Logistics
Everything you need for the weekend lives on this page, and it's always kept current.
How we'll stay in touch
Four ways to stay close.
The details that matter. Arrival notes, timings, and anything that changes before the weekend. Add your address below.
The day to day. Questions, ride shares, and who's landing when. Join the group.
Follow @WeAreCeleBraaten. Tag us in your posts and Reels, or mention us in your Stories, and we'll pull them into our gallery. It only works if your account's public.
This page
Everything for the weekend, in one place. When something changes, it changes here first.
Make sure we have your email
Every update goes out by email. If you're not sure we have your best address, or you'd like a second one added, add it here.
Venue
2710-517 Sintra, Portugal +351 219 233 200
Your access pass
You'll need a pass to reach the palace. Download it here.
The palace sits inside the Cultural Landscape of Sintra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a protected national monument. The old streets are narrow and carefully looked after, so access to several of them is controlled. The road up to the palace is one, with police checkpoints deciding who drives down it.
Every guest coming to anything at the palace this weekend should carry a pass. Yours is on this page, ready to save to your phone. It's written in Portuguese and English, it says who you are and that you're arriving by taxi or ride-hail, and it gives the officer the hotel's number so they can confirm it in seconds. Most of the time that's all it takes.
Save it to your phone before you travel. Signal in the hills isn't always kind, so download it rather than relying on loading this page at a checkpoint. On an iPhone, open the image and then press and hold it to add it to your Photos.
Prefer paper? Print version here.
Getting around
Use Uber or Bolt
Both work well across Sintra and Lisbon and are the easiest way to get around all weekend. Official metered taxis are easy to find, and for the hills, tuk-tuks are a genuinely good option and more fun than they sound.
Download both before you fly and add a payment method while you're still on home wifi.
Saturday night, we're getting you home
We're running private shuttles from the palace back to the local hotels through the evening on Saturday, leaving at intervals rather than all at once, so you can go whenever suits you. Nothing to book and no need to watch the clock.
Parking
There's very little of it near the palace. Rely on Uber, Bolt, walking, or our private shuttles on Saturday night.
Please don't rent a car
Sintra is a genuinely challenging place to drive. The roads are narrow and winding, parking near the palace is very limited, and the restricted zones make it more trouble than it's worth. You won't need a car once you're here.
If you're staying at the palace
Arriving on Friday
The palace is ours from noon on Friday, so come up as soon as you land. Check-in is after 3:00 PM and most flights from the States arrive in the morning, so your room probably won't be ready. That's fine. Leave your bags with the front desk, use the changing rooms to freshen up or get into a swimsuit, and the pool is yours for the afternoon. Or drop the bags and go see Sintra. Your room will be ready at 3:00.
Breakfast
A full breakfast is served Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8:00 to 11:00 AM in the Marialva Restaurant dining room, and it's complimentary for hotel guests.
Sunday morning, before the Farewell Brunch
The Farewell Brunch starts at 11:00 AM. Please clear your room before brunch and leave your luggage in the lobby. The hotel's expecting your bags and will hold them for you, so you can eat, say goodbye properly, and collect everything on your way out.
Paying
Your room has already been charged to the card you gave when you reserved, so there's nothing to settle for the room itself. The hotel will still take a card at check-in for incidentals. There's also a Portuguese city tax of 2 euros per person per night, for guests over 13 and capped at three nights, which you settle at checkout.
If you're staying elsewhere
The palace is ours for the whole weekend, so you're welcome up there during the day, not only for the events. Book a spa treatment, sit in the gardens, come early. Uber and Bolt get you up the hill in a few minutes.
The spa
The palace spa is open to all of us this weekend, whether you're staying there or not. We have the whole hotel, so the only people you're sharing it with are us.
Open every day from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM, by reservation. Look at the treatment menu, then send a request through the palace's booking form and mention the wedding in the message. The form is a request, not a confirmed slot, so wait for their email back.
Prefer to call? The palace switchboard is +351 219 233 200.
What to pack
Early September in Sintra is warm in the day and properly cool once the sun goes down. The hills hold their own weather and evenings at the palace get breezy.
- A light layer for the evenings, every night.
- Shoes that work on grass and cobblestones. The grounds are beautiful and they're not flat.
- Swimwear, a cover-up, and flip flops. The palace has a pool, and you can use it the moment you arrive on Friday.
- Your passport, with plenty of time left on it. Portugal's minimum is three months beyond the day you fly home, and six is the safer margin, so glance at the date now rather than in September.
- Your access pass, downloaded to your phone.
For what to wear to each event, see The Celebrations.
Special food requests
Thank you to everyone who sent theirs in. The list is with the kitchen and this form is now closed.
If you have an allergy or a dietary need we don't know about, please email us as soon as possible and we'll get it to the kitchen.
Frequently asked questions
Can I bring my kids?
We've decided to keep the weekend adults only. We know that's a real ask when you're travelling this far, and we hope it gives you a proper weekend off.
Is there a shuttle on Friday or Sunday?
No, just Saturday evening. For Friday and Sunday, Uber and Bolt are quick and easy.
Can I check in early?
Check-in is after 3:00 PM, but the palace is ours from noon, so come up as soon as you land. Leave your bags at the front desk, use the changing rooms, and the pool is yours for the afternoon. If you'd rather get out and see Sintra, the town, the Moorish castle and Quinta da Regaleira are all close by and worth the time.
Can I take photos during the ceremony?
We'd rather you didn't. Please keep phones down for the ceremony itself and just be there with us. Louise is photographing everything and we'll share all of it. After that, take as many as you like.
What time should I fly home on Sunday?
Brunch runs from 11:00 AM. If you fly Sunday, give yourself three hours between leaving the palace and your flight, since it's a 35 minute drive plus international check-in.
Who do I contact if something goes wrong?
Us. Reply to any of our emails or message the WhatsApp group. Our planner Rebecca is on site all weekend. Please don't call the hotel, we'll sort it faster.