Ibiza Wedding Planning Wednesday (part 1) – Getting Married in Ibiza and what it actually costs.

Getting Married in Ibiza and what it actually costs.

As I’m sure you know I not only plan weddings in the North of England but I also plan weddings in Ibiza, which is why I am out here this week. I have come over to meet with all the suppliers and venues I have been dealing with by email so I can meet them face to face. It’s all very well recommending people who I been dealing with over the internet, but I decided that before any of my weddings happened this year I really needed to meet them face to face. It also helps me plan the weddings if I can see for myself the venues so I can visualise everything in terms of décor and the run of the day.

Ibiza weddings take up about a quarter of my bookings but at the moment about 80% of my enquires…..not a very good ratio really! I think that’s because people generally have pretty un realistic expectations of how much a wedding in Ibiza is going to cost.

When I first planned my own wedding for 2009 we started with a church wedding, 80-100 guests with a reception in a marquee in Cornwall all in all it was coming to £15 – £20. We realised about 6 months into the planning that this really wasn’t for us so we cancelled everything and moved our plans to Ibiza…we cut down the guest list to 35 people but it still ended up costing us £15-£18K…..why? Because weddings in Ibiza aren’t cheap.

I think people presume that getting married abroad is going to be loads cheaper; in some countries it can be, but don’t expect that if you are planning a wedding in Ibiza. When couples first get in contact they all say the same thing. ‘We want a chilled out wedding, nothing to fancy just something relaxed and laid back, nice food and dancing, well this is still going to cost you! It doesn’t matter how relaxed you want it the food isn’t going to change price! Most people who enquire have about 50-60 guests and they all seem to come to me with budgets ranging from £3K to £8K for the whole thing……..venue, food, drink, minister, flowers, photographer, entertainment. It just isn’t possible!

A few examples; I have one couple getting married in August their venue, food and drink for 50 guests has cost them €14,000 another with 40 guests in September has cost them €8,000 and another again in September is €10,000

So what are the key elements of an Ibiza wedding and why so much?

Venue:
The popular venues will charge you a premium for that venue, if you want exclusivity of a venue that will cost you. Think about it, most venues will have to close their doors to the general public for the day so they need to make their money up somehow. Most venues in Ibiza aren’t designated wedding venues like they are here, they are beach bars and restaurants that will normally be open for a late lunch or an early dinner, your wedding yes will bring them in definite trade but it may also lose them money in regular visitors especially if you only have a small wedding party

Add Ons:
Some venues will add on extras for things like brining in your own DJ instead of using their in house one, you may think you are saving money by bringing in a mate who can play but they will then charge you for the privilege. Other will charge an entertainment fee for things like fire eaters this can be as much as €500

Villas:
Villas are a great way of keeping the cost down, as you have your wedding reception and accommodation all in one place, these range from the very cheapest at €2,000 a week up to anything really I have one on my books for €50,000 a week. On average you’re looking at €6,000 – €8,000 a week. BUT remember you can offset some of this by charging your guests to stay for the week. BUT a lot of villas won’t allow weddings on sight, and those that do may very well charge you for the privilege sometimes about €600

Time of year:
Prices vary widely on the time of year. Late April, early May and October are classed as low season. Late May, June and September are Mid-season and July and August are peak season. Holding a wedding in peak season can really bump up the price (plus it can sometimes just be too hot!) this becomes a problem if you are tied to children’s summer holidays as you will always end up paying that extra.

Food:
Food is one of the factors that will really bump up the price, whether it be at a venue or a private cater you hire in for a Villa wedding. On average a venue will charge you €50 – €100 a head for a 3 course meal….some will charge extra for canapés…..and yes that does include that chilled out Ibiza BBQ that you asked for…..still the same price. So really the less people you invite the less it’s going to cost!
For a Villa you may get the price down a bit depending on what catering company you use. But it’s going to be anything between €40 – €90.

Drink:
Now this is a tricky one, do you pay or for your guest drinks? Personally I did, from the time they got there till the time they left! and most of my couples are offering some sort of free bar for their guests. You have to think your guests have flown all the way to Ibiza the least you can do is feed and water them for the day! So drinks packages for the meal can be at a venue about €20 – €40 a head. Venues then add in what is called an open bar, and many will operate this for a minimum of 2-3 hours. An open bar is charged per person per hour for example on average this is €16 per person per hour. This gives your guest unlimited drink for that amount of time. So for 3 hours €48. BUT as you will be getting married a lot later (normally about 6pm) you won’t have to pay for drinks as long.
If you are highring in private caters it’s going to be about €40 for the dinner drinks and open bar which normally consists of bear wine and 4 spirits.

Flowers:
All flowers are in ported onto the island so you will pay a premium for this.

Tax:
On top of the price you will be quoted from the venue and you will also be charged for IVA/VAT which is 8% as standard. Some place will also add on a service charge which is also a % of the final bill.

So there you go that’s what it’s all going to cost. Of course I haven’t mentioned the price of the minister, photographer, cake or transport….or the planning fees!
So as you can imagine that average budget that I’m given on first enquiry just isn’t going to stretch. Which I guess is the reason why so many people never get back to me once I explain to them how much it’s going to cost!

On the plus side Ibiza is an amazing place to get married, it really is truly magical! Your guests will have an amazing time; the flights are regular so people can pop over for a couple of days or stay the whole week. There is a great variety of places for people to stay, you can totally live it up or you can down size and stay somewhere cheap and cheerful.
Your wedding pictures will be awesome……and what could be better than that Ibiza sunshine in your wedding pictures as well as those sunsets!
If I haven’t put off too much and you would like more details about getting married in Ibiza then got to: www.bohoweddingsandevents.com/ibiza I have a number of different planning options and will do my best to work to your budget as long as it’s a realistic one!

For more information about my wedding planning services in Ibiza go to:
www.bohoweddingsandevents.com/ibiza
[email protected]
07978 431821 / 0114 2854532

Photo credits:
www.anniepeelphotography.com
www.analui.com

You can aslo see this artical on the Wedding Community website.