Wedding photographers on the Costa Brava

1. 1

   Masies and castle hotels in the Empordà

   Mas de Torrent is an 18th-century masia among vines and olive trees; Castell d’Empordà, a 14th-century castle above La Bisbal, holds ceremonies in its olive grove or the Remei chapel and the dancing in a cave, and asks for all 57 rooms for exclusive use.

2. 2

   Town halls

   The mayor or a councillor marries you, and each town sets its own rules. Palafrugell — Calella, Llafranc and Tamariu included — marries couples where one is registered, born or keeps a second home there, on Saturdays, in its council chamber for up to 35 people, with the request in two months ahead.

3. 3

   Above a cove

   A symbolic ceremony on a headland or a garden terrace over the sea. Beaches and the coastal path are everyone’s: portraits are fine, but chairs or an arch need the town hall’s permission, and in July and August the coves are full by mid-morning.

May, June and September are the best months. The nearest long-run station, Girona airport (AEMET 1981–2010, inland at 143 m), averages highs of 22.4 °C in May, 26.6 °C in June, 30.1 °C in July and 26.1 °C in September. Summer brings thunderstorms — 4.9 storm days in August and 3.8 in September — and October is the wettest month (88 mm). August is crowded: Begur’s 4,300 or so residents become more than 40,000 in summer. On the night of 23 June, Sant Joan, Catalonia lights bonfires and fireworks.