Every issue we’ll be asking a wedding expert to answer questions you’ve sent in about your forthcoming wedding or honeymoon in Italy. If you have a question you would like answered then send it in to editor@italymag.co.uk In this issue Helen Lord of Love and Lord offers some valuable advice on seeking out a wedding venue

Every issue we’ll be asking a wedding expert to answer questions you’ve sent in about your forthcoming wedding or honeymoon in Italy. If you have a question you would like answered then send it in to editor@italymag.co.uk In this issue Helen Lord of Love and Lord offers some valuable advice on seeking out a wedding venue

Dear Dream Italian Weddings & Honeymoons

I am getting married in Italy in the Summer of 2009. Although my fiancé and I adore Italy it’s really hard for us to decide where to go as we’ve had fantastic holidays in the north, south, east and west! All we do know is that we would like something different and I’m not keen on getting married in a venue that has 100 brides coming through the door every week. I work full time and am based in the UK so it’s not that easy for me to do more than a week of venue-finding but I’d like to give it a go. However I’m worried that although I might find the venue of my dreams they may not be able to help me find the best florists, caterers and so on. Have you got any advice please as to how I can find a really exclusive or unusual venue that will leave us with happy memories?
Rosalind Smith (by email)

Hi Rosalind

There are literally thousands of venues in which to hold your Italian wedding, of all shapes, sizes, locations and price brackets. There will be the perfect one for you somewhere but finding it may not be straightforward or quick.

As a company we have been researching Italian wedding venues for over ten years and still continue to find hidden gems. It’s a neverending process and takes a lot of hard work to ensure you always have the ‘best’ at your fingertips. So you make a very valid point about finding the right venue being probably the most difficult wedding decision you will have to make.

You have stated that you want the summer of 2009 for a wedding date. Now is a good time to start your search as Italian venues mostly do not have the facility to book more than 18 months ahead (let alone know what the prices will be) and availability shouldn’t be a problem.

The Important Questions

When searching for new venues we have a checklist that we use to ascertain its viability for our clients’ needs. It is very comprehensive and results in us finding amazing venues that our clients love.

Here are the criteria we use in considering a reception venue for one of our clients.

– How many people can eat comfortably there in proportion to the size of the room/venue?
– Can you eat outside?
– Is there a bad weather alternative location for the same number of people in the same venue? If not, are you prepared to accept the risk – no matter how small?
– How close it is to the town hall?
– Is there a view?
– Can you hire your own caterers? What’s the standard of the in-house catering/the approved catering companies?
– Will the venue actively help me with other parts of the wedding
planning?
– Will I have the venue exclusively?
– Can a religious ceremony be performed in the grounds (if applicable)?
– What is the hiring fee?
– Is there enough electric power for the DJ/band to perform?
– Is there a separate area for aperitifs prior to the meal?
– How close is it to the airport?
– Does it have the wow factor?
– Do the staff speak English?
– How easily can your guests find it?
– Is there accommodation on site? If yes, how many people can stay there?
– Can the accommodation be booked by the night or does it have to be by the week?
– How loud and how late can the celebrations be?
– Are there locations for fantastic wedding photographs?
– Is the venue and are the staff used to doing weddings?
– Does it do conferences? If the answer is ‘yes’ then it rarely makes a good wedding venue.
– Does it have the ‘feel’ of a wedding venue? (95% do not have this!)
– Finally (and most importantly) is it available for the date I want?

...if you want a weekend wedding, you have to find a venue with accommodation that can be booked for TWo to Three nights over a weekend

One of the most important criteria in deciding your Italian wedding venue is the amount of accommodation on site, the price of it and if you can book it for a short stay. A lot of accommodation in Italy can only be booked weekly (usually from Saturday to Saturday). A wedding party will usually stay for only a few days, not a week, making this inappropriate for a wedding. Also the most popular day of the week for weddings is Saturday, which for weekly accommodation is the day that you either have to arrive or leave – hardly convenient!

Therefore if you want a weekend wedding, you have to find a venue with accommodation that can be booked for 2/3 nights over a weekend. Outside of the major cities this is not straightforward. At Love and Lord we actively seek these venues out. We also prefer to work with venues that only want to have a few weddings a year. This is to avoid a ‘wedding factory’ feel and also to ensure the venue staff know that the wedding is a special event and not a thriceweekly part of their job.

The Other Details

After finding the venue, you then need to find suppliers for photography, flowers, entertainment etc. Many venues will already have arrangements with some suppliers and will encourage, or force, you to use them. As a company we don’t generally work with venues that operate this policy because all the weddings at such a venue will broadly all be the same. At Love and Lord we firmly believe that as every couple is different then their wedding should be unique to them.

Doing the searching yourself takes up a lot of time, effort and money in all the trips that you will have to make. It could therefore be worth considering using a wedding planner as they will know a vast amount of venues (we deal with over 100 in Tuscany alone) and will quickly be able to identify the ones that match your criteria. Also if you don’t speak Italian or have specific knowledge of the marriage laws in Italy then again be prepared to put the hours in to make it happen. A wedding planner will of course be able to put all of this into action for you whilst you can retain decision-making control over the wedding.

Helen Lord
www.loveandlord.com