Wedding in Spain- help needed!

Hi!  My fiance and I are from the US and will be getting married in Spain next year.  We rented a beautifully renovated farmhouse where we will be staying with close friends for 5 days.  We will also be having the ceremony and reception there.  I'm a do-it-yourselfer, and was hoping to do most of the decorating and other things on my own (which will also help us save money).  So forgive me if any of these questions are ignorant- we've never been to Spain and don't want to take anything for granted :)

We will be flying into Barcelona.  Are there stores there where we can purchase some outdoor accessories, such as string lights, tiki torches, etc.?  If so, can you let me know the name of the store?

Are there any stores in Barcelona that sell beer/wine and groceries in bulk?  We plan to stock the house for the 5 days with beer/wine and food with enough for 20+ people, so a place that sells in bulk would be ideal.  If not, is there a place you would recommend that will have a better price than others?  

What would you recommend for ensuring that we can access local meats, cheeses, breads, etc.?  For the wedding itself, we want to have grazing tables rather than a traditional dinner, but we want to have items that are unique to the region.  Is there a good way for me to seek this out?  I am not fluent in Spanish, so this might be difficult for me, but I'm open to any suggestions!

Thanks for all your help!

Have you looked into the bureaucratic requirements for getting married in Spain? For example, the advice on one site says When neither of the parties is a Spanish citizen one of them must usually be legally resident in Spain for the previous two years.

It also says that only those on the empadronamiento (similar to UK voting register and showing you are resident in the area). A British couple living next door to me some 8 years ago got married in Spain and had been resident for nearly 5 years. It still took them several months to get all the paperwork and permission together.

If this has already been sorted then the best of luck to you. There are plenty of what we call "Chino" shops around that sell string lights, tiki torches and everything else you would need from paper lanterns to floodlighting.

Try these websites for info:

http://culinarybackstreets.com/cities-category/barcelona/2014/bulk-food/

http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/buying-bulk-barcelona-tradition-meets-sustainability-and-design.html

Wishing you a wonderful wedding!  I love Barcelona!

There are several hypermarket chains operating in Spain where you should be able to get everything you need under one roof. I note that two of the biggest Carrefour & Eroski both have branches in Barcelona.

Have a great wedding.

Here is a link to the shopping center 'La Maquinista' in Barcelona. Not sure if it is convenient but you will find everything there. Carrefour for food as tteedd mentioned and there is also a Leroy Merlin for all garden decorations etc.

Carrefour, in their Gourmet Section, also offers a lot of local specialities so you shouldn't have any trouble finding what you need. If you are looking for local food as well Carrefour will be your best bet for choice.

https://www.google.es/maps/place/Carrefour+La+Maquinista/@41.4479237,2.2190441,19z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x13b37068f69e993b!8m2!3d41.4419895!4d2.1985762

Good luck and have fun!

Thanks everyone for the recommendations and info!

My fiance and I are from the US and will be getting married in Spain next year.  We rented a beautifully renovated farmhouse where we will be staying with close friends for 5 days.  We will also be having the ceremony and reception there.

Brooke:   Taking that on face value.  You have no chance of achieving your goal.

Even non Spanish who have lived for years on the Costa Del Sol usually get married in Gibraltar because the paperwork is  so difficult.  

However, getting divorced is I believe much simpler !

Brooke

Sorry, I have to agree with John and Maridav - unless one party is a Spanish national or an official resident of at least two years I think you stand little chance of getting married in Spain

My daughter 'got married' here in Spain back in 2010 - what she did was to go the register office in the UK and complete the legal formalities there before coming to Spain for a church blessing and full wedding reception - it worked well.

Team GB,

That's a cracking solution to what appears to be a real nightmare. 

I wouldn't assume that Brooke will be getting married under Spanish law. Team GB's comment is most likely what he/she will be doing. Even a minister ordained online can legally marry people these days. A friend of mine did exactly that and married his niece when he flew back to the US. Sounds crazy I know, but for a $100 anyone can marry anyone these days, anywhere, and you can just validate in  your country of residence. 

I assume she will be getting married in the US (legally) and just holding a symbolic ceremony here in Spain or she will have organised a minister.

Ian   for a $100 anyone can marry anyone these days, anywhere, and you can just validate in  your country of residence.  

But that would probably not be legally acknowledged in most countries.

Why don't we not assume what Brooke has or has not in mind and maybe just help her with her actual query. 

Not assuming that Brooke said,  " My fiancé and I are from the US and will be getting married in Spain next year"

So any advice along those lines I should have thought would be helpful and maybe save a disaster..

Johnzx,

Maybe its a bit of a generalisation! But I know for a fact that they can be legally acknowledged in the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada and Germany, which isn't bad....

Not sure if anywhere else.... But as the OP is from the US it occurred to me as a possibility. If it hadn't been for my friend who actually did it a month ago, it would never have ocurred to me! They wanted to be married by someone who knew them etc ... anyway lets not get off thread... :-)

Perhaps the Spanish Embassy in the USA would be the place to find out the definative answer to Brooke's question.

Just a suggestion.

Not sure the Spanish Embassy will be so obliging! 

Brooke asked....

'Are there stores there where we can purchase some outdoor accessories, such as string lights, tiki torches, etc.? 

Are there any stores in Barcelona that sell beer/wine and groceries in bulk?

What would you recommend for ensuring that we can access local meats, cheeses, breads, etc.? '

Yes I get your drift, it's the forum that is making assumptions as to the legality of a Spanish marriage, we have been answering questions that were never asked.