Civil
Weddings
It is possible to have a civil wedding in Spain. However,
be forewarned that you do have to meet some residency
requirements.
Thus, unlike a Catholic Wedding, you can not just show up
in Spain and hope to have a legal wedding because there can
be a lot of provisional paperwork to go through beforehand.
If you have been on the Padron in Spain for two or more
years, then it should not be problem
Symbolic
Blessing
By far the most popular option taken by couples fro the UK
and Ireland is a Symbolic Blessing.
With few exceptions (we need special permissions for Beach
Weddings, for example) these can take place anywhere and a
lot of Salones de Bodas are specially set up for this
function.
We have contacts with former ministers and clergy from the
UK and Ireland and, if you promise to keep it a secret, I'm
also a minister, but not many people know that!
A symbolic blessing is exactly the same as your church
service.
The only difference is that the paperwork is symbolic.
Everything else is as a legal church ceremony.
If you don't tell anyone beforehand, not one of your
guests, not even your parents, will know the difference,
unless you tell them.
The most popular options of legalizing your Blessing are to
have a Civil wedding back in the UK or Ireland, or visit
Gibraltar for the day.