Plaza Mayor

Warm Welcome Dinner

Finca Son Llompart by Macià Batle

Wedding Day

Assaona Gastrobeach Club Palma

Beach Brunch

Our Wedding

In 2014, a lost Mike was wandering round Madrid, where he had a new job. looking for an affordable apartment. He couldn't get in through the main door to check out an apartment but he was let in to the apartment building by a friendly and beautiful American. On the same day, Jenna Laffin arrived back to her apartment and found a befuddled English lad trying to get in! After a year of occasional meetings in the stairway, on the street and in the supermarket below the flat, one day the pair shared a metro journey and arranged to go for a curry. Neither was sure if it was a date but looking back, it was. They were falling in love! After a great year dating in Madrid, Jenna and Mike went in different directions but it was a really tough goodbye. Visas, jobs, and not being sure of how to tie the lives back together were key things to consider but the pair grew surer and surer their future was together somewhere, somehow. Though a muddlesome 2 or 3 years juggling a long-distance relationship was underway, special moments were being shared, each others' nations were being explored and enjoyed and important family members and friends were being met along the way. In 2020, the pair made the big decision to create a new base in Mallorca and set up their first permanent place together in Palma in September that year. And that October, Mike proposed on the beach in Soller. Luckily Jenna said yes... ...and here we are!

Our Story

Mallorca has a great international airport (PMI), about a 10-20 minute drive from Palma. PMI is really well-connected to loads of other places in Europe, including several UK destinations. If you're coming from the US, you will likely connect through London, Paris, Madrid, etc. For those of you on the East Coast, United Airlines has announced that a nonstop Newark-Palma flight should be coming in June of 2022! *You can take a ferry to Palma from Barcelona or Valencia, but these ferries are very lengthy and expensive. Flying is your best option!

Flights

Plenty of options to suit all (hopefully!)   Using Palma as a base is a great plan as it's the central spot and connects to everything so here are a few good hotels/ places that get our seal of approval to start the search. We will also have a shuttle bus from Palma to the wedding venue on Saturday! (It’s about a 25 minute ride).   Also, feel free to check out the sophisticated map we've done so you've got a rough idea where stuff is/ will be!     1. A hotel next to a beach If you want a hotel next to the main Palma beach (also where the Sunday event will be), the Melia Palma Bay is the only one round there really! It's about 1-1.5 km from the centre of Palma but, among other good things, it's got a really nice rooftop pool and the sea/ beach is right there!   <a />Melia Palma Bay</a> >> www.melia.com/en/hotels/spain/majorca/melia-palma-bay/index.htm     2. A city centre hotel If you want to be in the heart of the pretty Palma streets, you've got the choice between a few hotels, a few little hostels and loads of apartment-type alternatives. Lots of little bars, shops, restaurants... = good place to feel like you're in the middle of city action if that's what you fancy!   This one's a nice place to start for central Palma hotels...   <a href="https:" />ICON Roseto</a> >> https://www.iconroseto.com/en   And as we say, there are lots of apartments out there (Booking.com or similar has most of them) but here's one example of a set of apartments in a central area as an example...   <a href="https:" />Can Savella</a> >> cansavella.com/apartments     3. A hotel in the port area. If you fancy being a bit nearer to one of the livelier ends of Palma, Santa Catalina (which is a bit back from the port) this could be the area for you, especially if you like boats and/ or the sea. There are lots of options along this stretch and places are still overlooking the sea but just not at the beach end. Here are a couple of options round there.   <a />Melia Bellver</a> >> www.melia.com/en/hotels/spain/majorca/hotel-palma-bellver-by-melia/index.htm   <a />Hotel Mirador</a> >> www.hotelmirador.es/en/     4. A hidden gem/ bargain hotel If you want a hidden gem/ bargain of a hotel, Araxa is our top pick! Great little pool, bar and restaurant, not huge but really peaceful and still not far from the action. The only tricky thing with this one is it's adults only so not the best one if you're with kids.   <a />Hotel Araxa</a> >> www.hotelaraxa.com/en     Also, <a href="https:" />AirBnb</a> has plenty of gems too.   Finally, if you want us to try and check somewhere out or need help/ advice as you look for somewhere, give us a call or a message, no problem at all!

Accommodation

Click here to access the interactive Google map for our wedding locations: <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1K_jn_M47luByJnUMFBkmLeB_Jas3V1rU&amp;usp=sharing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Map</a>.

Graeme (Mike's brother) and Ben (Jenna's brother) will be the wedding officiants for the ceremony. Also, Emily Wilkinson and Lincoln Laffin might have a role transporting the rings to the front!

Wedding Party

Mallorca has something for everyone. If you're able to come for just the weekend, you'll find tons of excitement (or relaxation!) just in Palma. However, if you're able to stay a few days before or after the wedding we've got lots of recommendations. Particularly stunning is the Tramuntana mountain range, which is full of charming towns, beautiful hikes, dramatic cliffs, and cyclists training for the Tour de France. It is easy to get from Palma to towns in the mountains via bus, or thrilling car journey.

Scenic towns

We especially have loved the pretty towns of Sóller, Pollença, and Alcúdia. Their associated port towns are all wonderful as well--Port de Sóller and Port de Pollença. You can take a fabulous antique wooden train journey from Palma to Soller, and/or a wooden tram down to the Port de Soller from Soller. Soller has a few great hikes leading out of it, especially a lovely hike up to Fornalutx and back down through Biniaraix.

Art and Culture

Palma has several good art museums, especially Juan March and Fundación Miró. The Cathedral of Palma dominates the cityscape in the best way, and the Castell Bellver up on the hillside is notable for being the only circular castle in Europe.

Natural Wonders

The Drac Caves are a bit further out from Palma (an hour drive), but are worth a visit if you can make it. We thought we would feel claustrophobic, but instead were stunned by the beauty of this massive cave system. The 1-hour visit includes a classical music performance on lighted boats on an underground lake. There are plenty of beautiful beaches and towns around the Drac Caves as well. If you decide to spend some time on that side of the island we'll give you a few more recommendations!

Best Beaches

Not only does Mallorca have something for everyone, it also has a beach to suit all needs. We're particularly partial to golden sand and crystalline waters, so we really like Platja de Alcudia into Platja de Muro and Platja de Formentor. We also appreciate beaches right next to nice little cafes and reasonably-priced restaurants, so we love our local beach Ca'n Pere Antoni (where the Sunday beach brunch will be!), Port de Pollença, and Port de Soller. Some people are more into rocky slabs, pebbly bays, and tiny, sandy coves. Mallorca has all those, too!

Mallorca

Registry

Q + A

There's a link to the current travel rules below...Basically, at the moment, you need to do a travel form saying where you're staying and either:a) prove you're fully vaccinatedb) have a negative test BUT the travel rules are VERY likely to change (they've become more relaxed during the last 2 summers) so we'll keep an eye on them and update this bit as/ when they do.In normal life, you're supposed to wear a mask on public transport but it's not a rule to wear one anywhere else now. Check this website with all the latest information: <a href="https://www.spth.gob.es/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.spth.gob.es</a>

Jenna & Mike

Jenna & Mike

J&M

Warm Welcome Dinner

Wedding Day

Beach Brunch