So, you have been invited to a wedding here in the Spanish Costa Blanca. What now?
Each wedding is, of course, different, and as wedding planners, we're not at liberty to share all details of the planning with you.
But in the following topics, we'll give you relevant general information so that you can RSVP and plan your attendance.
Related pages on our site or useful links to other sites :
Yoep-P makes planning your attendance easy and stress free (page 29-02)Yoep-P is an online system which makes it very easy to plan your attendance to one of the weddings organised by Costa Blanca Events.
It's online, and therefore available 24/7, and saves a lot of time for the wedding couple, and for you.
As soon as the wedding couple adds a new family to their guest list, the system will e-mail you with the invitation and your username and password in Yoep-P.
This messages may arrive in your spam box, or exceptionally, it may even be blocked by the spam filter of your e-mail system. This is beyond our control.
That's why the wedding couple can also enter your mobile phone number.
If so, Yoep-P has also sent you a text message with your username and password.
Finally, on Yoep-P.com, you can also use the 'forgot my password' function.
Once logged in, what can you do in Yoep-P?
But first, in the next topic 'RSVP' we'll explain how to advise the wedding couple of your attendance, or that won't be able to make it.
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Confirm or decline your attendance (page 29-03)So, you've received your username and password for Yoep-P.
This online system makes it very easy to plan your attendance to one of the weddings organised by Costa Blanca Events.
Once you've read the welcome text, you'll know the 'where' and the 'when' of their wedding.
Obviously, they'll want to know if you'll be able to attend.
In Yoep-P, you only need to RSVP if you'll not attend the wedding.
If you will, you don't need to do anything, as Yoep-P automatically assumes that you'll attend.
But it is a good idea to send the wedding couple a personal note, either way. They'll appreciate your personal contact.
If you can't make it to their wedding ;
Done.
The wedding couples will be able to see that you won't be able to attend.
Related pages on our site or useful links to other sites :
Send save the date cards (page 28-04)The wedding dinner is an essential part of the day, and we want to make sure that you'll enjoy it.
Yoep-P makes it very easy to share your food intolerances or dietary requirements with us.
But you only need to if the wedding couple has chosen an individually served dinner.
If the couple has chosen a walking, buffet or show cooking dinner, then there is no need for you to set your intolerances.
Because in that case, you'll be able to decide on the spot which dishes you want to or can eat.
For an individually served dinner, you can submit your food intolerances or dietary requirements until 6 weeks before the wedding.
That's the moment that we close the planning, and changes are no longer possible.
What options are there?
It's all in Yoep-P.
If you have any of the above ;
Done.
Which menu will I be served?
For an individually served dinner, the wedding couple has chosen a set menu.
Now there are 3 options;
Your diet requirements or food intolerances are only used by us for the wedding dinner, not for any other meals, even if booked via us.
Related pages on our site or useful links to other sites :
Yoep-P makes planning your attendance easy and stress free (page 29-02)As their wedding planners, we need to be discrete, so we cannot share specific information about a wedding with guests.
On these pages, we've shared general information with you, which help you to plan your attendance.
It's up to the wedding couple to decide which info they want to share with their guests, and when.
In Yoep-P, they can write a 'guest welcome text' which can be as long as they want.
It can contain all type of info, images, links, etc, and they can change it as often as they want.
For example, in the beginning, only share essential info with you, but as time goes by, share more detailed info.
As wedding planners we don't review, nor are we responsible for the info given by the wedding couple. But we can write an additional 'info from planner to guests' text in Yoep-P.
You can find them in Yoep-P.com
Related pages on our site or useful links to other sites :
Travel to Spain (page 28-12)Often the bride and groom ask their guests to respect a dress code.
This can be a style, a colour or a combination.
Usually, the couple shares this info on their welcome and info page in Yoep-P
Related pages on our site or useful links to other sites :
Get ready to travel to the wedding (page 29-12)We recommend that you plan your trip in good time.
Usually, tickets become more expensive as time goes by.
And of course, you don't want to run the risk that the accommodation chosen or recommended by the bride and groom is full.
On the book travel arrangements page, we show you all info about travel options, airport transfer etc.
But please also check the recommendations of the wedding couple on their welcome page in Yoep-P.com
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Make travel arrangements for your wedding in Spain (page 28-07)As a guest, you may want to book personal services for the wedding.
Only the wedding couple can decide which services they want to enable for their guests.
If they do, these services can be booked in our online system, and must always be paid at the time of booking.
Every booking is final and cannot be changed, nor cancelled.
If enabled, you can find all info and prices, and link to book in Yoep-P.com, our online wedding planner system.
Bookings are possible until approximately 6 weeks before the wedding, when the planning is finalised.
HAIRSTYLIST AND/OR MAKEUP ARTIST
Some brides therefor prefer not to enable these services to their guests, since the service can only be done in the accommodation of the bride.
WELCOME DINNER
Often a welcome dinner 'to break the ice' is organised.
If so, it's usually, the evening before the wedding.
ACTIVITY OR EXCURSION
Often we're asked to book an activity or excursion one or more days after the wedding.
Please also check the info about these services on the wedding couples welcome page in Yoep-P.com
Related pages on our site or useful links to other sites :
Enjoy activity or excursion as a guest (page 29-17)The reception, after the ceremony, is the most chosen time to give your gift to the bride and groom.
You do so whenever you feel it's the most appropriate time.
There is no specific time in the planning for this.
However, some guests prefer to do so during a speech at dinner.
As wedding coordinators, we are not allowed to take gifts or envelopes into custody.
Usually, the bride and groom designate a member of the immediate family to keep the envelopes with money.
Please also check the info on the wedding couples welcome page in Yoep-P.com
Related pages on our site or useful links to other sites :
Travel to Spain (page 28-12)Your family or friend is getting married, and you're considering how to surprise them.
Usually, the wedding couple only shares the basic info about their wedding day with their guests, not the details.
But as their wedding planners, we've been in close contact with them to carefully and meticulously plan the day.
So we know the best time for you to do your surprise.
After all, you don't want to spoil their wedding day by, for example, starting a speech when the waiters leave the kitchen with the main course of the wedding dinner.
Therefore, we kindly ask you to contact us about your plans by submitting your request via the Q & A button in Yoep. Your secret/surprise is safe with us.
Together, we'll decide when the best moment is.
On the wedding day, we'll ensure everything is ready, and only the venue and vendors know what's about to happen.
If you need equipment, like an audio system, television, etc., we'll check if it's available, or if not, rent it for you.
Some couples absolutely don't want any speeches, acts or surprises.
If so, we ask them to advise their guests on their welcome page on Yoep-P.com.
You can advise us of your plans via the Q & A button in Yoep.
WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS?
Often, wedding couples order a guest book, photo booth, wish balloon, etc., themselves. That's another reason why you need to check your plans with us.
If they haven't ordered one of the options, it may be a good idea for you, possibly with some friends, to order it from us as a surprise to the couple.
You can find all the options via the link to the wedding wishes page at the bottom.
SPEECHES
We recommend planning speeches between the courses of the wedding dinner. It's the best time since everyone is present and a sound system with a microphone is available.
Between 2 courses there is always a gap of about 10 minutes, which is ideal to do a speech.
But to ensure that no dish is being served or is getting cold during your speech, we need to know beforehand, and we'll advise the kitchen so that they can plan the preparation of the courses accordingly.
Speeches during the reception after the ceremony are not very common since it's also when photoshoots are organised.
VIDEOS OR SLIDESHOWS
A video or slide show is often a fun moment on the wedding day.
But most venues here in Spain don't have the necessary equipment, so they must be rented at extra cost.
We can rent the equipment for you, but it can be expensive, and we don't take responsibility for it.
But you can also bring a computer or tablet and show it around
We strongly recommend;
Beamers for outdoor use are difficult to rent, very expensive and don't work very well outdoors. So a large flat-screen television is the best option.
The brands and types of rental TVs vary, and we can only pick them up on the wedding day, so we cannot test your content in advance.
The equipment is available until the Costa Blanca Events team leaves the wedding, usually shortly after the dance party has begun.
This, however, leaves enough time for the equipment to be used during the reception or dinner.
The rental price must be paid in full at the time of reservation and is final. No refunds are allowed.
Related pages on our site or useful links to other sites :
Guestbook and guest wishes (page 16-48)Most brides have stress during the last 6 weeks before their wedding.
This is why, at Costa Blanca Events, we always plan a 'close planning video call' or personal meeting, with the wedding couple.
After the call, we finalise the planning and send the final wedding plan/script to the couple.
Because all decisions are made, and everything is clearly written in the plan, our brides never have stress.
Most wedding couples then update their welcome text in Yoep-P one last time.
For guests, it means that you'll no longer be able to submit orders or changes in Yoep-P.com.
Any last-minute, unforeseeable changes are always subject to request.
Related pages on our site or useful links to other sites :
Send save the date cards (page 28-04)We recommend to make a list of things to do, and things to bring to the wedding.
Perhaps you've prepared a speech, act, video or slideshow.
Making a list beforehand avoids stress on the day of departure, and ensures that you haven't forgotten anything.
Related pages on our site or useful links to other sites :
Welcome to Spain (page 29-14)And so the departure day has arrived.
Check and double-check your 'things to do' and 'things to bring' list before leaving home.
Have a safe trip, and see you in Spain!
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Safely return home (page 29-19)Welcome to Spain!
You've probably pre-booked your airport to accommodation transfer, the only options left are taxis or rental cars.
Most flights arrive between 8, and 10 am, you can be in your hotel or accommodation around 11 am, too early to check-in.
Most hotels allow check-in from 16:00 h ( 4 pm ), but often rooms are already available between 12 - 14 h ( noon - 2 pm ).
So, yes you can go to the hotel or accommodation, but you'll likely have to wait.
If you've booked a welcome dinner with us, then that's the moment the experience will start for you.
Related topics on this site and useful links ;
Airport transfer (16.2)
Accommodation (16.3)
Rental car info & booking system: https://www.centauro.net/en/?vend=7592
Related pages on our site or useful links to other sites :
Airport transfer (page 16-02)Today is the day that many have been waiting for, especially the wedding couple.
Personal services
Guest who have booked a hairstylist or makeup artist through our system, have received an e-mail reconfirmation with the date, place and time of the appointment a few days before the wedding.
If so, please make sure you're on time, as we don't want to keep the bride waiting.
For all other guests, we'll expect to see you at the meeting point.
Meeting point
Together with the wedding couple, a 'meeting point' has been selected.
It's a time and place where guests will have to be to attend the wedding.
Sometimes, this is preceded by one or more 'bus pick up points'.
Either way, please make sure that you're at the agreed place and time because we don't want to keep the wedding couple waiting.
Related pages on our site or useful links to other sites :
Enjoy the wedding as a guest (page 29-16)One of the things that make us unique wedding planners is that we also strive to create an unforgettable wedding experience for the guests.
That being said, of course, the wedding couple comes first.
Over the past weeks and months, we've carefully created a detailed wedding plan/script for their wedding.
Costa Blanca Events wedding coordinator(s)
They're professionals who perfectly know the wishes and preferences of the wedding couple.
They're part of the wedding planner team, or they have been instructed by the.
They know of all the details of the wedding plan/script.
It's their task to make sure that on the wedding day, everything goes exactly the way it has been planned during the previous months.
They will guide the wedding couple and their guests through the day, and will stay until the dance party is well underway.
When they've left, the DJ is the Costa Blanca Events representative.
Though we cannot go into details about the specific wedding you'll be attending, we can share some general information with you about the proceedings.
Going to the ceremony venue
At the meeting point, our wedding coordinator(s) will be waiting to accompany you to the ceremony venue.
Welcome drink
Upon arrival on the ceremony venue, a welcome drink will be waiting for you.
We kindly request you to place bags, etc. out of sight of the wedding setting, so that they don't appear in the wedding photos.
Personal welcome cards
At the welcome drink, kindly take your personal welcome card from the board.
It shows, if, and if so where, you have a reserved chair for the ceremony.
If the plan has 1 green chair amongst all red coloured chairs, then the green one is reserved for you.
If the plan has lots of green, and lots of red chairs, then you can choose to sit on one of the many green chairs.
Seating
As soon as the bride is nearby, the officiant will ask all guests to their seat for the ceremony.
Please do so via the outer side of the setting, not stepping, nor walking on the carpet.
The card may also show that you're part of the arrival of the groom (pre-processional) or of the bride ( processional).
In that case, please do not take your seat, but wait at the beginning of the aisle.
The processional
Traditionally, the father of the bride "gives the bride away" or it's done by another family member or close friend.
Often other persons such as bridesmaids, flower girls, etc. take part in the processional.
Sometimes there is also a pre-processional where the groom walks the aisle, usually with his mother.
The ceremony
If you wish to do a reading, you can ask us to include that in the ceremony, either a text your prepare, or one we select for you.
Please send a request and a copy of the text you want to read no later than 2 weeks before the ceremony, as this is the time we finalize the service.
During the ceremony, we often request the assistance of some persons.
If so, we will always ask you before the ceremony starts.
Our officiant will stand beside you, so no need to worry about what to do or where to stand.
Mobile phones
During the ceremony, you're requested to switch mobile phones off, or in flight mode.
Photo or video during the ceremony.
The wedding couples have contracted professional photographer(s), who will do their best to make the best shots possible.
On behalf of the wedding couple, please do not take photos or shoot video during the ceremony.
Please - unless otherwise asked by the officiant - remain seated for the whole duration of the ceremony.
The recessional
At the end of the ceremony, the wedding couple will leave the setting together, and you'll be requested to follow them, starting with the first row, then the second and so on.
Throwing of rice, confetti, ...
It's not allowed to throw rice, confetti, etc.
Instead, we arrange for soap bubbles which look great on the photos.
Receiving line
The wedding couple, sometimes accompanied by their parents and/or the bridal suite, will form a receiving line.
This allows their guests to congratulate them before continuing to the bar for a drink.
Gifts
The receiving line and reception are also an excellent time for guests to offer a gift or envelope to the wedding couple.
As wedding planners, we cannot take responsibility for objects, valuables, gifts etc.
Reception
Usually, there is a reception of 1 hour.
During the reception, there will also be a photo shoot.
Photoshoot
After a while in the ceremony, the photographers will go on a photo shoot with the wedding couple.
After a while, the 'photoshoot coordinators' assigned by the wedding couple will start requesting guests to join the wedding couple.
If so, please do so, and stay at the photoshoot location.
Towards the end of the reception, all guests will have joined the photoshoot, which is the perfect time to take some group photos.
Invitation to dinner
When the group photos are taken, the wedding coordinator will invite all guests to the wedding dinner.
For sit-down dinners, the personal welcome card you've received at the welcome drink shows your table and chair number.
The tables all have a number on them.
Each place at the table also has a personal placeholder with your name, so it should be effortless to find your spot.
Kindly do not move this placeholder until the end of the dinner, as it also contains your menu preference, so the waiters know what you've ordered.
For walking dinners, there are, of course, no placeholders.
The wedding dinner
During dinner, soft drinks, beer and wine are included.
Long drinks, liquors and cocktails are not included and usually not available during dinner.
Guests with food intolerances or special diet requirements
If you've advised us of your dietary requirements or food intolerances via Yoep-P than your personal placeholder will show them.
Depending on the requirements, you'll be served the dish chosen by the wedding couple, a modified version thereof, or an alternative 'chef suggestion' dish.
Unfortunately, it's not possible to change the dish, but you can, of course, ask a guest to swap with you.
If you've requested a speech, act or surprise via Yoep-P than the wedding coordinator will contact you when it's time to do so.
End of the wedding dinner
Usually, the dance party is held in a different part of the venue than the dinner.
Therefore, at the end of the dinner, the wedding coordinator will request you to follow him to the dance party area.
The wedding cake
If the couple has ordered a wedding cake, it's usually served after dinner, in the dance party area.
Fireworks
Due to the high temperatures and fire risk, fireworks are subject to a license.
Setting of any fireworks without a license extremely hazardous.
Since the venue can also be held liable, they will immediately terminate all services, without any refund.
Aside from that, we've seen police or Guardia civil arriving within minutes, and the fines are enormous!
The open or free bar
During the open or free bar, a selection of drinks is included.
Depending on the venue, caterer and preferences of the wedding couple, other drinks may be available. If so, each guest needs to pay for them individually.
Call it a night
You've had a great day, but now you're tired and want to call it a night.
So how do you return to your accommodation, if it's not within walking distance of the venue?
In Spain, taxis cannot be pre-booked, and in some villages, there is minimal availability. This can result in long waiting times.
If you have a rental car, then driving it is only an option when you did not consume any alcohol. Police and Guardia civil controls are frequent and unpredictable. The fines are huge, even up to imprisonment.
So we recommend our wedding couples to order a shuttle service.
During the contracted number of hours, a shuttle bus will drive back and forth between the venue and up to 3 different accommodations.
We advise our wedding couples to inform their guests via their welcome page in Yoep-P.
Any persons remaining at the party after the last voyage must make their own arrangements, like a taxi. The shuttle service can usually not be prolonged on the day.
Related pages on our site or useful links to other sites :
Get ready to go to the wedding (page 29-15)Often wedding couples ask us to organise an excursion or activity the day after the wedding.
If so, you can find this info and option to book in Yoep-P.
As a general rule, unless otherwise specified in your wedding plan/script there will be no Costa Blanca Events event coordinator present.
Related pages on our site or useful links to other sites :
Make travel arrangements for your wedding in Spain (page 28-07)If you've extended your stay with a few days after the wedding, then that's an excellent opportunity to discover the beauty, culture, architecture and gastronomy of the Costa Blanca.
On the internet, you'll find lots of tourist information about the region.
Related pages on our site or useful links to other sites :
Enjoy the rest of your stay or honeymoon (page 28-17)And so the time has arrived to return home. We wish you a pleasant and safe trip and wish you all the best.
Related pages on our site or useful links to other sites :
Safe return home (page 28-18)