ASdTorrevieja Information - tourist guide: The wedding season is upon us

The wedding season is upon us
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Keith Nicol on 01 June, 2010 11:28:00

WEDDINGS in Spain for expatriates mainly take place in two months of the year:

June and September. Apart from the excellent value for money associated with
having a wedding or symbolic blessing in Spain, every type of wedding service
supplier that one finds back in the UK or Ireland is also found here, plus the
chances of having a sunny and dry day, is possibly ten-fold over what one could
hope for in the British Isles!
However, the ‘crisis’ has also had a big effect on the wedding, communion
and celebration market. Not only are couples cutting down on their expenditure
for their wedding but some are also putting off tying the knot completely, until
things look a little better economically. One might expect such feedback from
the expatriate community but the section being hit hardest is the Spanish
marketplace. Tony from AG Fotographic in Torrevieja said that “our bookings
are down by about a third and most couples are leaving planning their wedding
day until the last minute.”
Nick Knight from Photo Video Spain reported much the same thing: “Most of our
bookings come through the internet and many are from Ireland, so the exchange
rate is not an issue. However, couples are now more willing to compromise. The
date is more flexible and once they have picked a venue, only then will they
start to book services. We have more than one photographer on our books so we
can usually say ‘yes’ to a late request, but many others can not.” Those
that are noticing a definite downturn are what some my see as
‘non-essential’ services. One of the hardest hit is that of Weddings cars.
Daffyd Evans-Jones from Prestige Autos Espana said that “2010 has been very
slow for us, even though we especially imported a longer wheelbase Rolls-Royce
Silver Spur especially for the special event market.” Brandon Keith from Costa
Blanca Weddings echoed Daffyd’s remarks; “this year video bookings tend to
be for our basic packages just to cover the ceremony while many couples are
relying on family or friends to video their special day!”
On a more positive note, Valerie from Valerie’s Novias in Pilar de la Horadada
said that although her sales of wedding dresses was slow this year, purchases of
wedding cakes has been higher than ever, with requests from such locations as
Barcelona, Madrid and the Costa del Sol. Louise Bradley from Lindyloo in Spain
said that “it was almost impossible to plan for 2010. Couples are walking into
my La Zenia shop and saying they are getting married in two weeks and can I help
organise their day!” The other good news is that bookings and enquires for
2011 are very positive so 2010 seems to be a season of survival and, with an
election in Spain planned for 2011 and an upturn in the economy, maybe the
Wedding market shall be booming once again.
Keith Nicol