Weddings in Rome

[Dream Academy]

"the ability to hold someone accountable in their own country (and language) offers them a much greater chance of holding them accountable should something not go as planned! "
That could be a pretty naive way of thinking if at the end of the day a UK based company has little or no contacts in Italy and no legal documents then they are as we say "up s*** creek without a paddle".

Sorry to sound so harsh but the reality in Italy is not as simple or the bed of roses that we may think it is.

[Skichi]

OK, then look at it this way: you deal with a Russian wedding planner for your wedding in Moscow and it all goes wrong. How easy do you think it would be for a 'British' couple to pursue that planner legally in a Russian court? Now turn it around and make it a British wedding planner based in Britain but using Russian contacts for the same wedding. When it doesn't work out, how much simpler do you think it would be to pursue the company in the event of a claim.

In the photography world it's very very common for Americans (and British for that matter) to bring a photographer with them - often at a horrendous extra cost. Why do you think that is? There are many many very good photographers over here - the logic though is quite simple if you think 'worse-case scenario' and 'legal process'.

Personally, when it comes to all of these scenarios, I believe it's a very individual decision that you must make based on sound judgement & trust! There are risks regardless.

[Dream Academy]

However, you go the one thing to do with any wedding planner is ask the important questions and to see the legal license they have to operate.
This includes their insurance policies which they have.
If they are UK based also ask who they use as their local agent in Italy in the case of hotels etc.
If they are unwilling to give this info it probably means they don't have it and so give them a big miss and look for someone else would be my advise for a stress free time if things go wrong.

[Bev Davies]

I felt more comfortable using a planner based in the location I am getting married in. We are not using her for any of the accommodation booking etc as we travel so much it is easier to do it ourselves.

[cathnmike]

Just to add my views here about using or not using wedding planners etc. and if so an individual or a company.

We found our planner in Rome via the British Consulate website which was probably a bit hit and miss, though we did make sure she was certified (or whatever you call it!) and she was absolutely brilliant. She did all the paperwork, arranged everything using local suppliers for flowers, hair, horse and carriage, the lot. When something didn't work out, she gave us alternative suggestions. She e-mailed us with updates all the time, met with us whenever we wanted and for as long as we wanted; when we said we had chosen the venue we wanted although she had never worked with them before she immediately made contact with them and set everything up exactly as we wanted; she was with me on the morning of the wedding to soothe bridal nerves and to make sure I was happy and relaxed, did all the translation at the ceremony, stayed with us and the photographer to do things like arrange my dress, came to the venue to make sure everything was to our satisfaction ... I could go on!!

In short, she was a local Italian woman, not a company, had excellent local contacts, made sure everything was exactly as we wanted, and didn't cost the earth (we are just ordinary people not rich superstars and I never thought we would be able to afford a wedding planner!). After it was all over she kept in touch to let us know where things were up to with the photos etc.

So I would always say do check people out but don't automatically assume that companies do it best.

If anyone wants her contact details I am more than happy to give them if you PM me, and obviously would highly recommend her.

The issue about photos ... all I can say is that we wanted to marry in Rome because we love the place and we wanted our photos to be of Rome as well as of us. So yes we did have them taken at 'touristy' places, but we had a brilliant photographer who made sure that the place was just the backdrop for us - we were the prominent part of the photo. He came with an assistant so there was never a problem about anyone stealing from him as I firmly believe the assistant (and our wedding planner!) would have laid them out flat! He was obviously used to dealing with that kind of issue as well as with clearing sites of tourists so the photos look like we were all alone by the Trevi Fountain, for example! They are so unusual and beautifully crafted. The fact that there were a lot of people round the sites we had photos taken only added to the day for us - we are on dozens of Japanese and American holiday snaps! Everywhere we went complete strangers wished us well, clapped, sang at us - I will never forget it.

So, each to their own, but for me if you marry in a wonderful place like Italy the photos need to capture the place too. Photos of smiling wedding guests, no matter how nice, can be taken anywhere!

I wish I could do it all again!!!

[HelenMW]

Going back to the original message- we also got married in Volterra, Tuscany (5 years ago today as it happens) & we organised the whole thing ourselves with the help of a local translator. This was partly due to cost as I really objected to minimum packages involving flowers and other things I didn't want from a wedding company as I preferred to choose my own, partly due to to over inflated costs for venues ( a 300% mark up in one place) but also because there were limited place you could get married and Volterra wasn't one of them. The staff at the British Consulate were fantastic and everything went like clockwork. We had a fabulous day and brought the town to a complete standstill, especially as my husband & his best man arrived on horseback- the entire staff of the comune watched us get married and we received a bouquet of red roses from the comune (much appreciated, but as I'm from Yorkshire my poor godmother almost had an angina attack!). The photographer got permission for us to have our photo taken in the Roman ruins-just one of many amazing moments from that day. Anyway forgive me for getting nostalgic but, although it is not an option that will work for everyone, you can have a beautiful do it yourself wedding, ensuring that you get exactly what you want within your budget

[Dream Academy]

A good planner will also help you get the best from your budget (that should be their first priority really) the local knowledge and contacts in the case of a good and respected legal planner will have better prices on most items than someone walking in for the first time.
That's very much an Italian way of life really.
300% mark ups will come from the back street boys out to make a quick kill not to make your budget stretch as far as it can.