Getting married in Seville: frequently asked questions

It depends on how much you want me to take care of. Single Verse, the consulting, is €100 per session; Final Stanza, one month of preparation and wedding-day coordination (the Día B), is €900; and Complete Poetry, the full design and artistic direction of your wedding, starts from €2,500. Prices do not include VAT. After our first call you will know the closed price for everything.

Each service has its own scope. Single Verse is a one-hour video call to resolve your questions. Final Stanza covers the last month of preparation — review of contracts and preliminary meetings with the vendors you have already chosen — the rehearsal and the wedding itself. Complete Poetry runs from designing the wedding and choosing the venue and vendors through to the wedding day, including the menu tastings and bus transport for guests and the couple. Each vendor's services — venue, catering, photography, music — you contract and pay directly. An extra is anything beyond that package, such as a welcome dinner, a party the next day or a hot-air balloon ride: it is quoted separately and you know the price before you decide.

No. Many couples plan their wedding on their own and it goes well. A planner makes a difference if you are organising from far away, do not speak Spanish or do not have time to visit venues and vendors. I planned my own wedding from Germany and I wish I had had someone by my side. If you already have almost everything decided, I can also take care of the last month and the Día B with Final Stanza, although I recommend Complete Poetry: that way I make sure everything runs from the very beginning, and you simply live it.

For the most requested dates, venues usually fill up 12 to 18 months ahead. Shorter timelines are possible, with fewer places to choose from. Spring and autumn weekends are the first to go. I take a limited number of weddings each year, so the best moment to write to me is as soon as you have a date or a season in mind: on a call I will tell you whether it is still free.

No. You sign the contracts and you pay each vendor directly. That way you always know what you have booked, with whom and for how much, and nobody signs for you. My work happens around that moment: I manage the relationship with the vendors, explain the terms of each contract in plain words and keep the payment calendar, so you can sign with peace of mind.

It depends on where you live. To marry in a Spanish civil ceremony, at least one of you must be domiciled in Spain, meaning you genuinely live here; a visit is not enough. If neither of you lives in Spain, the usual route is to marry legally in your own country and hold the ceremony you imagine in Seville, symbolic or religious. If one of you already lives here, the paperwork is handled where that person is domiciled and the wedding can then take place in Seville. Every country has its own rules on marrying abroad and on recognising the marriage, so check with your foreign ministry, your embassy or consulate in Spain, or the civil registry of your last address. I guide you on papers, deadlines and places; the legal procedures are done by the two of you, in person.

If you live in Spain, the file is processed by the Civil Registry or a notary where one of you lives, and the wedding can then be held in Seville. You do not need to be registered here. If the Civil Registry processed the file, a mayor or councillor officiates; if a notary did, that notary, another notary or a mayor or councillor can officiate. For a Catholic wedding, your parish prepares the file and the diocese sends it to Seville's; allow several months. Documents and deadlines vary from one office to another, so confirm them with yours.

You can marry in Spain, at the Civil Registry, at the town hall or before a notary, but first a file must be processed at the consulate for your home address, which only does so if you are registered with it as a resident. Each country and each consulate has its own rules and timings; for example, the Spanish Embassy in Berlin, for people living in Germany, indicated in April 2025 a wait of about two months for the appointment. There is another route, the one my husband and I followed: marry legally where you live, in our case at the consulate, and hold in Seville the ceremony you imagine, as if you were foreigners. Always check with your consulate, which sets the requirements.

Marrying by proxy means that one of you is not at the ceremony and is represented by another person, to whom you give a power of attorney before a notary. It is possible, but with limits: only one of you can do it; the power of attorney must be notarial and name the person you are marrying, and the other partner must be present. In addition, whoever processes the file must hear both of you in person and separately, including the one who will not be at the ceremony. I do not arrange powers of attorney: it is done through a notary or the Civil Registry, and it is worth checking with a lawyer.

No. To marry in a Spanish civil ceremony you need to be domiciled here, and the notary or the Civil Registry checks this and hears each of you separately. Offers of "express weddings" for tourists have no backing in the official sources I have consulted. If you are visiting, the usual route is to marry legally in your own country and hold the ceremony you imagine here.

I have not found any rule that requires two years. What offices ask for is proof of where you have lived, sometimes for the last two years, and the Catholic route may ask more of foreign nationals. Each Civil Registry, notary or diocese has its own criteria, so confirm them with the right office before you gather your documents.

No. Your domicile is where you habitually live, and registration is only one piece of evidence. Registering only in order to marry can end in trouble. If you want a civil wedding here, check first with the Civil Registry or a notary to see where you stand.

A symbolic ceremony looks and feels like a wedding, but it has no legal effect in Spain. That is why it needs no apostilles, sworn translations or certificates. Many couples marry legally at home weeks or months before and celebrate in Seville the ceremony they really imagined. I can arrange an officiant for you, as one more vendor, and we shape the ceremony around you, with the tone and moments that represent you.

I walk you through the local process: I explain what is asked, coordinate appointments and documents with the authorities and make sure you do not queue at the wrong desk. I do not replace the civil registry, a notary, your consulate or a lawyer, and I cannot promise how each authority will decide. The documents from your own country, such as birth certificates and apostilles, are for you to obtain. Procedures that require you to appear in person, such as the file, the private hearing and signing before a notary or mayor, are for the two of you.

Yes. The menu tasting is part of my work. If you can come, we go to the caterer together. If not, I go on your behalf and record it so you can see every dish and tell me what you like; we can also do a video call with the caterer or hold the tasting with a small group of your family. The tasting is included in Complete Poetry; if the caterer charges for it, the couple pays that cost.

I think about it from the start. If you have older guests, guests with reduced mobility or small children, I look for venues with step-free access, adapted toilets, shade and places to rest, and I arrange transport so that nobody has to walk more than needed. Tell me who is coming and what each person needs, and I take it into account when choosing the venue.

It can be arranged, but it needs to be raised from the start. Not every caterer can prepare a halal or kosher menu with the guarantees your family expects, so I look for one that can and discuss it with them before booking. Vegan menus and allergies are simpler, and at the menu tasting you can check it yourselves.

Yes. A bilingual ceremony can be done with a bilingual officiant, with an interpreter translating live, or with the words printed in the programme. We choose according to the number of guests and the tone you want.

Yes, and it works well when guests travel from far away: a welcome dinner the evening before and a brunch or a party the day after give everyone time together without rushing. I organise them like the wedding itself: venue, vendors and schedule. They are quoted separately.

I plan for it from the start, especially in the rainy season: I look for venues with a covered alternative that really works, and we agree in advance on the cut-off time for deciding to use it.

Yes. I recommend places to stay near the venue and help you ask for group terms. You or each guest book and pay directly with the accommodation. We look at it case by case and, depending on the complexity, I work with travel agencies.

Some venues ask for event liability insurance and I let you know when that is the case.

It depends on each guest's nationality and it changes over time. Check the official EU website (travel-europe.europa.eu), which shows the current entry system. I do not arrange travel or visas.

Spring (April to early June) and autumn (late September to October) are the seasons most often recommended. In AEMET's averages the daily maximum is about 23 °C in April, 27 °C in May, 32 °C in June and 26 °C in October. Holy Week and the April Fair fill the city and make venues and accommodation harder to find, so book earlier or choose other dates. Recent summers have been hotter, and I also work in July and August.

Yes, with a good plan. In July and August the average maximum is around 36 °C and heat waves can exceed it. What I recommend: a ceremony after 6:30 pm, shade, water, air-conditioned indoor spaces and a plan for older guests. I help you find the most suitable places, including the adaptations that older guests and small children may need.

Haciendas and cortijos in the countryside, historic houses and palaces in the city, hotels, rooftops and gardens in the centre. Every couple has its own place and my job is to find it: I have my list of trusted venues and access to many more, and I propose the ones that fit your personality. In Complete Poetry I also arrange bus transport for your guests and for you.

We start with a free, no-commitment call. You tell me your approximate date, your guest numbers and how you imagine the wedding. If the terms suit you, we sign a contract and the full amount is paid in advance, and from there the planning continues through calls, messages and visits. You decide whether to go ahead.

Complete Poetry starts at the beginning: we design the wedding around your vision, I manage the vendors and I am with you on the day itself. Final Stanza starts a month before the wedding, with the preliminary meetings with the vendors already chosen and the rehearsal, and covers the final organisation and the wedding. I always recommend Complete Poetry: it lets me control all the variables better, and it usually gives better results than booking Final Stanza alone. Single Verse, €100 per session, is a one-hour video call for questions or a second opinion.

Yes, and it is usual for destination weddings: video calls, messages and venue visits if you can travel. We talk by WhatsApp, Telegram, email and video call. Time zones can make calls awkward, so we agree fixed times and a decision calendar from the start. I planned my own wedding from another country, and I know what it feels like to decide from a distance.

I work mainly in Spanish and English with couples and vendors, and I can also work in German and Danish.