We are Patricia and Mario, and we have created The Güens, a team of wedding photographers in Spain with an authentic, unposed, cinematic style. In this post we would like to talk about why to elope to Spain, and give you some tips to make your elopement in Spain a perfect one!
First of all…what is an elopement?
To elope used to consist on running away to get married without the family’s approval. Nowadays that definition has changed, but the idea of traveling together somewhere far from home to get married in a very intimate ceremony persists. Some elopements may have the very closest family or friends involved, but in some others the couple travels alone and the ceremony consists on the couple, the officiant and, if needed, some witnesses that can be found along the trip. Many people eloping now choose to do so in beautiful natural environments, which are the perfect background for awesome wedding pictures.
Most elopements consist now on 20 guests maximum, plus photographers (most people eloping consider this a top priority) and sometimes videographers.
Elope in Spain…why is it a good idea?
First of all, a great advantage of Spain is that we have a huge variety of beautiful landscapes. No matter if you are into the sea, forests, medieval towns, cities, wineries, mountains or even desert areas, Spain has all of those. Also, the weather is mild, so you can get married here no matter the date. Also, being such a popular tourist destination, after your elopement in Spain you can enjoy some days discovering our country.
Another advantage of eloping in Spain is cost. An elopement in itself already means a less expensive way to get married, but if you elope to Spain you will see that your budget will reach for more than in, for example, the US or the UK.
LGBT elopement in Spain | Why is Spain the perfect destination for a LGBT wedding?
Spain and its citizens are amongst the most open-minded in the world regarding LGBT rights. Spain was the 3rd country in the world to legalize LGBT marriages with the exact same rights as heterosexual marriages back in 2005. Vendors are used to work in LGBT weddings, which are quite common here, and we will be happy to be part of it.
Bureaucracy to legally elope to Spain
We are not going to lie, this can be the toughest part of it, since non-residents cannot legally get married in Spain unless they have been living here for at least two years, or in case one of one of them is a Spanish citizen. You could do a religious ceremony in a catholic church without being a Spanish citizen though.
But what most of our couples who elope to Spain do is legally getting married in their respective countries before or after their elopement in Spain, and doing a symbolic ceremony here for their elopement. We think it is the best way to avoid paperwork and legal obstacles preventing them to get married.
Some tips for your Spain elopement
Some wedding vendors (like us, who are wedding photographers) speak English fluently, but that might not be the case for all the vendors you would like to be involved in your elopement in Spain. Also, being far from the place you will elope it may be hard to arrange everything unless you travel often. A great solution for those two problems could be hiring a destination wedding planner in Spain who speaks English. we have worked with many of them before, message us if you would like us to recommend you some.
Another tip would be not getting married during the summer if you are planning to get married somewhere very hot, like the inner-south part of the country. Near the coast, the temperatures are milder, but far from the sea and specially in the south of Spain, the temperatures could easily reach 105ºF / 40ºC.
And as a last tip, we would recommend you to focus on enjoying the experience of eloping to Spain, rather than focusing on everything being 100% as you planned, which can become stressful.
And if you like the pictures you see in this post, we would love to capture every moment of your elopement in Spain! Contact us!