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