Wedding venues on the Costa Brava fall into four groups: hotels and estates with a view of the sea, gardens, castles and masias in the inland Empordà, and farmhouses in the Garrotxa volcanoes. Choose the group first, because it decides the wind, the light, the drive for your guests and where they sleep. This guide goes through each group, names the venues in our Directory that belong to it, and ends with the points we check before every wedding in this region.
Wedding venues on the Costa Brava: how to choose by type
The Costa Brava is the coast of the province of Girona, and the area behind it is just as useful for a wedding: the Empordà plain, the city of Girona and the volcanic hills of the Garrotxa. Distances are short, but the character changes a lot from one group of venues to another. The table gives a first idea. Every venue below links to its own page, where we have written only what the venue’s official website states.
| Type | Suits | Ask first |
|---|---|---|
| Sea-view hotels and coves | Guests who stay on site, sunset portraits, medium to large groups | Wind plan and a covered space for the ceremony |
| Gardens near Blanes and Girona | Outdoor ceremonies, relaxed days, families | Shade in the afternoon and the rain plan |
| Empordà castles and masias | Formal or rustic weddings, big guest lists, food | Closing time, rooms and the indoor alternative |
| Garrotxa farmhouses | Small weekends in nature, food-led weddings | Distance from the airport and where guests sleep |
Sea-view hotels and coves
This is the group most couples picture first. The ceremony is in a garden or on a terrace above the water, the guests sleep in the same building, and the sunset does the rest. In S’Agaró, Hostal de la Gavina opened in 1932, has 76 rooms and holds civil ceremonies in its private gardens over the Bay of Sant Pol, with banquets for up to 300 guests. Nearby in Platja d’Aro, Park Hotel San Jorge offers civil ceremonies in green spaces with sea views and a reception terrace, and its two event rooms take 90 and 75 seated guests.
Smaller and more exposed places suit smaller weddings. El Far de Sant Sebastià in Llafranc has nine rooms on a cliff beside a lighthouse, with a chapel and a courtyard for the ceremony. Hotel Diana is a modernist house from 1906 facing the beach and the medieval walls of Tossa de Mar, with a courtyard that seats 50 for dinner. The Parador de Aiguablava in Begur stands on a pine-covered headland above its cove, and Almadraba Park Hotel in Roses is a family-run seafront hotel for up to 250 people. Their websites do not describe every ceremony space, so ask each hotel where the ceremony would be.
For an adventure, Cala Jóncols is a hotel built by Italians in 1955 in a remote cove near Cadaqués and Cap de Creus, and its own page says that getting there is an adventure. That is part of its character and also a planning task: think about how older guests arrive and how suppliers carry equipment.
Our advice for this group is to plan portraits for the last hour before sunset, keep the ceremony out of the strongest midday sun, and fix veils, arches and flowers well. Headlands are windy, and a sea breeze rises on many afternoons. For wind, light and timing along this coast, read our Costa Brava planning tips.
Gardens, from Blanes to Girona
Blanes is where the Costa Brava begins, and it has three very different places. Marimurtra is a botanical garden whose ceremony takes place at the Linnaeus Pavilion above a cove, with a marquee as the rain plan. The Convent de Blanes was first built in 1583 and has the sea beneath it. Mas Palau is a masia from 1670 with gardens of weeping willows and palm trees, a glass hall for up to 300 guests at dinner and rooms for 26 people.
We photographed Edu and Míriam’s wedding at Mas Palau on 27 July 2024. The ceremony was outdoors, under a hexagonal arch dressed with pink flowers and pampas grass, and the wedding planner was Entre Tonos Pastel. You can see the full gallery or read their story.
Inland, near the city of Girona, El Jardí de Calders is a country estate in Bonmatí, 10 minutes from Girona. It has gardens and oak woods, a Romanesque chapel for 60 to 70 people, a wooden porch for drinks or dinner outdoors and a main hall for up to 260 seated guests. We photographed Emma and Sergi’s wedding here on 12 April 2025: the ceremony was under red-leaved trees, and the garden tables were already set under string lights before the guests arrived. Read their story or see the gallery.
Inland Empordà: castles and masias
The plain behind the coast is a good answer to a hot August day and to a long guest list. Castell de Peralada dates from the 14th century and offers ceremonies in a private Gothic church, in the gardens or in the library, with banquets of up to 600 guests inside and 300 outdoors. It is 7 km from Figueres and 40 km from Girona. Castell d’Empordà is a castle hotel with 57 rooms on a hill near La Bisbal, with an olive grove and a chapel for the ceremony and a party in a cave. Cortal Gran, in Sant Pere Pescador, is a 15th-century castle among apple orchards, with a plan B for each space and a porch that seats up to 300.
For a masia, Mas de Torrent is a restored 18th-century farmhouse and Relais & Châteaux hotel with gardens and salons. Martín Faixó – Sa Perafita is a 14th-century stone farmhouse in the Cap de Creus Natural Park, among 18 hectares of vineyards, with four rooms. Mas Marroch is a project by the Roca brothers, for couples who put the meal first. Sa Perafita asks you to contact the family directly, so write early and ask about dates.
We photographed Mariana and Arnau’s wedding at La Vaqueria de Mas Garriga, a farmhouse in Sant Andreu Salou about one hour from Barcelona. Mas Garriga has been documented since the 15th century. Its old dairy was renovated in 2021 and is now a covered space for banquets with large windows onto the fields, and the former stables and the main house have rooms for 22 people. The party that night was under the wooden beams. Read their story or see the gallery.
The Garrotxa volcanoes
The Garrotxa is green and quiet, and it suits couples who want a weekend in nature more than a beach. Les Cols in Olot is a 15th-century masia run by the team of chef Fina Puigdevall, with a ceremony on the old threshing floor and a celebration space designed by the architects RCR. Mas Campassol is a 12th-century masia at 613 metres inside the volcanic park, for weddings of up to 60 guests, with nine suites that sleep up to 20 people. It is 75 minutes from Barcelona, according to the venue.
Practical points for a wedding on the Costa Brava
Wind
The Empordà is known for the tramuntana, a strong north wind that can blow for days, and the Bay of Roses and the headlands feel it most. Ask every venue for a sheltered or indoor option for the ceremony, and choose heavy arches, clips for veils and flowers that do not need perfect air.
Summer traffic and timing
In July and August the coastal roads and the car parks of the busiest towns fill up, so allow extra time for guests, for suppliers and for any portrait walk through a town such as Tossa de Mar. Midday is hot inland as well, and most venues here suggest a late afternoon ceremony in summer. Our posts on the best time to marry and on the wedding day timeline explain how to fit the day around the light.
Where guests sleep
The hotels solve this for you. At a masia or a castle, count the beds before you count the guests: Mas Palau has rooms for 26 people, La Vaqueria for 22, Castell d’Empordà has 57 rooms and Hostal de la Gavina has 76. Where the venue has few rooms, book a block in a nearby town early, because summer weekends fill first.
Ceremony options
Many venues here have a chapel or a church for a religious ceremony: Castell de Peralada, Castell d’Empordà, El Jardí de Calders and El Far de Sant Sebastià, among others. Civil and symbolic ceremonies are usually held in the gardens. The legal side is separate, and our guide to getting married in Spain explains the options. Confirm with each venue what is possible on your date.
How to shortlist your venues
Do not choose from photos alone. Visit at the hour of your ceremony, if you can, and bring these questions.
- Where does the ceremony move if it rains or the wind is strong, and can I see that space set up?
- How many rooms are there, and can the whole property be booked for the wedding?
- What is the closing time for music, and does it change on a Saturday?
- Can I bring my own caterer, planner and photographer, or are suppliers fixed?
- How long can we use the gardens for portraits, and where does the sun fall at that hour?
If you are still comparing, the Directory has more venues, and our guides to venues near Barcelona and to masia weddings in Catalonia cover the rest of the region. When you have a shortlist, tell us the date and the venues and we will say how the light and the timeline work at each one.
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.
