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You want to do what? Ideas for a Sicilian wedding....

Posted by (NC) on

hi there folks - hopefully my title grabbed your attention... my BFF decided she'd like to get married in Sicily. Her betrothed's grandparents are from Lentini (west of Siracusa) and after talking about possibly having their honeymoon in Italy, that has now become a destination wedding concept! as a dutiful MOH, I am trying to do some research, so help a sista' out pls!!
in any case, looking for some advice... on itinerary and any specific recs on accommodations along the east coast of Sicily. (separately, welcome all suggestions for all things wedding in Italy... if anyone has tips on photog, florist, caterer... but that is round two... )
The date is late June 2024. They are having a symbolic ceremony and looking for an accommodation (?Air BnB) that can take ~ 8-10 guests somewhere along the east coast between Taormina and Siracusa (reasonable driving distance to Etna, Lentini are key points...photo ops!!) - The idea is to spend ~2 weeks on Sicily, starting with the wedding days (arrive W/Th from U.S. and transit to location; Fr - set up day/ photo day/"rehearsal"; Sa - wedding ; Sun- chill ... so call it 4 nights / 3 days) , followed by sightseeing other locales on Sicily and then maybe (?) spend week 3 in Southern Italy somewhere TBD. so here are my questions (see my draft itin idea below) :

  1. Where would you stay for ~4 nights that has good /reasonable access ( we will have a car def!) to town/groceries, sights/day trips and would provide good options for a symbolic ceremony ... current ideas in the running are: an Air BnB with a large patio that is somewhere around Taormina /sea backdrop and mountain views; in the square/in front of church in Ortygia (who do we ask for permission?); at a winery on MtEtna (any ideas on one or more that does this ?)
  2. suggestions on flying into Catania vs. Palermo, vs taking the train in from ?(Rome or Naples?) - the ideal plan would be to get to the wedding locale asap after arriving, have the ceremony, then spend another ~7-10 days around Sicily - so logistically what makes the most sense is fly into Catania (or train?) and pick up car, then use car for sightseeing around Sicily, then drop car when we arrive Palermo and fly out of Palermo (or train?) to somewhere in Southern Italy (TBD - ideas?) for week 3
  3. any issues with pickup car in one town and dropoff in the other? (Catania - > Palermo)
  4. lets say we were trying to get to somewhere in Southern Italy.... obvious picks could be Amalfi/Sorrento/Naples/Pompeii but i also like the idea of Gargano/Vieste and Matera ?? (one or several) for week 3... would you fly from Catania or Palermo there or is there a reasonable train? - assuming we'd spend a full day in transit, we would either pick a spot there around Sorrento and use it as a base for day trips around the area i think or if we were renting a car anyway, is it practical to go to Vieste/Matera (3 days) and Sorrento(4 days) in a week?? - doesnt really leave any time for Naples tho' ... so does that make sense?

draft itin:
Day 1 - land Italy (Rome or Naples or onward to Palermo or Catania); get to Sicily and get car/ drive to somewhere between Taormina and Lentini
Day 2-5 wedding / short excursions for photo ops around Etna, Taormina, Lentini ; transit to Siracusa
Day 6-9 Siracusa / Ortygia (incl Lentini if wedding is near Taormina) ; transit to Agrigento
Day 10-11 Agrigento

Day 12-14 Palermo ; transit to ??
Days 15 - 18 Sorrento -> Pompeii, Amalfi, Capri ; transit Naples
Days 19-21 Naples; depart Naples to U.S.

Thanks all,

Iggie.

Posted by
883 posts

There’s a lot to go over here, and it feels like maybe you’re biting off a little more than you can chew. Focus on each segment of this separately. Settle the wedding business first, then figure out the rest. I mean, if you don’t get that right then the rest doesn’t matter. Are you responsible for guests vacation after the wedding, or is southern Italy your own personal reward? Cause that seems crazy for you to also organize. You should aim to keep plans as simple and easy as possible.

I have no specific advice for the wedding, but it feels like Ortigia would be a little cheaper and easier versus Taormina which would be a splurge. However, I get the sense Taormina has seen some destination weddings and you might find a hotel that would help accommodate this (for a price.) If you’re only finding accommodation for 8-10 people that’s pretty easy to pull off in either locale imo. Don’t pick something that requires driving everywhere. That’s a drag.

Don’t automatically assume you’re flying to Rome then Sicily. Flights often change planes elsewhere in Europe, book them as one trip. Catania is actually the larger airport versus Palermo, but they’re both small and easy to deal with. As for the rest of the trip, you could make a case for staying in Sicily the whole way. The first 5 days are basically going to be a wash. You’ll be focused on the wedding. So, then sightseeing-wise those next two weeks could easily be spent in Sicily. I love Amalfi Coast, but Taormina might scratch that itch. Taormina and Cefalu are actually better beach destinations than AC. I’m not convinced heading to mainland Italy should be part of the equation.

Posted by
763 posts

Whoa. First question for me is what is the wedding budget? You say all this and I see $$$ and full time wedding planning and travel agent roles for you. A wedding planner on the ground there would be a huge help to you. I’d suggest that you get that part of the trip under control first, then move on to the vacation itinerary. Have the bride and groom given any thought at all to the itinerary (or anything else)? They could help you a lot if they did a little research to narrow down the options for post wedding travel. It’s easy to spend a couple weeks in Sicily. Would that be an option? Certainly would simplify things for you (and probably be less expensive, too). Based on everyone’s travel reports and experiences with flights, accommodations and crowds alone this summer, June 2024 will come up awfully quickly. It’s not unusual for wedding planning in the US to take more than a year. You don’t have that much time and you’re trying to do it in a foreign country. You’ve got your MOH hands full. IMHO, it’s going to take a village to pull this off, starting with the bride.

Posted by
48 posts

Thanks ... it was getting overwhelming just writing it ;)

totally agree locking in a wedding locale is the first step- based on more searching/trip reports etc... best two options are either Siracusa/Ortygia or on the coast just south of Taormina -

*btw def she expects to get a local wedding planner, just thought might need to have a location in mind before engaging someone there, but looks like Sicily is compact enough(?) that the same person would be able to support regardless of where it was btwn Taormina and Siracusa?? checking into that !
*also apprec suggestion that maybe staying Sicily the entire trip is a better plan - and plan to return another time for S.It
(thankfully am not planning 3week tour for 8-10, but am planning to do my own touring after my wedding duties are done!!)
* thanks for heads up that Catania is bigger airport than Palermo- did not realize that- makes sense then to fly all the way there and then figure out transport to wedding location...

appreciate the insights..

Posted by
27142 posts

It will probably help if all attendees are young, but I'd still not plan anything important on the day after arrival. Some folks may still be dragging. For that matter, some might run into flight delays. I'd want to build in a nice, big buffer at the beginning to allow everyone to get acclimated.

Posted by
179 posts

Congrats to your sister. Sounds to me like your sister needs to be doing a lot of this research. We got married in Rome Italy years ago. First, she needs to know the logistics of actually getting married in a foreign country. We had to do paperwork in the states before 3-4 days of paperwork in Rome before the actual wedding. We were not Catholic and we did not want a civil ceremony. I'm sure things have changed a lot since our wedding 39 years ago. But, Yes you may need an Italian wedding planner to help navigate everything Italian.

Posted by
48 posts

Yes … Maid of Honor …
Wow - married in Rome sounds amazing !!
The good news is they don’t want a civil ceremony or religious ceremony in Italy . They will do that back here in US … so symbolic ceremony hopefully will not require all the paperwork … on the hunt now for wedding planners along east coast …

Ages are ranging … but good point - counting on not getting much done the first day … prob means we need to back up arrival by one day to W instead of Th now that I consider that … I’m usually good provided I get outside right away but can’t count on the whole group to do the same …

On a parallel path , thoughts on if it’s reasonable to do Ragusa and Agrigento As day trips from Siracusa or better to stay there a couple nights ?

Thanks
ig

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