Has anyone planned a wedding in Tuscany

Doreen,

Holding weddings in Italy seems to be very popular, and it's great that you're getting an early start to the process as the bureaucracy can be "challenging". That will also allow some time to get the travel funds together, as it probably won't be cheap. I don't know what's involved in holding civil or religious weddings in Italy?

I encountered a fairly large wedding on my last visit to Cortona (Under the Tuscan Sun) with a group from the U.K. I had a nice chat with both the bride and groom, as well as others in the wedding party. I also got some nice photos of the group on the steps of the town hall (which I believe was also used during the production of the Andre Rieu Tuscany concert that was filmed there a few years ago - one of my favourites!).

There are lots of websites covering this, so you might have a look at:

http://www.slow-dreams.com/

http://www.weddingsitaly.com/

http://www.distinctiveitalyweddings.com/

http://www.chicweddingsinitaly.com/

http://www.exclusiveitalyweddings.com/

http://www.italyweddings.com/

I've never used any of these services, but you can peruse the websites and see if anything appeals to you. The staff on these websites will likely be able to take care of things like chefs, photographers, hotel recommendations, etc. so if you find a good one it will be "one stop shopping".

Congratulations to your daughter and future son-in-law!

Happy travels!

Thanks for your help! I will definitely check these websites out!

Doreen,
Please look at http://www.borgorapale.it/

I can't imagine a more perfect place for a Tuscan wedding. The farm sits up on a small mountainside overlooking the Tuscan hills. The owners Giselle and Fortunato are wonderful hosts, and I know they have had several weddings in the past. I would first e-mail then follow up with a call. They both speak fluent English as they lived in the states during the early 60's.
Hope you have good luck with your quest and give your daughter our congratulations.

Gerri,
Thank you so much for responding. As you can see I havent gotten alot of responses so we will definitely look into your suggestion. I will relay the info to my daughter :)

Worth mentioning, but if you get into the planning and costs or paperwork to get to the point of making you rethink things, you might forego the "Official" paperwork in Italy and satisfy that with a civil ceremony in the US either before or after...leaving Italy for a purely ceremonial experience. Maybe not as romantic, but serves th purpose.

Agree with the previous poster. Get the legal ceremony done first, and just have the unofficial ceremony/reception done in Italy. If you're Roman Catholic, get the Priest here to sign the papers and bring them with you, and I'm sure you can get the Priest there to officiate.

Thanks to all who have replied - I used this board a few years ago to plan our vacation but I am finding the thought of planning a wedding a little overwhelming! Your suggestions are very helpful - get married in the states first or best option would be to have a priest sign papers and have ceremony in Italy. Again many thanks

There are a couple of hotels in Montone in Umbria which offer wedding services. Montone is a delightful medieval walled town, quiet and with lovely views. We stayed in the Hotel de Capitano which is from the 14th century and beautifully renovated. The owner is a trained chef and we had a fabulous dinner there. There is another hotel (can't remember the name) but I think it is a bit bigger and looks as if it has lovely grounds.

Hi Doreen,
my best friend last year got married in a wonderful farmhouse called Villa Podernovo in the province of Siena. I spent there only a weekend due to work commitments but the closest relatives spent the whole week and had a great family vacation. The venue especially at night was wonderful and the service provided was excellent. My friend and his bride didn't need to contact a wedding planner because the owner of the Villa and her assistant organized the reception with a great attention to details and assisted them in every step.
I would strongly suggest you to have a look at their website
www.villapodernovo.it

Good luck ;)
J.

That's a good idea to have a wedding in Tuscany, but I don't have such big budget, What a pity. Wish you have a good time.

Hi Doreen! Have you found much out? My fiancé and I are looking get married in Italy in Aug/Sept 2015. I traveled to Italy a lot in college and lived in the Bergamo area for three summers. Ideally, I would like to stay in Northern Italy, therefore, it is easiest for guests to come in and out. I am not sure how many of our friends and family will be able to attend but hopefully 20-30. We are coming from the mid-west. I have looked at several of the lakes around Milan and would also love Cinque Terre. Tuscany isn't as appealing to me, as it is just long stretches of gorgeous land. We are in our mid-late 20's and want more of an active, exciting, loving city. Sorrento and Almafi coast seem to far in Southern Italy for our guests to travel to other countries after. Thoughts? Any suggestions?? Best of luck! -Kelsey

I went to Italy about 5 years ago as the photographer for a US couple that were getting married in Italy. They stayed at a wonderful B&B just outside of Certaldo Alto. I can't remember the name but could find it out if necessary. It was beautiful, had a pool, wonderful outdoor space with a beautiful gate, etc. and across the street was the vineyard. It was a photographic dream... and the bride was beautiful. They dreamed of getting married and honeymooning in Italy but one of the set of parents was unable to travel, so their decision was to have their wedding in Italy by themselves. She had a gown, etc. and 3 friends who traveled with me helped out. One helped assist me with photos and the other two were their witnesses:) I do not believe they were married in a civil ceremony here first, but I might be mistaken. We did all the beautiful and romantic pictures of the couple. They had the wedding in a lovely church in Certaldo Alto and went next door to a restaurant for dinner. Since no family or friends attended, we put together a slide show of the wedding, etc., complete with music and scenic images of the surrounding areas. They also had their album, but the slideshow was presented at the wedding reception they had after they returned home to the US. It allowed the family to see their wedding in Italy and share in the beauty. She had lovely flowers and I am not sure how she found the florist, but again, I could find out more details if you need. Budget was important to this couple as well, but the one thing the bride decided not to skimp on was the photography. She did not want to have a beautiful wedding and not have the images to remember it. (a shameless plug to hire the best professional photographer you can)