The paperwork problem
Spain's civil marriage process for foreign nationals is slow, requires residency paperwork, and typically takes months, sometimes longer than most couples have before their wedding date. It's not designed for a couple flying in for a week.
That's why the overwhelming majority of American couples marrying on Mallorca do the legal part quietly at home, usually at a courthouse in the weeks before or after travel, and then hold a symbolic ceremony on the island: vows, an officiant, a script written around your relationship, all fully real, just not the document that goes to a government registry.
What a symbolic ceremony actually looks like
Nothing about a symbolic ceremony feels smaller. You still process down an aisle, still exchange rings, still have an officiant who knows your story. The only difference is which piece of paper gets filed and where.
Most couples find this is the version they wanted anyway: the legal formality handled privately, the island reserved for the part everyone actually flies in for.
If you want the legal marriage to happen in Spain
It's possible, just not simple. It generally requires proof of legal residency in Spain, a civil registry appointment, and translated, apostilled documents, a process best started nine to twelve months out with a local abogado. For a one-week destination wedding, almost no one does this.
A Catholic church wedding is its own separate track, with its own paperwork through the diocese, and comes with residency and documentation requirements of its own.