9918 Help in arranging a wedding in Rome for 2009

I got married in Rome (not at the Campidoglio which I think is only available on a Saturday, but check) but at the other comune venue, which is just outside Circo Massimo. It was a quick 15-minute affair, but moving just the same.

We had to do a fair amount of running around, such as booking the ceremony with the comune, getting a nulla osta from the embassy and getting the banns read, as well as getting another piece of paper from our local municipality. I'm not sure if you would need to do all this if you were just going to pop over from the UK, or whether a wedding planner would be able to do things on your behalf. For example, we had to sign our nulla osta at the Embassy, but maybe someone could act as your proxy.

You'll need a couple of witnesses, and as they have to sign, they'll need to know at least some Italian. Make sure your planners have arranged for this. You might want to contact Dream Academy for more information (who I think plans weddings in Emilia Romagna, but who will have all the necessary info).

Thank you English Teacher, yes we do know that the Campidoglio only do weekend weddings and we have found a lot of information about what paperwork needs doing by browsing the internet. But we just don't know how easy this would be to do ourselves, did you manage to do this without a planner and did everything go ok with this in the end? I think we have almost come to the conclusion that it might just be easier and less stressfull to get this done for us but it's knowing who to do this through. I have emailed different wedding planners for a quote for a 'legal only package' but it's difficult to know who to trust with them being in another country and with it being done over the internet.

We did it all ourselves, but as we were living in Rome at the time, the running around was quite do-able. As we got married on a tight budget, there was never any talk of wedding planners. We didn't have photographers / posh frocks etc, and I also managed to forget flowers... (The Rome comune actually gave me a bunch after the ceremony, which I thought very sweet!)

We organised a celebration dinner afterwards for friends and family who we'd booked into a hotel on the coast, so it was a lovely day for us. However, every couple likes to do things differently, and you might want a planner if you're going to do anything more substantial than what we did.

If you already know what the paperwork requirements are, you can probably get a lot of it done online. But if you need to book hotels, venues, photographers etc, then a planner is probably a good idea unless you come over first and organise it for yourselves. One other thing to probably bear in mind: even a low-key wedding like ours was not without its stress. If you can get a planner who understands your requirements, and has good communication skills, then a lot of the anxiety can be taken out of the whole "shebang".

Personally, I'd thoroughly recommend the hotel where we had our dinner. Lovely open-air restaurant, with private beach, great food at reasonable cost, good rooms, and kind, caring staff. We and our guests had a lovely time, and they all went home with happy memories of warm, Italian hospitality. I couldn't have asked for more...

Thats great information! I'm sure it certainly helped living in Rome and we've even thought about going there for a quick weekend to make sure the paperwork gets done (if we were doing it ourselves) We will be booking all travel arrangements, accomodation and the honeymoon ourselves as we are quite used to doing this over the internet. I also think me and my partner are steering away from the extra expense of all the added 'extras' like flowers and cars etc but we would definately like some good photos of the occasion.
It would be great if you could tell me where you had the reception as this is another thing I wanted to ask about and I was actually going to post another thread about this. There will only be 12 of us altogether and again we dont want to spend a fortune on the reception maybe just a nice cosy restaurant would do, but a recommendation is always nice. How far did you have to travel to your reception? A few of my favourite ideas seem to be about a 40 minute drive outside of Rome and I'm not sure that this would be too far?

We married in Rome in May 2006 and originally planned to do everything ourselves from the UK. However we found it very difficult and the amount of trips to Rome to sort it out were not practical. We used a wedding planner Gabriella (can't remember how to spell her surname - need to check) who spoke perfect English and arranged as much or as little as we wanted. As this was not the first marriage for either of us, we originally said we didn't want photographers and cars etc and Gabriella was happy to just sort out the legal side for us. In the end though we decided to use a photographer that she recommends having seen some of his work (he's a fashion photographer rather than a wedding snapper). She arranged cars for us and our guests, hairdresser for myself, translated the service for us (at that time we didn't speak any Italian), collected us from our hotel and generally made a special day absolutely fantastic. We had booked hotel and restaurant, but she could also have done this for us. I can highly recommend her as I am sure so would all our guests. (All 8 of them!) If you are interested I will get her contact details for you. I know you would not be disappointed. (She even spent the day blotting my shiny nose!!)...

If the lady is called Gabriella Lojacono, then this is one of the companies that we have had a reply from and that we are thinking of using, if not it would be good to know which planner you did use as we are worried about how many 'rip off' copmanies that may be out there. We certainly want a photographer, what was yours like? Were you happy with the photos?

The hotel was in Santa Marinella (Hotel Cavalluccio Marino). It's just south of Civitavecchia and there are train connections from Rome, though not late at night. I can't get any links to work, but if you do a search for the hotel name, or Roses Hotel (the owners) you might find something.

Hi there

We also used Gabriella Lojocarno and she was absolutely brilliant. She takes care of all the paperwork (which can be a nightmare), did everything we asked her to do, including some things that were out of the ordinary, and even helped me keep calm on the day - she became a friend as much as a wedding planner. I can't recommend her highly enough. She organised absolutely everything for both us and our guests - down to a surprise horse and carriage at a time when the city of Rome town hall were banning horses from the roads at certain times of the day!

Her communications are excellent and her price is very, very reasonable. I can send photos if you like - her photographer is brilliant (mad, but brilliant) and we loved all the photos we got. Go for the option to have high resolution photos - a bit more expensive but worth it as you get them on a CD ROM and can then print off any number of copies yourself without the need to pay extortionate prices from the photographer as you do in the UK. Everything Gabriella gave us was way beyone our expectations. If you're getting married in Rome, use her! She's only little but she's the most efficient, organised person I've ever met which is exactly what you need.

Have you definitely decided on Rome? The only thing I would say is that although it was a magical day which I loved and will never forget, the ceremony itself was very quick (they allow 20 mins each which has to include photos) and you can't have your own vows or readings - the most we could have was live music but even that was limited. Whether it's at the Campidoglio or the lovely Vignola Mattei venue by the Caracalla baths (which is where we were married) Rome is incredibly popular as a venue and it can feel a bit like a sausage machine - one couple waiting to go in as the previous couple leaves.

If you wanted to look at a less rushed and more personalised wedding some friends of ours (whom we met on our honeymoon in Italy!) have a wedding business in Le Marche. It's a beautiful area and there are some stunning settings in old hilltop vilages for example. You can also have your own vows, readings, whatever you want and I can vouch absolutely for their service as well. They will organise as much or as little as you want and have got together a brilliant team of florists, hairdressers, venues, everything you could want. Again they provide a very personalised service and again, very reasonable prices.

If you want more information about either option, feel free to send me a PM and I'll send you the details. And wherever you decide to get married in Italy, you will have a wonderful day.

Best wishes

Cath.

PS - sorry - meant to say we only had ten guests but despite it not being a massive affair, Gabriella put in as much time and effort as though it was for 100. We had our reception at a beautiful villa called the Casina Valadier - they've got a website so you can have a look. We also had a lovely champagne reception at a small bar in a nearby park - the family were so pleased to do it for us and charged a tiny amount.

Anyway as I say, let me know if you need any more information about either venue.

Although we got married in tuscany rather than Rome we organised it ourselves & found the British Consulate staff in Florenece (though I believe at least one of them is now in Rome) were very helpful. We hired a local translator for both the ceremony & to help us with odd bits & pieces but found it simple to sort photographers & cakes ourselves

Yes it is the same Gabriella and I endorse everything said. She certainly was more like a good friend than a paid helper. We were married in an ex monastery near to the colasseum (beautiful) - Gabriella will have all the details. At the time we were married she had a japanese magazine interested in her work and we were asked if they could interview us (no pressure, actually said no to start with as wanted quiet wedding but then decided it would be nice to do someting for Gabriella as she had been so good to us) - we actually ended up in the Japanese magazine (they were very polite and unobtrusive) and we had one of Japans most famous make-up artists at our wedding (glad I didn't know that until after - worried enough about my shiny nose). Pino the photographer was great and put us at ease - he actually had 3 haselblad (spelling!!) cameras on a frame clicking within seconds of each other, thus some amazing photos.

Hi congratulations on your choice of country. Italy is a magical country to get married in.

I'd agree with Cathnmike though - Rome can be a bit of a conveyor belt. There are lots of fabulous towns and areas to get married in and you'd probably feel a lot more like the centre of attention in a smaller place. The locals might even make a fuss of you.

Also food accomodation etc are likelier to be cheaper outside of Rome. You could do a Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes on it and head for Lake Bracciano! Or a friend of mine got married in Rome and then had their reception in Tivoli (not that far from Rome - I know but still a bit away from the madness!)

Wherever you decide to go I hope it all works out perfectly for you.

Yes the 'conveyor belt' situation is certainly something that worries both myself and my partner (especially as we prefer the busier Campidoglio Wedding Hall) and before we went down the line of getting married in Rome this was the one thing that cosistently put us off marrying in other places. On the other hand, Rome is an amazing and romantic city and we loved it there the first time we stayed there. I suppose we are kind of hoping that by marrying in such a wonderful and memorable location, that the short and sweet ceremony wouldn't bother us so much. Putting all things into consideration for those of you who have already been there and done it - was the queing up to be married a bit of a disappointment and would you have rather married in a quieter location? This is the only doubt we have about Rome.

It was short and sweet, and we were happy to have it that way. The whole day was wonderful, and the ceremony was memorable because it didn't go on forever, the official was kind, and the location was fabulous - very atmospheric.

It's what you make of it. The couple before us had all the bells and whistles (major dress, lots of attendants and so on). Then we came along with our two witnesses, but no photographers. After us was a very nervous bride having a last-minute fag. Her groom finally turned up in the police car, minder in tow. I presume they got married ok, though we didn't linger!

Well, since reading a few of the responses to my post, my partner and I who were certainly set on Rome, now have a small doubt eating away at us... So, we have decided to look into smaller towns and villages (as suggested by Postmac) preferably not too far from Rome, though this is not set in stone, where it may feel a little more intimate i.e not a queue of brides and grooms waiting to be married. If anyone has any ideas of somewhere very special where we could have our wedding, your recommendations would be very welcome indeed - especially if you have had first hand experience of your wedding there. We just want to at least exhaust all our options before making our final decision so we don't regret the choice we make!
Thank you!

Hi we are English wedding photographers living in Italy..if you mail me on [B][I]{MODERATION}email address removed; contact via PM[/I][/B] with an idea of you budget for photos etc we maybe able to help!!!
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sarah & steve
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Maybe we were fortunate; it's just got busier since we married in 2006 or it was down to Gabriella's fantastic planning, but there was no queue of brides and grooms where we got married - no sight of another couple anywhere in fact. We pulled up in our limousine in the quiet tree lined street to be met by no more than Gabriella, Pino (photographer) and the Japanese photographers. The car door was opened for me, we posed for photographs briefly and then very serenly I was escorted by my cousin(who gave me away) into the beautiful ex-monastery. I felt like royalty. The service did not feel at all quick or rushed, in fact much longer than an English civil ceremony. My guests were already seated in the monastery waiting for us, along with the 2 Carabinieri who stood behind the lady conducting the service and Garbriella (plus other officials). At the end of the service we left via a side door into a courtyard/garden where we were showered by rice and rose petals and had some more photographs taken. Again no rush and no sign of others to be married. We chose Rome as like you we have some very fond and special memories of the city and certainly would not have changed it for some quiet little village, however pretty. Although I did have flowers I was also presented with a bouquet of orchids from the sindico at the end of the ceremony. I have attended many weddings in many places (and as the bride previously!) but none were so amazing as this.

Hi there again

It didn't spoil our day - nothing could have done that, it was just wonderful - but it was definitely noticeable. By the time I arrived the previous wedding had ended but they were having photos taken outside; when we came out there was another one waiting to go in. It was actually quite nice as we all wished each other well! - but it's definitely only a short service and you can't alter or add to it. :nah: That was our only disappointment as we would have liked to have some readings and maybe our own vows.

Would I do it again in Rome? Yes in that we just loved Rome and we had a wonderful meal - and the photos are just spectacular (we chose the Trevi Fountain to have our main ones done and it looks like we were the only ones there! - Pino just cleared everyone away!).

But, like you, I would now be torn because I know more about Italy and I've seen other possibilities. It really depends on what you feel in your heart you want. I might go for a more relaxed approach now, and invite a few more family members, because I know I could make accommodation arrangements for them in Le Marche which would be exceptional and because I know a wedding there would be traditional, more relaxed, and more rural Italian.

So - you takes your money and you makes your choice ... Again, let me know if I can help any more, wherever you decide to have your day. Wherever it is, it will be special. :yes:

Love

Cath xx

[quote=KarenR;92483]... In the end though we decided to use a photographer that she recommends having seen some of his work (he's a fashion photographer rather than a wedding snapper). [/quote]

So you fell for that old chestnut then! Half the photographers in italy call themselves fashion photographers. It's more of an image thing than anything to do with practical ability. A bit like comparing a fast-jet pilot to a 747 captain really: similar principles to the job but vastly different in practice and either crossing over into the other's territory could be disastrous. Most haven't shot so much as a fashion magazine spread in their lives however!

We shot a wedding at the Caracalla followed by the reception at the famous Hotel Hassler just a few weeks ago. The presidential suite there is around 4000 Euro/night (without breakfast!) However, it has a fantastic roof terrace all to itself over-looking the Spanish Steps. It makes for a lovely intimate setting for a meal if you can take the hit on the room rate. Tom & Katie had it for a week before their own wedding. [B][I]{MODERATION} Links removed as they are in signature[/I][/B]

Actually and with respect Skichi - in terms of Gabriella's photographer, the information is accurate. He is a brilliant photographer and he is a fashion photographer - if you want to see any of my photos let me know. They are the most amazing wedding photos anyone who has ever seen them have seen. I'm 54 years old and he made me look like a youngster! The shots were all completely unlike anything I've ever seen before, imaginative and fun, and we looked around literally dozens of photographers in the UK and Italy before we chose.

The Hassler is OK if you like that kind of thing - Gabriella did show us that too, but apart from the extortionate price it's very starched and formal. We wanted relaxed and intimate, and got it in bucketfuls.

So I guess you pays your money and you takes your choice! But do have faith in Gabriella - everything she says is absolutely accurate and you can have faith that she wil organise you exactly the wedding you want. :yes:

Good luck to anyone looking for a wedding in Rome, or any part of Italy!

I'd love to see the images. I've never, ever seen a fashion photographer photograph a wedding before. Even the celebrities don't use fashion photographers and tbh it's almost certainly as much due to the fact that fashion guys aren't interested as much as it's not their skillset generally to do it. To explain: fashion is generally all about the clothes and photographers love to use angles and bodyshapes which are not necessarily flattering. The advantage is that they use great models with great figures. Another difference is that with fashion on location, they can normally select a great set for their shots regardless of the light that exists there and then they bring in lighting to make it all work. Good wedding photographers have to work the other way around. You have to find where the light is and make use of what you have with the exception of perhaps small off-camera flash units. Your images have to be flattering and you normally have an extremely short time-scale to achieve your shots. Unlike fashion, there's no art director, there's no re-shoot option if it doesn't work.

I have one friend who shoots beautiful fashion work. It would take me an age to learn what he does consistently. Would he shoot a wedding? Not for all the money in the world - it scares him silly.

If you've found a good fashion photographer who also shoots weddings then I'm seriously interested. I believed I knew of probably all of the top wedding photographers in the world. I'm genuinely interested to see what he did that's so different.

Hassler starched? Seriously? That suite and roof-terrace is about as relaxed and informal a setting as I've ever seen. Even the children were enchanted by it all & the staff were fantastic - as you'd expect in (possibly) Europes best Hotel. I've worked weddings in many many stuff hotels, but this isn't one of them - hence why I guess it's so popular with celebrities.

Congratulations and best wishes!

Hi,
Just as an update, we decided to go with Gabriella for our wedding planning, and she is so lovely. We met her in November when we had a couple of nights in Rome and she has been really helpful, I'm not so sure we could have managed the paper work without her! One useful note on sending the paperwork by registered post to Italy. Our wedding planner likes to use DHL for sending important documents so that she can track them, but if you just go direct to DHL they said they charge £60, but we discovered Staples do DHL service points at some of their stores and we were only charged £20 for this service - quite a big saving!

Hi! I'm an Italian Wedding Planner and I live in Rome. To book a venue for a civil wedding in Rome you need to have all your paperwork done, so everything will be confirmed when you personally go at the office and book the date. They don't accept booking without paperwork.A wedding promise is required a couple of days before. European citizens usually don't need to go personally to their Embassy. A planner is advised because it is very hard to communicate in English with public offices here and the procedure is quite boring. If you decide to be helped by a planner please contact me, we also have quite a few locations to propose.
Ciao
Micky [B]{MODERATION} email address removed; contact via PM[/B]