Fiestasol Lifestyle Blog

January Guest blog - the aptly named Lizzie Marriage

2012-01-04T01:59:00.000-08:00

I have been associated with the wedding business here in Marbella Spain for 8 years now.

Things were a little different when I started, for a start we did not have the internet, so there was a much more personal approach which these days is hard to attain at times and makes the companies who do succeed to do this special.

When I started, most brides wanted a church wedding, which unless you are Catholic, in Spain has always been a problem. I feel this has been made more difficult in recent years and therefore many couples, as they are mostly now of mixed religion or none at all, choose to have a civil ceremony where they live and come here for a blessing service afterwards. I really feel that Spain should allow non residents to have legal civil ceremonies here, in this day and age it seems to me to be very archaic not to. We do understand that this is all about to change which will be wonderful for the wedding business in Spain.

I feel the ceremony itself is the most important part of the marriage plans. The couple are promising to love each other, support and care for one another for the rest of their lives, so this part of their day should be very personal and special. As a minister, I like to meet with the couple long before their wedding, so we have time to discuss their needs and be able to write a ceremony together that has meaning and purpose for them and their families. It is I feel very important to include as many people from the two families as possible as the couple will need their support as they go through their lives and the promises all the family make this day will carry forward with love.

I have worked and know as friends Alex and Heather Sadler for many years and value their professionalism very much. They have brought Fiesta Sol so far along the road in this business by sheer hard work, personal service and commitment to perfection that they should be very proud of the success their company now has as the top wedding planners in this area. Everything they do is done with such care and commitment to each couple they work with that the friendships that are formed with couples last a long time after the wedding day is over.

Which really is what this is all about.

Caring and making people happy forever.

My father - the guru! David Sadtler´s Management Blog

2011-12-09T01:52:00.000-08:00

There is one simple building block for a successful competitive strategy: finding out what customers want and doing it better than anyone else. There is no substitute for this. No business can succeed without happy customers, a rule which requires that the successful competitor actually find out what customers do want. This is why we are constantly bombarded by satisfaction surveys when we buy anything online. The supplier wants to know whether you were happy, what you were looking for, the cause of any unhappiness, and whether or not you will recommend their products to your friends.

In consumer products, the successful competitor must think this way and do three things. First, he must create awareness of his product or nothing further will happen. Potential customers must know that you exist. This is why you often see advertising for websites on television, not campaigns for the products themselves. People have to know that you are out there.

Second, he must motivate the prospect to try it, or the prospect will not become a customer. The company seeking your business will try to capture you and find out about you. They will then appeal to you to try what they have to offer, building on what they have found out about you. Supermarkets assemble massive databases gathered from transactions at the till using loyalty cards. From this they know what to try to sell you via coupons and even in-store promotional materials.

And finally, he must motivate retrial: the product must be good enough that the customer wants to buy it again. This is the acid test. If the customer tries your product and doesn't like it and does not come back for more, you have largely failed. It's that simple.

In the case of services like Fiesta Sol’s business of wedding arranging and food catering, the requirements for success reflect these guidelines. In catering, they have managed to create awareness principally through good website design, but also selected advertising campaigns in targeted publications. Before the web, awareness was created solely through advertising, an often prohibitively expensive way to find your first customers. Now a good website can at least get you started. The website also plays a role in generating trial. The message on the website must be sufficiently enticing to generate clicks and enquiries, whether it is a catered dinner for 100 people or a wedding in a Marbella villa.

Retrial is the life blood in food catering. Customers must see the performance as exceptionally good and worth doing again. The corollary of retrial in the wedding planning business is a good reference (and hopefully not a return for a second marriage, at least not too soon!). Brides pleased with the wedding experience and the service provided by the wedding arranger will tell their friends and provide endorsements and testimonials. The FiestaSol website is replete with such compliments.

One final piece of advice. The great American poet and essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “What you do speaks so loud I cannot hear what you say." Don’t speak ill of your competitors. Your customer prospects will simply assume that you are struggling to catch up with a superior rival.

The bottom line is this. A great product, attuned to the needs and requirements of the customer, is the backbone of any business, large or small. Do everything you can to provide it.

Glamour at Villa Padierna

2011-09-05T05:41:00.000-07:00

I was delighted to receive Becky Sharpe´s (www.beckysharpe.co.uk) gorgeous images of Paula and Alans stylish and emotional wedding at the Villa Padierna. And I won´t forget the groom and all his ushers jumping on stage in their pink suits and performing Westlife for a long time....

Stunning beaches of Cadiz

2011-04-26T00:44:00.000-07:00

While we love living in the Costa del Sol, we take any opportunity we can to escape down to the amazing Atlantic beaches of Cadiz. Unfortunately the wind means that it is not the best place for weddings, but for chilled beach holidays, kite boarding, dune buggying and generally unwinding, this is the best part of Andalucia by far. Check out the beautiful kiddies, looks like a Boden catalogue!

Photo Booth!

2011-04-05T01:39:00.000-07:00

We are loving this new service from www.jeremystandley.com. Book a photo booth for your wedding, and this amazing piece of equipment can be set up in 5 minutes and allow all your guests to pop in whenever they like during the event, providing you with fantastic and top quality alternative wedding photos

Work on FiestaSol HQ commences!

2011-03-14T07:38:00.001-07:00

We are so excited about work getting underway on Fiestasol HQ. The walls are going up, kitchen is being designed and put together by Alex and I have ordered our brand new iMac computers. My friend Laura at Reviva has been brainstorming with me for the design of the offices, and my plan is to have a very white slick showroom space for meetings and tastings. I think she is just as inspired as we are!
http://theweddingdecorator.blogspot.com/2011/03/designing-new-wedding-office-spaces-for.html

We will be totally unique down here. Couples will come in, have a chance to look through our event photo books, wedding magazines and design books to get them really inspired, and then meet with all of their suppliers and sample their menu and wedding cakes, all under one roof. We will have a wedding table set up with our linens, glasware and crockery, not to mention silk flower arrangements and dummy cakes. No more running around from meeting to meeting, at Fiestasol you will be completely taken care of.

Wine tasting La Rioja

2011-02-28T06:42:00.000-08:00

We are just back from a wonderful week in the North of Spain. The Pais Vasco is a gastronomic treat and we packed in wine tasting in la Rioja, pintxos in the stunning town of San Sebastian and a long-dreamed-of visit to the Guggenheim in Bilboa. Alex and I were hoping for a visit to the renowned 3 Michelin star Arzak restaurant in San Sebastian, but unfortunately with too hyperactive young boys, I don´t think we would have been too welcome. Maybe in a few years´ time...

Latest issue of local bridal magazine Confeti

2011-02-16T02:54:00.000-08:00

The beautiful Spring of Confeti is out now
http://www.confetimagazine.com/back-issues/book/11-confeti-spring-2011/1-confeti-wedding-magazine.html
Check out my piece on the fascinating phenomenon Trash the Dress on pg 70.
I have worked closely with Nicola McGeroge at Confeti since their launch last year. Having being trained as a journalist originally, Confeti ask me to contribute a lot of features as well as advising on all aspects of wedding planning and catering. Its a great source for local wedding information for any bride getting married on the Costa del Sol and we are delighted to be a part of their ever-growing success.

Olive oil masterclass

2011-01-24T03:56:00.000-08:00

Working in catering, we love to explore the world of local produce and the amazing gastronomy that Andalucia has to offer. On Saturday, Alex and I went to a fascinating Masterclass in olive oil at the beautiful delicatessan boutique in Marbella Old Town DOliva http://www.dolivaonline.com/
At home we try and follow a Mediterranean diet, and this is reflected in our menus at FiestaSol. Spain produces the majority of olive oil in Europe and 80% of this is produced in Andalucia. The health benefits are amazing, and extra virgen oil is know both as the "liquid gold of the Mediterranean diet" and the "artery fairy" for its amazing cholesterol-lowering propeties.
Olive oil should be extra virgen for these properties to be at their best. We hugely enjoyed our tasting session, which taught us to appreciate the taste differences present in oil, similar to a wine tasting.

Once our locale is finished, we hope to provide a similar Masterclass, taught by Dr Francisco Tapia, the impressive nutritionist who hosted the session.

Vintage-style weddings

2011-01-13T04:26:00.000-08:00

Vintage and shabby chic weddings are all the rage at the moment. I adore this style and have been doing some redecorating at home, using pictures and websites like http://blog.loulouandoscar.com/ and http://www.cabbagesandroses.com/ to inspire me (and make me drool) I recently bought a great vintage cake stand on http://www.ebay.co.uk/ for my kitchen and thought it would be perfect for cupcakes at a wedding. We also did a beautiful wedding in this theme with Laura from http://www.reviva-weddings.com/ a few years ago and she and I were in heaven. See image below.

Tarifa

2011-01-13T01:47:00.000-08:00

We work so hard over the summer that its important for us to get away and switch off completely. I absolutely love Tarifa as it is stunningly beautiful and the perfect place to chill out.
We are renting a beautiful villa over Easter with a bunch of friends. Have a look at the photos and also some of the boys last summer and our picnic on the sand dunes.
Louis and Oscar are total beach bums and as Louis recently told me - "If we dont go to Tarifa soon I will lose my temperature...!!" We cant wait and plan to go whale watching, sand dune quad biking and hiking in the national parks. I may leave the nude sunbathing at Bolonia to my crazy friend Robbie - I will take photos!

On a personal note

2011-01-11T04:15:00.000-08:00

These last five years have been a roller coaster for me, mostly because I have combined a very fast-growing business with the not unsignificant task of having two babies! Louis is now 4 and Oscar nearly 2. I have shifted tables and chairs while 8 months pregnant, sent emails from my hospital bed and told them goodnight stories over the phone while weddings rage in the background! They have always been and continue to be my inspiration. Thanks to http://www.jeremystandley.com/ for taking so many beautiful photos of them over the years

Exciting news...

2011-01-11T04:06:00.000-08:00

We are thrilled to be building our new commercial premises right on the seafront in Marbella. As well as an industrial kitchen and new offices, it will have a wedding showroom and menu tasting area. Clients will be able to come in, have a glass of cava and look through photos of our weddings and events, meet suppliers and sample our menus. My friend Laura at http://www.reviva-weddings.com/, decorator extraordinaire, has offered to help turn the space into mini-wedding world with fairly lights, floral centreprices and much more. We will also be putting together themed weddding ideas in the showroom and posting on the blog to give brides some real inspiration.

Business news for 2011

2011-01-11T01:33:00.000-08:00

Image: http://www.jeremystandley.com/

I never cease to be amazed how much our business grows each year. From our humble beginning six years ago planning the odd wedding and catering our neighbours´ dinner parties, we now have 52 villa weddings booked for 2011 and enquiries are still coming in all the time. Many people ask me what the secret is, and I always says its not rocket science: treat your customers with respect, forge positive relationships with all the other suppliers in the area, don´t overcharge and turn up on time! Our team enjoys every job, we work with smiles on our faces and treat every event with the importance it deserves. I will keep you posted on all the exciting plans afoot, such as media interviews, a coffee table book and a fabulous new season opening party.

New Year, New Blog!

2011-01-11T01:11:00.000-08:00

A wise and trusted friend (you know who you are are!) has encouraged me to give my blog an overhaul. 2011 is going to be an amazing year, and I want this blog to document the dreams and ambitions of our life in Spain, not just as business owners, but as a family who loves living in this beautiful part of the world. I hope to inspire people to do what we did and be brave and change their lives and achieve as much as they can.

2010-09-01T05:09:00.000-07:00

Kevin and Susie´s initimate wedding ceremony in their own villa was thoroughly enjoyed by all despite the thunderclaps during the ceremony! Many thanks to www.pacomontagut.com for the great photos

2010-09-01T05:06:00.000-07:00

What a stunning wedding, for a lovely and deserving couple. FiestaSol were delighted to provide both the planning and the catering at the magical Finca la Concepcion. Jeremy provided the spectacular reportage photos

2010-09-01T05:01:00.000-07:00

The intimate and emotional wedding of Sharon & Michael took place in the wonderful Villa La Paz with its infnity pool and amazing views of the Mijas coastline. FiestaSol were delighted to provide the planning and the catering.

2010-09-01T04:58:00.000-07:00

David Toms shots of Regina and Brian´s wedding at the amazing Villa Padierna do this venue real justice

olga & Neil

2010-09-01T04:54:00.000-07:00

Joan at www.spanishweddingplanner.com kindly asked us to cater Olga and Neil´s fantastic wedding at the Finca - one of our favourite venues with Jeremy Standley taking the mindblowing photos www.jeremystandley.com

2010-09-01T04:24:00.001-07:00

2010-09-01T04:22:00.000-07:00

Karim & Maysa

2010-08-09T03:23:00.000-07:00

On Saturday FiestaSol organised our biggest wedding so far. 350 people attended the stunning Finca la Concepcion to celebrate with Karim and Maysa and their wonderful families Giant screens showing a live feed of the wedding all night, enormous chandeliers hanging from the trees, silver cutlery from Madrid with its own security guard, lamps and candles from Morocco, 3 live bands, amazing flowers from Pepe Berrocal, the list goes on and on. The night went off withouth a hitch and we are incre...and it was a true spectacle.

2010-08-09T03:21:00.001-07:00

Just recovering after the week-end catering England and Liverpool player Glen Johnson´s amazing 2 day housewarming party in Sotogrande. An incredible sucess for a really charming and polite family. We provided a gourmet BBQ buffet the first day and a relaxed hangover comfort food feast for the next day!

Marieke & Johan

2010-08-09T03:20:00.001-07:00

"I wanted to thank you for all you have done. We got so many compliments about everything. All because of you. Thank you so much!

Food was also excellent! ...Everybody loved it! Because of you the wedding was a great succes!

Carolien Verburg

Marieke & Johan

2010-08-09T03:19:00.001-07:00

Marieke and Johan´s wedding was a great combination of chic sophistication with their blessing ceremony at Nikki Beach and rustic elegance at their parent´s lovely villa in Monda. Fiestasol provided the catering with special black linens to fit in with their black and fuschia pink colour scheme.

Louise O'Sullivan

2010-08-09T03:15:00.001-07:00

We both want to say thank you so much for making our day the best day of our lives. From our first email to you, you have been super efficient and gave us fantastic advise to insure our day would go off without a hitch. Your a true professional!!! Thank you so so so much again.Please stay in touch."

Louise O´Sullivan

Katie Robinson

2010-08-09T03:14:00.000-07:00

‎"Didi and I would like to say THE biggest thanks again for the most amazing time you have gone way above and beyond what we could have ever imagined and we really cannot thank you enough... Everyone has said how well organised it all was and how great the food etc was so please also say a HUGE thanks to Alex and his team.... Katie Robinson

Rob & Rebbeca finlay

2010-08-09T03:11:00.000-07:00

Better late than never... but i just wanted to say a big thank you for the food you did for our wedding on friday 4th June. The food was brilliant and many guests commented on it being the best meal they had ever had at a wedding. the waiters were really helpful and friendly and lots of peopl commented on how they went... out of their way to help them. Thanks again, rebecca x

Fantastic new images on Facebook page

2010-06-30T00:57:00.001-07:00

Have a look: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=lf#!/pages/Marbella/FiestaSol-Weddings-Catering/114752134672?ajaxpipe=1&__a=3

May wedding at the ever-popular Guadalmina hotel

2010-06-10T04:43:00.000-07:00

Lou and Toby´s wedding was held on a balmy afternoon in May. Fiestasol arranged the ceremony at the little-known Santo Angel church in Puerto Banus followed by a fantastic reception at Guadalmina. Ian Preston kept the crowd entertained in the best way possible as he always does, and Jeremy and Jenni took the beautiful photos. Maxine created the bouquets and church flowers.

New Fiestasol weddings on Facebook

2010-06-07T05:42:00.001-07:00

2 new stunning villa weddings on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marbella/FiestaSol-Weddings-Catering/114752134672

Latest issue of Confeti Magazine

2010-05-30T03:44:00.001-07:00

The latest issue of Confeti is out now - http://issuu.com/societyliving/docs/confeti_may. Check out pages 61-62 for our reviews of some great venues on the Coast and 63-64 for our guide to everything you need to know about having private catering at your wedding.

Fiestasol Facebook page

2010-04-19T01:28:00.001-07:00

We have a new Facebook page. Have a look at http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Marbella/FiestaSol-Weddings-Catering/114752134672?ref=ts for photos and loads of updates.

FiestaSol rebranding

2010-03-22T04:26:00.000-07:00

Exciting things are happening here at FiestaSol. We have a fabulous new website www.fiestasol.com thanks to Robin Ott design and Eric at www.acutebusinessservices.com
Our reputation as the leading wedding planners and caterers on the Coast is now established and we were delighted to be asked by the catering school in Benahavis to deliver a lecture on the logisitics of catering and organising an event.
Check out the latest issue of Confetti Magazine also for our article on Villa Weddings http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=373145555738&ref=ts, a true phenomenon here on the Coast - we already have 40 booked for this year alone with more coming in all the time!

Canape party for VIP card

2010-03-05T03:26:00.000-08:00

FiestaSol Catering is a business member of Marbella´s VIP card directory service. We were asked to provide a canape party for one of their meet-and-greet sessions at the Aquapool showroom in San Pedro. Many thanks to Angie for organising this very successful event. Our chicken satays with Thai dipping sauce went down a storm!

Drinks at La Virginia

2009-09-16T01:07:00.000-07:00

The chapel at la Virginia is Marbella´s hidden gem, and one of the most beautiful spots in town to hold a blessing. The lovely Lizzie Marriage asked up to provide cava and canapes for the bride and groom and their guests after their ceremony which FiestaSol Catering was delighted to do.

Our favourite villa for weddings

2009-09-16T01:00:00.000-07:00

Our favourite villa for weddings in Marbella is a beautiful place called Cortijo la Perdiz, a traditional Spanish house with an amazing inner courtyard, huge garden with lake and and fantastic views. We set up a ceremony area for Will & Miranda´s Jewish blessing, and then FiestaSol Catering provided the canapes and buffet, with tables set around the pool. Maxine provided the stunning cala lily bouquets and table centres and Laura from Reviva weddings set up the chuppah for the ceremony and dotted the villa with twinkling fairy lights, lanterns and candles to give a truly fairytale feel to the whole night.

Collaborations with Jeremy Standley

2009-08-12T04:32:00.000-07:00

It is always a pleasure working with Jeremy Standley http://www.jeremystandley.com/ - his photos are always stunning and we collaborate on many weddings together. Here is a selection of some great weddings from this year

Lovely pink themed villa wedding - but very hot!

2009-08-12T04:15:00.000-07:00

This was a gorgeous villa wedding on the 31st July but boy were we hot! The Fiestasol catering team arrived to transform the villa while the happy couple were in Giabraltar getting married. By the time they arrived back, we were ready to go with a delicious selection of canapes and a sit-down meal of smoked salmon and tiger prawns, organic corn-fed chicken stuffed with sultanas and pine nuts, followed by vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. Many thanks to Maxine for the lovely table centres http://www.maxine4flowers.com/ and Sue for the stunning cupcake wedding cake.

Mijas villa wedding

2009-07-06T03:27:00.000-07:00

Rob and Simone had a real love of Spanish food, so asked us to provide them with a culinary feast for their wedding. They had canapes, tapas, a live paella presentation, full buffet and Spanish wedding cake! Quite an undertaking on a hot afternoon in July. Villa Mapendo in Mijas provided the beautiful setting with amazing views down to the Mediterranean.

Pretty villa wedding Las Chapas

2009-07-06T03:20:00.000-07:00

A hot day for all but well worth it for Hanna and Gareth´s lovely villa wedding. They held their blessing on the grounds conducted by the fantastic Andrew Hunter (http://www.andrewhunter.eu/), followed by a cocktail round the pool accompanied by a live saxophone, and then dinner under the trees.

Canape party

2009-06-23T01:43:00.000-07:00

Canapes and fingerfood are a really popular request in the summer, especially for birthdays, cocktails, and pre-wedding get-togethers. This party was for 20 lovely ladies at their son´s private villa in Los Flamingos. For more information on our catering, have a look at http://www.cateringmarbella.com/ for menus, images and prices.

Fantastic private villa - Simon & Sally

2009-06-19T07:18:00.000-07:00

A truly stunning private villa, this venue near Estepona had a pathway right down to the beach and was perfect for a wedding. FiestaSol provided the catering; a buffet with a large paella as a centrepiece: one of our specialities! Talia took some stunning of photos: a few of which you can see above. http://www.thoroughlygorgeous.com/

Taberna del Alabardero - Sandra & Matt

2009-06-18T02:57:00.000-07:00

A really enjoyable sunny wedding at the chic Taberna del Alabardero boutique hotel. Sandra and Matt were a pleasure to deal with and seemed to absolutely love their wedding day. Their Catholic ceremony was at the Santo Angel church in Marbella with an English-speaking priest. Then onto the coach and straight to the hotel on the Ronda Road. Thanks to Maxine for her stunning flowers http://www.maxine4flowers.com/ and David for the photography www.davidtoms-weddings.com . We had some great entertainment at this wedding also - Spanish guitarist for the cocktail, pianist during dinner, followed by a flamenco show and a fantastic Rat Pack and swing singer. Quite an extravaganza!

Finca la Concepcion - Ellen and Keith

2009-06-01T02:39:00.000-07:00

Ellen and Keith´s wedding was a great success at one of my favourite venues: Finca la Concepcion in Marbella. Watch out for some of the official photos on Jeremy Standley´s blog http://www.jeremystandley.com/ - I´m sure they will be stunning. The ceremony at the Encarnacion church in Marbella was beautiful, and the music at the reception went down a storm thanks to a brilliant flamenco show and the fantastic live band http://www.thetributeband.net/.

Villa wedding

2009-06-01T02:21:00.001-07:00

We really enjoyed doing the catering for our first villa wedding of the year. The bride Sheena had some specific requests - soup, prawn cocktail and steak - and we were happy to oblige! David Toms took the photos http://www.davidtoms-weddings.com/ and I´m sure they will be fantastic as ever. The sun shone, the wine flowed and everyone seemed happy!

Irish Football strip...

2009-05-18T10:50:00.000-07:00

It was great to see Anita and Jonathan last week. We are organising their wedding at the Ritz Carlton Villa Padierna in September. They very kindly brought our new addition Oscar an Irish football strip. Not sure what my Spanish husband thinks about it though! Thanks again guys...x

Wedding season kicks off

2009-05-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

First wedding of the season went off without a hitch. Marion & Frank held their ceremony at the beautiful Santo Cristo chapel in Marbella. We then served canapes and drinks for them in the beautiful church square afterwards. A popular option, and often a good way to pay less than hotel prices! We then headed back to the Guadalmina hotel where the views were magnificent as the sun went down.

On a personal note...

2008-11-06T03:39:00.001-08:00

Many clients - past, present and future - ask us how our little boy Louis is. He is now 2 and the apple of our eye... Here are a couple of photos of him when he visited me at a wedding this year. Thanks Jeremy!

2009 Weddings

2008-11-06T03:12:00.000-08:00

2009 is going to be a great year for weddings. Excellent value for money and good airport links to the UK, Ireland and the US, means that the Costa del Sol and Marbella are becoming increasingly popular for such a special day. We have more weddings than ever booked for next year, and it seems that people are running away from the big budget weddings at home, to enjoy some sun and high quality over here for lower prices! Here are some of my favourite venues. Many thanks to http://www.jeremystandley.com, www.thoroughlygorgeous.com and http://www.davidtoms-weddings.com/, as ever, for their beautiful shots.

FiestaSol Catering

2008-11-06T02:59:00.000-08:00

The catering side of the business continues to grow from strength to strength. Have a look at some images of our food, set-up and equipment.

Villa weddings

2008-11-06T02:55:00.000-08:00

A great year

2008-11-06T02:44:00.000-08:00

We have just come to the end of the 2008 season and it has been a great year for FiestaSol. About 27 weddings in total and many fantastic catering jobs. Villa weddings continue to be a really popular choice, and we have created some beautiful events. Have a look at some of the best villa wedding photos!

Welcome to our new blog

2008-11-05T11:30:00.000-08:00

Thank you and welcome to our new blog!

The FiestaSol Team