Event and wedding logistics in Spain: masías, stages, trade fairs and shipments to the islands

What we transport for weddings and events

We work for wedding planners and event companies, and in practice we move most of what is needed to set up and take down an event:

• Chairs and tables for weddings, banquets and ceremonies.
• Sofas, ambience furniture and decoration pieces.
• Props, structures, art and set elements.
• Audiovisual stage equipment: sound, screens, lighting and truss in flight cases.
• Trade fair, exhibition, museum and film-shoot material.
• Product pallets and supplies for the event's service.

Most of the time it is pallets and large items that must be delivered to a specific place at a specific time, and collected when the event ends.

Weddings at masías and country estates: what to check before sending the vehicle

Masías (Catalan country houses) and estates are a very common destination with their own particularities: you arrive by track, there is no loading dock and the unloading point may be far from the road. Check before booking:

• Access: track width and condition, bends, gates or barriers and clearance under trees or arches.
• Maximum vehicle length and height the access allows. If the track is narrow, a 4.2 m box van gets in where a 7.7 m truck cannot.
• Unloading point: distance to the set-up area and ground type. The tail lift needs firm ground; on gravel or soft lawn we unload with more care.
• Permitted hours: many estates limit arrival and noise hours, and neighbours count.
• A contact person at the estate to open up and show where to leave each item.

With photos of the access and the maximum vehicle length, we choose between van, box van or truck and avoid having to transfer the load halfway.

How set-up and take-down are organised

We plan the return pickup from the start, with the same contact person, so the material does not wait at the estate.

Which vehicle to choose

If access is tricky, we start from the width of the track and not from the volume of the load: that is what decides the vehicle most often.

Stages and audiovisual equipment

For stages and performances, the equipment (sound, screens, lighting, truss) travels in flight cases and needs to be secured, with an orderly access so that what is set up first is unloaded first. Loading time is set by the sound check or the venue's set-up. More detail in our guide to urgent equipment for concerts and festivals.

Across Spain and also to the islands

We run services across mainland Spain and also shipments to the islands, with a ferry leg. In that case allow more date margin: timing and price depend on the route and the ship, and we confirm them with the quote, before departure.

A real case: a wedding at a masía in Menorca

For a wedding at a masía in Menorca we loaded the event's designer chairs, which had to be stowed and secured very carefully, in a truck 9.5 m long overall with a body of almost 8 m. Before booking the ferry we checked with the organisers that the truck could reach the masía, which was out in the countryside, because at that size the access decides everything.

We loaded in Mataró and crossed by ferry. On arrival, the client also asked for two loaders to unload and place the chairs, and we arranged them ourselves; the driver helped too. While the organisers set up and the wedding took place, the driver stayed a day and a half in a hotel on the island.

The masía asked for the material to leave that same night, so the restaurant would be empty in the morning. At 3:00 we loaded again, the loaders flew back and the driver waited for the next ferry home.

• Check the truck's access before booking the ferry.
• Stow and secure delicate pieces, such as designer chairs, with care.
• Plan for loaders if the furniture has to be placed: we can arrange them.
• Allow for the driver's overnight stay, and a night departure if the estate requires it.
• Match the return ferry time to the pickup moment.

This is the kind of service where it pays to talk early: waiting time, the overnight stay and the ferry leg are agreed in advance in the quote.

Price: how it is calculated

In Barcelona and the Vallès, the reference rate is hourly: 35 €/hour for a 3,500 kg box van (4-hour minimum, 140 €) and 40 €/hour for a 12 t rigid truck (4-hour minimum). For routes across the rest of Spain it is calculated by kilometre: 1.20 €/km for the box van and 1.40 €/km for the 12 t rigid, plus VAT. The ferry leg, if any, is quoted separately.

The price is confirmed before departure, according to the load, the access and the schedule.

What we need for a quote

1. Set-up and take-down date and time.
2. Address of the estate, hall or venue and its access (photos if it is a masía).
3. What is being transported: number of chairs and tables, pallets, large items, equipment and weight.
4. Dimensions of large pieces and whether they must be moved with a tail lift.
5. A contact person at origin and destination.
6. Whether a return pickup is needed and when.

Common mistakes when transporting wedding material

• Not asking about the estate's access until the day before.
• Choosing the vehicle by volume and not by the width of the track.
• Forgetting the return and leaving furniture waiting for days.
• Delivering without someone to receive and show the place.
• Leaving set-up to the last minute with no margin for an incident.