Ibiza Wedding Planning Wednesday (part 2) – Getting Married in Ibiza – my trip to the Island and a few basics about getting married there.

My trip to Ibiza and a few basics about getting married there.

As you know I went over to Ibiza last week with my wonderful husband Nik to go and meet several of the wedding suppliers and wedding Venues that I have been dealing with over the last year. I have several weddings in Ibiza this year, some I will be going out for and some I am planning from the UK so I thought it was important to go and see the Venues for myself so I knew first-hand what needed to be done, meet the teams that work there and generally get to know people a bit better.

The trip was great; I met some amazing people, visited some beautiful places and managed to get a couple of days off to relax with Nik, which was much needed.
I have included some of the photos I took while I was out there, I don’t want to bore you too much, but I thought I would share some of the gorgeous views and scenery from the island.

I got a lot out of the trip and have forged some great relationships with people on the island; I now have some exciting projects to work on and lots of new ideas to get started with. Including yet another Photo shoot…… (well its Ibiza how could I say no!!) new venues and Villas to add to my portfolio, a new partnership with people on the island who can offer another element to my planning service. I will also be putting together a fact sheet together for anyone enquiring about getting married in Ibiza. I get so many Ibiza wedding enquires, that I thought it would be beneficial to have something I can just send out to people to help with their initial ideas.

So following on from last week’s post Getting married in Ibiza and what it actually costs I thought I would just go into a bit more details about some of the basics about getting married in Ibiza.

When does the island open?
The island is very seasonal and really only open from May to October and still not all of this time is suitable to get married. We were there the first week in May and it really was quiet! Most of the main restaurants had opened but while we were there there was a   different opening party nearly every day. Pacha is the only club that is open all year round, the rest of the clubs open at the end of May and close mid-September, so if you are going there for the clubs this is something you need to consider.

Time of year to get married:
There are 3 seasons in Ibiza –
Low season: late April, early May, October
Mid-season: Late May, June and September
High season: July and August.

The weather in the low season is very changeable, I have been on the island  in May and October and it rained both times, it can also rain the last week in August as the weather gets so hot that the rain comes in to clears the humidity. Weddings will be a lot cheaper in low season BUT you cannot guarantee to have the outside, beach ceremony that you wanted, so always have a backup plan.

Mid-season: the most popular time to get married, for this reason dates and venues and photographers get booked up pretty quickly. The temperature at this time of year is the best for weddings.

High season: a lot of venues won’t hold wedding in July in August because of the heat, and because this is prime tourist season. If a venue has to close their doors to the public then expect a high premium added onto your wedding bill, often exclusivity in high season can cost around €6,000

Time of day to get married:
Most weddings are held at around 6pm, this is mainly due to the heat. It is just too hot to get married mid-day or at lunch, no matter what time of year it is, low season you can get away with it, but Mid to high you and your guests will roast if you get married too early

Legalities of getting married in Ibiza:
You can’t actually get legally married in Ibiza unless one of you is Catholic, and then it has to be done in the Catholic Church. More details can be found here Ibiza wedding laws
Most people go out to Ibiza to have a ‘blessing’ choosing to have a small simply civil ceremony in the UK before they go, I like to call this the ‘paper work bit’ it’s up to you if you tell your friends and family you are legally married before the blessing in Ibiza. But from experience the wedding in Ibiza is the actual wedding, having done it myself, there was no part of me that thought I was already married when I got married in Ibiza, we just had a simply ceremony in England so we could have the wedding we wanted in Ibiza

Beach weddings:
Getting married on a beach is technically illegal in Ibiza, most people dream of a beach wedding with the sand between their toes, but a new law came into force about 3-4 years ago making it illegal to get married on a public beach. You can of course get married in a beach bar next to the beach, or on a cliff top next to the beach, there are lots of ways around this, plus there are a few more secluded and private beaches that will still let you do it.

Noise restrictions:
This is a big issue in Ibiza. The island is run by the clubs, weather you are a clubber or not, the island gets its money from the amount that is spent in the clubs, these clubs go on till 6am – 7am -8am…..so If you want to party late at your wedding you have to  go to the clubs to do so……simple!

Most beach venues and Villas have noise laws that mean the sound system you are using needs to be turned down to a reasonable level by 12am. As most of the venues you will be using are outside the noise travels across the hills and out to residential areas…..if you lived there you wouldn’t be too chuffed if there were endless parties every night, so you have to respect the locals. If you don’t it’s a 3 strike system…..the police will come out and warn you first, the third time they have to come out they will simply confiscate  your sound system…and if you have hired this for the day, it’s going to end up pretty expensive to replace!
Most places will let you carry on the party but will move you all indoors till say 2am – 3am where the nose is under cover.

The same for private Villas, if you are hiring one for your wedding the music has to be turned off at 12pm……you can still play music but just at a much lower level.

Money:
Last of all the price! Nothing in Ibiza is cheap! From my meetings out there last week the feedback is the island is becoming more and more exclusive. Yes it’s an island for clubbers and for families but it’s also becoming an island for the super rich! The Villas we drove past are to die for as are the yachts!! If you’re going as a clubber, expect drinks in the clubs to cost to cost €15 each, club entry €50…families tend to stay all inclusive and there are some real deals to be done. Eating out is the same price as over here for your average meal out, If you want something more special at any of the more famous restaurants expect to pay around €15-€25 for a starter and €20 – €40 for a main……..but I have to tell you it’s worth it…….the food in Ibiza is AMAZING!! I have never eaten so well!!

I’m sure I have missed out loads but as I mentioned I will be putting together a fact sheet with all this information on to help anyone getting married out there……more details to follow soon.

In the meantime if you want any other info on how I can help you plan your wedding in Ibiza go to:

Ibiza Wedding Planning
[email protected]
07989 431821 / 0114 2854532