In your minds eye when you picture your wedding day it all starts with the ceremony. Walking down the aisle, exchanging your vows and your first kiss as a newly married couple.
That picture that you hold for your wedding day and how you would like it to unfold will be key when determining the location of your wedding ceremony. Every couple’s image of this will be different when they think about how their ceremony will feel and where they will be standing at the moment they say ‘I do’. Some want an open air location to make their declarations, others are looking for somewhere distinctive and elegant. Based on our initial discussions, I can provide you with a selection of ceremony locations that I believe will best meet your requirements but more importantly your dreams.
If it is possible for you to come and visit Lake Garda I would be so happy to arrange site visits, visiting each of the locations that you are interested in.
The majority of ceremonies that I organise are civil wedding ceremonies but I have been lucky enough to also plan catholic weddings and many symbolic ceremonies which are becoming more popular along with a few Indian weddings which are spectacular.
What is the difference in the types of ceremony?
A civil wedding ceremony is a legal one. This means that it it legally recognised both here in Italy but also back home in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Holland, Poland & America depending on where you call home. If you are registered as resident in a country other than those listed above please check with me about validity.
A catholic ceremony is held in a catholic church and can be both religious and legal at the same time. In order for this to happen one or both of you should be catholic and the place that you start that process is with your local priest.
Symbolic ceremonies are gaining in popularity for various reasons. One is the complete freedom to hold your ceremony wherever you like and for the ceremony itself to be entirely of your own design in terms of what is read out and the structure of it. Another reason might be to have a small legal ceremony back home to include anyone who won’t be able to attend the Italian ceremony. A further reason might be to reduce the paperwork costs.
But as I mentioned I’ve also had some experience with Indian weddings and also Persian ceremonies, my aim is to provide you with whatever will best suit your dreams for your day.
Just to give you a small taster of what to expect…
In terms of ceremony locations they range from, amongst others, Lonato’s ancient hilltop castle with impressive lake views over Lake Garda and countryside behind too, the stunning, historic town hall in Salò, with its grand staircase and frescoed ceiling or if you prefer a more traditional setting we can also provide a symbolical ceremony in the picturesque church in Gardone. The license for legal ceremonies is more and more readily available in alternative locations these days such as the very exclusive Isola del Garda (Garda Island) surrounded by Lake Garda and it’s stunning scenery or the Torre San Marco and many more stunning locations.
Wherever you decide to get married I will be there beside you to make sure that everything runs smoothly and even the tiniest of details are covered and my favourite part is actually being the translator for you on the day during the ceremony. If a small wedding or elopement is your dream I can even provide witnesses for the ceremony.
The civil ceremony itself will be carried out by the local registrar, they read a paragraph in Italian and then I will translate in English so both you and your guests can understand. The paperwork required is the same for all of the locations and I will be able to assist you with each phase of that, making sure you know what’s required in good time. All you need to do is decide where so it is simply a matter of choosing which location suits you best and will be, for both of you, the perfect wedding.
I will bring your dream to life under the Italian sun.
