Barcelona Wedding Planner – Which one to choose?

Are you planning a wedding in Spain are you struggeling to make the best pick for your Barcelona Wedding planner?
Well, we have got you covered here. Being a destination wedding photographer and videographer from Spain, we believe that every couple deserves to relax and enjoy the wedding and make cooler memories.
And that is why we decided to share everything we have learned over the years with our bittersweet experiences with wedding planners in Barcelona.  If hosting a destination wedding under the warmth of the Spanish sun in Barcelona is what you wish for your wedding day, then you are in the right place. We live in Spain and being wedding photographers and videographers, we have worked with various wedding planners in Barcelona. All set to mine the one that best suits you? Let us dig deeper and help you make the right choice for your wedding day! 

Wedding planning service  – what does it mean?

 Who is a wedding planner? Think of it in a way, if you had a magic wand to fix all the minutest details and handle the stressful moments on the most significant and happiest day of your life. Taa-Daa! Your wish is granted.That is what a wedding planner will do for you. 
Please note: Wedding planners in Barcelona are commonly referred to as event planners or even as a wedding designer, and also as a bridal consultant. A wedding planner helps couples plan, organise, and manage their wedding. A wedding planner will not only help you with wedding event planning but also provide professional advice for all the wedding services. The job description of a wedding planner is different for every wedding, but the ultimate goal of a wedding planner for every wedding is to share their expertise and provide with the best resources and make the event a memorable one for the couple and their family. A wedding planner or an event planner will help you with full wedding planning or even with partial wedding services. Many times a couple prefers to hire a wedding planner to just organize the wedding day and manage the rest of the wedding event planning on their own. Commonly in Barcelona, wedding planners are expected to help with tasks like:

1. Projecting and managing the estimated budget of the weddings.
2. Assist with searching and booking the wedding venue.
3. Recommend vendors for wedding events planning. 
4. Organizing the wedding and managing the smooth proceeding.

Why be swamped with decision making for every element of event planning? Rather, how about stealing some time out for that romantic dinner date exploring your wedding destination? Sounds perfect. Right? Being a wedding photographer and videographer from Spain, I must stress on hiring a local wedding planner in Barcelona. It is the most fundamental part of hosting a magically perfect and smooth destination wedding. Planning, organising and executing a wedding event in foreign land is quite an adventurous ride in itself, choosing the right venue, vendors in a new place with a different language might get a little overwhelming. Here, walks in your wedding designer, a wedding planner in Barcelona will weed through your list of tasks. The event planner will shortlist and deal with vendors like a local, this surely will take many responsibilities off your plate. Feel off burdened already? Sure you do. Being a local wedding designer they will more efficiently negotiate for the wedding venues and other vendors, moreover, a wedding planner will also contribute their expertise with wedding laws and other tricky situations that you as an outsider might not be familiar with. If you are a couple who very enthusiastically wishes to be involved in every detail of the wedding and do it all by yourself. Well, we love you an extra mile for that. But, being a wedding photographer I have seen couples exhausting themselves with these things on their most significant day. And I would rather love to steal you and your partner to capture some special memories for a lifetime.I insist that it is always a good idea to appoint someone to coordinate and manage on your behalf on the wedding day. You and your partner and even your immediate family and friends will be busy getting dressed and attending the guests. And sure, you would certainly not like to invest time in keeping a check on decor arrangements, logistics, food, and favours. This is where a wedding planner will help you walk through these steps of the day smoothly. And, now that you are convinced you need a Barcelona wedding planner, how about diving a little deeper into this?
Let us discuss a little in detail about the points you should keep in notice while appointing a wedding event planner. Ready? 

Barcelona Wedding planner – 6 Things To Look For while choosing

You must have invested a lot of time in reading, researching and understanding the oh so romantic honeymoon getaway for the two of you. Right? Well, if you choose to invest a fair amount of time researching and reading about wedding planners in Barcelona before you resort to choosing one amongst the first five you find (to be honest there are over 100 plus wedding planners in Barcelona alone), you can save yourself a lot of money and time. In this section you will read about the top six things to look for before you appoint a wedding planner. This will definitely help you find the right one that aligns well with your personality and style. So, let us get started? 

1. Style of the wedding Planner

As a Barcelona wedding photographer and videographer when we meet our clients, we have observed that every couple has a fair image of how the wedding will be like, what kind of pictures they want. In the world of social media, weddings are all about aesthetics and focusing on finer details. When you are looking at choosing a wedding planner who will be responsible for designing your wedding (this includes invitations, decore, favours, and other things). It is important for both the parties to be on the same page, having similar taste and style sense will make the process smooth and will save a lot of time. I am sure if you are more of a classic style, you would not prefer investing time in exploring options that are loud, glittery and bold. And if your Barcelona wedding planner has the understanding of similar taste and style as you, then the process will become seamless and effortless. Isn’t it?

2. Portfolio and Website

Barcelona, currently being one of the hottest choices for destination weddings in Spain, you will find a plethora of wedding planners in Barcelona who promote themselves on a wedding business portal. But, in my opinion it is important to take time and carefully run through the social media handles and websites of the wedding planners. It is important to make sure that your event planner has an active social media presence (this will help in getting an idea of their past and current ongoing projects) and also an active website (this will make sure that they are well established and are also investing in their business). Furthermore, it is also advisable to walk an extra mile to make sure that the pictures used on their online platforms are genuine pictures of the work done by them. 

3. Works in a team or individual

As said above it takes a village to smoothly and effortlessly bring your wedding vision to reality. And if you opt for a wedding planner who claims to manage everything by itself, this sounds a bit risky. A wedding planning company with more than two to three people working will help you manage everything at ease. In unexpected situations (like if one of the team members falls sick, or is unavailable) the wedding arrangements are managed by others and you need not panic and fill in for your wedding planner. (Nobody wants to do that on their wedding day. Right?)

4. Is it a Legal Company

You do not want unpleasant surprise guests at your wedding. Right? By unpleasant surprise guests we mean Spanish authorities for inspection. Yes! You read that right. This is very common in Barcelona. Before you appoint your wedding planner in Barcelona, always make sure if they are a registered company and have a VAT /TAX number (often referred to as CIF, NIF, DNI in Spain) and a fiscal address. Any wedding planner not agreeing to  provide an invoice and offering to indulge in cash transactions should be considered as a red flag for you. You must ensure that your event planner runs a legalised and insured wedding planning business in Barcelona. 

5. Do They Have Experience with Destination Weddings?

Planning and executing a destination wedding is a double duty task, as it is a wedding which is more like an extended holiday with friends and family. The couple and guests are in a foreign land, so the responsibilities to manage the logistics, to ensure a comfortable stay, and food are doubled. It is important to opt for a wedding planner who has experience in planning destination weddings. Yes! You can ask them to prove their experience. A well established and reliable wedding planner in Barcelona will have a fair number of weddings under their umbrella to share as their experience. Moreover, if they are genuinely the best at what they do, they will not shy away from sharing references of the couples they have worked with in the past. 

6. Do They Work Fulltime On Weddings?

The Ultimate goal of your wedding planner should focus on the wedding. There are wedding planners who focus more on the aesthetic element (stationary, clothes, packaging of favors) of the wedding. But as a couple all you wish for is that your guests are comfortable, everything is well organised and running in time. Right?

How to Choose a Wedding Planner in Barcelona

Now that we already know what a wedding planner is, and what things to notice while appointing a wedding planner, you must be wondering how to choose a wedding planner in Barcelona? Well, we have got your back at that. To start with first and foremost is the style and taste of the event planner. As discussed above it is important that the taste aligns with yours. Moving further, we have curated a long list of things that will help you in choosing the right wedding planner in Barcelona. Ready for a long informative read? I suggest grabbing a cup of coffee. 

1. Budget

As a couple you have worked hard to save this chunk of money to invest in your most important day of your lives. You definitely do not want to end up making a costly mistake. Always opt for a wedding planner that falls under your budget, and moreover who believes in working under the provided budget. You always do not have to spend heaps to host the wedding of your dreams, your wedding planner will help you find ways to save cost on a few things and splurge where needed. 

2. Location

When hosting a destination wedding it is best to opt for a local wedding planner. When talking about hosting a destination wedding in and around Barcelona, hiring a wedding planner in Barcelona will save heaps of time and money. You will be benefited with the experience of a local in the nitty gritties of the wedding events.

3. Venue

Established and reliable wedding planners often have tie ups with venues best suited for destination weddings in Barcelona. While choosing a Barcelona wedding planner, ask for the venues that they have worked with before or if they have tie ups with the venues of your preference. This will help you in making a more informed decision and will also further help in shortlisting the wedding venue. 

4. Decoration and Design

The photographer in me cannot emphasise enough on the importance of aesthetics while planning weddings. Decor elements (flowers and centerpieces, adding a personal touch to everything) incorporating fine details in designing the invites, back drops, wedding favours all these things together contributes in making the wedding a memorable event.  Always ask for the portfolio of the wedding planner, make sure the designing aligns with what you have in mind. (And I love to add here that, most wedding planners in Barcelona will go out of their way to design the wedding your way and make it the most memorable day of your life.)

5. Sound and lighting

You do not want the sound system acting while you do your first dance and Man & wife. Right? It is always in your best interest if your wedding planner has a special technical team taking care of the sound and lighting system. Trust me, good lighting and sound quality can totally affect the pictures and videos of your wedding, which you and your family are going to cherish for your lifetime. 

6. Music

What is the first thing that hits your mind when you think of your wedding? For me, it was a crazy time with my friends and family dancing the night out. And Barcelona is a place to party, you can really have good music to dance to. Ask your wedding planner if they could arrange for the music to tune in with the vibe of your wedding party. (Insider tip – Wedding planners in Barcelona have a tasteful choice of music, make sure to make the most of their expertise on this.) 

7. Catering

Destination weddings are about exploring the new land, treating your taste buds with the local delicacies. And trust me your guests are going to be in awe when offered with yummy and delicious spanish food. While choosing a wedding planner in Barcelona, always ask if they can offer the best of both worlds, continental and authentic spanish food. Good food always wins the heart of wedding guests and you must never compromise here. 

8. Photographer and Videographer

Just like a local wedding planner will help you find the hidden gems for your wedding, ask your wedding planner if he has a list of wedding photographers and videographers from Barcelona, this will help you save on the travelling cost. (Coming from the horse’s mouth, when opting for a local photographer, you will find some really unique and unexplored spots for your wedding shoots. Also, if you have not yet gone through some of our work on wedding photography and videography, then you must check it out now).

9. Wedding dress and favors

As mentioned earlier Barcelona wedding planners are also often referred to as bridal consultants, make sure your bridal consultant has strong and professional contacts with boutiques and designers to help you find the wedding dress of your dream. Barcelona is home to some really talented designers, ask your wedding planners to help you connect with local vendors for wedding favours and bridesmaid’s gifts. 

10. After sales services

You must be surprised to read after sales service! Right? We are discussing an event here, not a product or service. I understand. But there are many elements that need to be taken care of by a wedding planner after the event. Like, making sure that any deposit made by you is returned timely, any legal or operational formalities to be done at the venue after the wedding. Your wedding planner in Barcelona must be well versed with all of the above and others as a local. 

11. Wedding Day Operations

As the name explains wedding planner, a lot of time and energy is invested in planning the wedding, but the key is operations. All the planning will go in vain, if it is not well executed on the wedding day. While choosing a wedding planner in Barcelona, double check the operations team of your wedding planner. Speak with their previous client and make sure they are efficient in executing the planning on the wedding day.  

12. Language

Destination weddings come with its challenges, the first language being Spanish might act as a communication barrier if you are an English speaking individual. Moreover, it will be a cherry on the cake if your wedding planner speaks both English and Spanish and can arrange for a priest that too speaks both English and Spanish for guests to enjoy, understand and feel involved in the wedding ceremony. 

How Much Does Wedding Planners in Barcelona Cost?

When it comes to the cost of hiring a wedding planner in Barcelona, there is no one size that fits all. You as a client get to choose the services that you want your wedding planner to offer, so you can always customise the services and request them to make a package accordingly. In general a decent wedding planner taking care of your complete wedding planning should cost you around $8000 – $12000. You should ideally allot 10-15 % of your wedding budget for your wedding planner, now this might sound a little too heavy for a wedding planner to you at the moment. But, trust me it is worth every penny, your wedding planner will be like your fairy godmother on your wedding day, they will do it all for you. Furthermore, when talking about wedding planners in Barcelona, you get what you pay for, the more established and reliable ones are certainly more experienced but they do come for a higher price. This doesn’t mean that the ones with a lower price don’t do their job well, it is like a railway track, you and the wedding planner have to walk parralley to bring your dream wedding vision onto the track in reality. Moving ahead, planning, organising and executing a wedding might take as long as six months or sometimes even a year. You can discuss with your wedding planner and fall into contract to have a clear picture for the cost of the project on the whole. Some Barcelona wedding planners will charge you on the basis of time that they invest on your wedding while others may charge you on the project basis. Furthermore, wedding planners also have a commission fixed with venues, vendors and even designer boutiques. If you choose to opt for the agencies that they have collaborated with, you can be benefited on the cost of the products. It is always a good idea to have an open relationship with your wedding planner and have a very clear and transparent understanding of the above said things. 

We are a destination wedding photographer and videographer because of our love and passion for both travel and photography. We believe in building a bond with our clients that lasts a lifetime and as we are from Spain and we have quite a fair amount of experience with Barcelona wedding planners and around we would love to help you connect with the best ones we know of here in Barcelona. Furthermore, You may feel free to write an email to us and with all our heart we would look into our database and help you connect with a wedding planner that matches your style and vibe. 

Bonus Tip: Because we love our readers!

Ok now, because you have stayed with us through this read! I have a bonus tip for you. Yes! As said, we would love to help you in every way we can. Here is the list of 5 destination wedding venues that work with wedding planners in Barcelona. Excited much? Let us read more in this down below. 

1. Casa Felix

A rustic yet luxurious Masia situated on the edge of a tiny village will give your wedding all the countryside vibes. This lovingly restored property is home to 21 suits, two swimming pools and lush green gardens that are perfect to host a close and intimate wedding with your ideal ones. Moreover Casa Felix collaborates with the wedding planners and is easy to book and host  the wedding of your dreams. 

2. La Baronia

This is the wedding venue for you if you as a couple enjoy architecture and history. La Baronia is home to elegant ballrooms decorated with baroque carvings, furniture and artworks from different eras, and offers an excellent village view. It offers a perfect scenic setting for your romantic wedding backdrop. La Baronia has a very helpful work culture and they collaborate with wedding planners in BArcelona with utmost ease and co-operation. 

3. Villa Catallina

Hosting an elopement or an extremely intimate but luxurious wedding? Villa Catallina must be the right choice for you. This is a private farmhouse renovated with exquisite taste. It offers breathtaking views of lush green landscapes and vineyards. Sounds like finding a secret little hidden gem. Right? This luxurious property is home to a pool, huge patio for your wedding brunch and 12 well decorated suites equipped with all amenities. Also, they are open to collaborate with wedding planners in Barcelona for hosting intimate weddings. 

4. Gran Hotel LA Florida

If you love all things luxury and grand then this luxurious 5 star hotel in Barcelona will be the best choice to host your destination wedding in Barcelona. This boutique hotel is known for its elegance and exquisiteness, your guests will surely be wowed looking at the perfect synthesis of the traditional and modern decor and design. A particularly wedding friendly venue as they are open to collaborations with established wedding planners in Barcelona. 

5. Casa Del Mar

A place with a histrionic personality, situated very close to the Garraf National park, this place is closely connected to the sea and is like a wedding venue in the paradise itself. A perfect place for weddings and photoshoots, at Casa Del Mar they believe in making your day memorable. This is why they have collaborated with caterers, florists, and also wedding planners in Barcelona. (If you are looking forward to exploring wedding venues for destination wedding in Barcelona, please take a moment to read our list of 40 top wedding venues in Barcelona. Hope this will help you in finding a perfect venue for your destination wedding in Barcelona.) Hope this long and thoughtfully curated piece of information will help you find a wedding planner in Barcelona that aligns well with your personality and helps you in designing, planning and executing your dream wedding day. Also to capture your special moments of a wedding day for a lifetime, feel free to connect with us. We believe in giving you cooler memories and we love to help you in every way we can.