Q: Getting married abroad: is a wedding in Italy the right choice for us?

A: Before choosing your wedding destination you need to make sure that a wedding abroad is what you really wish! At Just Get Married in Italy, we offer honest and clear feedback on weddings in Italy offering this service free of charge prior to your booking for complete peace of mind! A wedding abroad is not only a memorable wedding day that you and your guests will cherish forever but also an opportunity to embrace the culture and wedding traditions of the country you decide to get married in. Getting married in Italy can be a wonderful experience however a great misconception that couples face when planning a wedding in Italy (or anywhere abroad) is that they can create a wedding based on what a wedding concept, budget, legal requirements and styles are in their native countries.

Italy offers great wedding traditions and being a country very attached & proud of its culture, Italian venues, flowers, wines, services, photography, including the finest food served are 100% Italian! Even the wedding cake is traditionally made with the freshest and finest ingredients on the day.

On a legal point of view, foreign couples wishing to get legally married in Italy must provide all documents requested and comply with specific requirements in order to obtain a marriage license, there are no shortcuts. Although full assistance is offered on how to obtain the correct documentation to get married in Italy, the legal process, based on the couples citizenship, may still involve some level of stress and anxiety. All documents needed for the Nulla Osta must be obtained by the couple from their country of origin. The process can also be time consuming for some citizenships, as it may involve dealing with several different offices, which can be located miles away from their home town and are open to the public only for a few hours per day. The couple should fully acknowledge the above PRIOR going ahead with a wedding abroad, in Italy or ANYWHERE in the world.

back to FAQ page

Q: Do you have any tips on how to save money and still get a stylish wedding in Italy?

A: Getting married in Italy can be a great budget saver simply by choosing the right venue and making the right moves, your wedding in Italy will be beyond your dreams, without a budget blow out!

•  TIP NO.1 Choose "close by wedding halls and locations" near to the big art cities. For example, getting married in Siena costs E 800 for the wedding hall. By choosing another wedding hall less than 10 minutes out of Siena, it will cost E 300! You will still have your wedding in Siena, photos etc, but at almost 1/3 of the price! Same for Rome outskirts locations like a wedding in Bracciano Lake or Tivoli: Wedding Halls in Rome are E 1400 while Bracciano Lake wedding halls hiring fees are currently E 350!

•  TIP NO.2 Avoid the most touristic locations! Choose instead to get married in Italy in the less touristic ones like, Umbria, Castelgandolfo or Bracciano Lake in the roman outskirts. Not only are they beautiful, private and unspoilt venues, but they are wedding locations chosen by VIP's like Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes to name one, and the weather is sunny and mild all year around !

•  TIP NO.3 Find out the most busiest summer months in your chosen location and stay away from it! Getting married outside high season not only will guarantee privacy at your wedding, especially for crowded locations like Sorrento, but will also save you so much on travel fares, hotels, venues etc. Also avoid Bank holiday weekends for the same reasons.

•  TIP NO.4 For Europeans: choose a venue close to "low cost" airline airports, where guests can easily and cheaply arrive. For non-Europeans choose a location where the main airports are. It will save you time and travel costs to reach the venue.

•  TIP NO.5 Get Married on weekdays & during town hall opening hours. Most Italian wedding halls are cheaper on weekdays and weddings during opening hours.

•  TIP NO.6 Embrace the local Wedding culture! Find out the local wedding traditions and try to imply them to your wedding. Using local wedding items/food/customs will save you as they are already locally available in wide quantities for the Italian brides, making them cheaper. A classic example is the wedding cake. An Italian wedding cake is free, as it is included in any wedding menu! While, what Italians call 'the American Wedding cake' (icing/decorated cake) cost an average of E 400 for a small icing cake that serves a very little number of guests of 40!

•  TIP NO.7 Avoid booking venues/services directly! Use a local Professional Wedding Planner like Just Get Married in Italy! Did you know that a well established wedding planner has discounted rates that they pass on directly to their clients? The fee they charge is a very small token to pay for all the savings, not only economically but timely and emotionally. A wedding planner does know and uses only the best suppliers in your chosen area; he/she will take all the pressure and stress away from you, leaving you with the fun part of the wedding planning to take care of, like wedding dress shopping.

•  TIP NO.8 For the same reason, avoid to travel to Italy to find the perfect venue on your own. Hire instead an Italian Wedding Planner. They have done all the searching for you, making a trip to Italy unnecessary. It will easily save you and put back in your wedding budget more than E 2000 for better wedding use.

•  TIP NO.9 Book a photographer service and ask for all images in professional high resolution on CD, instead of choosing a package with prints/albums. It will save you on photographer printing/album fees plus expensive postage fees! You can then print any photo you like and do whatever you want with them (cropping/editing/printing etc) using a photo software or at your local photographer.

•  TIP NO.10 A wedding video is all about good editing: Although prices for videographers are quite reasonable in Italy, you can still save around E 600, by borrowing from your guests the footage they enthusiastically filmed on the day. (if no guests are attending, Just Get Married's onsite planners are happy to get some footage for you). At home, get all footage edited into a 20 minute highlight reel of your wedding day with music of your choice by your local photographer studio or a good editor.

•  TIP NO.11 Choose seasonal flowers instead of fancy tropical or out of season! The first it will be locally available & cheaper, the latter will still be available at double the price as it needs to be imported from abroad! Think green, and opt for seasonal flowers, instead!

•  TIP NO.12 Choose an Italian villa/venue that offer "free use" on the wedding day. Stay away from the most popular ones, easily found on the web! Ask your Italian wedding planner to source one with no additional hiring fees on the day! It will save you as much as E 2000 if not more!

•  TIP NO.13 Choose an all inclusive wedding menu, rather than a la carte menu. A la carte menu can go easily out of control, as 1 single main course in Italy can cost as much as E 40!

•  TIP NO.14 Choose a venue with an inside kitchen rather than one where you need to hire an external catering service. Catering companies can help you to personalize the table decorations, styles etc. better, although it comes with a higher price.

•  TIP NO.15 Leave the Exclusive hotel for the wedding night! For your stay, opt instead for luxury private apartments. Not only will they give you plenty of privacy and more money in your pocket, but will let you enjoy living as a Roman, a Florentine or a Venetian for a little while!

•  TIP NO.16 Logistically, guests transfers are very important for a wedding abroad, especially in Italy and non-english speaking countries. Instead of paying for it, offer a "payable transfer option" to your guests! Each guest will pay very little per head, while you will save a great deal of money. By experience, guests don't mind to pay for stress free transfers, and they appreciate that you have taken the time to organize it for them.

•  TIP NO.17 If you want an outdoor ceremony, pick a location that offers outdoor weddings (Just Get Married in Italy! can offer a wide list to choice from in most Italian wedding locations) rather than having a separate "indoor wedding" and " outdoor blessing ceremony" at the villa. Have either one or the other, it will save you more than E 1000.

•  TIP NO.18 For religious weddings in major art cities, choose a church recommended by your wedding planner. They are usually the best in beauty, value and accessibility (some churches in Italy can only be accessed by foot, not very convenient for guests, as they can easily get lost).

•  TIP NO.19 For religious weddings in villas, ask your wedding planner to source a villa with a chapel. Most villas around Umbria, Lazio, Tuscany have little churches or chapels within their premises, as during the past centuries noble Italian families had their private ones. The chapels used for religious weddings in Italy are usually free or cost very little.

•  TIP NO.20 Leave all legal and religious aspects to the experts. If it doesn't save you money, it will save you in jeopardizing your wedding with the wrong paperwork.

Just Get Married in Italy! put together these tips to help you to save money and time in the long run, with a saving of at least E 6000 from your wedding budget to either keep or put into better use for your future together! For a more accurate quote for your wedding in Italy send through your details and secure your dream wedding in Italy.

back to FAQ page

Q: Who has used Just Get Married! in the past?

A: Couples who regularly use our services are mainly from UK, IRELAND, USA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND and European countries, although our services & packages suit any country or religion worldwide. Our testimonials

back to FAQ page

Q: Why can Just Get Married! offer the best services at the best possible price?

A: Just Get Married! is a registered wedding planner. When you contact Just Get Married! you directly contact a wedding coordinator and there is no middleman fees to pay. This also guarantees you our undivided attention to your specific needs. We are based in Italy and offer an onsite Just Get Married coordinator for each destination we offer. We personally inspect each venue we offer in our lists and we can also work with any wedding venue and villa in Italy. We can also assist you at a villa or venue suggested or sourced by the couple directly.

Just Get Married in Italy! also offer venue site inspection services to our clients for complete peace of mind.

back to FAQ page

Q: Is there any special requirements to get married in Italy?

A: Foreign couples can get married in Italy easily nowadays. Italian authorities require a document called a Nulla Osta issued by your Embassy in Italy.
Both Civil and religious weddings require paperwork that you must obtain from your country of origin . The paperwork varies depending on your country of origin and it is necessary to apply for a nulla osta. All Embassies apply issuing and procesing fees for nulla ostas (average issuing fees are between 20 to 70 euros depending on embassy). Italian authorities also apply stamp duties fees (the cost is approx E 16 ea. you need 2 or 4 depending on nationality). Just Get Married! will assist you with a full legal and religious assistance service on how to otain all documents necessary to get married in Italy, together with sourcing, booking and management of the church/town hall, lodgements of all documents to the Italian Authoirities , interpreter during pre-wedding promise and wedding and witnesses (if needed).

back to FAQ page

Q: How can I get legally married in Italy?

A: Only Civil ceremonies and Catholic ceremonies have legal validity. Therefore, if you wish to get married and have a legal recognition of your marriage anywhere in the world, you need to opt for a civil ceremony or a catholic ceremony in Italy More Civil Wedding info here

back to FAQ page

Q: What legal or religious documents do we need to get married in Italy ?

A:Legal and religious documents vary depending on your country and religion. Just Get Married in Italy! will send you a detailed list of all the documents required for your specific country or religion. Our services are completely hassle free! you will only need to send the documents requested to us and, in most cases, arrive just 1 day before your wedding and get married the next!

back to FAQ page

Q: Differences between a Blessing/Symbolic wedding, Religious wedding and Civil wedding

A: For full details on type of ceremonies in Italy visit click here .

back to FAQ page

Q: Can I get married in a catholic church in Italy even if we are not Catholic?

A: In order to get married in a catholic church, one of you must be catholic. Another requirement is that none of you has been married with a catholic rite before. For full details on type of ceremonies in Italy visit click here .

back to FAQ page

Q: Can I have a civil ceremony in Italy in a garden or hotel?

A: Civil ceremonies are conducted in premises designated by the city Town Hall: This is an Italian legal requirement. The venues include Grandeous historical buildings, ex-churches, town hall premises, outdoor terraces or a villa garden . The Italian wedding halls & venues are elegantly decorated including famous paintings and sculputers making them the perfect setting for stylish wedding ceremonies.

*IMPORTANT* Although some Town Halls may have the availability to use the town hall's "garden or outdoor area" , only very few Villas, gardens or outdoor venues in Italy have permits to conduct a legal binding ceremony. Venues or villas without this permit can only accommodate a Symbolic or Blessing ceremony with no legal validity ! contact us if you wish to receive a list of AUTHORISED OUTDOOR CIVIL CEREMONY VENUES CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FOR YOUR WEDDING IN ITALY

back to FAQ page

Q: Can we hire a venue with exclusive use during our stay and on the wedding day?

A: A venue can be hired with exclusive use on the wedding day only. The venue often requests a fee to allow you to use it in exclusivity for the wedding day. Accommodations are booked on a non-exclusive basis. Therefore, during your stay, although you may have booked the entire capacity of the venue, the venue can still uses their grounds/areas/halls to accommodate other functions/events during the days of your stay, with exclusion of your wedding day, where the grounds/areas/halls for a wedding will be given to use with exclusive use.

back to FAQ page

Q: What are the Italian legal requirements for a civil ceremony in Italy?

A: Together with some paperwork (vary depending on the country), legal requirements for a civil ceremony are 2 witnesses over 18 (anybody can be your witness) and an official interpreter (if you do not speak Italian) needs to be present during the pre-wedding promise and the ceremony. Just Get Married! offers full legal assistance services in Italy.

back to FAQ page

Q: My fiance'/a guest can speak Italian. Will we still need an interpreter?

A: If both of you can speak Italian, an intepreter is not needed. If one of you or both of you cannot speak Italian an official interpreter is needed. This is a legal requirement for non italian speaking couples. Just Get Married in Italy! can provide you with this service. For blessings/catholic or religious weddings you won't need an interpreter if an English speaking priest or celebrant is hired. Just Get Married in Italy! can provide you with this service

back to FAQ page

. Q: Can we have friends or family as witnesses?

A: Yes, friends and family can be your witnesses (must be over 18 with valid passport). If you don't have anyone coming with you, Just Get Married in Italy! will provide you with two witnesses as part of our services.

back to FAQ page

Q: Can you still help with a last minute booking?

A: Depending on your citizenship Just Get Married in Italy! may accept a civil and/or a symbolic ceremony booking up to 8 weeks prior to your suggested date. Simply email us your last minute Wedding in Italy booking request and we will take care of everything for you. (subject to citizenship requirements and chosen town hall/church availability). We accept last minute booking for catholic weddings in Italy 9 months prior.

back to FAQ page

Q: We are already in Italy on holiday and have decided to get married during our stay. Can you still help?

A: Like a memorable holiday should be planned ahead, a wedding abroad also needs the same commitment and level of planning ahead to be memorable. Based on previous experiences, We regret to inform you that we no longer accept booking requests from couples that are already in Italy on holiday. Communicating with them while on holiday was the major issue we encountered. Also, we could not always gurantee our availability being already engaged with existing clients' weddings & appointments. We are now encouraging couples that want to get married in Italy with a symbolic, renewal of vows, or a civil ceremony during their italian holiday, to confirm a booking no later than 12 weeks prior to their arrival by sending the enquiry form. While we accept last minute bookings for catholic weddings in Italy 9 months prior.

back to FAQ page

Q: How long before the wedding ceremony do we need to arrive in Italy?

A: The arrival time depends on chosen town, date, type of ceremony, & your citizenships. This time can be from 2 weeks to as litlle as 24 hours prior the wedding. For this reason, we highly recommend to book flights and accommodations once the town hall is secured and an official confirmation is forwarded to you. Based on the confirmed wedding date, an email will be sent to you specifying what date you need to arrive in order to complete the final legal steps once in Italy. You can then book your flights accordingly.

back to FAQ page

Q: Can we speak directly with Just Get Married in Italy!over the phone?

A:For full peace of mind Just Get Married in Italy! can organise a telephone appointment to discuss all our services in more details, although we prefer you to do your first contact via email; this enables us to respond to all your queries quickly and efficiently. Corresponding via e-mail has a lower cost to us than a call centre, and we have built this lower cost into our fees passing the savings on to our clients. In surveys, our clients have overwhelmingly and consistently said they preferred email correspondence and lower costs over a call centre. Nevertheless, during the planning, our coordinators will still offer telephone assistance, during office hours, whenever it is needed.

back to FAQ page

Q: What happens if we need to reschedule or cancel our wedding?

A: Just Get Married in Italy! provides a rescheduling service & cancellation policy both reported in our agreement for acceptance prior a booking confirmation for full peace of mind.

back to FAQ page

Q: Can you recommend a wedding insurance cover?

A: Absolutely ! Although we hope you won't have to use it, for a relatively small amount of money, wedding insurance is a very wise investment. Working in the wedding industry, we experience every year a small percentage of couples cancelling or rescheduling their wedding due to unpredictable events in their life, like work commitments, a sudden illness of close family members, or simply deciding to not get married to one another. Based on this experience, Just Get Married in Italy! highly suggests all couples to purchase a wedding insurance. Nowadays, All major worldwide insurances offer wedding insurance covers. by contacting your local insurance company, you should be able to find a wedding insurance cover that best suit your wedding needs. Also visit our wedding ideas page where we offer a wedding insurance link (curently available for UK clients only).

back to FAQ page

contact us for more details!

Back to top

BOOK OR ENQUIRE NOW