Saturday, Friday or midweek? Local fiestas, public holidays and summer heat: what to check before you fix a wedding date on the Costa Blanca or in Valencia.
The month is half of the decision — I went through it in the best month to get married here. The other half is the exact day, and that is where the local calendar matters more than most couples coming from abroad expect.
Saturday is not the only option
Saturday is the easiest day for guests who live nearby, and the one everybody asks for. Popular venues are often booked for Saturdays in May, June and September a year or more ahead.
Friday and Sunday are usually easier to get, and many venues charge less for them. A Friday asks your guests for a day off work; a Sunday asks for an earlier finish.
Midweek makes the most sense for a destination wedding. Your guests have flown in for several days anyway, so a Wednesday or a Thursday costs them nothing — and gives you the pick of venues and suppliers. The places themselves are calmer too: the old town of Altea or a beach in Jávea on a Tuesday is a different world from the same spot on a Saturday.
Check the local calendar first
A few dates fill the hotels, close the streets and change the price of everything. None of them rules a wedding out, but you want to know before you sign.
- Fallas, Valencia: 15–19 March. The build-up starts on 1 March. The centre is closed to traffic, firecrackers go off day and night, and hotels are full and at their most expensive.
- Semana Santa (Easter week): late March or April, different every year. Processions close old-town streets in the evenings, flights and hotels peak, and Catholic churches do not celebrate weddings on Good Friday or Holy Saturday.
- Hogueras de San Juan, Alicante: 20–24 June. The same story as Fallas, for Alicante city: monuments in the streets, a thunderous mascletà every day at two, and everything burning on the night of the 24th.
- Moros y Cristianos. Almost every town in the province of Alicante has its own, on its own dates — Alcoy in April, Villajoyosa in July, others through the summer and autumn. Ask the venue which days are the local fiesta.
- 15 August. A national holiday at the very peak of the season.
- 9 and 12 October. The Valencian regional holiday and the national one, three days apart. When they join up with a weekend, roads and hotels fill.
Think about the hour, not only the day
A date fixes more than the weather. In mid-June the sun sets at half past nine; in late October, after the clocks change, soon after six. That is three hours of difference in when the ceremony should start, when dinner is served and whether your guests see the place in daylight at all.
Before you commit to a date, look up the sunset for that day and count back two and a half hours. If that ceremony time does not suit you or the venue, it is better to find out now. There is a table of sunset times by month in planning the day around the light.
Legal or symbolic ceremony?
A practical note for couples coming from abroad. A legally binding civil wedding in Spain generally requires one of you to be a Spanish citizen or a resident, which is why most destination couples sign the papers at home and hold a symbolic ceremony here. Check your own case with the civil registry or your consulate.
The good news is that a symbolic ceremony can take place on any day, at any hour and in any place — which leaves you far freer with the date. If you do marry in a town hall or a church, ask early: they have their own days and time slots, and the rest of the day has to fit around them.
How far ahead to book
The usual order is the venue first: the date follows from what it has free. Then the suppliers who can only be in one place at a time — photographer, music, hair and make-up.
For a Saturday in May, June or September, start a year to eighteen months ahead. Fridays, Sundays, weekdays and the winter months stay open much longer, and a small wedding can come together in a few weeks.
A short checklist
- Is there a local fiesta or a public holiday on that date, or the day before?
- What time is the sunset, and does a ceremony two and a half hours earlier work?
- In July or August: does the venue have shade, and can everything start late?
- In September or October: is there a covered plan B you like?
- Can your most important guests get flights and rooms for those days?
If you are hesitating between two or three dates, send me all of them: I will tell you which ones I have free, and what the light will be doing on each.
