Do you have any advice for a Venice wedding?

[littlemissbliss]

FI and I are not really into to the big wedding and we are considering running away to Venice for a few weeks for a romantic wedding and honeymoon.

Have any of you been married in Venice?

 

[breezy]

Not yet!

We are getting married this Sept. 25 in Venice. We were there once before as part of a med cruise and loved it. We also are not into the big wedding thing......We hired a planner and will arrive in Venice 3 days prior to the wedding. Time is needed to attend appts. for the legal paperwork. Our planner is arranging everything. It is a magical place and we both knew it would be our dream wedding......and very romantic since we are going alone. The day after the wedding we leave for a 7 day cruise to Greece, Turkey and Croatia. We are very excited!

 

[littlemissbliss]

Date: 8/16/2009 10:33:14 PM
Author: breezy
Not yet!

We are getting married this Sept. 25 in Venice. We were there once before as part of a med cruise and loved it. We also are not into the big wedding thing......We hired a planner and will arrive in Venice 3 days prior to the wedding. Time is needed to attend appts. for the legal paperwork. Our planner is arranging everything. It is a magical place and we both knew it would be our dream wedding......and very romantic since we are going alone. The day after the wedding we leave for a 7 day cruise to Greece, Turkey and Croatia. We are very excited!

Oooohhh, I can''t wait to hear all the details!

We will be going alone, as well. So intimate and sweet Are you having your civil ceremony in the city hall? Are you having the blessing ceremony? Do you mind telling me what wedding planner you used? I have looked at several, but it is so hard to choose. Any details you want to share would be much appreciated, but if you want to wait till after you return, I understand that too!


You cruise sounds fab!

 

[breezy]

I don''t mind at all! We are using Regency San Marco. It is my understanding that they are the only agency able to have a protestant wedding with legal validity. We will be married in a chapel inside a palace by a minister. We will not have to have a second ceremony (civil). For us, this seemed like the best option. Since we haven''t had our wedding yet, I really can''t say if everything was exactly as we wanted.........but I really am not concerned. After our ceremony, we will have a gondola ride and then more photos (probably St. Marks Square area) followed by a nice dinner for two in a restaurant chosen for us. We already had booked a very popular B and B in Venice for 4 nights and scheduled the cruise to follow. We only needed the planner to deal with the specific wedding arrangements and legal issues. We decided not to try to do everything ourselves. It is possible I think (and cheaper I''m sure), but we didn''t want the stress and worry about not getting things done right. This wedding has been 100% stress free! They are providing flowers, a violinist, witnesses, officiant, gondola ride, photographer, and assistance with all legal paperwork. We have used email and our planner has been efficient. We will be taking a train one day to Verona and another day to Milan (to the US consulate) and someone will accompany us. We are really looking forward to our special day! When is your wedding?

 

[littlemissbliss]

Date: 8/16/2009 11:08:18 PM
Author: breezy
I don't mind at all! We are using Regency San Marco. It is my understanding that they are the only agency able to have a protestant wedding with legal validity. We will be married in a chapel inside a palace by a minister. We will not have to have a second ceremony (civil). For us, this seemed like the best option. Since we haven't had our wedding yet, I really can't say if everything was exactly as we wanted.........but I really am not concerned. After our ceremony, we will have a gondola ride and then more photos (probably St. Marks Square area) followed by a nice dinner for two in a restaurant chosen for us. We already had booked a very popular B and B in Venice for 4 nights and scheduled the cruise to follow. We only needed the planner to deal with the specific wedding arrangements and legal issues. We decided not to try to do everything ourselves. It is possible I think (and cheaper I'm sure), but we didn't want the stress and worry about not getting things done right. This wedding has been 100% stress free! They are providing flowers, a violinist, witnesses, officiant, gondola ride, photographer, and assistance with all legal paperwork. We have used email and our planner has been efficient. We will be taking a train one day to Verona and another day to Milan (to the US consulate) and someone will accompany us. We are really looking forward to our special day! When is your wedding?

My goodness, your wedding sounds like it will be perfect! We don't want to do a lot of planning either. I have looked at several of the palaces, and they are just unbelievable.
I also like Hotel Cipriani, so that is an option for us, as well.

We aren't sure when we will get married. Maybe sometime next fall, but it may be sooner or even later. We are just starting to nail down what we want. It is funny that we have been together for more than five years but haven't done a lot of talk about the actual wedding! We also have not told our families about this plan to elope. His fam is traditional and would probably be devastated if they couldn't be there, but my fam would probably be okay with it. Guess we will see! Do your families know? Will you have a reception after you return from your honeymoon?

 

[breezy]

Well, I have prepared my family for years that I would prefer to elope....and since my parents did just that, they can''t say much!

I''m sure they would have preferred to be present, but understand our wishes. They plan to host a small family party at their home after we get back. We will have a yummy wedding cake that day instead of our wedding day so that we can save the top layer.

My FI''s parents (especially his mom) may be more disappointed, but again, we didn''t give them any say and they are just thrilled we are getting married. My FI and I are both in our early forties so we really don''t feel too much pressure to do what others would prefer and we are paying for it. His mom is also throwing a dinner in our honor at a local restaurant after we get back. So far, she intends to invite 34 people! When she asked if we would mind a small dinner for his family/parents friends we said okay. We are somewhat surprised her list has grown.........we expected about 20 people. Soooooooooo glad we aren''t having a local wedding that she would get too involved in!!! I also think having two separate parties makes things a bit more manageable and our families can each do what they want. We just have to attend!

Neither one of us has been married before so I guess they just want to celebrate a bit with us. It will be fun and stress free.

When you are planning your wedding, keep in mind the weather in Venice. I would avoid summer for sure. Most say it is very hot and often smelly since the water levels are low.........not to mention the most crowded time of year. Mid Sept. to mid. Oct. is often considered the nicest and our planner told us Sept. is the most popular month for weddings since the weather is typically beautiful then..........mostly 65-75degrees F. Last year it was gorgeous when we were there so we decided to stick with it and hope it is perfect again. I also hear May can be nice......

Good luck with your planning!

 

[mrscushion]

There is a wedding venue in Venice that is right by a canal, so you can arrive in a gondola, but it has a really lovely and romantic back garden to have an outdoor ceremony. I forget what it''s called, but I presume most wedding planners would know about it and with a bit of Googling you can probably find it.

 

[purrfectpear]

Advice? Bring a lifevest? Just kidding. It sounds dreamy.

 

[katamari]

We didn''t marry in Venice and when we visited we did it on the cheap, so I probably can''t be much help. But some advice I can give is DON''T FORGET ANYTHING and book your actual marriage toward the end of your trip if you anticipate being unable to carry on all your wedding gear in case your luggage is lost. Transportation outside of Venice is hard to come by since it is only accessible by plane or boat and it might be hard to shop (especially not in expensive boutiques) for something you accidentally left behind.

But, it is a gorgeous city and will be a lovely place to get married!