Who this guide is for
It's written for couples who are nine to eighteen months from their wedding day and facing three choices at once: hire a wedding planner, lean on the venue's own coordinator, or plan everything yourselves. It's also for the parents who are helping pay and want to understand where the money actually goes — without sales talk, and without any promise that your day will be "flawless".
What a wedding planner actually does — and does not do
A wedding planner is the person who holds the whole thing together: the idea, the budget, the timeline, the suppliers and the day itself. Here's how we work in practice, in the four steps published on our site: Discovery — we listen closely to your vision and what matters most; Concept — we design a bespoke creative concept with mood boards, a palette and a detailed production plan; Production — we manage every supplier, timeline and detail; and The Day — our team is on site running the day in real time.
What a planner does: turns your idea into a workable concept, sources and negotiates with suppliers, builds and guards the budget, makes the timeline (both the planning journey and the day), handles guest and transport logistics, and solves problems quietly on the day so you don't have to. You have one dedicated point of contact throughout.
What a planner does not do — and this matters just as much: we don't make your decisions for you, we can't conjure away a budget that doesn't add up, and we don't guarantee outcomes. We're also straight about what we don't take on: we do not offer day-of-only coordination (stepping in on the wedding day alone after someone else has planned everything), we don't work from fixed template packages, and we decline briefs where we're brought in too late or where the timeline and budget don't allow us to deliver to our standard. We'd rather say no in time than yes to the wrong job.
The timeline: from 12–18 months out to the day, month by month
This is the order we work in ourselves. The exact dates suppliers in your specific region fill up vary by season and year, but the order holds. In our experience, the more sought-after the venue and the higher the season (May–September on the Costa del Sol and Mallorca; June–August in Sweden), the earlier you need to move.
- 12–18 months out: Set a rough budget and an approximate guest list — those two drive everything else. Decide the location and season. Hire your planner now if you want one; we prefer to come in at this stage because it's when we can shape the most. Book the venue. In our experience the most in-demand venues and the best photographers go first, often more than a year ahead for peak-season Saturdays.
- 10–12 months out: Book the photographer and, if you want one, the videographer. Book catering or confirm the venue's kitchen. Start catering tastings.
- 8–10 months out: Book florist, music (DJ or band) and transport. Send save-the-dates, especially for a destination wedding where guests need to arrange travel and accommodation early.
- 6–8 months out: Lock the concept, palette and styling details. Reserve room blocks for guests. Begin stationery (invitations).
- 4–6 months out: Send invitations. Fit the dress/suit. Book hair and make-up. Plan the ceremony/officiant and the legal side (see the legal section below — start earlier if you're marrying legally abroad).
- 2–3 months out: Chase RSVPs, do the seating plan, confirm final numbers and dietary needs with catering, walk the day's run-sheet through with every supplier.
- 2–4 weeks out: Final payments, final headcount, venue and supplier walk-through, weather plan (a rain plan for anything outdoors).
- The week and the day: We take over the operational side. You should be able to be present at your own day.
Full-service vs partial vs on-the-day coordination — what each includes
The industry usually splits planning into three tiers. Here's what each means, who it suits and the honest trade-offs. Exactly what's included and how many meetings you have varies with the brief; we walk through it with you before you decide, and the figures are on our weddings page.
Full-service planning
The planner is with you from first idea to last guest: concept, budget, all suppliers, styling, timeline and delivery. Suits couples who want to be present rather than responsible, who are planning remotely (classic for destination weddings), or who have a larger production. Trade-off: the highest cost, but also the most taken off your plate and the biggest influence on the result. It's the tier we most often work at.
Partial planning
You've started yourselves — perhaps booked the venue and a supplier — and bring in a planner for the rest and to quality-check the whole. Suits couples happy to do some of it but who want professional help with the hard parts: supplier selection, budget control and the day. Trade-off: it asks more of you, and needs clear lines about who does what, or things fall between the cracks.
On-the-day coordination
Someone steps in for the final weeks, takes over the run-sheet and suppliers, and runs the day only. Suits couples who've planned everything themselves and just want to let go on the day. Honest trade-off — and an important thing about us: we don't offer day-of-only coordination. We don't believe you can be responsible for a day you didn't help build. If that's all you need, a standalone day coordinator or the venue's own coordinator is often a better, cheaper fit than us — and we'll tell you so plainly.
"Do we need a planner if the venue already has a coordinator?"
Short answer: sometimes, but not always — and we won't pretend otherwise. A venue coordinator works for the venue. Their job is that everything to do with the building works: that the space is ready, that the venue's staff and often the venue's kitchen deliver, that the house rules and hours are kept. That's valuable, and sometimes it's enough.
A wedding planner works for you. We handle everything outside the venue's four walls too: photographer, florist, music, transport, guest logistics, concept and styling, the whole budget and the whole timeline — and we're impartial about which suppliers suit you best.
When the answer is no, you don't need us: if you're marrying at a hotel or restaurant with a complete in-house package, a guest list that fits the house's routines, and the time and appetite to handle the rest yourselves — the venue's coordinator can go a long way. When the answer is yes: destination weddings, many external suppliers, a clear creative idea that needs holding together, or simply when you want to be guests at your own wedding. Always ask the venue directly: is a coordinator included, for how many hours, and what does that coordinator not cover? The answer tells you whether there's a gap to fill.
What a wedding costs in Marbella, Mallorca and Gothenburg/Sweden
Here we're strict: we don't publish a price figure we can't back with a dated, named source. Plenty of guides throw out "roughly €X" with no origin — we don't. Actual cost ranges for Marbella, Mallorca and Gothenburg/Sweden go on our investment page only once we can back them with our own experience figures or a dated public survey, with source and date.
What we can say honestly right now: the total is driven less by location and more by guest count and level of ambition. Every extra guest costs in food, drink, a seat, stationery and sometimes transport. The biggest lines in a wedding budget are usually venue, food and drink, photo/film, florals and styling, music, and attire — but an exact percentage budget split by category needs data we won't publish without a source. A destination wedding adds travel (yours and sometimes suppliers') and accommodation — plan for it from the start.
How planners charge — percentage, flat, hourly or retainer
There are four common models in the industry, and it's worth understanding them before you compare quotes:
- Percentage of budget: the fee is a share of the total (often around 10–15% internationally). Upside: scales with the size of the job. Downside: can feel like the planner benefits when you spend more.
- Flat fee: a set fee for a defined scope. Upside: predictable. Downside: needs the scope clear from the start.
- Hourly: you pay for time spent. Upside: suits small, bounded jobs. Downside: hard to forecast the total.
- Retainer: an ongoing fee across the planning period. Upside: continuous access. Downside: less tied to concrete delivery.
Our own levels, plainly: partial planning from €1,500 for a small wedding, full planning from €3,000 — always a flat fee agreed per project (significant changes to the scope can increase it), and we add no markup on suppliers' prices. We know a plain "from" price is a stronger, more honest answer than "price on request", and that simply writing "contact us for pricing" hands the cost question to aggregators. Two questions to ask whatever the model: Do you take commission from the suppliers you recommend? and Do you add a markup to suppliers' prices? You should demand a written answer from whoever you hire.
Venues in Marbella, Mallorca and Gothenburg/Sweden — types, seasons and capacity
Different venue types make different demands on the planning:
- Finca / private estate: private grounds, often with an outdoor ceremony and dinner. Beautiful but "dry" — much is built in (kitchen, marquee, sound, lighting, toilets, generator). The most production-heavy.
- Manor / castle: character and setting, often in Sweden. Check the curfew (the cut-off time for music/outdoors) and the indoor capacity if it rains.
- Coast / beach club: classic for the Costa del Sol and Mallorca. Weather and wind are real factors; always have a plan B.
- Hotel: the most built-in service (kitchen, coordinator, rooms for guests). The least to build, but more house rules to work within.
- Restaurant: suits smaller parties and intimate weddings; simple kitchen and service on site.
- City venue: a flexible location for guests, often in Gothenburg.
Season: the Costa del Sol and Mallorca are strongest May–June and September–October (July–August is very hot); Sweden is effectively June–August. Peak-season Saturdays go first. Capacity questions to ask every venue: how many seated dinner guests fit indoors and outdoors, can the ceremony be held on site, what's the curfew, and is there a rain plan that fits everyone.
We've produced events at hotels, beach clubs and private fincas across the Costa del Sol. We don't list them by name in this guide, though: crediting a specific venue in a guide needs the venue's consent, which we obtain before we publish a name. For the same reason we don't name individual couples or weddings here.
Suppliers — photographer, florist, catering, music, transport
These choices make or break a day. Here's how we choose, and what you should ask:
- Photographer (and videographer): book early — good photographers go first. Look at whole weddings, not just highlight shots, and match style (documentary vs. staged). Ask: is a second shooter included, how many finished images, delivery time, and rights to the images?
- Florist: ask for a mood-board meeting and a clear budget. Ask what's in season (cheaper and fresher) and what's imported. Ask whether set-up and take-down are included.
- Catering: book a tasting before you sign. Ask how they handle dietary needs and allergies, staff-to-guest ratio, and whether drink is billed per bottle or per head.
- Music (DJ or band): ask about sound limits at the venue (curfew), backup in case of illness, and how breaks are handled.
- Transport: for a destination wedding, almost always necessary — shuttle buses between hotel and venue solve the late night and alcohol. Ask about capacity, schedule and the last run.
We work with an established network of suppliers in our regions. We always credit a supplier for their work and never claim someone else's work as ours. Named partners in published material need their consent, which we obtain before we credit anyone by name.
A sample wedding-day timeline (EXAMPLE)
EXAMPLE — a wedding of about 80 guests, outdoor ceremony with dinner and party. This is illustrative, not a promise; the reality is adjusted to your venue, light and season.
- 09:00 Hair and make-up begin for the couple and closest family.
- 11:00 Suppliers arrive: florist, catering, sound/light. We lead set-up, styling and final checks.
- 13:00 Photographer arrives, getting-ready shots.
- 15:00 Guests arrive, welcome drink.
- 15:30 Ceremony (about 30 minutes).
- 16:00 Mingle, group photos, the couple take portraits in the afternoon light.
- 18:00 Dinner begins; speeches spread between courses per the run-sheet.
- 21:00 First dance, dance floor opens.
- 21:30 Cake and evening mingle; shuttle bus one for guests leaving early.
- 00:30 Music stops per the venue's curfew; last shuttle.
- 01:00 Take-down begins; we oversee it to the last box packed.
Guests and logistics — especially for a destination wedding
A destination wedding is as much travel planning as party planning. What we always allow for:
- Travel and accommodation: send save-the-dates early (8–10 months), suggest two or three hotels across price points and reserve room blocks (rooms pre-booked at a guest rate). State the nearest airport and travel time.
- Children: decide early whether the wedding is child-friendly or not, and communicate it clearly. On-site childcare can solve both the parents' evening and the late hour.
- Dietary needs and allergies: collect them via RSVP, not on the day. Give catering exact numbers two to three weeks out.
- Accessibility: check level changes, surfaces (gravel and heels are a classic conflict on fincas), toilets, and transport for guests with limited mobility.
- Communication: a simple wedding page or an info sheet with times, addresses, dress code, weather and transport cuts the number of questions dramatically.
Legal and practical steps
Sweden/Gothenburg: Before marrying in Sweden you need a hindersprövning (an examination that nothing bars the marriage), carried out by the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket). Per Skatteverket, the examination is valid for four months and the validity cannot be extended — if you don't marry within the window you must apply again (source: skatteverket.se, fetched 2026-09-03). Once approved you receive a certificate for the officiant.
Spain (Marbella/Costa del Sol) and Mallorca: The requirements for a civil marriage in Spain for foreign couples — including any residency requirement and which documents are needed — vary and should be confirmed with the right authority (the local Registro Civil / Ministerio de Justicia). We don't publish legal requirements we can't cite from an official source. In our experience many international couples complete the legal marriage in their home country and hold the ceremony in Spain — but always confirm the legal route with the right authority well ahead (start at least 6–8 months out).
Whatever the country, in practice: check the alcohol/serving licence (who's responsible — the venue or you), event insurance, and the venue's safety and sound rules. For a destination wedding, allow time for document legalisation/apostille and translation.
Common mistakes — and 10 questions to ask a planner before booking
Common mistakes we see: setting the guest list to the venue instead of the other way around; underestimating travel costs on a destination wedding; booking the photographer late; not having a rain plan that fits every guest; not asking about the curfew until the music has to stop; comparing quotes without comparing scope; and bringing in help too late for it to shape anything.
Ten questions to ask before you book a planner:
- What exactly is included in your fee, and what's extra?
- How do you charge — percentage, flat, hourly or retainer?
- Do you take commission from suppliers, or add a markup to their prices?
- How many meetings do we have before the wedding, and who is our dedicated contact?
- How many weddings do you take on the same weekend?
- What happens if you're ill on the day — who steps in?
- What are your deposit and cancellation terms?
- Have you worked in our region and at our type of venue?
- Do you work with the venue we've already booked?
- What do you not do — where does the scope end?
The questions this guide is built to answer
What does a wedding planner actually do — and do we really need one?
A wedding planner holds the whole thing together: concept, budget, timeline, suppliers and the day itself, with one dedicated contact throughout. You need one if you're planning remotely, have many external suppliers, or want to be guests at your own wedding. You don't if the venue has a complete in-house package and you have the time and appetite to handle the rest. We'll tell you plainly which applies to you.
How far in advance do you have to book a wedding planner?
In our experience: as soon as you have a rough budget and guest list, usually 12–18 months out. We prefer to come in early, because that's when we can shape the most — and the most sought-after venues and photographers go first, often over a year ahead for peak-season Saturdays (May–October on the Costa del Sol/Mallorca, June–August in Sweden). Running late? Ask anyway; sometimes it works.
Do we really need a planner for a destination wedding in Europe, or can we do it ourselves?
You can do it yourselves — but a destination wedding is as much travel logistics as party, done remotely and often in another language. A planner with a local network saves you time, costly mistakes and late-night stress, and is impartial in supplier choices. If you're comfortable with the language, travel and coordination and have plenty of time, it's entirely possible without one. We're honest about when your day is simple enough not to need us.
What's the difference between a wedding stylist, a coordinator and a wedding planner?
A stylist owns the visual — concept, décor, flowers and look. A coordinator runs the logistics, usually mainly the day itself and the run-sheet. A planner holds everything together across the whole planning journey: budget, suppliers, timeline, styling and the day, with one dedicated contact. In short: the stylist makes it beautiful, the coordinator keeps it flowing on the day, the planner is responsible for the whole from first idea to last guest.