Getting married in Italy? Great weather, a beautiful location. A beautiful sunset, scenery that makes you think of “La Dolce Vita”. The food brings a smile to your face, and you know you made the right choice – Italy is a dream destination for weddings abroad, and not just in recent years. Unique food, beautiful locations, highly customized events and an improved infrastructure have attracted many couples from all over the world who decide to get married in the country of Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Dante, and Columbus. We have created a very useful list to make sure you get the most out of your wedding!
- Whether you chose to hire a wedding planner or not is a big decision in itself. But if you choose to do so, you should make sure that a) the wedding planner has no problems understanding your culture’s customs, which may be very different compared to those in Italy and b) has no problems communicating both in Italian and in your language.
- Make sure the caterer understands the cultural differences between Italy and your country. One thing that we have observed all too often is that some catering services are surprised and utterly unprepared to handle the thirst of Irish or Anglo Saxon customers after an elaborate Italian meal. While enjoying a few drinks is an integral part of certain cultures, in Italy the meal is the most important part of the wedding, merely accompanied by a few glasses of wine. More often than not this results in the unfortunate situation where the guests literally empty the bar, and are left without any drinks only a few hours into the reception.
- Compare costs. No, really! Even if your wedding planner has the best intentions for you, make sure to compare the fees of all the offered services with similar companies. This is especially true if you decide to take care of things yourself. Let’s take music as an example. There is a music tax in Italy, and you can decide to get the permit yourself or ask the venue to do that. Unfortunately we’ve often seen drastic price increases when the venue provides the permit, and the couples wouldn’t have realized that they could have saved some money if we hadn’t pointed this out.
- Get to know the venue. Prefer the hills in Tuscany? Or a terrace on top of a cliff in Salerno? Is it easily accessible from where you and your guests will be staying? Will you need a dedicated shuttle service? Does the location have a church or a dedicated area for the on-site ceremony? All these things can make the difference between a stressful day, running from one location to another, and a relaxed get-together, especially if you have a few older guests.
- Prepare for the different climate. A sunny day usually is preferable to the prospect of staring at grey, rainy clouds all day long. Yet, don’t forget that if you come from a colder place, you and your guests might not be used to the heat. Make sure to have enough places in the shade where you and your guests can retreat. Will there be enough water for everyone? If you’re getting married in late September, are you prepared for the possibility that it might rain, even in Italy? Always have a Plan B at the venue.
- Did you think of the music? A live band will have a better impact than just a playlist in the background. Do you also want to hire a DJ after the band? Make sure that the band speaks your language, understands your customs and, if requested, is willing to learn a first dance for you. If you hire a DJ make sure you send them your complete playlist in time to avoid misunderstandings.
- Say “cheese”! Think in advance about what kind of wedding photos you would like to have and how you want to remember this day. Remember, it will probably be very sunny. That sounds like a non-problem, but it wouldn’t be the first time that a wedding couple was surprised about seeing photos full of people with sunglasses on, something they didn’t think of when they were taking the photos. So make sure you’re aware of this beforehand.
We hope you find these tips useful. Did we miss anything? Or do you think we got something wrong? Contact us and let us know about it!
