In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[QUOTE=chris1001]We are thinking of getting married on lake Como in Spring 2006 and would like to hear from anybody who can offer advice or tips etc.
We understand that it is possible to rent Villa Balbianello for a blessing but that is all we know. Any contacts for advice would be greatly appreciated.[/QUOTE]
Hi and congratulations! I got married in Sardinia last year and didn't find it to be as much of an administrative nightmare as I'd feared. It does require alot of planning and it pays to arrive well before you plan to get married, if you can. Marrying a local helps because we then had no problems having a church wedding and developed good relations with 'our' priest ( I am not a catholic, but that didn't cause too many problems but mainly because my wife is. I did however have to i'nterviewed' to test my moral suitability, which was very bizarre. However, I'm guessing if you are both non-residents you will be getting married in the town hall so this isn't an issue.)
We had our reception in a large local agriturismo, which was just lovely. Very rustic (spit roasted pigs!) and the very local flavour of it really appealed to our English guests. It might be worth seeing if there any locally
I don't know the area you are talking of, so can't offer any local advice. My only real advice is - as with much in Italy - expect alot of paperwork and runninng around before the end and crucially develop good relations with whomever you have to deal with. This last point is not as obvious as it sounds, as in Sardinia at least dealing with bureaucrats requires alot of ego massaging and general 'i know you must be very busy' etc.
I understand that there are companies you can pay who will organise everything for the Italian wedding, but i'm guessing they must be very pricey. Anyway, if you are interested in gettng to know how Italy really operates there is nothing like trying to organise something public to test your mettle!
I'm not sure that my ramblings have helped, but if you have any questions you think I could help with just let me know.
Russ
We tend to break our journey home in Cernobbio, on Lake Como. The local hotels are very good, and I think several of them do weddings but they may be a tad on the expensive side. The best known is the Villa d'Este [url]http://www.villadeste.it/[/url] which is the hotel my wife wanted to use for my daughter's wedding. If your budget doesn't stretch that far, there are numerous good hotels around that side of the lake. We often use the Miralago in Cernobbio because it is easy to get to and has a stunning lakeside location and it's very reasonably priced and handy for a church as well.
IMO that side of the lake, Cernobbio, Menaggio and Bellagio on the other side is preferable to Como itself. Particularly at night when the views can be stunning. It is however also more expensive than Como itself in general.