Wedding traditions: Is a Spanish wedding very different from a British one?

In general: no.

This said, there are small details that differ.

Ceremony
In a Spanish wedding the best man position just does not exist. After the bride and the groom, the most important people are the father of the bride, and… the mother of the groom. The groom will enter the church first, lead (so to speak) by his really proud mother. Afterwards, the bride will enter lead by her equally proud father. The rings will be usually brought by a small child on a cute little cushion (the rings are always laced to the cushion just in case ;D). The friends of the couple will be asked to act as witnesses, but that’s it.
What we will do: well, a mix. Steve will enter on his proud mommy`s arm, but his best friend Colin will act as best man. There is a Catalan tradition according to which a friend of the groom should go to the bride’s place before the ceremony and give her the bouquet while reciting a poem. We are still pondering if we want to subject Colin to that….

Venue
In a Spanish wedding there are no speeches, but quite a lot of cheers to the happy couple, the bride, the groom, and the mothers of both (Mediterranean family values, you know). There is no throwing of the bouquet at all (so anxious single girls please do not be disappointed). What we do is different: the bouquet AND the small figurine of bride and groom that tops the wedding cake are going to be given, with much fanfare and joking, to friends of the bride and groom. The friends should be either a couple or a single girl, in the first case the wish is for a happy wedding and in the second for a cute boyfriend. The dinner will be followed by a party, usually beginning with a waltz or similar, and ending with kitsch songs.
What we will do: Again, a mix. There will be speeches. From my brother (my father has delegated the honour to him), and from Colin, who will have the opportunity to take revenge on Steve (who was best man on Colin’s wedding two years ago). And we will not waltz, this having nothing to do with traditions but with our complete inability to dance.

Dress code
Some of you have asked me about the dress code. Well, Spanish people like to dress up for weddings, specially the ladies. For an evening wedding as ours, either longish nightish dress or nice summer dress would be ok. A shawl is really popular for either decently covering in the church or warm up during the night. No tailed jacket required for the boys. It’s not usual to wear hats or pamelas, but I think my friends expect the British to wear them, so feel free.
As for weather conditions, in late May temperatures in Barcelona usually range between a minimum around 15, and a maximum around 20-25 (Celsius), warm spring for locals and hot summer for British. There is some risk of showers. That’s the median, of course, for instance last year May was rainy and fresh, and other years it has been scorching hot.

I link to some websites belonging to wedding professional photographers, so you have an idea of what people dress (these are real weddings):
http://www.insitufotografia.com/
Go to “album de fotos”, so you can see a complete wedding album.http://www.varicolorfotografia.com/
http://www.roafotograf.com/fla/entrada.html
Go to “Especial bodas”, and then “album”
http://2punt8reportatges.com/

Rosa

The reception menu...

Last week we had the first setback in our wedding planning. Our invitations will be delayed because the printing office “discovered” (after three weeks) that the model we had chosen is out of stock. Grrrrr. Well, let’s begin again…

But on the other side, the wedding menu is quite chosen. In the end of March we’ll have a test dinner and we’ll adjust some details, but for the moment it’s like this:

Cocktail

[Served on the restaurant terraces overlooking the city]

Cold snacks
-Bellota Spanish ham (jamon)
-Small cold cream and soups
-Cheese selection
-Tomato and fish tartalettes
-Quince and anchovies kebabs

Hot snacks
-Scallop and pear toasts
-Courgette and monkfish kebabs
-Black pudding and apple cocktail
-Cod and pepper croquettes
-Mini pork medallion with foie cream

“Barra libre” of soft drinks, beers, wine, cavas and cocktails

Dinner
[Served inside]

Salad of langoustines and fruit

Duck confit, with orange cream and strawberries

Lemon or raspberry sherbet

Wedding cake: chocolate sacher

Wine list
To be decided, but we are thinking a selection of Spanish wines: Red from Somontano or Ribera del Duero, white from Costers del Segre or Penedes, and Cava.

So, any allergy or disliking, please tell us as soon as possible. The restaurant does not mind serving something different, as long as they know in advance.

The Dinner Venue

Picture if you will a warm summer evening, perhaps a little bit of a breeze but not too much to chill, a glass of cava and a crepe or two. There's some light music in the background, much chatter in different languages, and plenty of laughter. It's the evening of 23rd May and you're on the terrace of El Xalet de Monjuic, with stunning views over Barcelona. As the light fades, the cathedral at Tibidabo emits its golden charm, the (yet) unfinished Sagrada Familia appears between the cranes, and El Torre Agba (Barcelona's Gerkin) turns a hundred different colours as the sun goes down. This is the venue for dinner, and while we'll be inside seated on the revolving floor, the views will be just as spectacular from the full height class windows of the lower salon.

They say pictures speak a thousand words, so here goes......

A brief glimpse of what El Novio will be wearing

Last Saturday, Rosa and I went window shopping for my wedding attire. Avenida Diagonal is full of style and panache, but that doesn't really describe me. I took one look at the "plastic" suit in c/Balmes and we walked on. After a couple of more semi-successful viewing in other mens stores, and a cortado and a croissant at Mauri in Rambla Catalunya, we reached Señor in Passeig de Gracia.....and left about 40 minutes later having paid for a suit, tie, shirt, waistcote......well he was an exceeding good salesman, and it is at least one more thing to cross off the "to do" list.

Sobre el menu

Bé, sembla que ja tenim força triat el menu. Vam passar pel Xalet per parlar amb l'encarregat i vam aprofitar per tastar tot el que sortis a la carta remotament similar al menu que ens feia gracia. Ens falten els aperitius, ja ho farem al tast oficial d'aquí un més aprox.

De moment la cosa aniria així

Aperitius

Freds

Pernil d'aglà
Iceberg de "xupitos" (crema de mango, de tomàquet verd, etc.)
Cristalls amb assortit de formatges
Mini tartaletes de seitons amb pasta de tomaquet
Brotxetes de codonyat amb anxoes

Calents

Cruixent de vieires amb pera confitada
Mini brotxetes de carbassó i rap amb taronja
Palets de poma verda i botifarra
Croquetes cremoses de bacallà amb pebrot escalibat
Mini llomillets amb crema de foie

Begudes: Barra lliure

Sopar

Amanida de llagostins amb purès dolços i flors

Confit d'ànec amb crema de taronja i cubs de maduixa

Sorbet de llima

Pastís: Sacher de xocolata


Bodega

Hem d'acabar de decidir, però pinta que posarem un Somontano negre, un Costers del Segre blanc i un cava.

Bé, qualsevol al·lèrgia o intolerància alimentària (física o psicològica) aviseu!!

A little more on Montjuic

As told in the previous post, the wedding venue is going to be in a restaurant in Montjuic. Montjuic is a rocky hill overlooking Barcelona, specially the seafront, and one of the best viewpoints for the city (the other being probably Tibidabo hill on the north). If you go down Las Ramblas until Colon, you’ll see the hill emerging abruptly on the right. The name probably derives from “mount of the jews”, because in medieval times the Jewish cementery was located there. The oldest construction is the hilltop Castle, which has the dubious honor of having been used more for attacking the city, than for defending it. The castle ramparts are a good viewpoint, but apart from that, it’s quite ugly. The castle excepted, the hill was quite unused until the early XX century. Two dates mark the development of the hill: The 1929 International Exhibition, and the 1992 Olympics. From 1929 are Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, the Magic Fountains, the Pueblo Español, and the layout of several gardens. From 1992 are the sport installations, and the development of even more gardens. So in the XX century, Montjuic went from a forest and bushy hill, into a place for sport complexes, museums and public parks. For instance El Xalet restaurant is located between the Miro Foundation Museum and the Olympic swimming pools.

For those of you that are planning a nice holiday on the occasion of our wedding, Montjuic is worth a look. Apart from the view and a little relaxation in the gardens, the place is heaven for the culture vultures. Begin with Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC), on the big mammoth pastiche building that presides Plaza de España. MNAC will appeal to the Medieval lovers, because it has the best collection in Europe of medieval frescoes.

On the other extreme, the Miro Foundation Museum, will appeal to the lovers of contemporary art, the Foundation also has a very good restaurant (that follows the Museum timetable).

For more eccentric tourism, you have the kitsch Pueblo Español. Built in 1929, it’s a pastiche “typical Spanish town”. . But it’s been rehabilitated, and now boasts also craftsman shops, exhibition halls, and restaurants.

And for the lovers of the so called “dark tourism”, the Cementery of Montjuich will be a must. And no, these are not very small apartments, even if the location is incredible good ….

Hola Chicos!

Hopefully by now your travel plans are beginning to take as much shape as our wedding plans. A few of you have been in touch regarding hotels and where to stay.

The church (see blog below) is in the old town, in a square just behind Passeig de Colom, which runs along the seafront. You can see on Googlemaps below that there's a small street running between the square and P. de Colom called "Carrer de Boltres". This would be an easy entry and exist point to get to the church, and the taxi drivers will know it.


View Larger Map

We can confirm the venue for dinner is Montjuic El Xalet (pronounced Chalet) in the gardens of the Parc Montjuic. It's a lovely dinner venue with fantastic views of Barcelona. We probably won't sit down to dinner until about 9pm so do have lunch before hand, which you can take at a very Spanish hour of around 2pm. On arrival at El Xalet we will begin with aperitifs on the terrace with drinks, followed by dinner from 9pm with a 3 course meal and of course the wedding cake.

We're planning on arranging for a coach to take guests from the church to the restaurant, and the restaurant will be able to arrange taxis for the return journey. I recently attended a business dinner there. The standard of English is excellent, even at the front door where despite me conversing in Spanish, the doorman insisited on speaking to me in English!

We're aware that Friday 22nd is the last day of school for many before the mid term break. I noticed that Easyjet is actually more expensive than flying with BA. Flights from London Heathrow can still be had for around £100 return, while Easyjet is around £100 just for the outbound leg on the Friday. If you can travel earlier than Friday, the prices are better and of course you'll have extra time here!

That May weekend will likely be very busy with tourists, and unfortunately the pickpockets will be out like flies. Please be on your guard at all times. They're usually Eastern European, and work in groups, women and well as men....and of all ages. It's common for a distraction to be created while the partner rifles through your pockets or bags. They're incredibly quick so if you do see anyone getting near to you, and you sense the behaviour is abnormal, its because it is. If you use the Metro or the bus wheh it's busy, move wallets from back pockets to front pockets, and you'll see people reverse their backpacks and wear them out in front. Las Ramblas is also a great venue for distractions, and it will be loaded with tourists.

There's an absolute ton of restaurants in Barcelona, and the further away from Las Ramblas, the better and cheaper they are. We'd strongly recommend NOT eating or drinking on Las Ramblas - it's a honey pot of tourists and always overpriced and actually not great food.

If you're stuck for hotels, and you want something a little bit different, give Anita a call as we're sure she'll have a few apartments for rent www.barcelonaflats.co.uk