Intimate wedding in Mallorca:how to plan a small wedding

An intimate wedding in Mallorca is a wedding planned for few people, and that decision changes more than it seems: the place, the rhythm of the day, the table, the ceremony and the way the photographs and the film come closer. This guide sets out what changes, what stays the same and when it makes sense. It does not talk about guest numbers, because no figure makes a wedding intimate: intention does.

What an intimate wedding is, and is not

An intimate wedding is not a large wedding cut down. It is a wedding planned from the start so that few people fit and each one counts. The difference shows in one gesture: at a large wedding you greet; at an intimate one, you talk.

Nor is it a synonym for quick or simple. There are fewer guests, but there is still a ceremony, a meal, music, light and paperwork. What you gain is something else: time with each person and a day to which you can leave some slack without it falling apart.

Who counts as "few" is for you to decide. The only advice is to fix the guest list before the place: if you choose a house first and count guests afterwards, the venue ends up deciding for you.

When it makes sense

There is no recipe, but there are situations in which intimate is often the best idea:

• When almost everyone would have to travel. On an island, each guest from abroad adds a flight or a ferry, somewhere to sleep and days off. With a small group, that effort is asked of fewer people and appreciated more. What changes for someone arriving from elsewhere is covered in out-of-town wedding guests: where they sleep.
• When you want to talk to everyone. If what you fear most about a wedding is not having a minute with anyone, a short list solves it better than any timetable.
• When the place is small by nature. A courtyard, a village house, a terrace: spaces that cannot bear a large wedding and that, with few people, are perfect.

And there is one situation in which it is worth thinking twice: when a short list opens a family conflict you do not want to open. One way out is to hold the legal act with a few people and celebrate with more on another day; both ways of splitting it are in civil wedding in Mallorca: legal and symbolic.

What stays the same: the paperwork

Being few does not change the procedure. If you marry in Spain by a civil ceremony, the same prior file is needed, and the Civil Code describes the legal act without mentioning guests: it is celebrated by whoever the law lists, the mayor or the councillor to whom the mayor delegates, a court clerk or a notary, and the record is signed by the officiant, the two of you and two witnesses.

Two practical consequences follow. First: the witnesses are two of the people present, so at an intimate wedding it is worth choosing them as carefully as you would choose best man and maid of honour. Second: the order of the paperwork rules over the date, even when guests are few. If one of you lives abroad, the order of decisions is in marrying in Mallorca from abroad; what is legal, what is symbolic and who can come to an estate, in the civil wedding guide. We do not repeat it here.

The place: a house to your measure

With few guests a door opens that is closed at a large wedding: houses that would not have worked, a courtyard, a terrace, a village hall, a restaurant just for you. The kinds of place on the island are set out in where to hold a wedding in Mallorca, by type.

Three questions that weigh more at an intimate wedding than at a large one:

• Whether use is exclusive that day. It is what gives real privacy: nobody else crossing the garden and no other event in the background.
• Whether the venue imposes a minimum spend or minimum guests. A minimum designed for a large wedding can make a small celebration pointless. Ask for it in writing; why no estate publishes its rates explains how to compare proposals.
• What happens if it rains. A covered space is easier to find for few people, but decide in advance who makes the change and at what time; it is covered in wedding in Mallorca if it rains: the plan B.

The rhythm: a day with room to breathe

A small day does not have to be short. Usually there is time to spare: no queue for the aperitif, no groups to gather, no rooms to change. So you can leave space: a ceremony as the afternoon fades, an unhurried meal, a long table that lingers or not as you wish.

One piece of timetable advice: build it towards the light, not the clock. On an island the sun sets in a different place depending on the month, and the best hour for a ceremony is decided by looking at it; wedding in Mallorca: the best hour of light explains.

The table and the music

At a small wedding the table is usually a single one, and that changes everything: a menu you can discuss with whoever cooks it, dishes in the centre, toasts that everyone hears.

You still need to ask the venue whether it has its own kitchen or admits outside catering, and until what time music may play: outdoor music has its rules, and they depend on the municipality. The questions are in outside catering and music at a Mallorca wedding.

The ceremony: let it be heard

With few people, the ceremony can be what it almost never is at a large wedding: a conversation. The words are heard, the faces are seen, and whoever leads can look at those who are there.

The first is who leads. If the ceremony is symbolic, anyone you choose; if it is the legal one, whoever the law lists. The second is what part those present take: a reading, a few words from each witness, a song sung by everyone. At a wedding of few, these small contributions weigh more than any decoration.

Photographs and film, closer

This is where it shows most. At a large wedding the camera shares its attention among many people and many moments; at a small one it can stay with each. Everyone present has a place in what is told, and small gestures, one hand squeezing another, a laugh out of frame, take up more room than at a large wedding.

Three things change. There is more calm for the portraits of the two of you, with nobody waiting. The film can pick up what is said at the table and in the ceremony, because it can be heard. And the camera is more noticeable: with few guests, nobody gets lost in the crowd, so it is wise to talk beforehand with whoever carries it about how they work and how close they come.

If you think of photography and film together, it is easier for them to tell the same story; we explain it in Mallorca wedding photographer and filmmaker.

Before deciding

An intimate wedding is decided in a different order from a large one. This is the one that works best:

• The guest list, before the place.
• Which act will be the legal one, where and before whom.
• Whether the venue is for exclusive use and what minimums it asks.
• Which ceremony you want and who leads it.
• How to tell those who will not be there: in good time, in your own words and before they hear it from others.

With those five answers, the rest, the table, the music, the details, is settled calmly. And if what you imagine is a day for few and well looked at, tell us your story: we will reply in writing.

Frequently asked questions

How many guests does an intimate wedding have?

There is no figure that defines it. It is intimate when you can talk to each person and the place, the table and the ceremony are planned for that group. What helps is to fix the list before choosing the venue.

Is an intimate wedding cheaper?

Not necessarily. With fewer guests there are fewer tables, but some venues ask a minimum spend or minimum guests, and travel to an island weighs the same. Ask for the terms in writing and compare using the same guest list.

Is any different paperwork needed for a small wedding?

No. If you marry by a civil ceremony in Spain, the file, the officiant and the two witnesses are the same. The procedure, and what is legal and what is symbolic, are in our guides on marrying in Mallorca from abroad and on the civil wedding.

Can the legal act be held with a few people and the celebration with more another day?

Yes, it is one of the three usual ways of ordering the day. Tell your guests clearly so that nobody takes as married that day those who are not yet.