getting married in Italy

5 Myths about destination weddings in Italy

19 August 2015 by Barbara Leave a Comment

Hello there!

I know, it’s been a while since I wrote a blog post, but that’s about to change considerably. I am currently undergoing a brand restyle which will affect both my overall business and this blog as a consequence, so prepare to read more and more articles about planning your destination wedding in Italy! I will try to make them short, useful and insightful, so that this blog can turn into an effective resource for all of you, so feel free to comment and provide feedback to help me stay on track. I would love to hear from you!

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Planning your wedding in Italy – the basics

13 August 2014 by Barbara Leave a Comment

I know, having so many outlets have made me a terrible blogger from this platform. I promise once the 2014 season is over (mid-October) I will be back on a weekly posting schedule and you will be able to read more of my past posts again, as well.

In the meantime, I thought I’d round up a few of my most useful posts for you, especially if you’re beginning to plan your wedding in Italy for 2015! So here’s a few answers to the most common questions I get asked:

I love Tuscany, but what about other locations in Italy? Is there anywhere as nice to get married?

Of course there is! Italy features an incredible variety of splendid locations, from seaside resorts to snow-topped Alps, going through luxuriant Umbria. Find out more reading this.

Can we dine outside? I mean, Italy is always so sunny…

Er, I wouln’t say “always”. In fact, chances are that if you’re travelling from California you might be used to much more sun than we are. I wouldn’t want to scare you off, but you might want to read this piece before you set too high expectations about weather in Italy!

Speaking of dining… I’m baffled by the endless varieties my caterer sent to me, what do you suggest we include in our menu?

You can find some info about the typical italian wedding menu here, with a few insights in how to choose your own. If you get a chance to visit before the wedding a tasting is also a great option for making up your mind on what to pick.

What about entertainment at the wedding? Any idea?

Well, yes, a few here. Basically you could have anything from a band to a full on theatrical company. My advice is always to look at the scope of your wedding making sure you don’t overwhelm your guests.

Any other questions you didn’t find answered here? Please write them in the comment section below, I’d be happy to write a post about it.

Happy planning in the meatime!

Three unconventional honeymoon destinations in Italy

5 March 2014 by Barbara Leave a Comment

It’s been a while, I know. 2013 has morphed into 2014 and I haven’t even said a proper hello to the new year on this blog. But I’m going to make it up to you, I promise. From today on, wednesdays will be greeted by a new blog post on this page, and one that I hope will both inspire and help you plan your destination wedding in Italy. Today, I’m presenting you with three honeymoon destinations in Italy that you’ve very probably never heard of before.

I’ve said it before, but Italy truly is so much more than Tuscany, Venice and Rome. Every corner of the Country is worthy of a visit and a lavish meal, and yet I’m pretty sure you can hardly name max five locations around the boot-shaped peninsula. Let me help you change that!

Today, I have picked three hot spots just a few kms off the most famous wedding destinations in Italy, for you to plan a quick post-nuptials getaway in. Read on and let me know your own Italian wedding location, my consultation services include picking a suitable honeymoon destination and planning the whole thing for you!

Hotel Hermitage Portoferraio Isola d'Elba

You’re getting married in… Florence

Go to Isola d’Elba and have a beach vacation at the Hotel Ermitage. Isola d’Elba is a small island just off the coast of Tuscany, still relatively untouched by tourism. You will find plenty of families and vacactioners in July and August, but over June and September the island is peaceful and its sea clear and perfect. The drive from Florence to the ferry in Piombino will provide you with an opportunity to see the lesser known part of Tuscany, while the island amenities make a budget-friendly alternative to the beaches of the Naples gulf.

You’re getting married in… Rome

Go to Civita di Bagnoregio (75 miles North of Rome) and rent out the breathtaking Domus Civita. Better even, plan your very wedding there! The terrace seems to be built for the purpose of an intimate ceremony, and the gorgeous swimming pool screams blissful newlyweds activities (ehm) from every stone. Civita di Bagnoregio is a vision in itself, a 14th Century medieval village perched on top a hill, that you can only reach on foot via a long stone pedestrian bridge, and which was placed in the World Monuments Fund‘s 2006 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites, due to the threats it faces from turf erosion. One more reason to visit a place which could disappear in the future. Domus Civita was restored by a local architect so it’s a true vision in itself, but should you fancy some art and sightseeing, Civita overlooks the Tiber river Valley, rich in history and gorgeous landscapes.

Piazza Unità d’Italia di Leandro’s World Tour, su Flickr

You’re getting married in… Venice

Go to Trieste to soak in the literate cosmopolite atmosphere and drink lots of Illy coffe. Illy is one of the most famous families in Trieste and the city outskirts are still the location for the renoknown brand’s production. But the city itself is a true historical gem, full of character and many cultural influences, bearing the signs of its turn-of-the-Century status of hub for writers and musicians. Stay at the Savoia Excelsior Palace for grandeur, or pick the Victoria Hotel if you want to retrace the steps of James Joyce, who spent a large part of his life in Trieste.

So, what do you think? Seen anything interesting?! Let me know in the comments below, I’m really curious to know whether you knew these destinations and/or plan to visit any of them on your honeymoon in Italy!

Your wedding in Italy – tradition and folklore

29 November 2013 by Barbara 2 Comments

As we get to the end of this blog guide, let me tell you that a wedding in Italy is *so* not the same thing as an Italian wedding!

In fact, the customs and traditions you bring to your celebration in this Country are sometimes very different from the ones applied to weddings here. I am not suggesting you should take up any of our traditions and incorporate it into your own wedding, but knowing about them can help you better liaise with vendors who are only used to working with Italian couples.

As you might know already, Italy is a land of strong traditions, rich folklore and a bit of superstitions.

Let’s start off with traditions:

1. the bride and groom must give ‘confetti’ (sugar coated almonds) to every guest as favor. Confetti should always be in uneven numbers (either 3 or 5) to symbolize the virtues of marriage: health, wealth, happiness, long live, fertility and spirituality. If you plan to embrace this tradition, make sure you choose Sulmona almonds based confetti, which are the best in Italy;
2. the bride and groom will not talk to each other or see each other, on the day of the wedding, before meeting in church for the wedding;
3. the bridal bouquet should be paid by the groom, who will give it to the bride as a last gift before she becomes his wife. Traditionally, these bouquet would be a simple bunch of orange blossoms (a symbol of purity), nowadays the bride can choose the bouquet according to her own gown, taste and the overall style of the wedding and the groom will pay for it;
4. after cutting the cake, the bride will toss her bouquet to her single friends (the one catching it is supposed to be marrying next) while the groom will slip the garter from his bride and toss it to his friends for good luck;
5. guests plan pranks for the bride and groom, mainly as a wicked way to make them ‘earn’ their money presents. Giving money in an envelope (the so-called busta as a wedding gift is still widely common in Italy, sometimes even encouraged by the couple and their families.

Here are a few proverbs/popular beliefs:

1. “sposa bagnata, sposa fortunata” (a wet bride is a lucky bride) rain is considered good luck on a wedding day;
2. “di venere e di marte, non ci si sposa e non si parte” (on Fridays and Tuesdays, you don’t get married and you don’t leave) it’s considered bad luck to get married (or leave for a trip) on Tuesdays and Fridays, apparently because in Roman times Tuesday was considered Mars (the god of war) day and Friday was the day evil spirits were born;
3. in the South of Italy the bridal veil should be as many metres long as the years of engagement, and yet the bridal attire traditional rules require the veil to be no more than 3 metres long;
4. the cars driving from the ceremony to the reception venue (the so-called corteo nuziale, or wedding procession) usually honk their horns in salute, this is traditionally done to scare off the evil spirits;
5. pearls are never worn by Italian brides as they are considered a symbol for tears, therefore a bad omen.

And let’s finish with full on superstition:

1. after the groom has left his house to go to the wedding, he cannot retrace his steps (it’s considered bad luck);
2. if the wedding rings fall on the floor during the celebration, only the officiant can pick them up;
3. the bride should not see herself in the mirror wearing her wedding gown, unless she’s missing a shoe, an earring or a glove.

Although the above elements are pretty common all over Italy, you will find that there are also many regional differences in folklore. Here are a few regional folklore elements, should you decide to pick one specific to the area where your venue is located:

Venice, Verona (Veneto) – guests would sing loud explicit chants during the wedding banquet to wish fertility to the newlyweds;
Umbria – a bride walking from her home to the church would find her way barred by guests, and would need to pay a fine (in coins or confetti) to have it cleared;
Tuscany – every summer a medieval wedding is celebrated in Suvereto, near Livorno. It’s a proper civil wedding celebrated in medieval costumes;
Sicily – a special gift table is set (first at the family houses, then at the wedding) with all gifts on display and gift cards clearly stating who the sender is;
Puglia – Puglia weddings are legendarily long and food is always abundand and often given as a present as well. Guests who cannot make it to the wedding, will receive a selection of pastries or ice cream after the wedding day;
Marche – at the bride’s house a small buffet would be offered to guests before the wedding, family and friends would pop in to pay a visit to the bride during preparations and later escort her to the wedding;
Lake area, Milan (Lombardia) – after tossing the garter, the groom would cut his tie into as many pieces as male guests, and sell them to each of them in exchange of money to pay for the honeymoon;
Portofino, Cinque Terre (Liguria) – according to folklore it’s bad luck getting married in September, as a September bride will soon become a widow (“Sposa settembrina, presto vedovina”);
Emilia Romagna – in the Bologna area confetti are usually replaced by zuccherini, ring-shaped white biscuits prepared by the women of the bride’s family;
Ravello, Amalfi Coast (Campania) – serenading is still very common in a lot of villages, the night before the wedding the groom would serenade his bride until she’d turn the light on, interpreted as a renewal of the engagement. Afterwards a rich buffet would be offered by the bride’s family.

So, here we are, at the end of this short guide to planning your wedding in Italy. I hope you found it useful and that it shed some light on some of the many elements you will encounter during your experience. I’d love to read your stories in the comments below.

And, of course, should you find yourself lost or confused or simply in need of some extra help, feel free to contact me for an estimate. I’d be delighted to be your wedding day coordinator, or even your planner! Speaking of which… make sure you tune in tomorrow as there will be a special Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday offer for day of coordination packages in Tuscany!

Your wedding in Italy – catering to guests

22 November 2013 by Barbara 2 Comments

You’ve booked the venue, tasted the menu, bought the dress, selected the florals, hired the photographer, arranged for travel and accommodation, booked a rock band… What now? What more would your guest be needing to enjoy their stay in Italy?

Good company is the key ingredient to any wedding.

Trust me. No matter how perfect the planning and the designing, a wedding atmosphere is made (or, alas, broken) by the people attending it. You want your guests to be among the people you care the most about, and who care the most about you. And you want to make them happy and comfortable, ready to enjoy themselves.

When planning a destination wedding you will definitely want to add the extra perk to the wedding festivities, to make up for the extra expenses guests will need to sustain to attend it all. You can think of at least four ways to do this:

1. by arranging accommodation in advance, booking different accommodation options to suit any budget, and arranging for special prices and discounts. It might just be that breakfast is on you, or that by booking through you your guests can enjoy a special discount. Please note that most hotels in Italy will be happy to provide discounts for large group bookings, especially if you’re renting their events hall for the wedding reception, but with regular venues you might need to cover part of the rate to achieve the same result;2. by assembling a welcome bag packed with an informative booklet about the week-end activities and the area, a few grocery items (in case of self-catering accommodation), a couple of small themed gifts, like local produce;
3. by planning a few side activities to keep guests entertained. Wine and olive oil tastings are very popular among people getting married in Italy, but a cultural sightseeing tour is also a great idea;
4. by creating a thoroughly informative website where guests can access every kind of useful information about the wedding at any time. Make sure it’s responsive and no Adobe Flash is involved in the programming so that all info will be accessible via mobile devices as well.

But when you’re planning a wedding in Italy you might want to consider a few more elements:

1. try not to overload your guests with too many side activites. Italy has so much to offer, everywhere, that it’s easy to be swept away by the limitless opportunities. Please, consider that for many of your guests travelling to your wedding will be an holiday, so don’t arrange more than one activity a day. You can always source info about all kind of acitivites and insert that in the informative booklet you’re giving to guests. Thus they will be free to choose whether to spend their days laying by the pool or running around like crazy tourists, taking in as many sights as possible!
2. most wedding venues in the central and southern regions of Italy (Tuscany, Umbria, Puglia in particular) are quite isolated and difficult to reach. Try and plan your wedding minimizing commuting, and consider investing money to hire a coach or a minivan to keep on standby all throughout the week-end. If that is unfeasible, try and select your venue also according to its location.

ph. Barbara Pederzini

If you follow these simple advices, your destination wedding in Italy will be a veritable feast for both you and your guests.

But try and keep your focus on what matters the most: you’re getting married and your friends will be there because they love you. There is no need to impress anybody!