Married in Italy

Before you worry about your dress, you should research your options for getting married in Italy. Based on previous posts, it looks like it's difficult. People even have trouble just renewing vows. Use the post above this one to search for previous threads.

Thank you, I will do that now.

Here is a website that will tell you everything you will need to do....http://italy.usembassy.gov/acs/marriage/marriage-rome.asp

Kari Beth,

First of all, congratulations!

As neither you you has been out of the country before, I'd highly recommend pre-reading Europe Through The Back Door, as it will provide you with a lot of information for travelling in Europe. The "Rail Skills" chapter is especially important.

As you're going to "travel Europe for two weeks" after the ceremony, try not to fit too many places into the Itinerary. Two weeks is NOT a long time, and you may want to spend a few days in Rome after the ceremony. Keep in mind that you'll lose the first day in flight times and time zone changes (you'll generally arrive in Italy the day after you leave the U.S.). The last day will be spent on the flight home.

For such a short trip, using open-jaw flights would be a really good idea (for example, inbound Rome and outbound Paris).

Happy travels!

Thanks!! We are both very exciting.. We are considering staying in Hostels after the wedding night in the other parts of Europe to save money....any tips?? We have heard some co workers talk about staying in Hostels when they were in college traveling.

A lot (most?) people who do this end up getting a wedding planner to deal with the red tape and the language barrier (as you see in that link above there is lots of bureaucracy to deal with and you need a translator). Anyway, I bet the wedding planner can help you ship your dress home (or just do it for you).

Europe through the Back door will have info about lodging, including hostels. If you make sure to book in advance, and you avoid high season, you should be able to get private rooms at many hostels, which would be nicer on a honeymoon that sex segregated bunks.

I think the Naples consular office does a better job of explaining the process that the rome office does.

http://italy.usembassy.gov/acs/marriage/marriage-naples.asp

Is that Greenville SC where you are from?

If so there is an Italian consulate there. which make things easier for you on this end.

GREENVILLE (SC)- Consular Correspondent
1324 East North St
Greenville, SC 29607
Tel.:(864) 233-7703

If not, then here is a link to all the Italian consulates in the US.

http://www.ambwashingtondc.esteri.it/Ambasciata_Washington/Menu/Informazioni_e_servizi/La_rete_consolare/

Kari, I know that the thought of having a wedding in Italy sounds romantic and great, but the reality of it is different. The costs involved, the time it will take to get it organized with paperwork and everything is less romantic. Add in the fact that your family and friends won't be there, and you will have strangers be your witnesses. The amount of money you will have to spend on hiring a wedding organizer could be spent on having a nicer honeymoon in half-way decent hotels rather than in a hostel. Hostels are fine, but I can't imagine spending my honeymoon in them.

You might want to re-think your reasons for wanting to get married in Italy and weigh them against the reality of it. Can you be just as excited with a wonderful romantic honeymoon in Italy?

I'm with Jo on this one. The fact that you have never traveled outside the US is a big red flag. International travel has its own stresses and you can't imagine the challenges you will face being in a country where you do not speak the language. Add the pressures of a wedding on top of it, and you have a recipe for real disappointment. Save the money for the wedding facilitator, have a nice wedding at home, and then travel - perhaps to someplace like the UK, where you can hone your travel skills without a language barrier (well, not as much). You are just starting your lives together. Give your wedding/honeymoon a chance to be great!

I'm just going to address the luggage issue, because this one is close to my heart. We went to Italy on our honeymoon and about two weeks beforehand, my husband made arrangements for us to attend a papal audience in Rome. Because we were newlyweds, we received special seating and were presented to the pope for a personal blessing. However, we needed to wear our wedding attire. You better believe I packed my wedding dress!

I got lucky that my dress was easily packed, but you can strategize. Don't buy a puffy dress with lots of layers. You want a slimmer profile. Also, think about how wrinkled the fabric will get and choose something that will minimize it. If you want a "wedding dress" as opposed to a fancy dress for your wedding, also consider bridesmaids dresses in white.

We packed in one large-ish carry-on for our regular clothes and a garment bag with the dress and tux. The garment bag was then extra weight for the rest of our trip, but it was absolutely worth it. I wouldn't trust the Italian postal service to mail back my wedding dress to the States. You could consider an international shipper like DHL.