how to plan a destination wedding in italy
HOW TO PLAN A DESTINATION WEDDING IN ITALY
– GETTING MARrIED IN ITALY
I’m Sebastian, a documentary destination wedding photographer who loves to capture big & small moments, raw & candid emotions for people who celebrate their love as they want to be!
HAPPY to see you here. Italy is a dream destination for couples who want to celebrate their love in a special way, surrounded by a stunning landscape, timeless art and of course delicious food and drinks. Whether it’s a romantic ceremony in the tuscan vineyards, an intimate wedding on the amazing Amalfi Coast or a luxurious Event in an Venetian Palazzo like Ca‘ Sagredo directly on the Canale Grande, planning a Destination Wedding in Italy takes careful preparation.
With this Guide as a wedding photographer in italy & surrounding countrys I want to help you navigate the steps to create an unforgettable and stunning Italian Destination Wedding.
LOVE
1. How to choose the perfect Italian Wedding Location
Italy offers a big variety of stunning backdrops and venues for your wedding. Following you find the most popular regions:
TUSCANY
Known for it’s rolling hills, rustic and lonely farmhouses and of course their world-class wine on nearly every venue. Tuscany offers you also some amazing architecture and historic buildings in cities like San Gimignano.
LAKE GARDA
La Garda, Italys largest and most beautiful lake, is a dream wedding destination offerin you stunning beauty. Surrounded by charming towns, olive groves, vineyards and mountains, it provides a romantic bakcdrop with shimmering waters and the „LA DOLCE VITA“ feeling. From elegant villas, the Isola del Garda to lakeside resorts, you find nearly every typ of venue for your grand celebartions their.Lake Garda transforms weddings into timeless fairy tales.
VENICE
The city of love with it’s hundred of canals, elegant palazzos and their stunning architecture is perfect for an unforgettable elopement or wedding.
AMALFI COAST
Offers you dramatic cliffs, a turquoise sea and charming villages like Positano. Perfect for your intimate hideaway at the sea in italy.
PUGLIA
Puglia, Italy’s sun-kissed gem, boasts whitewashed village, stunning masserias, olive groves and stunning coastlines. It’s charming trulli houses and rustic charm make it a magical wedding destination where your dreams can come true.
SOUTH TYROL
South Tyrol and the Dolomites offer a breathtaking alpine backdrop for your wedding ceremony. With stunning peaks, lush meadows and charming mountain venues and castles, it’s a fairy-tale destination.
When deciding for your location always consider the time of the year and the weather. Spring and Autumn are most popular for most of the regions for their mild climates and picturesque scenery. In summer, for example, you have to contend with extreme heat, especially in Tuscany.
2. Set up a Budget and your Guest List
Destination Weddings often require careful budgeting due to added travel, accomodation costs or transportation costs between different venues. Plan the following in advance:
- Your overall wedding budget. A Destination Wedding in Italy is possible for 15.000,- but also can cost nearly 100.000,- depending on your expectations and wishes for your special day.
- How many guests you want to invite (and who can realistically travel to italy) – I always recommend to all my bridal couples that they should only bring guests who really mean a lot to them and with whom they can imagine spending a whole weekend for their weddingevent together.
- Allocation for major expenses like the venue, catering and transportation from Airport to Venue oder between different Venues if you have a multiday-event on different Locations for Get Together / Weddingday.
Set your own priorities & don’t always try to compromise just for the sake of the budget. It’s your day to be unique!
3. Set up Priorities & look what’s most important to you!
It’s important to understand what matters most to you and your fiance because this will help you spend your money most effectively. I tell couples always to rank the most important wedding components giving them scores.
- There are design & dècor, venue and location (which will have an incredible effect on your entire wedding), entertainment and music, food and drinks and last but not least activities for you and your guests.
- Talk about things you love, your daily lifestyle and let those things influence on who important different things are important for your wedding and things that are non-negotiable for you. Ask yourselves again and again what are the top three thigns that you can’t live withyour on your wedding?
- Is it the most fabulous dress for you, are you both total wine lovers and wants the best vintage wines served during dinner. Is it the best music for an ultimate dance party with your guests or an outstanding venue for exclusive use? Whatever for what your heart beats faster, this should be on the top of your priorities for your wedding.
4. Research and Secure Legal Requirements for your Italy Destination Wedding
Getting married in italy as an foreigner can sometimes be a little bit complex and involves specific paperwork. The Requirements vary depending on your nationality, but typically these things are always include:
- a valid passport for both of you
- Birth certificates for both of you (translated into Italian)
- a Nulla Nostra (certificate of no impediment to marry)
- if you don’t speek italien, you will need an interpreter for your wedding ceremony (not necessary for an free ceremony)
- a sworn declaration at the local town hall (Comune)
- for a church wedding: Civil marriage in your home country or in italy beforehand
Here it’s really important to work with an embassy repesentative or with your wedding planner to ensure all documentation in time and in complete order. Otherwise there could be problems for your legal wedding in Italy.
5. Hire a (Local) Wedding Planner
A wedding planer (both local and with experience of weddings in the regions of Italy) can be a gamechanger for your destination wedding in italy for navigating language barriers, cultural differences (and their are many) and of course local logistics with vendors. They can help you with the following topics:
WEDDING VENDORS
Sourcing vendors like florists, photo- and videographer and caterers within your budget and for your vision & style.
VENUES
They will prepare a selection of locations for you that meet your requirements, give you tips for the get-together, for example, and uncover any hidden costs! They also provide a site-visit for all locations you want to see before your wedding to finally say YES to the perfect location.
WEDDING DAY COORDINATION
Your wedding is only as good as the day or your weekend is planned. Wedding planners keep an eye on the ideal schedule for you, coordinate the booked wedding vendors and ensure that your wedding runs smoothly without any stress.
INSIGHTS
Every Wedding Planner gives you normally some insights into Italian customs and traditions. They give you tips & tricks for making the best out of your wedding day.
If you hire a wedding planner for your destination wedding always depends on your own budget and if you are fine with the point that the organisation is done by someone different. With the perfect planner on your hands I’m sure your wedding in italy or your multi-day-event will be outstanding!
6. Book the Venue early!
Italy is more and more popular for destination weddings and weddings in general, so I highly recommend to book your venue at least 12 – 18 months in advance to be safe and have the venue of your dreams. In Italy you will find different types of venues. The most popular ones include:
- Historic Villas for example at Lake Como / Lago di Garda or in the Tuscan Hills
- Renaissance palaces for example around Florence, Verona and many other places
- Countryside estates like Agriturismo for example in South Tyrol, Lake Garda and in the Tuscany Countryside as well
- Seaside Resorts on the Amalfi Coast, on Sicily or also on the Coastline of Tuscany
7. Plan Accommodations and Transportation for you and your Guests
For your wedding guests, provide information about accommodations and travel options. Many of the venues can accommodate all wedding guests or have many different properties around the wedding venue so all your guests can be together for their stay. I higly recommend a wedding website to have a place for all your informations your guests need for an unforgettable trip to italy:
- Booking Hotels Blocks or nearby villas for group stays near your wedding venue to avoid long transportations
- Coordinating airport transfers and local transportation
- Share travel routes and maps to help your guests navigate the area.
8. Make your wedding special with Italian traditions
Why not offer your guests a little extra Italian flair by incorporating special elements?
FOOD
Serve your loved ones traditional dishes like risotto, fresh made pasta, original neopolitan pizza and and outstanding tiramisu as an dessert
DRINKS
Pair your menu with local wines from the region in italy your wedding is located, offer your guest some aperol, limoncello spritz oder different apperetif or made your own signature drink with regional ingredients.
MUSIC
Include an authentic italian music-duo for example on yuor get together / pizza-party. Let me say, your guests would like to dance with traditional italian music! There’se also some live opera music possible
9. Plan Pre- and Post Wedding Activities with your Guests
Many venues in italy offers a various amount of activities for you and your guests to get a full italien experience. A Pre-Wedding Event in Italy is more than an Event, it’s the beginning of your beautiful journey. Here’s a list for some of them:
- Wine Tasting in Tuscany
- A stunning gondola ride in Venice (highly recommend the rideright before sunset)
- Sightseeing trips to iconic landmarks and cities like the „Arena di Verona“ or San Gimignano
- Relax-Time for example on the beaches of Capri or on the Amalfi Coast.
- Rent a sailing yacht for a stunning rehearsal dinner with your guest on Lake Garda for example.
10. Create a Detailed Wedding Timeline
Make a timeline for all aspects on your wedding day, always plan a little buffer and, if in doubt, consult your wedding vendors for their opinion if you don’t have a wedding planner.
Guest arrivals and departures
Make sure the whole timeline fits perfect for the arrival of your guests as well as for the departures after your wedding
- Provide a digital and printed schedule for your guests
- Made all events not to long for your guests and let them some free time to relaxe and calm down after the travel
- help your guests before your wedding with tips for travels (airports / train stations or car parking if you are driving down to italy)
Get Together / Rehearsal Dinner
A Get Together or Rehearsal Dinner ist the perfect entry to your wedding weekend in italy. Guest can connect each other and dive into the beauty of italy with stunning food and delicious drinks.
- The Evening before your Weddingday
- Can be on Location (be careful not to spoiler your venue before your wedding – La Pescaia Resort offers a perfect Place for a Get Together while not spoiler the entire Wedding Venue) or at a different Venue / Hotel / Restaurant nearby
- Around 2 – 4 hours at the evening after everyone arrives in Italy
Vendor Arrivals
Invest some work into a timeline specifically for your wedding vendors and their arrival time at the venues. Ask beforehand how much time the different vendors need to provide their work and integrate them into your timeline for the vendors. If you have booked a wedding planner they will do this for you!
- Ask the photographer / videographer if they arrive earlier for more shots (for example drone footage)
- Always add 30min on top for things to avoid stress and time issues during your weddingday.
Getting Ready
For me a getting Ready is the perfect start into your wedding day and as well into my wedding reportage as an wedding photographer. While some loves to be on their one, others are with their mother or with their bridemaids. Do it like you love it! There’s no wrong – it’s your special day.
- 2 hours for bride and groom
- Prepare all the details / papetery / jewelry and everything you want to capture at your getting ready for your wedding photographer
- I prefer the getting ready in the bridal suite or a big bright room for good photos – I’m not a big fan of styling away from the venue, because most stylists are coming directly to you!
Ceremony & Reception
Ceremony and Reception are the first things where you meet your fiance (instead of doing a first look or first touch before) and of course all your guests. Please always keep the lightning in mind for your ceremony to avoid hard shadows or a sunburn on your face because sitting the whole time directly in the sun.
- 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours for ceremony
- around 4 hours for your wedding reception
- After the ceremony your guest will head to the creception and get started mingling and enjoying some drinks. You can generally use this time for 10-15min for formal photos with your loved ones and your family. The most important point on the reception is that it’s long enough to go through several points but not as long as it’s boring for the guests.
Frequently asked QUESTIONS
MEET
SEBASTIAN
YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
For me it’s essential that your destination wedding in italy is captured in the most beautiful way. Enhance all the beautiful raw emotions, the small and big moments on your wedding day. I love all the aesthetics, the design and the simplicity of your weddingday! Everyone in front of my Camera should be naturally themself. Close, familiar & covered with love. Let’s talk about your upcoming italian wedding and I be sure we can create some magic together.
READY TO
CONNECT?
This is your first opportunity to connect with your ideal client. Describer what you love to do and who you like to do it for. eg. describe your ideal client. It’s relevant, talk about where you’re based and add a call to action to your longer About page.