La Centenaria 1779 Wedding Venue: The Full Guide
Last update August 2026
La Centenaria 1779 is an eighteenth century masia in Gava, around twenty minutes south of Barcelona, that hosts one wedding a day and nothing else that day. I photographed a 284 guest December wedding there, so this guide is written from the inside: the spaces as they are actually used, what the estate publishes about capacity, how pricing works, and what I would tell a couple considering it. If you take one thing from this page, take this: the Orangerie makes it one of the few venues near Barcelona where winter works as well as June.
What is La Centenaria 1779?
La Centenaria 1779 is a protected eighteenth century estate in Gava, formerly known as Masia Ribas, run as a one event a day wedding venue fifteen to twenty minutes south of Barcelona.
The house was built by Francesc Ribes, a Barcelona merchant who made his fortune in indianes, the printed cotton that built half the city in the 1700s. The family dates the house to 1779, the year the venue now carries as its name. What survives is worth looking at slowly: the sgraffiti on the main facade, the arcaded gallery on the first floor, three floors under a four sided roof. The building is listed as local heritage (BCIL) since 2000, so what you see is the real thing, not a themed reconstruction.
Today the estate is run by a descendant of the family, and it shows in how the place is kept. You will still find photographers calling it Masia Ribas: same house, new name.
What spaces does La Centenaria 1779 have?
The estate has five wedding spaces: the glass Orangerie, a pine lawn called The Woods with a historic gazebo, the Garden of the Cedars, the interiors of the masia, and the RAW Lab hangar.
Most weddings I have seen there flow through three of them in one day: ceremony or aperitif in the gardens, dinner in the Orangerie, party back inside. That flow is the real luxury of the place, nobody sits in the same room for eight hours.
The Orangerie
A glass pavilion inspired by the old greenhouses, standing in the middle of the garden. It is heated in winter and opens completely in summer, which is why this is the space that makes La Centenaria work all year. The venue lists it at 330 square meters, up to 300 seated guests or 450 for a cocktail. In December I photographed a full dinner inside it: candlelight bouncing off glass, garden lit behind, nobody wearing a coat.
The Woods and the gazebo
A wide lawn under pines, edged with cypresses and rose bushes, with a historic gazebo that hosts most outdoor ceremonies. This is where the estate feels biggest, and where a golden hour aperitif earns its name.
The Garden of the Cedars
Centenary cedars, magnolias, lime trees and a stone pond with a fountain. Smaller and more intimate than The Woods, it is the natural spot for cocktails or a small open air dinner.
The masia interiors and the RAW Lab
Inside the house, the old cellar seats around 80 and the former stable around 40, with the full interior taking up to 150 seated. And then there is the RAW Lab, an old hangar kept as a blank canvas for couples who want to build their own world from zero.
How many guests fit at La Centenaria 1779?
The Orangerie seats up to 300 guests, the masia interiors take up to 150, and the gardens hold cocktail formats of up to 450, according to the venue’s own listing with the Baix Llobregat Convention Bureau.
The wedding I photographed there sat 284 in December, everyone inside the Orangerie, and it did not feel packed. For small weddings the cellar and the stable keep the house scale instead of leaving you lost in a big room.
How much does a wedding at La Centenaria 1779 cost?
La Centenaria 1779 does not publish wedding rates. Pricing is quoted per event, and your real total is the venue rental plus an external catering, because the estate has no kitchen of its own.
That structure is worth understanding before you ask for numbers. The venue works with outside caterings and lets you bring your own team for almost everything, the only exclusive service is the DJ. Caterings that publish their work at the estate include Catering L’Emporda, 21 de Marzo and Gau Catering. And since the estate takes one event a day, you are not paying for a slot on a conveyor belt, you are paying for the whole place.
Where these figures come from: the capacity numbers on this page are the venue’s own data published with the Baix Llobregat Convention Bureau, and the vendor and exclusivity rules come from the venue’s official FAQ. The estate publishes no prices anywhere, and I would rather tell you that than invent a number. Ask them with your date and guest count and they answer with a real quote.
Is La Centenaria 1779 good for a winter wedding?
Yes. The heated glass Orangerie was built for exactly this, and the December wedding I photographed there ran its whole evening inside it without losing the garden around them.
Winter changes the clock, not the quality. In December the best light lands mid afternoon, so we moved portraits earlier and let the evening belong to candles and glass. If you want to see what that actually looks like, I wrote the full story of that wedding, from a church in Sarria to the last dance: A Winter Wedding at La Centenaria 1779.
How do you get there, and where do guests stay?
La Centenaria 1779 is in Gava, fifteen to thirty minutes from central Barcelona by car depending on traffic, with parking at the estate and no accommodation on site.
The venue says fifteen minutes, their catering partners say up to thirty, and having driven it in December traffic I would plan for the honest middle. There is parking at the estate itself, and since there are no rooms on site, most couples base their guests in Barcelona or in the beach hotels of Castelldefels, ten minutes away. If you are comparing more venues around the city, my guide to Barcelona wedding venues covers the ones I photograph most.
Real Weddings at La Centenaria 1779
I photographed my first wedding at La Centenaria 1779 in December 2025: Alejandra and Max, 284 guests, a church ceremony in Sarria and a winter evening that the Orangerie carried like it was designed for them, because it was. Their day is the best answer to most questions on this page, so instead of repeating it here, see it whole.
Frequently Asked Questions About La Centenaria 1779 Weddings
Can you bring your own vendors to La Centenaria 1779?
Yes. The venue’s own FAQ states that all providers are free except the DJ service, which is the estate’s only exclusive vendor.
Does La Centenaria 1779 have its own catering?
No. The estate has no kitchen of its own and works with external catering companies. Caterings that publish their work there include Catering L’Emporda, 21 de Marzo and Gau Catering.
How many weddings does La Centenaria 1779 host per day?
One. The estate takes a single event per day all year round, so the whole property is yours for the date.
Can you have a civil ceremony at La Centenaria 1779?
Yes. Civil ceremonies are held in the gardens, usually at the historic gazebo in The Woods, and in the interiors when the weather calls for it.
How many guests fit at La Centenaria 1779?
Up to 300 seated in the Orangerie, up to 150 in the masia interiors, and cocktail formats of up to 450, per the venue’s Convention Bureau listing.
Is there accommodation at La Centenaria 1779?
No. The estate has no rooms on site. Most couples host guests in Barcelona or in the beach hotels of Castelldefels, around ten minutes away.
Does La Centenaria 1779 work for a winter wedding?
Yes. The Orangerie is a heated glass pavilion made for winter, and the estate hosts weddings all year. I photographed a 284 guest wedding there in December.
Planning a wedding at La Centenaria 1779?
I photograph weddings at La Centenaria 1779 and around Barcelona all year, and December there convinced me the way June never had to. If you are planning a wedding at the estate and want photographs that feel like the day did, write me and tell me what you are building.
I am Jordi, a wedding photographer based between Costa Brava and Barcelona. I photograph a limited number of weddings a year, always as the only photographer, and I write these guides from the venues I actually work in. The December wedding on this page was mine.
