We want to get married in lake garda italy any recommendations?

Question

either places to get married or wedding planners etc

Answer 1

Only got a minute to say, great choice. I love Italy as my Grandmother was Italian and I hope to marry out there one day too. I hope you have an amazing time and lots of people on here will come up with some great suggestions for you!

Answer 2

Congratulations on your wedding plans!

Getting married in Italy is both a wonderful way to start your lives together and very possible to do, but not quite as easy as some respondents make it seem. There is a lot of paper work to do and unless you speak Italian you will need some help along the way. You are also obliged to have a translator at your wedding for a legal service to occur. And you will need two witnesses who can either be people that you know or if you are coming to just do it on your own, there are services that will provide you with both a translator and witnesses.

Foreigners getting married in Italy almost always are required to have civil ceremonies. While there are some churches that will "marry" you, generally what they are really doing is giving a religious blessing to a civil marriage (which you can either do quietly at home or do in Italy). Even if you find an English-speaking priest (if you are Catholic) it is not so simple just to be married in an Italian church as you will need permission from a variety of church authorities in the U.S. and Italy.

The documents you will need for a civil ceremony include:

--An "atto notorio" which basically has witnesses declaring that you are free to be married and have not killed any previous spouses!! (yes, this is true) This can either be done at an Italian consulate in the U.S. or at a courthouse in Italy. The former is easy if you are close enough to a consluate.

--A "nulla aosta" which is basically permission from the U.S. authorities saying that as a U.S. citizen you may marry in Italy. This is done at the consulate which has jurisdiction over the Comune (city) in which you want to marry.

-- You must get the nulla aosta authenticated -- which means that an Italian authority needs to stamp the American document to make it legal in Italy

-- You must make an appointment with the Comune (city hall) where you want to be married for at least two days before the ceremony and present all these documents plus a passport. Other documents may be required, it is best to ask the Comune before you come. For example, if you are divorced you will have to bring divorce papers and they may need to be translated into Italian.

-- After the wedding if you want a marriage certificate that will be valid in the U.S. you will need to get it translated and then have that translation authenticated at the courthouse.

The best thing for you to do first is to contact the Italian consulate closest to you for information, as well as the American consulate in Milan if you are firm on being married in Lake Garda (I believe that is the jurisdiction).

As you can see, there is quite a lot to do and unless you have unlimited time to travel back and forth and speak the language well and know how to get around and what you are doing, it is best to get some kind of wedding planner. Unlike those in the U.S., I think that here in Italy they are relatively inexpensive and worth the cost.

About me: I was married in Italy and have planned numerous weddings for couples in Tuscany. I live in Florence and would be happy to help you out if you are interested in being married closer to me -- there are so many lovely spots here in Tuscany -- but unfortunately I am not able to travel to help you in Lake Garda. Please email me if you need any further information: [e-mail]

Answer 3

i got married in rome and the best recommendation i can give you is to go over yourself and organise the whole thing yourself as i did. i think you need to see the place you are getting married in a few times before you actually do it. visit the area, look at churches, maybe some priests speak english, maybe they might let you use the church if you have a priest in the family. look at hotels for the reception and take in some flowers so they know what you want and some pictures of ideas you have. you would probably have a good holiday there for the cost of a wedding planner, and lets face it, all the fun is in the planning.