Weddings in Rome

[cathnmike]

Hi everyone

I'm really pleased about this new Forum as I suggested it ... I just hope I've got it right and that it will be well used.

Mike and I were married last September in Rome. We had an absolutely fantastic day and I would recommend it to anyone. However we learned an awful lot as we went along which I would have given a lot to know about at the time (and it would have saved time and money!) so my idea was, let's those of us who have done it, help those who want to or are about to, and let's all share memories.

There's so much I could say but I'll just start things off with a general comment - our wedding seemed to create such a lot of happiness and good humour not just for our guests but for everyone we came across that day. One of my abiding memories is returning to our hotel via the Spanish Steps long after midnight and everyone without exception wishing us "Auguri" as we went; another is traffic stopping to allow our videographer to stand in the middle of one of Rome's busiest roads to get a shot of the horse and carriage we hired ... Everyone, whether it's in a village or a city, will share in your day (which I have to say from experience doesn't always happen in England) and that makes it so very special.

My one piece of advice would probably be - get a wedding planner! It's not as expensive as you might expect (I never thought I'd have a wedding planner, I'm just an ordinary person not a film star!!) and it takes away so much of the hassle (particularly all the bureucratic bits) without stopping you planning those things you want to plan yourself.

Please tell me how I can help, anyone who wants it. If I can, I'll post a photo of our Rome wedding later. I have absolutely no regrets about that day, even though at times beforehand I wanted to tear my hair out.

Cath.

[sue h]

Hi Cath
Your post was interesting and sounded like a fab day for you. We plan to get married in May in Abruzzo as we know the region and as our guests will probably extend into a holiday, in this region there are mountains, a seaside and medieval villages..and less tourists! plus if guests want to go to Rome it is not that far away. We have booked a restaraunt with accomodation (a renovated farmhouse in the mountains -date yet to be fixed as waiting for the town hall to get back to us)We have had quotes from wedding planners but to be honest I think it is very expensive and I realise there wil be alot of red tape but with the help of a couple of italian people we know we hope to do this ourselves. My friend is making silk flowers to take with us, and another friend is doing the place settings, invitations etc we have a party of about 25! The only things we have to book now is a photographer and a legal interpretor. I would be interested to know what pitfalls you came across by not using a wedding planner. I would love to see your wedding photo. Thanks alot Sue

[Fanine]

Hi
I got married in Abruzzo this June - at Loreto Aprutino - church wedding followed by reception for 80 people. I had help in that my husband's parents and sister and her family all live in Montesilvano.
Please ask any questions you may have. It was incredibly cheap for us - real flowers etc - wonderful cake - the works - make sure people are not making it more expensive for you if you do not have italian relatives! You should get real flowers as they are truly beautiful there and so well arranged.

[Skichi]

Hi folks,

Just to add to the Rome thread - we photographed a wedding in Rome on Thursday and whilst I'm always hesitant to recommend anyone else's services, can I just say that the wedding planners who organized Matthew & Denise's day did an amazingly professional job. There are hundreds of back-bedroom wedding planners out there but these people most definitely aren't in that category.

If you wanna see a couple of images from their day or find the wedding planners - check out our blog. (I didn't want to post their link here and then get accused of spamming ;)

Just a thought though from a photography point of view: if you're thinking of getting married in a place like Rome, do you REALLY want to shuttle about all over the city having a post-card snap taken infront of various tourist attractions? The light can be awful, you're surrounded by tourists (and their dripping ice-creams) and you're going to spend a significant part of your day navigating Rome's traffic-laden roads INSTEAD of spending time with your guests. The tourist thing can be done anytime and 'quality' photographs are almost impossible in these environments without a lot of time to spare, the sun in the right place etc etc. The final risk is this: you WILL attract a lot of attention - not all of it desirable!! When your photographer has his pockets picked whilst working in a crowd, or his bag strap cut & bag grabbed with ALL of your wedding ceremony images in it - how will you feel? This happened to one photographer I know of personally and we were robbed ourselves in similar circumstances in Barcelona - although we didn't lose the wedding images! Kit is replaceable - those images most definitely aren't - and all for a post-card photograph? Ouch.

Just some thoughts - be careful out there!

- Andy

[Dream Academy]

"There are hundreds of back-bedroom wedding planners out there but these people most definitely aren't in that category."
"Just some thoughts - be careful out there!
This is a very true observation made by Skichi.
So many promise that they can do it all for you including arranging/booking hotels and transport.
They then also proudly proclaim that they are not a tour operator or travel agent as if being so is some sort of handicap to being a wedding planner.

What they are really admitting to is being illegal in what they do.

I can see where they are coming from in that many of the large UK tour operators do offer weddings abroad as part of their more general and often very large programme.
Often the wedding is inserted as a kind of "excursion" within your 2 week package holiday.

We took out the TO license inorder to operate in the wedding industry and offer other packages such as honeymoons, gourmet tours, classic car hire etc because they all have a kind of common thread.
No basic "bucket and spade holidays" offered as we want to specialize in one related industry.

When I think of the money we could save by operating from the back bedroom-----Skichi you have given me a good idea there!!
But on second thoughs I prefer to sleep well at night.


Inorder to book hotels and transport, Italian law requires you hold a legal T.O. license and to have the appropriate insurance policies too.

Failure to do so could result in your day being spoiled and all for the sake of a few pounds more.
The difference is often minimal and sometimes even less.

Those of us who take the time and effort to hold the legal documents show that they have your interests at heart from the outset.

Just as in Skichi's field as a photographer it is so important to find someone who will point out the pros and cons to you along with the nicer things like venues flowers etc.

I can't stress enough the need to do a sourcing tour first and again a good planner will spend time (lots of it) taking you to see as many places as possible rather than a quick 2 hours showing you their "standard one size fits all wedding packages".
Someone who will take you to meet and to speak with your photographer for example so that they can share their professional knowledge and tips with you regarding location, lighting etc so excellent points raised by Skichi.
So again a good question to ask any wedding planner is just how much time they will spend with you on your sourcing trip and what they wil let you see.
It is just as important to choose your sourcing tour with care as it is to chosse your actual wedding details , from there the rest should slide easily into place.


Anyway, for all of you looking to plan a wedding in Italy----Good Luck and hope you have a special day.

Italy Magazine is doing a great job with their Dream Italian Weddings and Honeymoons and also by having forums like this where the pros and cons can be made much clearer to you all.

[Skichi]

I understand where you're coming from and it's all about professionalism.

One thing though - remember that many companies offering wedding planning services - especially for UK-based couples - do so as UK companies, based in the UK and working in accordance with UK regulations; we know of, and have worked with several.

In reality, most wedding planners that we've worked with don't actually book anything. They advise and assist the client to make their own bookings. This way, the clients can be covered by their own wedding insurance - which is generally quite flakey in respect of wedding planners and the services they offer unfortunately. If you make the bookings yourself and it doesn't work out, you stand a much better chance with the insurance company.

Ciao!
-- Andy

[Dream Academy]

Skichi even UK based Tour Operators have to go through a local agent based in Italy.
The big ones such as Thomson, My Travel etc are no exception.
They need to pass their bookings to another TO or travel agent who is based in Italy and who acts on their behalf.
So more costs as a third party is involved.

It all depends on what your insurance will cover you for.
Cover is more for services cancelled by either party or in the case of accident etc.
They don't tend to cover or take part in any problems relating to lack of hot water or poor quality food.

This is where someone local has more weight in that they have usually worked with and have the language skills to discuss and resolve any probems at the source and without long and lengthy insurance companies who very often find it difficult in such cases.

[Nicola]

Originally Posted by Dream Academy

Skichi even UK based Tour Operators have to go through a local agent based in Italy.
The big ones such as Thomson, My Travel etc are no exception.
They need to pass their bookings to another TO or travel agent who is based in Italy and who acts on their behalf.
So more costs as a third party is involved.

I can also confirm that that is how a lot of tour operators work. I used to work for what's called a "ground handling agency" or "wholesale travel agency" in Scotland that handled most of the big tour operators accounts across Europe. Basically your Alpitours and Falcon (huge Italian and Swiss operators) used to book most of their Scottish holidays through the company that I worked for. So I wouldn't be surprised if it works the same way for UK tour operators booking in Italy. In fact I think that Thomson are now owned by TUI, a German tour operator (although I stand corrected if anyone knows different) and TUI were one of the big clients that we used to work with.

[Dream Academy]

Yes Nic, Thomson are now part of the Tui Group.
I used to work for Thomson.
Which part of Scotland are you from?

[Skichi]

Yes, I realise that they may use Italian tour operators - but then it's the Italian tour operators who have the appropriate licences. But, for many couples, 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 doesn't change the fact that many outfits will simply provide the means for couples to book the services themselves. Having married in Italy myself recently I'm well aware of the potential pitfalls in this respect but in reality it's little different from doing it yourself in the UK - and how many people use wedding planners to book their hotels etc. over there? The risks are similar regardless of where you do it.