When to book a wedding venue in Spain

The arithmetic of a Spanish season

Most of the venues we list host one wedding at a time, usually on a Saturday, from late April to mid October. That is about twenty-five Saturdays a year, fewer where a venue closes for August or opens late in spring. 33 of the 55 ask for a stay of two nights or more, which means a wedding takes the whole weekend and the Friday and Sunday are sold with it. A venue of that kind cannot host more than about twenty weddings a season however popular it is, and the popular ones fill eighteen months out.

The exceptions are the hotels and beach clubs, which can host more than one event a week and sell weekdays readily, and the day venues without beds, which turn around faster. They are where the short-notice dates live.

How far ahead, by what you want

A Saturday in June or September at a stay-over estate: twelve to eighteen months. These are the dates every couple wants, at the venues that can only do one a week.

A Saturday in May, early October or high summer on the coast: nine to twelve months. Still popular, with more venues to choose from.

A Friday or Sunday, or a weekday: six to nine months, sometimes less. Many estates price them below a Saturday, and a wedding weekend that starts on a Thursday makes Friday the natural day.

April, late October, or inland in July and August: three to six months is often enough. Spring and autumn inland are the best weather of the year in Andalusia and behind Barcelona; high summer inland is hot, which is why it stays open.

Which dates go first

June and September Saturdays first, almost everywhere. Then May and early October. On the islands and the coast July and August follow close behind, because the sea makes the heat workable and the long evenings are the point. Inland the order flips: the hills behind Barcelona and the estates of Andalusia sell spring and autumn before summer, and a July Saturday inland may be open when a May one is long gone. A bank holiday at home, whether British, German, Dutch or American, piles demand onto the same Saturday across the whole country.

Holds, deposits and contracts

Ask for a hold: most venues will keep a date for one to two weeks while you visit or decide, without payment. Confirming means a deposit, commonly 20 to 30 percent of the venue price, with the balance in one or two instalments before the wedding; some venues ask for the full hire sooner and the catering later. The contract says what is refundable, whether the deposit moves to a new date, and what happens if the venue cannot host you. Read the cancellation clause before the photography clause; the questions to ask a venue cover the rest.

If the date is less than a year away

Be flexible on one of three things: the day of the week, the month, or the venue type. A Friday in September at a finca, a Saturday in April at a cortijo, a weekday takeover at a hotel: all are real options at short notice. Cancellations happen too, and a venue with a freed Saturday will take a decisive couple over an empty week. Name two or three venues and a range of months in an enquiry and we come back with the dates each one still holds. The weather guide says what each month is like by region; the collection by region lists every venue with its figures.