Hi, I’m Arancha Usaín, the wedding planner at El Jardín de Teguise. I was born into a family of women who ran their own businesses, started out organising fashion shows for my boutique, and have spent the last eight-plus years planning weddings on this island — hundreds of them — for couples travelling mostly from the UK and Ireland.
I work on site, at the venue itself. That matters more than it sounds: I know where the sun sits at 6pm in May, which corner of the garden is sheltered when the trade wind picks up, which celebrant suits a relaxed ceremony and which florist’s flowers survive the heat. A Lanzarote wedding planner who only sees your venue on the day cannot give you that.
If you are getting married in Lanzarote and want to understand exactly what a planner does, what it costs and how the process works from another country, this page walks you through it.
A wedding planner designs, organises and runs your wedding so you don’t have to. In practice, for a wedding in Lanzarote that means I:
You get one person for all of it, from your first email to the last dance.
Here is how the planning usually runs:
12–18 months out: we hold your date, you tell me the shape of the day — numbers, budget, style — and I send a first outline and a guide price. See wedding packages.
6–12 months: we lock in the ceremony type and celebrant, book the photographer and key suppliers, and start the menu.
3–6 months: tasting, styling decisions, guest information pack, and — if you are marrying legally at home — you give notice at your register office.
Final weeks: final numbers, seating, running order, supplier confirmations. From here, I do the chasing.
The week of: rehearsal, last checks, and then you switch off. Hiring a planner in Lanzarote usually costs less than couples expect, because I keep everything — my fee included — inside your budget and stop money leaking on avoidable extras.
Planning a wedding abroad means running a small project in a country you don’t live in, in a language you may not speak: a venue, a registrar or celebrant, caterers, florists, a photographer, musicians, transport, and a legal process with its own quirks. Do it yourself and it eats your evenings for a year.
A local wedding planner absorbs all of that. You get one point of contact who already has the relationships, knows the going rates so you don’t overpay, and has a backup for every supplier. You also get someone in your timezone-ish who answers emails, and someone standing in the garden on the day making sure the plan actually happens. For most couples, that peace of mind is the whole point of getting married in Lanzarote rather than at home.
After hundreds of weddings on one island, I know exactly who delivers. When you book El Jardín de Teguise you get access to a shortlist of trusted local suppliers — photographers and videographers, florists, hair and make-up artists, celebrants, musicians and DJs, cake makers, classic cars and coaches — people who have worked at this venue, turn up on time and do what they say.
I bring the ideas too: styling that feels like you rather than a template, lighting that works once the sun drops, a table plan that flows. And if a supplier ever lets us down, I have someone else on speed dial. You never have to solve a supplier problem yourself.
On the wedding day I am there from the moment the styling goes up to the last song. I cue the music, keep the ceremony on time, coordinate the photographer, line up the speeches, and quietly fix the hundred small things guests never see. You are a guest at your own wedding.
No. Most couples plan entirely by video call, email and WhatsApp, with one optional visit if they want it.
Yes — an on-site planner is part of every wedding package, not an add-on.
I explain exactly which route fits you and coordinate the timeline around it. See legal requirements.
12–18 months for a peak-season Saturday; less for a midweek date or an elopement.
Tell me about your wedding and I’ll come back with ideas and a guide price, usually within two working days.
