Getting married in Tenerife
One island, several climates: sun on the south coast, cloud and vineyards in the north, and the Teide above them both.
Tenerife’s weather changes from one side to the other. AEMET counts 15 rainy days a year at Tenerife Sur airport, on the south coast, and 64 at Tenerife Norte, 632 m up beside La Laguna, which also has 78 days of fog. At Izaña, 2,369 m up by the national park, June and July bring 382 hours of sun each — the high country often sits in sunshine above the northern clouds.
So the first choice is which Tenerife: the dry, warm south and west, with sunsets over the sea; the north, with La Laguna’s colonial streets, terraced vineyards and soft, cloudy light; or the national park’s lava and rock towers. Many couples marry on one side and drive up to the Teide for a short portrait session — a plan that needs permits, timing and warm layers.
Photographers
Wedding photographers in Tenerife
No one in the Canary Islands yet
The first photographers in the Canary Islands are joining now. Tell our concierge your date and your plans — it checks who is free and fits.
Ceremonies
Where couples marry in Tenerife
La Laguna’s old town
A World Heritage site since 1999: the first unwalled Spanish colonial city, whose grid became a model for the Americas. The town hall holds civil weddings, usually on Friday mornings and never in August; the cathedral and old churches suit a Catholic one.
Estates among the northern vines
In Tacoronte-Acentejo, the north’s wine country, vines climb terraces up to 1,000 m above the sea: estates for a long lunch or dinner under a soft sky — with a covered space, as the north is the wetter side.
Terraces on the south and west coasts
Hotels and terraces where the weather is surest: at Tenerife Sur it hardly rains from May to September, and on the west coast the sun sets into the sea.
Black-sand beaches
Wild Benijo in Anaga, or Playa Jardín in Puerto de la Cruz, set in gardens by César Manrique. Since 2023 the Canary government’s coast department has handled beach authorisations; ask it and the town hall months ahead.
Teide National Park
An elopement (a wedding for just the two of you) among the lava and the rock towers, with the Cabildo de Tenerife’s authorisation for professional photography, asked at least a month ahead.
Portraits
Where to take your portraits
Roques de García
Rock towers in front of the Teide, the Roque Cinchado among them, on a 3.6 km loop from the La Ruleta viewpoint — the first stretch is enough for portraits. Late afternoon and sunset, with coats: January highs at Izaña average 7.5 °C.
Benijo, in Anaga
Black sand in the Anaga Biosphere Reserve, facing the Roques de Anaga, reached by a path with steps. Come for the sunset; the waves are powerful, so keep the dress well back.
Garachico
The island’s main port until the 1706 eruption: 16th- and 17th-century streets and the El Caletón rock pools, formed where the lava met the sea, in front of the Roque de Garachico.
Los Gigantes
Cliffs up to 600 m high rising straight out of the sea on the west coast; the sunset from the viewpoints of Puerto de Santiago.
Through the year
When to marry in Tenerife
Every month works, differently on each side (AEMET normals). Tenerife Sur: average highs from 21.7 °C in January to 28.4 °C in August, 132 mm of rain a year. Tenerife Norte: 16.0 °C to 25.7 °C, 520 mm, about eight rainy days a month from November to January. At Izaña, in the high park, January highs average 7.5 °C, with frost on twelve January mornings and snow on two or three days a month from January to March. Spring and autumn are the easiest seasons.
Canary Islands, month by month
- January: Good with planning
- February: Good with planning
- March: Good with planning
- April: Best
- May: Best
- June: Best
- July: Good with planning
- August: Good with planning
- September: Best
- October: Best
- November: Best
- December: Good with planning
Practical
Good to know before the day
Two airports
Tenerife Sur, in Granadilla de Abona, is the larger, with flights from much of Europe; Tenerife Norte, by La Laguna, mainly serves Spain and the other islands and is often in fog. Fly into the one on your side.
The Teide on the day
The cable car’s last regular trip down leaves well before sunset all year — 18:30 in summer, around 16:50 in winter — and its car park keeps the same hours. For golden hour, use the roadside viewpoints, not the summit.
Permits
In the park, drones are banned except for management, research or emergencies, and gatherings and special events need their own authorisation. On the beaches, the Canary coast department has up to four months to answer.
Drones near the airports
Tenerife Norte sits on the edge of La Laguna: drones are banned within 6 km of each runway end and 5 km either side unless coordinated with the airport (Real Decreto 517/2024).
The legal route
A civil wedding needs one of you domiciled in Spain; otherwise, a Catholic wedding through your home parish, or the legal wedding at home and a symbolic ceremony here.
Questions
Questions about marrying in Tenerife
Is the north or the south of Tenerife better for a wedding?
For near-certain sun, the south: 15 rainy days a year at Tenerife Sur against 64 at Tenerife Norte (AEMET). The north is greener and softer, but cloudier. Many couples marry in one and take portraits in the other — or at the Teide.
Can we get married at the Teide?
An elopement in the park is possible with the Cabildo de Tenerife’s authorisation, asked at least a month ahead, and without a drone. The summit needs a separate personal permit, so most couples choose the viewpoints and rock towers below it.
Can we have a beach wedding in Tenerife?
Yes, with permits from the Canary government’s coast department, which has up to four months to decide, and the town hall. Black-sand beaches such as Benijo have strong waves, so plan the ceremony well back from the water.
Is Tenerife good for a winter wedding?
On the south coast, yes: average highs of 21.7 °C in January at Tenerife Sur, and little rain. The north is cooler and wetter in winter, and the high park can have snow and frost.
Can we marry legally in Tenerife?
By civil law only if one of you lives in Spain; La Laguna then marries couples, usually on a Friday morning and never in August. Otherwise, a Catholic wedding through your home parish, or a legal wedding at home and a symbolic ceremony here.
Sources (20)
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- aemet.es/es/serviciosclimaticos/datosclimatologicos/valoresclimatologicos?l=C447A&k=coo
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- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife_North–Ciudad_de_La_Laguna_Airport
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife–South_Airport
- sede.aytolalaguna.es/publico/procedimiento/113
- ciudadespatrimonio.org/san-cristobal-de-la-laguna.php
- webtenerife.co.uk/tenerife/gastronomy/wines/designation/tacoronte-acentejo
- webtenerife.co.uk/tenerife/the-island/municipalities/santiago-teide/places-interest/acant…
- webtenerife.co.uk/what-see/beaches/complejo-playa-jardin
- webtenerife.co.uk/what-see/beaches/playa-benijo
- spain.info/en/nature/macizo-anaga-biosphere-reserve
- webtenerife.co.uk/tenerife/the-island/municipalities/garachico
- gobiernodecanarias.org/parquesnacionales/teide/tramites/autorizaciones
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- gobiernodecanarias.org/parquesnacionales/teide/tramites/reservas
- volcanoteide.com/en/teide_cable_car/prices_and_opening_times
- sede.gobiernodecanarias.org/sede/procedimientos_servicios/tramites/8061
- eldiario.es/canariasahora/politica/aprueba-traspaso-canarias-competencias-costas_1_927575…
- boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2024-11377
Spain
Marrying in the Canary Islands
Plan
Read before you plan
- What a wedding photographer costs in Spain, and what changes the pricePublished prices for a wedding day in Spain run from under €1,000 to €8,000 and more. The ranges with their sources and dates, region by region, what goes into a price, the Spanish extras (preboda, postboda, IVA) and how paying works on Lens & Vows.
- Getting married in Spain: civil, Catholic or symbolic, and who can do whichSpain’s three routes for couples from abroad — what the law asks (Ley 20/2011), why a civil wedding needs one of you to live there, how a Catholic wedding works without residence, the documents, the timings and where the photographer fits in.
- A symbolic wedding in Spain: marry legally at home, celebrate in SpainWhy most couples from abroad sign the papers at home and hold the ceremony in Spain, what makes it symbolic, who can lead it and what it costs, where you may hold it — beaches under the Ley de Costas, parks, squares — and what it frees up for the light and the photographs.
- The best time to get married in Spain: month by month, region by regionAEMET’s climate normals for six places couples marry, how many couples marry in each month (INE), the best months for each region, and sunrise, sunset and golden hour for 2027 in Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Palma and Las Palmas.
- How to choose a wedding photographer: the steps, and the questions to askThe decision in order — whole weddings, style, availability, the package, the contract and deposit, cancellation, delivery and a conversation — then a checklist of questions, with why each one matters.
- Where to elope in Spain: 15 places, from Tramuntana cliffs to TeideFifteen named places in Mallorca, Catalonia, Andalusia, the Canary Islands and the green north — what each looks like, how you get there, when the light is right, and which permits, fees and seasonal closures apply before you say your vows there.
Not sure yet?
Tell us about your wedding — we’ll find who is free
The place, the date, the guests, the photos you like. Our concierge checks who is free and fits, and comes back with photographers to choose from.