Bride walking up the aisle between potted olive trees towards the white apse and crucifix of Nuestra Señora de la Merced

Sotogrande

Wedding Photographers & Filmmakers at Nuestra Señora de la Merced, Sotogrande

Name: Picart
Address: Estepona, Málaga, 29680, ES
Telephone: +34 607 872 955
Price range: €1580+

Sotogrande’s parish church, pink outside and white within, where Lucía & Javi married before their party at the golf club.

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A young church in Sotogrande

Nuestra Señora de la Merced is the parish church of Sotogrande, in Sotogrande Costa, part of the municipality of San Roque in the province of Cádiz. Unlike the old town churches of the coast, it is recent: it was built and consecrated in the early 2000s, replacing a small chapel at Cortijo Paniagua.

Sotogrande itself only dates from the 1960s, when Mercedes Zobel de Ayala and her husband Joseph Rafael McMicking began developing the estate. The church is dedicated to Our Lady of Mercy.

Outside, a soft pink façade with a curved gable and a small bell gable, and a doorway framed by stone pilasters at the top of a few steps. Inside, everything is white: a nave with arches and a rounded apse under a dome, with a single wooden crucifix.

Good to know if some of your family is British: besides Mass in Spanish, the church hosts English-language services by the Anglican chaplaincy and the Methodist church on the western Costa del Sol.

Newlyweds leaving the ivy-framed church as guests hold up their phones, Nuestra Señora de la Merced, Sotogrande

Groom and a woman in green waiting at the door of the church of Nuestra Señora de la Merced, Sotogrande

Groom arm in arm with a woman in green lace at the church door, Nuestra Señora de la Merced, Sotogrande

Bride's father handing her the bouquet as she steps out of the car at the church in Sotogrande

Groom and the woman in green walking up the aisle between guests and olive trees in the church

Guests in morning suits and a red halter dress standing in the packed pews of the church in Sotogrande

Priest reading from a red book as the bride and groom stand among olive branches at the altar

Priest in a cream chasuble speaking to the couple beside the altar flowers in the church in Sotogrande

Groom placing the ring on the bride's finger

Newlyweds walking back down the aisle as husband and wife

Getting married here from abroad

La Merced belongs to the diocese of Cádiz y Ceuta, and a wedding here is a Catholic ceremony. The parish office that serves Sotogrande is at Nuestra Señora del Rosario, in nearby Guadiaro.

If you live abroad, your own parish priest is your first call: he prepares the pre-nuptial file and gets in touch with the parish in Spain. Typical documents are recent baptism and confirmation certificates, permission to marry outside your parish and proof that you are free to marry.

Anything not in Spanish usually needs a sworn translation and an apostille. Give yourselves six months or more, and ask the parish for its own list: it varies from church to church.

Lucía & Javi’s wedding

Lucía & Javi married here on 16 September 2023. Lucía’s father handed her the bouquet as she stepped out of the car, and Javi walked in between the guests and the olive trees.

From the back of the nave you could see them both against the white apse and the crucifix. There was laughter at the altar, the rings, the signing and, on the way out, a tunnel of guests holding up their phones under an ivy-framed doorway.

They left in a white convertible for the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, where we took them out on the course at sunset before the party.

Bride and groom laughing at the altar with guests looking on, Sotogrande

Light and space

The photos show a lit apse and white walls that bounce a warm, even light onto the couple. With no altarpiece, the background stays clean and the two of you stand out.

The dark wooden doors let the daylight in behind whoever walks in, and outside the pink façade and terracotta floor add colour to the exit.

Bride and groom seated at the kneeler in front of the altar

Questions couples ask

Is this the same church as the one in Guadiaro?

No. La Merced is in Sotogrande Costa. Nuestra Señora del Rosario is in Guadiaro, and its parish office also serves Sotogrande.

Can we marry here if only one of us is Catholic?

Yes. The Church allows a mixed marriage with a dispensation from the bishop. Your home parish priest can help you request it.

Is there an English-speaking church community here?

Yes. The church hosts English-language Anglican and Methodist services, which is reassuring for British guests.

Where can we celebrate afterwards?

Lucía & Javi celebrated at the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande. Our Sotogrande page has more weddings and venues in the area, such as Trocadero.

Keep exploring

Other churches

Iglesia de la Encarnación Marbella
Iglesia de la Inmaculada Concepción Mijas

What we do in Sotogrande

Who we are

Diego & Tamara

A married couple and one team, photographing and filming weddings together for more than 12 years. One style for your photos and your film, from Estepona, in English or Spanish.

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Tell us about your wedding. We reply within 24 hours, in English or Spanish.

Prefer WhatsApp? Diego +34 607 872 955 · Tamara +34 674 842 774