Fuengirola Villa Wedding

This wedding took place in a standard sized 4 bedroom villa located in the hills overlooking Fuengirola. The price for rental for one week was €2500 and the grounds offered the couple a perfect location for their wedding of 40 guests. We set up their blessing ceremony shown above using the chairs and chair covers provided by the catering company and simple lime green chair ties and petals to add a splash of crisp tropical colour. There was lovely space for the ceremony on the lawn and we served dinner on the terrace opposite, with a cocktail and canapes reception on the higher terrace for the arrival of the guests.

To enquire about this villa call Howard on 0034 622100077 or email howard@spanishdreamweddings.com

Stunning Benhavis Villa Wedding

We arranged a small intimate wedding in this villa which is owned by Lord Goldsmith back in 2009. This villa sleeps up to 10 people and ranges in price from €6000 per week to €10000 per week. Shorter rentals may be possible but not in peak season.

The grounds are vast andthe house is accessed via a lake. The front of the house is shown here and the back of the house is also vast with a private swimming pool which is beautiful for serving cocktail receptions.

Included in the price for the week is a cleaner and a cook who can prepare breakfast or lunch, in the case of this wedding the cook prepared the canapes and some midnight snacks which cut down on the catering costs.

This vilal is remote yet only a five minute drive from the beautiful little town of Benhavis. This location is then only a ten minute drive from Puerto Banus so accessibl e if any guests want to stay there.

For details of this villa call us on 0034 622087222

NEW CORTIJO IN MARBELLA

Here is an other gem of a venue we haverecently added to our portfolio of private villas. This old equestrian centre is located only 10 minutes from Puerto Banus and Marbella. You can have your ceremony organised on the grounds with one of our ministers, or you could also marry in the churches in Nueva Andalucia, Benhavis, San Pedro and Marbella. Transfer times from all of these locations are minimal.

The house sleeps up to 26 peole in a range if different rooms and smaller separate houses. Th feel of the property is rustic rather than oppulent but if you include it on your next viewing trip you wont be dissapointed. It has only recently been opened up to the top wedding plannes in Marbella, so at present the availability is very good but we are very sure it will book up fast.

We feel that the prices on offer are very reasonable and this offers clients the ideal venue fora 3 day wedding event. With beautiful matre gardens, a large pool area an its own private bar which can be stocked with local(very cheap) beers, spirits and wines which we can also help you with.

Weddings of up to 150 people can be catered for, but even smaller weddings of about 50 guests will work very well here.

For more information or to include this on your next viewing trip call us on 0034 622087222 or email info@spanishdreamweddings.com

PRIVATE VILLA WEDDINGS

We recently had the pleasure of working with Mauricio and Claire from London to arrange their wedding day in Spain. They first contacted us in May, for an October wedding which is a lot less time than we would usually like to arrange a wedding from start to finish. They were looking for something different, rustic, remote yet near enough to the coast for beachside pictures. Between their viewing trip with us, and two days of visiting other venues on their own, they settled on this traditional hacienda in Mijas.

The ceremony took place in the beautiful elevated church in Benalmadena Pueblo and as music was very important to this couple, we booked a fabulous 20 piece choir which added a royal wedding feel to this part of the day.

The bride wanted a romantic look and feel to the day, incorporating coral and yellow tones. As it was October and we didn´t want to take any risks with the weather, we hired a marquee to be used with the sides closed only if absolutely necessary. We were blessed with the weather on the day as you will see from their photos. Unfortunately their BBQ the following day was hampered by torrential rain but they have since told me that they spent the day in their suite watching their wedding video over and over.

The freedom that they had in this villa meant that they could party as late as they wished, and they did, with the end only happening at 9am after the police called for the second time to ask them to stop the music!

The groom in this case was Spanish, and with a huge interest in football(Spain only went and won the world cup during his stag do) wanted to incorporate the Spanish world cup formation into their table plan. He was a pussycat other than this but as you will see on the photo below of our beautiful candelabras, he insisted on sticking football player table name cards to our otherwise classy displays! In light of such a big win,how could we stop him!

Another special request was the "cheese cake" pictured below which have become increasingly popular. We served dessert and then later in the night the cake was cut and served on boards with breads and fruit to each table. The cake topper was provided by the couple.

In this case the couple only hired the villa for one day and night, it can be hired for 3 or even 7 nights. Get in touch for bookings and prices, it is in high demand so early booking is advised.

OUR NEW WEDDING MAGAZINE

We are going to be at Dublins RDS this weekend for the Bride of the Year Show. I hope to see you all there. We are also exhibiting at the NEC Wedding Show in Birmingham 4th to 6th of March. We are available for private appointments but they need to be booked in advance as demand is high.

We now have a full time representative in Ireland, based in Dublin but will travel to other areas of the country for private appointments. Jenny is at your service on a local level to provide support and assistance where needed. Jenny will be at both shows and looks forward to meeting all of our new clients.

We have produced a short magazine which will give you an insight into certain aspects of getting married in Spain. THis may be downloaded from the homepage of our website.

In our brochure you will see our new branding, and our new website is currently under construction and will launch next month. If there are any items not available on the current site that you would like to see available on our new one, email me with the details and I will look into it. We want our new website to be as informative as possible in helping you make plans for your wedding in Spain.

We are still taking bookings for 2011 and have a lot in already for 2012 so get in touch!

Los Monteros Opens but is it safe?

I called by La Cabane beach club at the Los Monteros hotel in Marbella two weeks ago after hearing the good news that they have re-opened after a long battle and strike which saw the workers without pay for 19 months.

Last year I was responsible for planning the very last wedding there on May 29th. As a wedding planner I like to be organised and check all details as many times as possible to make sure nothing has been overlooked. When things go wrong, we are usually equipped with a plan B and nothing really impacts on the couples day.

The week in the lead up to the wedding in Los Monteros which was due to take place on Friday May 29th was probably the most horrific of my life and I hope that I never have to experience anything like it again. I was made aware a whole month beforehand that the hotel had been sold to a new Russian owner and that although the staff had been striking due to non payment of wages that everything was now sorted out and a meeting with their new food and beverage manager set my mind at ease.

On Monday the 25th, I called to the hotel to drop off a cheque of €11000 in full and final payment for the wedding. I received a call the following day to say that I should take the cheque back as there might not be a wedding. I jumped in the car and with the foot to the floor drove like a maniac to the hotel.I couldnt find the manager but his assistant explained that the Russian owner`, who felt like he was being held to ransom due to local employment law which was preventing him from sacking long term staff who he considered "lazy and slow", had simply decided to close the hotel and this would happen within the next few days.

I went back to my office to absorb the enormity of the situation when I got a call from the manager to say that he would personally ensure that the wedding would go ahead on Friday, but that I needed to bring the cheque back which I did on Wednesday morning. At this stage I had not said anything to the bride and her preparations were in full swing. On arrival to the hotel that Wednesday I met with the manager and his assistant who were by now ashen faced. They told be that the Russian owner had refused the cheque and that we were to pay €11,000 in cash or there would be no wedding.

At this point I had to go to the brides parents who had been quite involved in the planning process. They were of course shocked, then very angry. I arranged a meeting in the hotel the following morning. Our dilemma was simple, if we paid over €11,000 in cash how could we believe that they would not shut the hotel anyway. We offered to pay by credit card but the owner refused. On the Thursday night we continued with our plans and proceeded with a rehearsal in the church. The tension was incredible but only shared with the brides parents and I. At this point the poor father of the bride shouted at me saying that I should pay the money as it was probably all my fault anyway. I knew he was only venting his anger and asked that he stay calm so that we could all work through the situation together.

I got a call late that night to say that we were allowed to pay by credit card after all and with a personal guarantee from the manager that the wedding would go ahead we got up on the Friday morning and it was all systems go.

That sounds like the end of the story, but it got worse. The staff who had been striking at regular intervals over the past few weeks, went out in force blocking the entrance to the receptin area banging drums and blowing whistles. I then got a call from my chocolate fountain lady to say that the police had now shown up and were checking peoples work permits, and if my suppliers didnt have the right papers on them they wouldn´t let them in. I was at the church at this point so I sent my brave girl Lizzy down to keep an eye on things. The church all went fine and we had a champagne reception at the church. I was in attendance smiling at everyone while I received regular updates from the hotel. When I got there, the drumers and the police had left, but everyone was frantic trying to make up for lost time. I phoned the photographer to delay the bride on the beach and we made it with minutes to spare.

The night went off brilliantly and the bride and groom were only told the day after of all that had gone on, they were suitably shocked!The Russian turned up when the party was in full swing approached me to shake his hand as he had a tv crew there for some reason and was happy that such a fabulous party was underway so he could show off. I maintained a dignified silence but there was definitely no hand shaking.

I have huge admiration for the hotel manager Salvador, and all of the staff of Los Monteros who never gave up. WHen we visited two weeks ago, they were all there with their shirts off, mopping and cleaning to restore the hotel to it´s former glory. Salvador has worked there for thirty five years and I hope he never has to go through anything like that again. I think that if I ever had to go through that again I might just hang up my wedding planner shoes. I hope to bring them some more weddings and help to restore faith in the hotel, but I think that I may just wait a while.

Villa Padierna receives Michelle Obama and Del Boy

Villa Padierna is located in the middle of the stunning Los Flamingos golf course in the area of Cancelada west of Marbella. It´s palatial setting and unique ampitheatre makes it a popular choice of venue, and with a minimum price tag of €20,000 per wedding,the venue truly lives up to its five star status.

Last month Michelle Obama stopped by for a visit, with her daughter Sasha and stayed as personal guests of the hotel owners. During the five day visit the very elegant first lady went for a casual wander in Marbella Old Town where she stopped by a gift shop outside our most popular Marbella church, Nuestra Señora de la Encarnacion near Orange Square. Sadly I couldn´t make it that day.

On a more positive note, we had the pleasure of welcoming another A Lister at one of our May weddings in Villa Padierna, as pictured above, the one and only Del Boy.

Del Boy burst into the room and in true style tried to flog some sovereign rings and fake watches much to the amusement of the wedding guests.

This was a special surprise organised by the best man for the couple who knew nothing about it until his entrance into the room as they sat for dinner. I was informed only the day before that he would be flying in from London at 3pm, just as we were due to arrive at the church. I had to arrange a changing area for him and keep him under wraps until his entrance. Worse still, he had to leave the hotel at 6.30 that evening to fly back to London, so I had to be really pushy with the couple to keep to the schedule during their welcome cocktail.


We had the welcome cocktail in the front of the hotel which overlooks the golf course and the lakes. It was so beautiful there and the photographer was getting some great shots. With Spanish music playing in the background, everyone was really enjoying themselves. This of course meant that nobody wanted to move inside for dinner.

As I smiled at the guests I was concious of the best man following me around tapping his watch. When I announced the bride and groom into dinner, and made sure that they were comfortably seated, the bride commented that I was very bossy! It all became clear when Del Boy burst through the door carrying a host of funny props. As we had provided Del Boy with a detailed seating plan he knew which guests were at what table and proceeded with a super, and personalised comedy half hour which set the guests rocking with laughter.

The atmosphere continued throughout the evening and as a really good tip, I suggest that an act either during your welcome cocktail or just before dinner is a great idea to liven up the day.

If you would like Del Boy or any other celebrity at your wedding, let us know and we will see what we can do!