Once again, we're here to answer your questions about getting married in Italy. Today, we bring you 5 more frequently asked questions. If there's a question you'd like answered, let us know by email, by leaving us a comment, or by writing to us on Facebook.
Q1: Why should we involve a Wedding Planner in
our wedding in Italy?
A: Involving a Wedding Planner is something
that many couples think about. Obviously, this service represents a cost that
must be considered, but especially for a destination wedding, a Wedding Planner
can be an irreplaceable figure. Fundamentally, your Wedding Planner can take
care of four main tasks.
- Firstly, she manages your budget. Holding the purse-strings can
be one of the most stressful parts of planning a wedding, and you Wedding
Planner knows how important it is to make your budget stretch as far as
possible. She’ll prioritise the things that are most important to you, putting
money where it’s needed, and will give you guidance about what you can have
within your price range. She knows what a ‘reasonable’ price for each service
is, so she can tell you if something is extortionate or even suspiciously
cheap, and can help you make informed choices. She’ll deal with when and how to
pay suppliers, and will be level-headed and make sure you don’t get over
excited and blow your budget!
Photo Credit: Becker Photography
via blog.thebecker.com - She also gives you more time and takes the stress off you. She will deal with all of the vendors, meeting them or arranging meetings for when you come to Italy, and asking all the right questions. She will be a point person for you so you only have one contact to deal with – this way you don’t have to juggle hundreds of e-mails and manage everyone on the day. Researching, asking questions, coordinating, visiting, booking, making payments and even emailing and calling are very time consuming, and your Wedding Planner will probably dedicate hundreds of hours to getting everything just right, so you don’t have to worry! On the day itself, she’ll have everything under control and will make sure everything runs like clockwork, so you two can relax and completely enjoy your special day.
- She puts in a lot of creative input. She knows what she’s doing, and she has experience of planning and executing large-scale events which are always personal and creative. She will be focused on what you want and what you need, will always keep your vision in mind, and will keep you focused when necessary, too! This way, you won’t get carried away with all the amazing things you’ve seen on Pinterest and end up with a fussy, jumbled wedding! She’ll provide you with tons of suggestions and ideas, and will make sure your wedding itself looks imaginative and gorgeous.
- Finally, she acts as your alter ego here in Italy. Because you can’t always be here, she will be. She’ll get to know you really well so that she can always find the ideal things, whether that be a florist who will understand your vision perfectly, or little bits and bobs that will add a touch of your personality to the reception.
Q2: How long before the wedding should we contact
a Wedding Planner?
A: There’s no set-in-stone rule about how much
time is necessary to plan a wedding, and one planned two years in advance is
not necessarily any more wonderful than one planned in two months. Couples
usually get in touch with us about a year or a year and a half before their
wedding date, giving us loads of time. This means that they can have a wide
choice of venues and suppliers, and we have plenty of time to get to know them
inside out. However, we can easily plan a whole wedding in two or three months
– obviously, with this time frame, some venues or suppliers will already have
been booked and will therefore be unavailable, but this doesn’t mean you will
have to compromise on quality – there are plenty of lovely locations and superb
suppliers around… if you know where to look!
Q3: We want a church ceremony – how do we go
about this?
A: From our experience, the majority of
couples having a destination wedding in Italy choose a civil ceremony, but a
church wedding is also possible in many cases. The vast majority of churches
in Italy are of course Catholic, and getting married in a church here doesn’t
require residency, unlike in many other parts of Europe. Having a Catholic
church wedding is by no means impossible, but requires a certain amount of
paperwork and dedication, and some churches are more or less willing to perform
ceremonies for non-Italians.
The basic necessities are as follows:
- Either the bride or groom must have been baptized and confirmed, and will need to provide religious certificates of Baptism, Holy Communion, and Confirmation.
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| Photo Credit: Marianne Taylor Photography via www.stylemepretty.com |
- You’ll also need a formal letter from your local priest to confirm you’ve fulfilled all Pre Cana procedures, and to grant his permission for the ceremony at the particular Italian church on the particular date. Your priest will need to get a similar letter from your Bishop, stating that you have no impediment to get married here.
- You’ll also need the original of the prenuptual enquiry with all the church seals and signatures.
- If one of you is not Catholic, a Permission of Mixed Religions document – usually obtained from the local Bishop – will be necessary.
- After 6 months, these documents expire, so timing is essential!
- It is not possible to get married in the Catholic church if either of you has been divorced (if a marriage has been annulled, this is not the same).
For non-Catholic or Protestant church
weddings, you may have to be more open to suggestion with regards to the venue,
because while these are possible, the number of churches where they can be
performed are limited. Protestant ceremonies are easier to organise thanks to
less paperwork, but are not officially recognized in Italy, meaning you will
need to have a civil ceremony as well.
Church bureaucracy here in Italy is a
little complex and depends a lot on the individuals in question. Whether
Catholic or non-Catholic, if you’re planning a church wedding in Italy, it’s
very important to let your Wedding Planner know so that she can figure out the
details based on your particular situation.
Q4: How many times should we come to Italy
before the wedding?
A: This depends a lot on you. In general, we
advise visiting at least twice (two weekends, for example) before the day
itself. One visit will allow us to show you around some different venues and
talk in person about the specifics, and another visit closer to the event will
let us finalise other details together. If you’re able to visit more, even
better, but you can trust us to arrange everything without you being here every
step of the way, and we’ll always keep you updated on developments by e-mail,
phone, or Skype, as you prefer.
Q5: Where should I get my dress for a
destination wedding?
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| Photo Credit: Shea Christine via www.southernweddings.com |
A: There are both pros and cons to buying a dress at home or here in Italy. As far as prices are concerned, within Europe you’ll probably be looking at similar figures for wedding dresses. We generally advise overseas brides to find a dress at home, because this way they can easily manage fittings and alterations. However, with a bit of organisation it is also possible to schedule fittings while you’re visiting Italy for other reasons (see #4), so it’s by no means impossible to get your dress over here. Finding a dress in Italy also means that you won’t have to transport it in an aeroplane. Again, this doesn’t have to be impossible, but if you find your dream dress at home, remember to choose a fabric very carefully – you need something that doesn’t crease or get damaged easily – a good sales assistant at a wedding boutique will be able to advise you. Of course, if you want to find a dress in Italy, we’ll be able to take you to tried and trusted boutiques where you’ll be able to find the dress of your dreams and can be there in person – if you’d like us to be – to help you out with language or anything else!
