This has been a long time coming. I am writing to give people some hints and tips to getting married in Italy, well a small part of it!

I am simply putting down some advice or things to think about which has come from my experience working here. Firstly…

Firstly, it is one of the most beautiful countries you could choose to celebrate your wedding. There is so much choice from the countryside to the cities. It is up to you what you feel you can accommodate for all the friends and family that will come to see you tie the knot.

I have been very lucky and met some great people who can make this day a bit less stressful for you from a car/driver which is a big priority in Rome especially, and some tips on hair, which can be such a big rip off in Rome, and a very nice video bloke! who doesn’t make you do groovy stuff! Also it is important to remember these are my opinions and taken from my experience which I feel might help a bit especially if you are nervous about everything happening abroad.

I suppose the first thing is location. If you feel you want a wedding in the countryside then the first thing to think about is getting from A-B. Lots of people go to Tuscany which is fantastic and the main airports are Florence and Pisa. You need to think of how far people need to travel to get to your location. If you have found your Villas / hotels the staff are very helpful in this area. Or if you have organised a planner then this will be sorted. At the end of the day they all have pretty good websites and google maps is a great resource for planning on how to arrive.

The big thing for me here is if everything takes place within the same borgo (little town) or if we need to drive to a town nearby for the actual ceremony. It is possible to have everything happen in the same place. Lots of the villas have churches on site and can organise a priest for you. If you decide to stay in one place, get married in a nearby town and then reception in another venue then you need to organise transport which can be done through the accommodation.

Just remember you need to put all these people back on a bus after seriously nice wine and grub for a journey back so don’t make it too long!

ROME

I do a lot of weddings here and they are fantastic but also I have a lot of people frustrated with quotes for hair dressers. A lot of hairdressers will quote you 150+ Euro if you say it is for a wedding! I am talking about the mothers of the bride and guests that just want something simple. Please don’t fall for this as it is possible to get it done so much cheaper and just as good, and dont by shy to tell them where to go!

Get your prices upfront and if they are too much say thanks but we’ll go somewhere else. They’re never going to see you again so don’t feel bad! Also I have met a lot of brides frustrated and panicking because they have spent 3 hours at the hairdressers and have less time to get ready so it makes them more nervous.

Try and meet them beforehand and let them know the wedding times I say tell them an hour earlier. I hope to have some links of hairdressers soon to help with decission making.

Wedding Bands

Many couples ask us for recommendations for a wedding band and DJ’s. We are happy to recommend these guys, The Italian Wedding band. They perform classic Italian and American swing tunes from the 50s and 60s. They specialise in weddings for Irish and British couples. Their founder, Marino lived in Ireland for several years and speaks very good English! Contact them directly for more information, tell them we sent you.