Today we’re joined by blogger Annalisa Mongiò from Wedding & Italy who knows all about planning a dream destination wedding in Italy! From legalities to when to go, Annalisa fills us in on everything you need to know about get married in Italy…
1. What brought you to start your blog Wedding & Italy?
A year ago, a friend of mine and his fiancée decided to get married in Italy (Rome). They didn’t want to hire a wedding planner straight away; they weren’t even sure if they wanted one. They wanted to research the type of locations that were available, all the paperwork needed etc. After being unsuccessful researching, they came to me for advice as they were considering giving up the idea of getting married in Italy. I couldn’t believe they were having such difficulties. So I did some research myself and realised how little the web offers when it comes to planning a wedding in Italy. Unless you’re willing to hire a professional, there isn’t much on the web that can help couples, apart from, perhaps, the very basic.
Being a former wedding planner, I have a lot of experience in this field so I decided to start Wedding & Italy. It’s a blog (and a website-to-be) that aims to educate, inspire and share tips and tricks that help couples to get through the exciting and at time stressful process of getting married in Italy. I look after the interests of the couples without pushing them towards one supplier or another. My mission is to give them the best advice. I like to see myself as a sort of fairy godmother of weddings in Italy, if I may call myself that.
Photo courtesy of Facibeni Photography
2. Why is Italy the most popular wedding destination in Europe?
Italy is the only country in Europe that offers the widest range of locations to suit all budgets. It really has something for everyone. You can celebrate your wedding on amazing beaches, near the river, the mountain, city or countryside. You name it, Italy has it all. Then of course there’s the history. Italy is considered to be the biggest open museum in the world. That’s something right? The rest: good food, good weather, goes without saying.
3. When is the best time to get married in Italy?
This is a question I am asked quite a lot. You can be guaranteed beautiful weather 80% of the time but even a beautiful Italian day can be too much. Many couples choose to get married in the summer time (June, July and August). Summer time, as lovely as it may be, in Italy is hell! The heat can be literally unbearable and can make your wedding day quite uncomfortable. Saying that, if you really want to go for a summer wedding then my advice would be to celebrate during the evening. Have the ceremony at about 6pm when the sunset is starting to kick in, with an evening reception when the lovely night breeze will feel so nice on your skin. In Italy unlike Ireland, it gets dark very early, at 9pm it is already pitch black. If you can, get the wedding location decorated with candles, it will be so perfect; I promise you!
Winter times (December, January, February) are, in my opinion, underestimated. There is a lot of potential there. Everything is cheaper for a start due to the low demand and depending on where you want to get married, you can get romantic snow to frame your wedding day making it so unique.
Middle seasons (Spring and Autumn) are in my opinion, the absolute best. It’s not too hot and you can even have an outdoor wedding during the day if you prefer to. The only thing I would advise is to make sure you choose a reception place that will be equipped for any possible change of weather. So if you are planning an outdoor reception and it starts to rain on the day of your wedding, you can always move inside. Spring and Autumn can be unpredictable weather wise.
Photo courtesy of Facibeni Photography
3.What do Irish couples love most about getting married in Italy?
There are many reasons why Irish couples opt more and more for a wedding in Italy. Italy offers so much for half of the price of a wedding in Ireland. Couples spend on average €23,000 per wedding in Ireland. In Italy it would cost half of that if not less. So you see this plays an important factor. Add to this, the fact that you can have good food, good weather and the whole idea of getting married abroad that makes your day even more special. In Italy you can have all those extras you can’t get in Ireland, for much less money.
Photo courtesy of Facibeni Photography
4. Do many people speak English in Italy?
In most places, especially in big cities like Rome or Florence, people do speak English. Of course if you want to go for small towns, it gets tricky. Especially when it comes to dealing with the marriage officiants if you are going for a religious wedding or for a civil wedding. I would advise getting a wedding planner at least to help you sort out the practical side of the ceremony itself. In any case, the Italians are very adaptable and welcoming using their body language to make you understand, you can be sure they’ll help you either way.
5. What are some of the best places to get married in Italy?
The beauty of Italy is that you can get amazing places just about anywhere. Because it holds so much history there isn’t a place that hasn’t got that typical Italian beauty. Every place is different. I can’t possibly compare Venice to Rome, like I can’t compare South of Italy to the North, The Tuscan countryside with the Sicilian and so on.
Photo courtesy of Facibeni Photography
6. How easy is it to get married in Italy?
Unfortunately, this is the downfall of getting married in Italy. Although it’s not impossible to organise the paperwork and legal side of things, it is in fact a long and stressful process. Wedding planners can organise that for you although you still need to do your part from here in Ireland. This is the reason why so many couples are going more and more for symbolic weddings which gives them the freedom to get married wherever you want and however you want. The only limit is that it doesn’t hold any legal boundaries. This is why many couples have a small legal wedding at home and have a symbolic one with all the gang abroad. One piece of advice, make sure your guests don’t know you already got married otherwise they wouldn’t feel it is ‘real’.
Photo courtesy of Enzo Campitelli
7. What are the benefits of hiring a wedding planner for a destination wedding?
Having a wedding planner definitely helps take away the stress and worries from you. They look after everything for you so you are only left with the fun part of choosing the wedding dress and stuff like that. However, choosing one is not as simple as it might seem. I have seen too many couples ‘just picking one’ and regretting it afterwards because it turned out that they weren’t ‘up to their standards’. The job of a wedding planner is not easy, jut like it’s not easy finding a good one. I did write an article actually on this topic – how to choose the right wedding planner – where I share tips to help you find the perfect planner for you.
8. Can you organise your wedding without one?
You definitely can. If you are getting married in big cities like Florence for instance, all the big wedding locations usually already have a wedding planner that can help you organise everything for you. Some of them may not even charge for this. It’s extra money you can save.
Photo courtesy of Facibeni Photography
9. Are there any other advantages to having a wedding in Italy?
When it comes to weddings abroad, the couple and usually the close friends and family fly over a few days prior the wedding day, making it a week long holiday. The way I look at it is that this is probably the only time you are going to spend some quality time abroad with all your family, use it! Don’t make it just about the wedding day. Italy can offer so much more for everyone. Also you will probably need an escape to relax and distract yourself from the stress of the wedding. In my article “it’s not just about the wedding day”, I share few ideas and tips on things you can do together as a couple or as a family apart from getting married. There is plenty!
Photo courtesy of Enzo Campitelli
Annalisa from Wedding & Italy
For more info on getting married in Italy, pop over to Annalisa’s website Wedding & Italy or contact Annalisa here! Subscribe for regular updates here!
Main photo courtesy of Enzo Campitelli
