local guides in Venice and Rome

Are you looking for a personal guide - meaning no one along but you and your husband - or are you OK with small groups? There are a few small-group tour operators in Rome (and they do Venice as well) that have been very highly rated by forum posters whom have used them. Some of the most popular are:

https://www.walksofitaly.com
https://www.contexttravel.com
https://www.througheternity.com
https://theromanguy.com

Yes, they all have websites - which I've linked above and are what you'd use to book your tours - and they're all perfectly legit so nothing to worry about. :O)

Editing to add: this private guide for Rome comes highly recommended by respected poster Laurel (who lived in Rome for several years) and others who've used her services:
Sonia Tavoletta
[email protected].

We hired Erika Cornali as a private guide when we were in Venice last year and really enjoyed our tour. She was very knowledgeable, personable and gave us a very interesting tour.

https://bestveniceguides.it/en/guida/erika-cornali/

Corine Govi and Elisabetta Morelli did a great job for our group last year in Venice.

www.toursbylocals.com should offer you plenty of highly qualified guides

For your time in Rome, the well-known and highly regarded Francesca Caruso [email protected] is a fabulous option for private guide services. Among her Roman colleagues you should also check for their availability: Ilaria Ceccarelli [email protected], Alessandra Mazzoccoli [email protected] and Marta Marsili [email protected]. I have had the pleasure of Francesca's inspiring guiding on 2 different RSTs, thrilled with Ilaria on 1 RST and had a fantastic private tour of Galleria Borghese with Marta this past May. For small group tours, I heartily recommend Tours by Roberto toursbyroberto.com for your Florence time and I am a big fan of Walks of Italy, having enjoyed a number of their Florence and Rome tours. Have a great time planning and best wishes to the happy couple.

Confirming Kathy's recommend of Sonia Tavoletta. Having a private tour of Ancient Rome and the Vatican is an amazing experience. Makes the best use of your time if you have the budget.

hey hey cajuncarrier
how fun for a first trip to italy with more to come!! you'll have so much fun and fall in love and plan your next trip on your flight back.
you will get lots of answers here about guides and other things you are looking and hoping for.c
how long will you be in venice? walk the back canals, stay away from crowds during day and enjoy the ambience evenings. walk around the back street and find a place to eat away from touristy places
couple others to check out:
sightseeingtoursitaly.com click all tours then venice
streaty.com has tours in venice and florence
eatingeurope.com ( if you want this try PORTO10 for discount code) check about "the markets of florence) i love to walk thru markets that have anything and everything, always looking at pasta or packaged sauces, spices
schezzini.it alessandro does a cichetti pub crawl. email him and he'll inform you whats available. its wine, appetizers and history of venice.
marketsofrome.com is on your own to walk around the markets, have a drink or lunch, so much to see.
oldfrascati.com does a wine tour about 30 minutes from rome. see whatout in the in the country , known for their white wine.
withlocals.com has 2 day trips "beautiful countryside day trip: castelli romani. takes you around lake nemi, it's history and known for wild strawberry, the pope's summer home and gardens, stop at ceralli.it family owned bakey/pizza oven and the "best" porchetta ( nonna is 93 years old and still bakes. (lacucinaitaliana.com/nonna roseanne'spupazza frascatana) or a day in calcata: picturesque bohemian town.
couple of beyond rome and it's crowds to hidden gems.
whatever you decide enjoy your time, have a glass of vino and lets us know how you did.
aloha

Thanks to all for the replies and great suggestions. We have 8 traveling in our group so that alone is a small group. We plan on spending 3 nights in Rome 4 in Florence and 2 in Venice. Just made arrangements for airline tickets. Now I'm super pumped and excited to go. I will definitely look into all of these suggestions from each of you. I really appreciate it.

We have 8 traveling in our group...

Ah, that adds to the picture! Splitting the coast amongst 8 would make a private guide more affordable. :O)

I would mention that while a guide can definitely be a bonus for certain attractions (Vatican Museums, Colosseum/Forum/Palatine) you don't really need one for everything if willing to do some reading in advance or using self-guided printed or audio tours. Still, as it looks like you haven't allowed much time for Rome (4 nights/3.5 days is my recommended minimum for that one), just hitting a couple of highlights is probably all you'll be able to squeeze into your 2 days, if those most-visited highlights are on your list. Keep in mind that heavy crowds and heat are likely to be factors on the physical wear-and-tear scale.

Florence is a gold mine for anyone interested in Renaissance art and architecture so unless those don't trip your collective triggers, please don't short it in favor of too many day trips out of town?

I do not have a specific recommendation for a guide but I suggest that you hire a licensed guide in Italy. Italy requires guides to be licensed but there are many who offer their services without a license.

We have used Marta Marsili twice in Rome and will be using her again in April.

http://www.guidedtourofrome.com/

She does a great job!