Perfect Spanish Weddings

Wedding dress shopping is something a Bride cant wait to do or dreads. Having experience in the Bridal Industry I see many Brides coming in who know exactly what they are looking for but others that are terified and dont know where to start. I have a few helpful tips to help all you future brides out there with you dress shopping.

1) Have a budget in mind and stick to it – it is so easy to go to a shop and get side tracked and you know that if you just try that £5k dress on just for “fun” you will not find anything to beat it

2) Only take a few people with you, mum, best friend, sister for example – if you have too many people with you, there will be many opinions bouncing around and it will make it harder for you to make a decision

3) Have a look in bridal magazines or online at what styles you like and you can even print them off to help your wedding dress consultant find that right dress – but also be open to try different styles if you find your not “feeling it” a lot of the time the dress you choose will be completly different to what you thought you would go for.

4) If buying from a Bridal Boutique then they say allow 6 – 8 months, this gives you time to get it ordered and have any alterations. However if your buying from a Bridal Outlet store then you can walk in 2 weeks beforehand but be aware that you may still need alterations with the dress and steamstresses do get booked up quickly. Alterations is normally done 6-8weeks before your wedding.... of course this doesnt always happen due to time scales so just bare in mind you may need to ring around a few places to get an appointment.

5) And lastly have fun….. this is suppose to be an enjoyable experience and if you starting to get stressed then maybe you need to call it a day and arrange another appointment – the last thing you want is to be stressing about your dress.

So the 5 most common styles of wedding dresses are

The Fishtail Wedding Dress

popular style for hour glass and rectangle shaped ladies

The A-Line Wedding Dress

is a popular dress for all body shapes.

The Empire Wedding Dress

another great style to suit all body shapes

The Column Wedding Dress

popular with rectangle shaped ladies and also suits the petite lady

The Ball Gown Wedding Dress

popular with the pear shaped figures, but it is great for all body shapes

so I hope this helps all you beautiful brides and I know you will all find your dress and look amazing in it

Happy Shopping

Naomi and David celebrated their wedding day surrounded by Family and Friends on a beautiful sunny day in Spain. They chose the amazing venue of Casa De Los Bates.

Casa De Los Bates is truly a beautiful place to have your Spanish Wedding.

Read more: Naomi and David 29th May 2016

As young girls many of us dreamed of our wedding day, being a beautiful princess and getting married in a fairytale castle just like you read in the books and saw on Films? Well...... with Perfect Spanish Weddings that dream can come true.

Our stunning venue Castillo de Santa Catalina is a beautiful 16th Century Spanish Castle which is now a luxurious hotel overlooking the bay of Malaga, perfect to hold your Spanish wedding.

With its beautiful landscaped grounds perfect to capture your wedding photos. With plenty of terraces to hold your wedding reception and the interior decor of the Castle is simple stunning. Of course we can not forgot those amazing views... they will take your breath away and Im sure will make you go "WOW"

It is truly a fairlytale venue.

If you would like more information on this venue then please feel free to get in touch and we would be happy to help.

Check out our video on Castillo de Santa Catalina

We look forward to planning your fairytale wedding in Spain

So it seems to be a growing trend that more and more people buy their wedding dresses online, and if im honest I can see why they do, with the cost of some wedding dresses today. Many Brides I have spoken to say it is only for one day and I cant afford to spend £1-2k and upwards for a dress when you have some many other things to pay for, weddings are not cheap.

But..........

I can honestly say when I got married it never even crossed my mind to look at dresses online, and I am a bargain Queen. I loved going from bridal shop to bridal shop and having the experience of trying all the different styles on, and I was on a budget too. I was very lucky to find my dream dress for £550…. yes this was 10 years ago but I do believe you can still snap up a bargain from a bridal shop. A few pictures of my dress

I recently worked at a bridal shop and having chatted to the Manager she had said that in the past 18 months – 2 years the bridal shop industry has dropped and so many brides now buy their dresses online as they are so much cheaper but should we not be supporting our local businesses? At least buying from a shop you can:

1) Try the dresses on and find out what style you like and dont like - 90% of the time you alway pick something you never thought you would wear.

2) You get the whole “bridal” experience, most women love wedding dress shoppping, its all part of getting married and sharing the experience with people close to you

3) You have somewhere to go if there are any problems – sometimes problems do occur so by buying in a shop you can always go back and discuss the issue and it should be easier to resolve the problem.

You read so many horror stories of people buying their “dream” dress online and it not looking like its suppose to in the picture. Here are a few pictures I have found from an article from the Daily mail. These 3 ladies saw their dream dress online and of course at the fracture of a cost and decided to buy it..... and now they are stick with a horrible dress, they lost their money and the whole wedding dress experience dampened.

I can only imagine how these poor brides must have felt

So with all of this is mind there are many other ways of being able to get you dream wedding dress at a more affordable price without having to run the risk of this happening to you….

1. Check out your nearby Bridal shops as they may have Sale dresses or discontinued dresses where you can snap up a BARGAIN
2. Look on Facebook at your local wedding sale pages as loads of shops and people sell dresses on there
3. Larger department shores with have a range of dresses and reasonable prices
4. Search for wholesaler shops – there a few shops around that offer either new dresses or discontinued dresses at half the price so you will definately be able to grab yourself a good bargain there

So please just think before you go buy that cheaper dress online – as you only plan to get married once and it is YOUR wedding dress you are buying and not just an evening dress

Happy Shopping

Looking for the perfect bridesmaid dresses can sometimes be more stressful then shopping for your own dressyou have so many things to take into account, how many bridesmaids, different body shapes, budget, colours, style of dress to name a few but one thing as the bride you have to remember is ….. stick to the budget and it is still your wedding day so you do have the last say.

It can be really hard finding the right dress the suits everyone so dont be afraid to mix it up a bit and have different styles of dresses for your bridesmaid, you can still stick with the same colour. It looks fab but also your bridesmaids will be happy and comfortable in what they are wearing. Which is so important

This years trend is the Eliza and Ethan dresses they are all one size and can be worn in over 22 different ways and over 22 colours to choose from. A great dress that sizes everyone but a bit more expensive… around £200 – 250 each

Budgets….. so how much would you spend on a dress? bridesmaid dresses can be expensive £150 upwards and when you have a number of them it does add up so maybe think out the box if your on a budget. Look around in high street shops you can get some fab looking dresses for half the price and to be fair they are more likely going to wear them again. 

Choosing your colour scheme…. This can be hard at sometimes as you might have a set colour in mind but that may not always compliment all your bridesmaids skin tones. Try on a few different colours and see what suits them, also have a look at what colours your bridal party wear daily, and then hopefully there will be a colour that they all can wear and all look FAB, also remember they dont need to be all in the same colour, this can make life so much easier for you! and as you can see below looks great!!

Happy shopping and im sure you will find those perfect dresses that will look amazing on your bridal party.

Wedding Favours are one of those things as you start making your list as to what you need to get for the table decorations you then cant decide whether you need to have them or “should” you have them.

The history of wedding favours started in france in the 16th Century, where they gave their guests "bonbonnieres" which were  sugar coated Almonds or sweets, this was a thank you token but also the sweetness of the almonds which thought to symbolise a bittersweet marriage. As this tradion spread worldwide today we use many other things as wedding favours to give to our guests.

So are you having wedding favours? and if so what are you thinking of having?

Do you stick with the traditional favours? sugared almonds

or do you go with something different. There are so many different options for favours out there, its just finding the right one that fits with youwhether its budget, edible, keepsakes, unique they will all look great.

Here are a few wedding favours I have found whilst searching the net. I hope they give you some inspiration and help you make that decision whether you have them or not!

I have also found favours that link in with your name placing, which I think its a great idea.

If you decide that wedding favours aren’t for you but feel that the table is missing something then you could put some wedding bubbles on there (great way of keeping kids ……… and some adults entertained) or maybe disposable cameras – if nothing else it gives you both a giggle looking at developed photos a few weeks later – cant beat random wedding photos.

Choosing your wedding photographer is a big decison after all they are going to be the one who captures all your memories and what you look back on and show your children in years to come. And with so many Photographers out there how do you decide.

Firstly think about what style of photos your after:

1. Do you want more formal photos?
2. A storyboard style?
3. More casual, relaxed photos?
4. colour, black and white, sepia photos?

Once you know what style of photos you are looking for then have a look at different photographers work, make contact with them, ask as many questions as you feel you need to - you need to feel confident and relaxed with your photographer - they are there with you and your guests most the day.

Questions you may want to ask your photographer:

So once you have decided on your photographer its now time to think about if there are any specific photos you would like, bride getting ready, arrival at venue, bridal party, groom and groomsmen, ceremony, speeches etc. Having a timeline for the photographer is quite handy, and to be fair a lot of photographers will have already set their own timeline for the day to ensure that they are in the right place at the right time and capture all your photos.

I hope that you find your perfect Photographer who is not just professional in their work but also the RIGHT person for YOUR wedding.

Jenny and Mark had a wonderful wedding at Church Nuestra Señora del Rosario and Casa De Los Bates which was shared with their Family and Friends on a beautiful September Day In Sunny Spain.

They started they day at the stunning Church Nuestra Señora del Rosario which is perched high up in the old town close to a 10th century Castle with fabulous views of the sea, where their Family and Friends all gathered to watch them get married.

After a lovely service they went onto our FAB Venue Casa De Los Bates to have their wedding reception. Find out more about their day and the Venue.

Read more: Jenny and Mark 5th September 2015

Emily and Nick shared their special day with Family and Friends and the beautiful Spanish Sunshine. They had a beautiful service at one of our stunning Churches - Inmaculada Concepcion in Mijas. It dates back to the 1600s and has a lovely interior with marble columns.

After their Church service they moved onto our amazing Hacienda San Jose Venue to have their Wedding Reception.

Read more: Emily and Nick 22nd August 2015

Wedding decorations are a big part of planning your day. With so many things to think about and what decorations you need where etc. So I thought I would do this blog to help you with some ideas.

When planning your wedding there are 3 areas of decorations you need to consider

1) Venue Decorations

2) Ceremony/Church Decorations

3) Table Decorations

To start off its deciding what colour scheme you would like to go for? Some people have a colour in mind as soon as they start planning others have no idea what to go with. This year we have a range of colours that are on trend, combining a few together they will create a real statement.

with also Copper, Rose Gold and Blush making a huge impact.

So once you have decided on your colour scheme you can now start thinking about decorations :) questions you might need to ask yourself...

1) what type of decorations do you want - floral, candles, lanterns,mirrors,feathers,wood etc

2) Your Budget - maybe split that into the 3 sections - venue, ceremony and table

So lets get creative...

Venue Decorations - You can go with just something small for this for example just some fairly lighting to create a beautiful atmosphere or some hanging buntin or paper lanterns. Just these small little touches at your venue will transform it into the perfect wedding reception.

Ceremony Decorations - Just adding a sash to the chair can make all the difference in creating the perfect look for your ceremony. However you can also add some flowers to the chair, of course your red carpet entrance and then maybe some decoration along the isle too. All create a real WOW factor.

Table Decorations - This is where you can really start to get creative and add your personality to your wedding. With some many ideas out there I fully understand why some people arent sure where to start. You can have floral centrepieces, lanterns, candles, vases, wishing trees, feathers to name a few all offering an amazing look for your wedding. And you can go as small and simple as you like or big and bold.

And then of course its then adding the other small touches to the tables - Table numbers, Favours, Menu and you might even take the opportunity of adding the guest book to each table.

Check out our pinterest boards for some FAB ideas for these little touches

Hope this has given you some ideas for your up and coming wedding

Happy Planning :) :)

Jenny and Dean celebrated their special day at our stunning Casa De los Bates Venue, surrounded by their family and Friends.

Read more: Jenny and Dean 30th August 2015

Katie and Adam shared their special day with Family and Friends. Their ceremony was at the beautiful Church of San Antonio. A lovely church set in a typical Spanish village with a beautiful gold interior.

They then went onto one of our lovely venues Hotel Cortijo Bravo.

Read more: Katie and Adam 8th August 2015