How to book your chapel of love

For your special day you’ve decided to hold your ceremony in one of the charming whitewashed churches on Ibiza. But as you will soon realise, pencilling your name into the diary of any priest on the White Isle is not as easy as it sounds. First of all you have to get in contact with a priest who can perform the ceremony in your own language. Bear in mind that most priests do not speak English and of all the churches available on the island, only 2 of them have priests that speak English, so your choice will be quite limited.

If you want some peace of mind you should get in contact with Wedding Ceremonies Ibiza, Sam and her husband Johnny have been helping couples on the island for a very long time. They  not only help with all the paperwork but thanks to them you will be able to get married in any church on the island. As Sam told us, every  church is different, each of them has  its own style and charm.

If you decide to organise the ceremony by yourself and get in contact with an English speaking priest, then you have to take care of all the necessary paperwork and this can take a long time, especially when you are dealing with authorities abroad.

Bear in mind that Catholic ceremonies are only possible if either you, or your partner, are members of the Catholic faith. Then there are a number of other requirements that are a must-do and these include:
• All of the paperwork must be completed in your country of residence. It is your local priest who must prepare you for the marriage and complete all the necessary paperwork.
• You need to attend an official ‘Preparation for Marriage’ course.
• Put together the basic paperworks that you will need: birth certificates, baptism certificates, certificate of freedom to marry, pre-marriage course certificate. Some of the forms must be dated within 6 months, so don’t start the paperwork before! Your priest can advise you on these details as they can vary.
• To make sure your wedding is legally recognised, you must deliver the wedding certificates to the Spanish Civil Registry after the wedding. The forms to fill out are in Spanish so unless you have a knowledge of the language, we will advise to seek help, otherwise your wedding will not be recognised. Also it can take more than a week and sometimes even more, depending on the Town Hall. So give yourself plenty of time after the wedding, you can enjoy your honeymoon in Ibiza while waiting for the paperworks to be done. But if you don’t have all this free time and need to come back home before the paperworks are done, you will need someone on the island who could pick the certificates and post it to you. 
If you wish to take up this religious ceremony, we advise you not to make any confirmation on other arrangements until a date for the wedding has been agreed with the Church. Allow plenty of time to gather and submit all of the necessary documents.

If you would like to be married in a church but do not wish to have a Catholic ceremony you can choose to have a Church blessing, which is performed by the Anglican Church based on Ibiza. Although you do receive a marriage certificate, this is not a legally recognised document. It does require you to marry in your home country in a civil ceremony first.

Also in this case there are few requirements that are a must-do:
• Get in touch with the English Speaking Church of Ibiza and Formentera, who have permission to perform the ‘Sacrament of Holy Matrimony’ blessing.
• Find out which churches on Ibiza are available. Bear in mind that the Churches of Ibiza can only perform a limited number of weddings per year.
• Get married with a civil ceremony in your own country before holding your church blessing on Ibiza.
• Prior to the date of your wedding, it’s mandatory to attend an interview with the priest here and attend at least one service at the Anglican church here on the island.
• A copy of your civil marriage certificate and a copy of your baptism certificates will be required.

If you plan to get married through the Anglican Church, we advise you to wait until you get the date confirmed before organising any other arrangements you may have for your wedding day.

A guide to mass times, contact details and pictures of all the Ibiza Churches can be found here.