10041 Help needed! Cant find a priest!

It may be helpful to check with the people who run the villa as they may have had similar weddings. Catholic priests have restrictions regarding this type of ceremonies and they may not be able to help. I guess that priests from other denominations may be scarce around Lucca but the people from the villa would know better what can be done. Best wishes,

It might be helpful to think about what ceremonial rite you would feel most comfortable with and if it's the catholic one the local diocesan bishop would be the first to contact, if the Anglican one is more your cup of tea then contact the Anglican Centre in Rome for help. Is the chapel consecrated? if so then the bishop could be involved in some way.

What I can already tell you is that to be married through the Catholic rite, at least one of you has to be baptised by the Church. You also need to attend a special "Marriage preparation" course and for this it is better to contact your parish at home. You will need Baptism certificates. Your marriage has to be announced in a Church a month prior to the ceremony, and the chapel has to be consecrates.... it probably is. These are some of the reasons why I mentioned before that Catholic priests have a lot of restrictions when it comes to perform a marriage ceremony. I would also advise you to contact your local church (any denomination) at home and get some guidance. Or perhaps the villa people know how to solve all these problems.

If I understand you correctly jessy you are getting married in a civil ceremony and are only looking for a blessing in the villa chapel. In that case you don't have to comply with any of the marriage rite requirements of the churches once you have a willing priest. Unfortunately the priest may mind which denomination you are from.

Maybe the villa owners would be the best to talk to about getting a local willing english speaking priest in to do the blessing.

Or maybe you could bring your own priest with you from home?

Or as a final option is there someone in your wedding party who would do it. You could write your own blessing and vows and even though you are already married (in the civil ceremony) you could have another wedding ceremony there. I was at a wedding last year where the couple wrote their vows and blessings and the father of the bride performed the ceremony. You know what the bible says:- "where two or three are gathered in my name...". If you are not particularly religious or don't belong to a particular church maybe that's the way to go. Otherwise there's a danger of a "rent-a-priest" element creeping in. Mostly the mainstream churches don't operate like that.

Thank you every one for your replies!! Sorry for my delayed responce but we have been away. I have contacted the villa and they cannot help. They are happy to help me with the civil ceremony but not with the priest. We have contacted the anglican centre in rome and are awaiting a reply. We are also contacting a wedding planner to see if they may be able to help with this one thing, if not we will look into finding a priest from home.

Thanks again guys you have given us back some direction when we were feeling rather lost!

Gala I have just realised that you are from Bagni di Lucca, the villa we are hopefully marrying in is in Borgo a Mozzano! Do you have any local knowledge of good photographers, florists etc??? We would really appreciate your local knowledge.

Hi Jessy
We were maried in Bagni di Lucca 2 weeks ago.
There is a florist called Girasole opposite the Circolo dei Forrestieri in Bagni di Lucca. I had my wedding bouquet from here and also my husbands button hole. I picked my own flowers and browsed through a couple of books and they made up the most beautiful bouquet. The bouquet and button hole cost 50euros, so very affordable.
Best of luck for the big day. it will be the most amazing experience.

[quote=jessy;94252]Gala I have just realised that you are from Bagni di Lucca, the villa we are hopefully marrying in is in Borgo a Mozzano! Do you have any local knowledge of good photographers, florists etc??? We would really appreciate your local knowledge.[/quote]

Hi Jessy, sorry for the delay, I did not see your mail. Anyway, Primavera has given you good advice regarding the florist. There is also a good photographer in Bagni, on the main street as well. He specialises in weddings.
I know a lady who does sewing for ceremonies. Perhaps you may need help. Just let me know.
If you see that you do not get a quick response, perhaps I missed your message. In that case, send me a PM.
If I can think of anything else, I will let you know.
Best wishes,

Further to my previous mail, the name of the photographer is "Foto Pastrengo". Have a look at what they offer:
[url=http://www.fotopastrengo.it/]Foto Pastrengo[/url]

[quote=jessy;94250]Thank you every one for your replies!! Sorry for my delayed responce but we have been away. I have contacted the villa and they cannot help. They are happy to help me with the civil ceremony but not with the priest. We have contacted the anglican centre in rome and are awaiting a reply. We are also contacting a wedding planner to see if they may be able to help with this one thing, if not we will look into finding a priest from home.

Thanks again guys you have given us back some direction when we were feeling rather lost![/quote]

You could try one of the many Waldensian (Protestant) churches in Tuscany. Go to this webpage...
[url=http://www.chiesavaldese.org/pages/contatti/dove_trovarci.php]Chiesa Evangelica Valdese - Unione delle chiese Metodiste e Valdesi[/url]
... and write 'Toscana' in the search window.
The Waldensian pastors are much more likely to speak English than the Catholic priests, and there are also lay preachers who may be able to help if the pastors are too busy.

Giangiacomo

Congratulations premavera!! Im glad you guys had a fantastic wedding. We have just returned from a weekend in Lucca (Valdattavo) to look at a few wedding venues. We did not have time to check out florists etc but are planning to return in a couple of months to sort those things out. We had a fab time and the wedding is starting to feel a lot more real now!!

Gala, thank you also for your suggestions. I had a look on the website of the photographer and was really impressed.

As I said we were visiting wedding venues and we have set our heart on a villa near borgo a mozzano, the only problem being that the only date they can give us is august 14-21 so we are concerned about ferragosta. I dont suppose anyone could tell us how long italy will shut down for and if we are likely to have problems booking wedding services (such as florists)?? We are also worried about arriving on the 14th and not being able to buy any provisions!

Thank you!!

Thank you Giangiacomo also for your post. We will bear that in mind. We are just waiting for a reply from a priest so if they decline we will follow your advice.

Businesses offering services for weddings and celebrations work their own hours. You are going to have to talk to each one of them individually, giving them a definite date. Avoid the 15th of August, as this is the big festivity.