Weddingbee Blog

Having a wedding in Italy is great. The food is simply amazing. (Sorry, but you just can’t get food as good as Italian food in Italy.) The atmosphere is jovial. The scenery is wonderful. The history and culture surrounding you are enriching.

Image via Destination-Weddings-Abroad

BUT…it’s a nightmare if you’re as hooked on American weddings as I am.

If you are currently planning a wedding in Italy or are thinking about it, here is all you need to know:

1. If you want your marriage to be legal, your ceremony options are limited.

Forget about ceremonies in forests, in front of a tree, or even in your parents’ backyard. Forget about choosing a friend to be your officiant. In Italy you can legally only get married in a Catholic church or in a building that is property of the town hall. Only a priest or a town hall official can marry you.

Many town halls are getting smarter now and are offering beautiful locations for civil marriages (at a pretty steep price if you’re not a resident), but still the options are limited.

2. Communication problems

I was really surprised at how many vendors could not speak English—especially considering that our wedding location is a very popular tourist destination. I was also really surprised at how bad (or nonexistent) the internet sites of these vendors were. Be prepared for this and, if you don’t speak Italian, it might be a good idea to contact a wedding planner.

3. Different traditions

In Italy there is no rehearsal dinner or bridal shower.

There is also no bridal party, so don’t be confused if the Italian girl you asked to be your bridesmaid gets offended if you ask her to wear the same dress someone else is wearing.

Guests often play practical jokes on the newlywed couple. It’s common to cut the groom’s tie during the reception and sell the pieces or to “break into” the newlyweds’ house, so it might happen that once home you’ll find a door stuck shut or itching powder in your bed!

It’s also customary to give guests a bomboniera (a favor), which usually consists of a decor item containing five confetti (sugared almonds) wrapped in lace. The almonds symbolize health, wealth, fertility, happiness, and long life.

It’s also still widely popular to throw rice at the newlywed couple after the ceremony. I’d never heard of other alternatives until I started reading wedding blogs!

4. Everyone is invited.

In Italy all your family, friends, and acquaintances get invited to your wedding. The trick is that everyone gets invited to the ceremony, but only your nearest and dearest also get invited to the reception! This is why the invitations are always comprised of two cards, one for the ceremony and one for the reception.

5. DIY is pretty much unheard of.

Most women in Italy can cook, sew, and knit. (I can only cook.) But all this DIY goodness that seems to be so popular and widespread in the States is not common at all in Italy! So even if you want to prepare tons of DIY projects, it will be extremely challenging to find all the materials you need. You should either get them shipped from the States or sit back, relax, and try to free yourself from the pressure to DIY everything,,,

6. Dinner expectations

If you are having a wedding in Italy with Italian guests, I would advise you to go for a seated lunch/dinner. This is the most common option, and I’ve never heard of anyone having a buffet for a wedding meal: it’s simply not done. The good thing is that since this is what is expected, no restaurants will charge you more for it!

Also, while it’s very easy to have your reception in a restaurant or rent a villa and get catering, it’s not as easy to find original wedding locations such as museums, barns, art galleries, zoos, outdoor areas…I’m not saying it’s impossible, it’s just not common and thus it will require some extra effort.

7. Unless you ship it over or find American vendors, you can forget about:

• Mini-hamburger appetizers: le sigh…
• Themed food stations with toppings: I would LOVE to have a mac-and-cheese station with all the different toppings.
• Chiavari chairs: Chair covers are still the most common option.
• Letterpress: not common
• Great videography: At least I have not yet found a videographer who could be compared to the American ones I’ve seen—if you have, please share!!
• Photo booth rental: You’ll have to make your own!
• Choosing colored linen/napkins/table runners: You might have the choice between one or two options, but I haven’t (yet) found a linen rental company.
• Dessert buffets with cupcakes, macarons, donuts, or ice cream bars: These are not very easy to come by. This is because these sweets are not part of the traditional Italian patisserie, so not all pastry shops will provide them—and there’s a high probability that the patisserie your restaurant collaborates with does not.
• Vintage furniture rental: Again, I’m not saying it’s impossible, just that it’s not common or easy to find. Most rental companies are targeted for corporations, so they mostly have furniture that would either be perfect for a fair or for a chic, modern lounge event. It was also very difficult to find any company that would rent decor items: it’s much easier to find a florist or venue that already has an extensive collection of the decor items you like.

Luckily it’s not all bad—and none of the above points has any influence at all on the celebration of your love on your wedding day!

Do you think you’d like planning a wedding in Italy?

What are the challenges you encountered with your wedding location?