Getting Married in Europe: 2008
Have you "tied the knot" overseas? Planning a wedding can be challenging enough, but getting married in a foreign country adds new challenges: finding an officiant, planning the menu, convincing your travel-leary family and friends to go, legal red tape, etc.
Share your wedding abroad planning tips, advice and experiences here.
- Please don't post questions here. Use our Travelers Helpline.
Wedding
I am trying to plan a simple civil wedding in Italy,Tuscany region in 2009. I would like to do this as inexpensively and without a wedding planner if possible. I'm not really sure of where to go to get info about how to plan the wedding and how much money to budget. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Jon <email>
Lagrange Park, IL USA Tue 11/11/2008
wedding on a beach
me and my partner want to get married abroad, i have always had a dream of getting married on a beach. we cant travel too far as my father in law to be is not a great traveler. we was thinking of italy, does anyone have any ideas on where or who organises wedding on a beach?
cassie futter <email>
lincolnshire , england Mon 11/03/2008
Getting married in Florence
Hello, I want to tell my wonderful experience. I married in Florence in June on the hills of Florence in a magnificent castle.
Thanks to Valentina Boyer "vb-events" was unforgettable.
I suggest to anyone who wants to get married in Florence to go to see the site:
http://www.vb-events.com/florence-tuscany/getting-married.htm
Scout <email>
New York, NY USA Wed 09/24/2008
A perfect wedding in Italy
My best friend Emily was married in a civil ceremony last year in Siena, and the reception followed in a beautiful nearby villa with gorgeous gardens. Everything was beyond perfect! Her wedding planner was Janet at Italian Villa Events, so I made sure to contact her this year for my upcoming wedding in Venice. Janet and her colleague Susannah have been so attentive and have amazing suggestions – things I would never have thought of! I am so excited and feel so blessed to be in such good hands. I would highly recommend their services to anyone. Their website is www.italianvillaevents.com
Juliette <email>
New York, NY USA Fri 08/22/2008
Amazing Wedding in Florence, Italy - June 2008
My husband and I met in college during a study abroad program in Florence, Italy in 1997. So, when we decided to go back there to get married, in a Catholic Church, with 60 of our closest family and friends, it seemed like an impossible task. But, with the help of the amazing Kelly Hayes (www.theitalianweddingplanner.com) and her staff (mentioned several times on this site), our wedding was truly amazing. Kelly is professional, so very helpful, and she's affordable too. We never could have had the wedding of our dreams without her help. Also, I highly recommend our reception venue - Castello di Vincigliata in Fiesole. It is breathtaking! Our guests are still raving about it and I can't stop looking through our photos. Please feel free to contact me if you'd like to hear more.
Megan H. <email>
Long Beach, CA USA Wed 08/20/2008
Planning a Wedding in Italy
My fiance and I are thinking about a destination in Italy for a small ceremony. Any advice on the best locations and suggested budgets? Thanks!
Lori <email>
New York, NY USA Sun 08/10/2008
Part of Italian Wedding Party
My Italian cousin has asked me to be his witness for his wedding. I've looked on line with no luck as to what this entails. Does anybody know what a witness does or where I can find this information? My folks think it might be like a best man, but being as I'm a female, that doesn't make much sense.
Sarah <email>
Altoona, PA USA Fri 08/01/2008
weddings in prague
i am thinking of getting married in prague (april 2009) but there are a complete lack of wedding packages (or they are too expensive) can anyone offer any advice - either on DIY weddings or events organisers (that are cheap)
elissa <email>
blackpool, Lancs UK Tue 07/29/2008
We had TWO weddings...
We wanted to get married in Italy overlooking the ocean; however I also have always wanted my Dad to walk me down the aisle in a full Catholic mass.
We researched the whole notion of getting married legally in Italy, and it seemed complicated. Each of us would have to have our birth certificates translated in Italian, then stamped by County officials, then stamped by our birth state officials. (And both of us are from different states and live in a third state.) Then upon arrival in Italy, we would have to go to a local official 2 days or so prior to the civil ceremony, which would be immediately before the religious ceremony.
A lot of work.... and considering that most of our friends and family would not be there to witness.
So.... we had a "secretive" symbolic ceremony for just us two in Positano AND 9 months later had the real "official" and "legal" wedding in the states in my homestate.
Our wedding had a Vintage Italian Travel theme. During dinner, we showed a slide of our trip to Italy and then surprised all with pictures of that day.
We definitely had many (including my Mom) concerned if we were already married or not. But it was easy to explain everything.
That way... we had the wedding of our dreams and our families had the traditional wedding. We consider our American wedding our true wedding date, but the Italian ceremony is special and dear to our hearts.
Nearly all of our family and friends were able to attend, which was great. I wouldn't want to celebrate something so special without them. So I got two wedding dresses, amazing photos in two locations, and we had two spectacular honeymoons. :)
I worked w/ a planner whom I found online for Italy. And they were WONDERFUL! We had a Mercedes driver pick us up at the train tracks and drive us to our hotel. We also had a wonderful phototgrapher, a guitar and mandolin player. It was suberb!
I would be happy to share the website of the planner if you are interested.
Jessica <email>
AZ USA Fri 07/25/2008
Tuscany Wedding in May 2009
I use this site a lot and want to contribute. I've just decided on Tuscan Pledges for our May 2009 wedding in Tuscany. But I considered many options and this spreadsheet will provide information on many of them. I can't guarantee that all of the information is correct but I think it will be helpful.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pHNxHT469lZCM2UdVqyjFKw&hl=en
Julie <email>
Minneapolis, MN USA Mon 07/21/2008
Sicily Wedding 2009
Hello, I'm planning a wedding in Sicily for September/October 2009. Does anyone have suggestions for a reputable wedding planner in Sicily? We're having a Catholic church wedding, but no formal reception; we just want a party on the beach afterwards, if possible! Group of about 20-25 people, small and informal...Thinking about Taormina, any advice/suggestions would be most appreciated! Thanks! -- Jill
Jill <email>
Alexandria, VA USA Thu 07/17/2008
Getting married in Italy
my husband and i were married outdoors in a castle by the sea in the lovely little village of portovenere, italy in september. we used getting married in italy to plan our wedding and found their services to be top notch. if anyone has any questions on planning a wedding abroad, feel free to contact me!
She-muff <email>
Honolulu, HI USA Wed 07/16/2008
Getting married in Italy
I just got married in Florence, Italy and it was fabulous. When I was looking into getting married, I contacted many wedding planners in Italy and got a different story from everyone, with crazy prices. Then I found Jo Bertolino (www.tuscanpledges.com) on this website and contacted her. She was incredible. Everything that everyone else in Italy told me I had to do here in the states, from going to the Embassy to the Consulat, from getting papers translated was total bull. Jo took care of EVERYTHING over there in Italy. All I had to do was send her some basic information and some photo copies, and she did the rest. Everything went smoothly and we had a ball. Tell Jo I sent you!
Dave Blecman <email>
Woodstock, MD USA Mon 06/30/2008
Wedding Advice
My fiance and I would like to get married in Eurpoe (possibly Italy) sometime next year. I don't know the first thing about doing this and found your post about it on a website. I'd like it to be really simple and inexpensive, yet beautiful and romantic. Just the 2 of us exchanging vows somewhere beautiful in a non religious civil ceremony. I would appreciate any advice you could give me. Thanks!
Sara <email>
San Diego, CA USA Mon 06/23/2008
Holland Wedding
Ceilia
MN USA
Did you find any information out on a Holland Wedding. It sounds like you need to have residency to get married there. I don't understand the requirements either. What did you learn?
Tricia <email>
Federal Way, wa USA Tue 06/03/2008
Update on Scottish wedding
Our wedding I posted about in November 2007 went wonderfully. I would highly recommend getting married in Scotland since you can get married just about anywhere in that country in a religous ceremony (which many European countries do not allow). Everyone was so kind and friendly that it just made for a romantic and unforgettable destination wedding out of the ordinary!!
Jannelle <email>
USA Mon 05/05/2008
Advice Italy
We would like to plan a wedding in Italy (if achievable on the sea/lakes)for July 2009. We have tried searching the net but we are a bit confused now as too many options available.We would like to have suggestions on where to look. Any advice on a lovely area? Is it worth searching a planner?
Joanne <email>
Frankfort, KY USA Wed 04/30/2008
Our wonderful Italian wedding
We finally tied the knot last September in a very small mountain village of Cison di Valmarino about 60km from Venice. This area is known as mini Tuscany because it is where the Prosecco grape is grown, so you feel like you get the best of both worlds with Venice on the door step.
We took over a plane and flew in to Venice airport where we were picked up and driven to the little village. We decided not to let our guests know where we were going but they where given the contact details of our planner who took care of booking every ones accommodation. When we drove in to the village ,everyone looked up and saw for the first time the Castle all lit up, they gasped WOW! The castle staff were so friendly and took care of all our guests. The big advantage of Castle Brando was the town halls location at the foot of the castle also the chapel in the grounds for the Blessing so we did not have to worry about transport on the day.
The food was incredible and it just kept coming! We had a lovely day and everything was perfect. Kelly (www.theitalianweddingplanner.com)gets a lot of mention on this site but it has to be said Kelly and her girls were worth the expense of a planner. The team of 2 girls stayed until we retired to the public bar area at 0130 and some of my guests told us the next day that Kelly was still there at 0500 putting the last of our guests to bed! So you can imagine how surprised we were to see her the next day at 11am with our marriage certificated already legalized by the office located nearly an hour's drive away for the castle.
That's what you call service!
I hope by sharing our wonderful experiance inspires you to get married in Italy!
Mrs Charlotte Webber
NY, NY USA Sat 03/22/2008
Our Wedding in Prague
We did it! We had our fairy tale wedding in Prague at the Old Town Hall last November. Martina, a friend of Mike's (not an agency) helped us with arranging the paperwork and the hotel helped us with just about everything else.
Dinner at The Four Seasons was simply lovely and the view of the castle from their terrace is priceless. I really can't say thanks enough to the staff at the hotel. Also, our wedding photographer Kurt Vinion was simply outstanding!
So for those thinking of Prague -
just do it!
Sabine & Mike
Charleston, SC USA Sat 02/23/2008
Tuscan wedding
My husband and I were married March 17, 2007 in Tuscany and we used Chiara of www.weddingsintuscany.info as our wedding coordinator. I absolutely loved working with Chiara, she has a wealth of knowledge. Chiara was invaluable in the final days. When I didn't know what to do or how to speak up about something, she had it taken care of before I could even wonder how we were going to fix it. She got in touch with all my vendors right before the wedding and took care of all the loose ends for me. I know that wedding planners are very busy people, and they have many brides to juggle at once. Of course, as a bride, you always want all the attention on you, even if it is unreasonable. chiara was always there when I needed her and I never felt like she was "unaccessable" to me. I cannot imagine what our wedding would have been like without her. She was a wonderful resource to us and has become a good friend.
Nora
Nora <email>
phoenix, AZ USA Fri 01/25/2008
Chianti Wedding
We had our wedding Oct 1, 2007 at Villa Fabbroni, a beautiful villa about 30 minutes south of Florence in a small town called San Polo.
Stefano and Sergio who own/run the villa are the best hosts and planned the most beautiful wedding we could have dreamed of!
The weather was beautiful and the location was breathtaking. The villa is located off a remote path high in the hills of beautiful Chianti.
The villa has an onsite restaurant and chapel so the wedding was totally private for us and our guests. We were treated like royalty.
I can not brag enough about Villa Fabbroni. They also provide cooking classes which were fabulous.
The accomodations of the villa are very "American". From the appliances (coffee maker, refrigerator, microwave, laundry) to the beds and showers. You will feel right at home!
We had a symbolic Catholic ceremony at the villa's chapel.
If anyone would like any suggestions or has any questions, feel free to contact me.
Charlene <email>
Philadelphia, PA USA Mon 01/14/2008
switzerland wedding
When Chris and I tell people that our wedding day was absolutely
perfect, we really mean it - we wouldn't change a single thing. Planning a wedding is hard work, even more so when you are planning to
have it in another country. For us, finding Cindy and Pascal was a
dream come true. Instead of trying to sell us a generic wedding
package, the Zellers cheerfully helped us plan a wedding that fit our
dreams and our budget. Their attention to details we hadn't even
considered and personal interest in our happiness made the planning fun
and made our wedding in Interlaken wonderful. They were ready and
waiting to greet us from the day that we arrived and it was evident
that we had found not only capable and experienced wedding organizers,
but also the kindest and most generous people one could ever hope to
meet. As we saw on our wedding day, we aren't the only people who
think highly of the Zellers: they are respected and well-liked members
of the Interlaken community and their friendships with local
proprietors made us feel like all of Interlaken was celebrating our
wedding day with us. Even now when I look at the pictures, which I do
often, I can hardly believe that our wedding day was real and not a
dream. Thanks to Cindy and Pascal, it truly was the perfect day.
Chris and Amanda Texas USA
Chris & Amanda
Houston, TX USA Mon 01/14/2008
Easy Elope in Europe
Celebrate your civil marriage lakeside or in the alps year round, consider Switzerland as your option.
There is no residency, the venues are stunning. 10,000 ft in the alps.
Cost $ 2600.00 includes all your planning, professional photos, civil marriage license, transportation & flowers. contact www.switzerlandweddingcompany.com your host Cindy is a local American living in Interlaken area. happy marriage
Walters
Collegeville, PA USA Wed 01/09/2008
Wedding in Portofino
My wife and I recently got married on the Italian Riviera. I'm Italian and live in London now and we wanted to take advantage of the mild weather and the stunning views of Liguria, where I come from. Planning a wedding abroad has been painless with our fairy planners. We used the services of SposiamoVi with Alice and Cinzia helping us all the way.
They are responsive, excellent communicators, and, apart for the wedding itself, they have obtained special conditions for our accommodation and transports for our guests. I've been happy with our choice and really would like to recommend them to any couple looking for top class services.
Please e-mail me for any further information or picture. Happy New Year!
Gabriel
Gabriel <email>
London-Italy, USA Wed 01/02/2008