The best time to get married in Barcelona and on the Costa Brava is, for most couples, late May and June, or September and the first days of October. You get warm days, light until late in the evening and fewer visitors than in July and August. July is the driest and sunniest month, but it is hot. August is the busiest month on the coast. October has the most rain in the AEMET averages. Below are the numbers month by month, from AEMET (the Spanish state meteorological agency) and other official sources, and what each season looks like in photographs.
In this guide
- Best time to get married in Barcelona and the Costa Brava: the summary
- May and June: flowers, long evenings and the first heat
- July and August: hot, bright and busy
- September and October: warm sea, golden light, more rain
- November to April: quieter, cooler and less predictable
- Wind, sea and daylight: what the averages miss
- Crowds, accommodation and local holidays
- Practical advice by season
Best time to get married in Barcelona and the Costa Brava: the summary
Air temperature and rain are AEMET averages for Barcelona Airport. Sunset times are approximate and refer to Barcelona. Sea temperature is the surface water off L’Estartit, on the northern Costa Brava. Hotel occupancy is the share of bed places filled in hotels, averaged over 2024 and 2025.
| Month | Barcelona: average high / low | Rain in Barcelona | Sunset in Barcelona (approx.) | Sea off L’Estartit | Hotels full: Barcelona / Girona province |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | 21.1 / 12.8 °C | 47 mm, 4.7 days | 21:00 | 16 °C | 68% / 54% |
| June | 24.9 / 16.8 °C | 30 mm, 3.6 days | 21:25 | 20 °C | 70% / 62% |
| July | 28.0 / 19.8 °C | 21 mm, 1.8 days | 21:25 | 22 °C | 74% / 75% |
| August | 28.5 / 20.2 °C | 62 mm, 4.5 days | 20:50 | 23 °C | 78% / 83% |
| September | 26.0 / 17.4 °C | 81 mm, 5.2 days | 20:00 | 21 to 22 °C | 66% / 53% |
| October | 22.1 / 13.5 °C | 91 mm, 6.3 days | 19:10 | 19 °C | 57% / 36% |
Where the numbers come from. AEMET’s public pages for Barcelona Airport (El Prat, 4 m above sea level) and Girona Airport (inland, 143 m) show averages for 1981 to 2010. An average is a middle point, so any single year can be hotter, wetter or windier. Girona Airport is inland, so we use it as a guide for the Girona area.
May and June: flowers, long evenings and the first heat
May
Barcelona Airport averages 21.1 °C by day and 12.8 °C at night in May, with 47 mm of rain over 4.7 days and about 250 hours of sun. Girona Airport is similar by day (22.4 °C) but colder at night (10.1 °C) and wetter: 71 mm over 7.3 days, more than in June, July or August. So May is pleasant, but it is not the safest month for an outdoor ceremony inland. The sea is around 16 °C, too cold for most guests to swim, and sunset is at about 21:00.
June
June is the best all-round choice. Barcelona Airport averages 24.9 °C by day and 16.8 °C at night, with 30 mm of rain over 3.6 days and 266 hours of sun. Girona Airport has 26.6 °C and 14.3 °C, with 60 mm over 5.1 days. Sunset is at about 21:25 and there is twilight until about 22:00. The sea reaches about 20 °C. Hotels in Girona province are 62% full on average, against 75% in July.
Sant Joan. 24 June is a public holiday in Catalonia, and the night before, 23 June, is celebrated with bonfires and fireworks. The city council’s plan for the night (2025 edition) kept the beaches open all night and banned fires and fireworks on the sand. If you marry on 23 or 24 June, expect a lively town. In 2027, 24 June is a Thursday.
In photos. At Mercedes and Jay’s wedding at Can Borrell on 30 May 2024, the brick arches were covered in pink bougainvillea and the couple looked out toward green hills. Late May and June can bring gardens in flower and bright light. By midday the sun is already strong, so we plan portraits for the last hour before sunset.
July and August: hot, bright and busy
July is the driest and sunniest month in both AEMET series. Barcelona Airport averages 28.0 °C by day and 19.8 °C at night, with 21 mm of rain over 1.8 days and 305 hours of sun. Girona Airport reaches 30.1 °C by day with 32 mm of rain. The sea is about 22 °C and Girona province hotels are 75% full.
August is the warmest month in Barcelona (28.5 °C by day, 20.2 °C at night) and the busiest on the coast: hotels in Girona province are 83% full on average, the highest figure of the year, and Barcelona province is at 78%. The sea is at its warmest, about 23 °C. Rain comes back in August, with 62 mm in Barcelona and 46 mm in Girona. AEMET counts 3.5 days with thunderstorms in Barcelona and 4.9 in Girona. Sunset is at about 20:50, and 15 August is a public holiday.
These are averages, so some days will be hotter than the figures above. For a summer ceremony we prefer late afternoon, when the light softens and the heat drops, with shade and water ready for guests. If you want a civil wedding at Barcelona city hall, its Saló de Cent page says no weddings are held there in August. We explain the legal side in our guide to getting married in Spain.
In photos. Edu and Míriam married at Mas Palau in Blanes on 27 July 2024. Their pictures show a garden in strong sun, golden backlight on the lawn and the couple small on a path at sunset. Summer gives long, warm evenings and hard midday light, so the hours around sunset matter most.
September and October: warm sea, golden light, more rain
September keeps the warmth. Barcelona Airport averages 26.0 °C by day and 17.4 °C at night, and Girona Airport 26.1 °C and 14.1 °C. The sea, at about 21 to 22 °C, is warmer than in June. Hotels empty quickly: Girona province drops from 83% in August to 53% in September, and Barcelona province from 78% to 66%. The trade-off is more rain: 81 mm over 5.2 days in Barcelona and 70 mm over 6.5 days in Girona, with 3.5 and 3.8 days of thunderstorms. Sunset is at about 20:00.
October has the most rain of any month at both stations: 91 mm over 6.3 days in Barcelona and 88 mm over 6.4 days in Girona. That is more than four times July’s rain in Barcelona. Daytime highs are still about 22 °C and the sea is about 19 °C. Sunset is at about 19:10. The clocks go back on the last Sunday of the month (31 October in 2027), and sunset then moves to about 17:50.
11 September and La Mercè. 11 September, the national day of Catalonia, is a public holiday. In 2027 it falls on a Saturday. 24 September, La Mercè, is a holiday in the city of Barcelona only (a Friday in 2027) and the date of the city’s main festival.
In photos. Anna and Bernat married at Masia Montcorp on 7 September 2024, and the evening ran under a marquee and string lights. Sílvia and Robert married at home in Llagostera on 28 September 2024, under a blue sky, with golden backlight later in the day. Early autumn gives low, warm light and evenings mild enough to stay outdoors. Keep a covered plan for the ceremony in case of rain.
November to April: quieter, cooler and less predictable
A winter or early spring wedding can work, especially for small groups, but the weather needs a plan. From December to April, Barcelona Airport averages highs of 14 to 18 °C. Girona Airport has colder nights: average lows of 2.0 °C in December, 1.1 °C in January and 1.7 °C in February, with 13.3 days of frost in January on average. Sunset is as early as 17:20 in December, so the whole day has to fit before that.
| Month | Barcelona: high / low | Girona: high / low | Rain: Barcelona / Girona | Sunset in Barcelona (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November | 17.3 / 8.6 °C | 16.6 / 5.2 °C | 59 / 70 mm | 17:35 |
| December | 14.3 / 5.7 °C | 13.6 / 2.0 °C | 40 / 56 mm | 17:20 |
| January | 13.6 / 4.7 °C | 13.1 / 1.1 °C | 37 / 62 mm | 17:45 |
| February | 14.3 / 5.4 °C | 14.1 / 1.7 °C | 35 / 51 mm | 18:25 |
| March | 16.1 / 7.4 °C | 16.7 / 4.1 °C | 36 / 50 mm | 18:55 (clocks change at the end of the month) |
| April | 18.0 / 9.4 °C | 18.8 / 6.2 °C | 40 / 67 mm | 20:30 |
In photos. Emma and Sergi married at El Jardí de Calders on 12 April 2025. The ceremony was outdoors among trees with red leaves, in soft overcast light, and the trees gave the portraits their colour. Spring and winter light is gentler, but we always want a plan B for the ceremony.
Wind, sea and daylight: what the averages miss
Wind: the tramuntana
The tramuntana is a dry, cold, strong and persistent north wind, typical of the Empordà, the northern part of the Costa Brava. AEMET’s own blog says it is much more frequent in winter and in spring and autumn than in summer, when it is uncommon. In that study, a day of tramuntana at L’Estartit is a day with north-wind gusts above 60 km/h, and the station counted an average of 71 such days a year in 2010 to 2022. Ask your venue where the sheltered spots are and how they secure arches, flowers and veils.
Daylight and sunset
Mid-month sunsets in Barcelona, in local time and approximate: 21:00 in May, 21:25 in June and July, 20:50 in August, 20:00 in September and 19:10 in October. On the Costa Brava the sun sets a few minutes earlier. We calculated these with standard solar formulas, so treat them as accurate to a few minutes. For exact times on your date, use the sunrise and sunset service of the Instituto Geográfico Nacional. The golden hour before sunset is the hour we usually plan for the couple’s portraits.
The sea
The best long series we found for the Costa Brava is the sea-surface record offshore from L’Estartit, measured since 1974 (Pascual and Salat, PANGAEA). We averaged 1991 to 2018: about 16 °C in May, 20 °C in June, 22 °C in July, 23 °C in August, 21 to 22 °C in September and 19 °C in October. June in 2001 to 2018 was about one degree warmer than in 1974 to 1990, so recent years can run slightly warmer. For a swim, July, August and September are the safest months.
Crowds, accommodation and local holidays
The hotel survey of the Spanish statistics office (INE, Encuesta de Ocupación Hotelera) shows two things. On the Costa Brava, July and August are far busier than the rest of the year: hotels in Girona province are 83% full in August and 36% in October. Barcelona is steadier: 78% in August and 57% in October. Book guest rooms early for June to September and for any holiday weekend. The figures cover hotels only, not apartments, campsites or rural houses, and Girona province includes inland areas.
These public holidays can affect a date. They come from the official calendars of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the city of Barcelona:
- 24 June, Sant Joan: public holiday in Catalonia, with the revetlla the night before. A Thursday in 2027.
- 15 August, Assumption: public holiday (a Saturday in 2026 and a Sunday in 2027).
- 11 September, Diada Nacional de Catalunya: public holiday (a Saturday in 2027).
- 24 September, La Mercè: local holiday in Barcelona (a Friday in 2027).
Practical advice by season
Our advice as photographers, based on the data above.
Spring (April to early June)
- Plan for changeable weather, especially inland. Girona has more rain days in April and May than in July and August.
- Choose a venue with a covered or indoor option for the ceremony.
- Expect cooler evenings, with sunset moving from about 20:15 in early April to 21:20 in early June. Tell guests to bring a layer.
Summer (late June to August)
- Schedule the ceremony for late afternoon and keep guests in the shade before it.
- Book guest accommodation early, especially on the Costa Brava in August.
- Check your date against Sant Joan (23 and 24 June) and 15 August.
- Have a wind and storm plan. August and September have the most thunderstorm days in the AEMET averages.
Early autumn (September to mid October)
- September pairs a warm sea with fewer visitors, which suits a coastal day. Girona province hotels are 53% full on average.
- Keep a rain plan. October is the wettest month, and the clocks go back on the last Sunday.
- Start the timeline earlier. By mid October the sun sets at about 19:10.
Winter and late autumn (November to March)
- Build the timetable around the early sunset, about 17:20 in December.
- Choose an indoor space with good natural light. Inland nights can be close to freezing.
Tell us your date, or the months you are considering, and we are happy to talk through the light and the timing. You can contact us here, see our portfolio, or read our guides to planning a wedding in Barcelona and a Costa Brava wedding.
Planning your wedding?
We would love to hear about your plans. Tell us about your day and let’s talk about how we can photograph it.
