Just to give an idea; for Italians, the civil marriage must be preceded by banns, and when banns terms are expired there is a preparatory meeting at the comune where the marriage will take place; the meeting is to clear some important matters (like patrimonial status of the couple and checking all the documents are in order). This whole procedure may take a month (8 days including two Sundays are needed for the banns). Foreigners may be exempted from banns but not from the meeting, and will need documents from their residence consulate; I guess marrying in a small comune (like in the Dolomites) may be faster, but the procedure is still there and you have to be fluent in their language (in the Dolomites it may be German) or have a translator. After that a permit to marry is issued, you must find an empty spot in the comune calendar with a free mayor or councillor to officiate the marriage. The ceremony is allowed only at the place designated by the comune (usually the town hall). A wedding planner knowing the people at the commune may be very useful to set matter straights, but do not underestimate the needed work. I have heard about non Italians that managed to compress the procedure in a few days but never assume you can choose dates at your convenience; it is the other way round. - If the marriage is a Catholic one, the civil procedure is duplicated by a religious one; they are very similar, you need papers from your parish priests and the papers (including banns, if needed) will be collected by the local parish priest. A single Catholic ceremony will be considered valid from the civil side, but this means that both the comune and the parish priest must follow a common procedure; while you will need a Catholic priest (any is good) to officiate the marriage, the parish priest must be present as well as he has the proxy from the comune. - Residents have enough time to sort out the double procedure, this is again where a wedding planner can give a good evaluation of time needed and difficulties to navigate.
