One of the perks of getting married in Italy is the opportunity to choose among a huge number of incredible locations that can host your ceremony and party. But how to pick a wedding venue that perfectly combines your wishes and needs?
That could be tricky, especially if you’re not living anywhere close to your wedding destination. That’s why Paolo Cicognani’s team thought to share with you 5 steps to find the venue of your dreams – and we’d be glad to help you along this journey!
1. Pick a destination wedding venue you love
If you’ve been wishing for a luxury wedding in Italy, you probably have a few venues in mind already. Maybe you found them through a Google research, or you saw the photos on a magazine: whatever it is, we know that couples usually have a very clear idea of what they love.
And of course this is the first element you should consider: your wedding venue has to make your hearts flutter. You will pay attention to the style of the location – is it a country house? A villa? Or perhaps a castle? – and the location – on the green rolling hills of Tuscany or maybe on the beach in Venice? – but in this phase you can dream big.
2. Consider the number of guests
How to pick a wedding venue if you don’t know how many people you will invite? It’s practically impossible, trust us. So the second step towards the choice involves some math: you need to make a list of your guests, and decide whether you want to find a venue where they can also spend the night (highly suggested) or not.
When you know the number of people who will attend your celebration, you can discard the wedding venues that are not large enough. Make sure you consider both the event and the sleeping accommodation capacity!
3. Does it fall within the budget you set?
It’s time to further narrow down your list of destination wedding venues, based on your budget. To this point you should already know how much money you can allocate to the venue rental – but if you don’t, our team of wedding planners can help you find it out.
You can decide to cover for your guests’ accommodation too, or not: both options are possible, but be aware that there will always be a deposit to pay in advance. Some venues have a basic offer, then charge you for additional services or for the usage of some spaces. Sometimes the rates can change based on the time of the year, or day of the week.
What we’re trying to say is: there are so many things to consider when it comes to the budget for the wedding venue, that it’s much easier to leave this part of the work to a professional wedding planner. It will save you a lot of stress!
4. Choose a wedding venue that offers a plan B
What a professional can also help you with is the choice of a wedding venue that’s really perfect, even in case of rain. If there’s something that even the best wedding planner can’t control it’s exactly that: the weather.
So, unless you want to rent a marquee to place in the garden of your chosen venue, you’d better make sure that the internal spaces are as adequate as the external ones. And, in case you’re wondering, no: one hall is not enough – you need at least two covered spaces, one for the cocktail buffet and one for the seated dinner.
The best way to really check this aspect is through a site inspection: if you can’t do it in person, just have your wedding planner do it for you. Thanks to his experience, he will understand if the venue is truly suitable for a backup plan. Speaking of which…
5. How to pick a wedding venue if you’re not there
Choosing the perfect venue where to get married is always difficult; even more when it comes to destination weddings. As we said, we are aware that you won’t always be able to inspect the site in advance: that’s why the wedding planner’s role is so important.
He can get in touch with your preferred venues, in order to select those that are available in the timeframe you chose for your event. He can check their indoor and outdoor spaces and capacity, and talk to the managers – which might also change unexpectedly – to make sure that the contract is clear, complete and doesn’t hide any bad surprise.
He can let you know if the location is easy to reach for your guests or if it’s placed in the middle of nowhere, far from the main airports and connected to cities through dirt roads unsuitable for vans.
He can check if it’s possible to get married on site with a legal ceremony, or a religious one – or if you’ll have to opt for a symbolic ritual.
He can even give you suggestions about places that have everything you’re looking for, but maybe you’re unaware of! Hidden gems, that he discovered throughout his years of work and that could make your celebration truly unique.
Basically, he can take care of all of the previous steps, so that you won’t have to stress about anything – not even the choice of the wedding venue.
That’s exactly what we at Paolo Cicognani do, with passion and expertise. Get in touch with us and let us organize your extraordinary, bespoke event. Let’s start with picking the perfect wedding venue together!
