've just been invited to a wedding (in Ireland) where we've been told from a very reliable source that the total number of invites is 22!! They're just doing a ceremony in a registry office followed by a lunch. It will be a breath of fresh air after all the big hotel weddings in the back arse of nowhere that we've been invited to over the years.

EagererBeaver

saoirse88 wrote: »

How do you whittle down your numbers?

The same way you do at any other wedding:

Do you really, really want them there and couldn't imagine your day without them? If yes, invite them.

Anything other than the above? Don't invite them.

WittyName1

skywayavenue wrote: »

We got married in Ibiza. I organised the whole lot myself - no wedding planner. It wasn't anymore stressful than organising one here. We had around 70 guests. And I would say for what we had, comparably, we saved about 15k by having it abroad. Just to add we had to do the legal bit in Ireland, but that was no fuss or hassle just two witnesses and job done.

Technically you actually got married in Ireland and had a party in Ibiza.
That's some distance to go for the reception!

skywayavenue

WittyName1 wrote: »

Technically you actually got married in Ireland and had a party in Ibiza.
That's some distance to go for the reception!

Suppose so! We didn't get married until after so guess it was the pre party!

skywayavenue

saoirse88 wrote: »

Thanks for all the responses everyone.

How do you whittle down your numbers? Where do you draw the line with friends?
With regards to entertainment for small foreign weddings, what do you do about entertainment? You need something to keep an atmosphere. Has anyone done a foreign wedding with 40 or less guests?

Thanks again for all the advice, it's really appreciated

The whittling down the numbers was the hard part for us as we didn't expect many to come as it was abroad. Turns out we only had around 15 no's and ended up with 70 guests. We didn't get "married" until the evening so we didn't need much entertainment. We had a fire show and then a DJ and that was enough.

I was recently at another wedding abroad probably around 45-50 guests and it was another great day. The thing to remember is the venues are going to be a lot different. You're not going to have 40 guests in a huge function room, its more than likely going to be a smaller venue/restaurant so the atmosphere kind of looks after itself.

Sono

We are going to a foreign wedding in September and I can’t wait for it, if you want to get married abroad go for it. The most important people will be there and that’s you, your partner and immediately family, everyone else can make their mind up if they can afford/want to go.

I’ve taken 2 days annual leave for an Irish wedding and I would much rather have been at a wedding abroad let me tell you.

We were going to get married abroad in 2017 but I just didn’t want the hassle from family about it so we stayed in Ireland, no regrets about our decision except for it pissed rain for the wedding day!

Anyway best of luck with your wedding planning and decision, it sounds like it will be great.

pwurple

Hello there, I've been to a few foreign weddings, including one in Spain.

The reason they start late in the evening, is because it's meltingly hot during the day.. 40+ degrees in some areas, and people take siestas to avoid that heat. We arrived during the afternoon before a wedding in the area, couldn't get into our accommodation, couldn't get a hairdresser that was open at that time, couldn't find an open cafe or restaurant to even use a loo.

As guests travelling, we did find the logistics awkward and expensive. Getting to the place they chose meant we had to hire a car and drive there, no bus available, and there was no local accommodation in the beautiful rural town, except a hostel with a curfew. So, bear that in mind when booking. The venues are totally idyllic, but there can be a fairly large hassle factor, If you are going abroad, it is much much handier if you are getting married near a hotel, in a big town or city. In spain, they tend to have dedicated wedding venues outside the city, rather than use hotels.

I would also suggest, to cut down on costs for guests, maybe cover their accommodation for the trip also. You could hire a large villa or similar, some sleep 20+ people.

Now, for all that, we loved that wedding in spain. The food was amazing, starting a wedding at 7pm was lovely, and the spanish guests were great craic.