Do you know about this typical place to marry in Barcelona?

La Xixa

Sep 1, 20213 min read

TITLE OF ELEMENT

Wedding

A TYPICAL PLACE TO MARRY IN BARCELONA

In Barcelona, you can marry in a church, in any place of choice where a notary attends, or at the different locations of the Barcelona City Hall. The most famous one is the City Hall’s Saló de Cent. You can read more about it here: https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/en/weddings-city-halls-salo-de-cent.

HIGHLIGHTS

It is a social ritual beyond its religious connotation.
The wedding industry is very lucrative.
Society is incorporating new types of weddings.

DESCRIPTION

Wedding, marriage or nuptials are terms that refer to a religious or civil ceremony, through which the beginning of the marriage is celebrated. Generally, a wedding is a rite that formalizes the union between two people before an external authority that regulates the procedure, which generates contractual commitments or legal obligations -according to the laws- between the parties.

The

ceremony is made up of several parts, which vary depending on the rite, the most common in the Western world are: the presentation before the authority (priest, judge, mayor, etc.), express manifestation of the bride and groom to constitute the contractual relationship and the exchange of rings.

Notwithstanding, there are also unconventional ceremonies for couples who do not wish or are not in a position to access a traditional ceremony (civil or religious).

Traditionally weddings are one of the most important social rituals for the continuity and the identity of the community: it unites families at the same time that it extends a new one. Even today there are many types of marriages: consensual, forced, brief, imposed, dreamed, idealized... In recent decades Europe has been incorporating marital unions beyond tradition, such as between same-sex couples, although other types of unions (such as Muslim polygamy) are not legal even if they are legal in some other non-European countries. Other forms of wedding are still considered taboo, such as between siblings, minors or with non-humans.

Many of the couples who do not follow any religion and prefer a civil wedding also continue with the tradition of celebrating it with family and friends, which continues to fuel the idea of the wedding as an important social ritual.

PERSONAL COMMENTS

-I always wanted to get married because I am very romantic and I like celebrations, not because of the family tradition but because I really like it. (Marta, 45).

-I have lived with the same girl for five years and we have a one-year-old daughter. We are not married but I guess we shall do it because everyone does it. It is also important for legal reasons. (Amador, 33).

-I married my Senegalese roommate so that he could obtain the legal documents to stay here. We took advantage of the fact that the wedding between two men had been legalized in Spain. But first my friend had to ask his father's permission in Senegal, who was a bit shocked but he accepted because it was a fake wedding. (Jose, 40)

WEDDINGS IN CONTEXT

Whether it is a religious or civil ceremony, a wedding continues to be an important social rite that formalizes the union between two people and establishes a series of legal obligations.

Therefore, weddings are also a strong access to the legal status of that country and continue to dictate who lives correctly, who suspiciously, and who illegally and even criminally.

Many are the traditions that suggest what should be done at each stage of a wedding, from its organization, dress and celebration to the honeymoon, although today in the West many of these customs are changing. This has spawned a lucrative industry that includes clothing, gifts, venue, banquet, photographic and video documentation, and travel agencies.

TYPES OF WEDDINGS THAT ARE CELEBRATED IN BARCELONA

Barcelona is a multicultural city which hosts all sorts of weddings, including same-sex weddings which were legalized in 2005: