Our services for bespoke Italian Weddings
With more than 22 years experience arranging holidays and tailor-made weddings in Italy, visiting the many diverse regions and staying in some of the most beautiful hotels; we know Italy intimately. We have discovered some of the most stylish venues for your wedding and our wedding planner can offer you recommendations on where to stay and how to create a unique Italian wedding to your exact requirements.
Our personalised service and flexible approach means that we can deliver any type of tailor-made wedding ceremony and reception to match your budget. We aim to take the stress out of planning your wedding in Italy and you
will benefit from personal assistance all the way through the planning process,
as well as during the lead up to the wedding and on the day itself.
From your initial enquiry, your dedicated Italian wedding planner will go through every detail with you and offer advice on venues, types of receptions, sample menus and honeymoon options, as well as discussing all costs. Whether it is a well known luxury hotel, a private villa or an intimate restaurant for a smaller party, we have a wide range of options to suit your taste and budget in many regions and towns in Italy. We can organise all aspects of your wedding day, from transport and accommodation to the civil ceremony and the bespoke wedding reception including the photographer, music, table arrangements and flowers, ensuring that you create the perfect experience for your special day.
We will provide you with the documentation you require to get married in Italy, will talk you through the legalities and the processes required prior to the wedding and will liaise directly with you to cover all aspects of your wedding day. All you have to do is decide where to tie the knot and what type of celebration you would like!
The Expressions Holiday Gift List
We offer a Gift List service where your friends and family can contribute to the cost of your wedding or honeymoon, or can organise and pay for a specific item for your wedding from the wedding bouquet to a spa treatment before the big day!
The benefits of our services
From the moment you call us there will be many aspects to be taken into consideration, and our dedicated wedding planner will go through your unique requirements with you and will create a list of options and prices. Below are some important points to consider when planning your wedding in Italy.
Travel
We can organise all your transport requirements from BA Club Class flights to a romantic trip on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. Private transfers, water-taxis in Venice, and car hire can all be arranged for you and your guests. We understand that different members of your party will wish to travel on different days, at different times and from different locations. We can, of course, organise a recce trip for you should you wish to go and look at venues in person.
Length of stay
With our completely flexible approach, we will quote for the wedding couple who need to be in Italy in advance and may wish to stay on for a few days after the wedding and for relatives who may wish to make the most of the occasion and have a holiday after the celebration, to guests who may wish to fly in just for a couple of days. Whatever the duration and however complex we can quote on separate arrangements for all your guests.
Party size
Whether you are planning a small, intimate wedding for 10 guests or a larger, more elaborate affair we will tailor-make our quotes for whatever party size you decide on.
What we include for a Civil Ceremony
The cost of the ceremony will vary, depending on the location, but we will include:
• The civil ceremony in the Town Hall
• An interpreter
• Fees for two witnesses
• The marriage certificate
• British Consulate documents and fees
• Assistance prior to and during the ceremony
• Administration fees with the Town Hall and Consulate
For religious and symbolic ceremonies, the costs will vary considerably and the options are less straight forward and therefore will differ from region to region depending on what you require. Find out more about wedding ceremonies and legal requirements.
Special touches to personalise your wedding day
There are so many different elements that you need to take into account when arranging your wedding. Working with a range of partners based ina variety of regions throughout Italy, we can ensure that your wedding day will run smoothly by using their knowledge of the area, local suppliers and venues. Below are just a few of the services we can offer, but these are by no means limited.
Catering and menus
In Italy there are so many options in terms of catering and menus, but each venue will offer sample menus for you to choose from and we will normally quote a price based on a 3 or 4 course wedding menu. Some caterers and restaurants can also provide a buffet menu for your reception, so if you would prefer this option, please do ask us for details.
Wedding Cakes
Many of the larger hotels have their own choice of wedding cakes. However, if there is something really special you would like, please do not hesitate to ask and we can source some excellent chefs with novel ideas who will create whatever your heart desires from a special ‘piece montée’ with choux buns piled on top of each other held together with a caramel mesh, to a classic three or four tiered creation with different flavours for different tiers.
Music
You will need to decide whether you would like music at the wedding reception and what type, whether you choose a string quartet, a harp, or background music, we can quote on whatever you prefer.
Photographer
Photographers are easy to arrange in Italy and usually charge a flat fee for the day, including a preview service of the images and up to 100 prints.
Hairdresser
Most hotels will have a hairdressing service and may even offer you a complimentary spa treatment as the Bride. Alternatively, we can arrange for a beautician/hairdresser to meet you at your hotel before the wedding day to try out different styles and make up and agree what style she will create on the day.
Decorations
Many reception venues include basic flowers and table decorations in the price, but should you require anything specific, such as special celebratory sugared almonds or sweets, please ask your personal travel consultant and we can liaise with the venue as to costs.
Classic or Vintage Cars
We can organise a range of different cars to take you to your wedding and from the wedding to the reception. These range from luxury saloon cars, to state of the art sports cars to a more sedate vintage car or even a horse and carriage!
Please call our Italian Wedding Planner on 01752 878022 for further information.
A Typical Venetian Wedding Day
Staying in the beautifully ornate Ca’ Sagredo Hotel, wake up to views of the Grand Canal and the early morning bustle, which sees only the Venetians going about their morning business and the market traders unloading their wares at the Rialto market on the opposite side of the Canal.
A beautiful pre-wedding breakfast is brought to you in your room, following which the personal hairdresser arrives to finalise the hairstyle of your choice. Then a full facial and manicure is in order and one of the helpful beauticians arrives to pamper you whilst the hairdresser sets to work on the Mother of the bride and your witness.
After a thoroughly relaxing facial and manicure it is time to get ready and you are left alone to dress with only your mother popping in to see the final result and to help with your make-up.
Once dressed, the hairdresser puts the finishing touches to your hairstyle before your private motor launch arrives to whisk you to the Palazzo Cavalli for the ceremony.
Your wedding assistant meets you and your fiancé at the Palazzo and explains again the order of ceremony and introduces you to your interpreter.
The small family party and your witnesses are waiting for you in the magnificent ceremonial room and the windows open onto the Grand Canal.
Once the ceremony is finalised the photographer arrives and takes pictures of you on the balcony with the Rialto Bridge in the background. You then proceed to the private landing station from where a beautiful gondola takes you and your fiancé, (with the photographer) down the Grand Canal to the Piazza San Marco. The Gondoliere kindly furnishes you with a glass of fizz to start the proceedings.
Your wedding guests have meanwhile been transported by motor launch to the Piazza San Marco and are waiting for you with confetti and more Prosecco to celebrate. After a lively and informal photo shoot with all your guests it is time to board the motor launch that will transport you to the beautiful island of Torcello, about half an hour away. The motor launch glides across the Lagoon past the dramatic Cimitero island and the glass blowing centre of Murano and on to Torcello. You are greeted, on arrival by the owners of the celebrated Locanda Cipriani, who guide you and your guests through to the beautiful garden where pre-lunch drinks are awaiting with a delicious selection of canapés. The wedding table is beautifully laid out under large umbrellas to offer shade from the midday sun.
The lunch is truly magnificent and the service friendly and relaxed. The musicians offer a civilized and unobtrusive twist to the al fresco meal.
After a leisurely afternoon, it is finally time to say farewell to your guests and return to your luxurious suite in the Ca’Sagredo, safe in the knowledge that they too will all be returning to Venice for the night by private motor launch.