Wedding traditions of Madrid
A Spanish wedding in Madrid has arras coins, a late dinner and dancing into the morning.
Spain recognised same-sex marriage in 2005 and has a long tradition of church and civil weddings. In Madrid many couples marry in a church or at the Registro Civil or a licensed venue.
A wedding here
In a Catholic ceremony the groom gives the bride thirteen coins, the arras, a sign of support and sharing. A lazo, a cord, may be placed over the couple's shoulders.
The feast
The celebration is a banquet that runs late. Dancing, a bar and a late-night snack of churros with chocolate or a tortilla are common.
Wedding customs of Madrid
Wedding cordA cord or rosary looped around the couple.
Same-sex marriage in SpainLegal since July 2005.Also part of it, and being written: Arras (Thirteen coins given at the ceremony.), Wedding (Spanish customs.).
A wedding trail idea for Madrid
- Iglesia de San Jeronimo el Real A prominent church for weddings.
- Retiro Park Gardens where couples are photographed.
- Calle Serrano A street of fashion and bridal designers.
Written by the EveryShaadi desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, venues and wedding-season dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Same-sex marriage in Spain: FELGTB Federación Estatal de Lesbianas, Gais, Trans y Bisexuales, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Wedding cord: Phil! Gold, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Twelve Grapes: Ralf Roletschek, GFDL 1.2, source