# 1 Italy is Home to the Greatest Number of UNESCO Heritage Sites in the World (total of 47).
This means you can:
- Have your dream wedding in unknown yet breathtaking venues.
- WOW your guests.
- Save money: prices in undiscovered gems are always more competitive.
- Experience the real Italy.
- Treat your guests to the best food products in the world that did not go around the world yet.
#2 Italy has 20 Regions
which you can think of as districts. Each of them have something worth knowing about, which will help greatly when looking for your wedding venue. The vast majority of them, have:
- Coasts
- Hills
- Mountains
- Lakes
- Countryside landscapes
- The weather varies according to the regions and month but generally speaking Italy has one of the best climate in Europe with temperatures close to zero in the north during the winter up to 36 degrees in the south during the summer.
#3 Venues for your Wedding:
- In Italy there are more than 5k 4* hotels and almost 500 5* hotels.
- The highest number of farmhouses are in Tuscany and Bolzano (north), but the most spacious are in Apulia and Sicily.
- Italy has 7600km of coastline and several mayors are now celebrating weddings on the beach.
- There are ca 40k Catholic churches, but there are also Protestant, Orthodox and 6 Mosques.
- All venues are same sex wedding- friendly. Since May 2016, gay couples can marry in Italy.
- Civil weddings are only valid in the government’s council houses, unless differently specified.
- Wine Weddings are trendy and there are several wineries that are now hosting weddings.
- Some beach huts in splendid seaside locations where tuna used to be stored once fished, have been now refurbished as wedding venues.
#4 Getting to and around Italy is very easy:
- You can check www.trenitalia.it and www.italotreno.it for extensive and cheap train transportation
- There are 28 international airports
- Countless the private and public companies for water transportation
- Each region has its own coach company which takes you around all Italy for very cheap prices.
#5 There is no such thing as Main Dish.
When looking into your wedding reception consider that Italian meals are made of:
- Antipasti (finger food before the main dishes).
- Primo piatto (first course: which is pasta, or rice or soups).
- Secondo piatto (second course: which is either fish or meat).
- Contorno (side dish: vegetables, or salad or potatoes).
They are rigorously served in different plates (except the secondo and contorno). You can never mix the flavours.
#6 Wedding Cakes. Which one?
- Italians use very little sugar paste or butter cream.
- Wedding cakes go along with the regional food traditions and vary from region to region.
- Naked cakes are usually the most popular.
- Italians like cakes made of fruits, chantilly creams, millefeuille.
#7 Confetti. What are for Italians?
The word comes from the latin “ conficere” which means ‘ ready made”. These were little candies made of almonds covered with sugar, ready, to be eaten by the romans during parties .
- Confetti are the sugar almond candies that are given to all guests by the bride in sign of gratitude for their presence.
- They come in sachets of 5, rigorously in odd quantities, to symbolise the fact that the newly weds can not be parted. The sachets are usually tied to a silver object. These are the Italian ‘ favours” (bomboniere).
- The bride puts the favours in a big decorated basket and at the end of the dinner she hands them out to her guests.
#8 Head Table, Think Twice.
If your is a Mixed Wedding (your spouse is Italian or you are having Italian guests) Head Tables are a No-No
- For the Italian Wedding Etiquette, bride and groom have to have their own table. This is because they will get up during the meal to thank and chat with their guests.
- Being them the hosts, getting up from the table and leaving the other guests behind, is consider bad manners.
#9 How High can you Count? As above, never Number your Tables.
- Guests sitting at table 1 will feel honoured; but what about the ones sitting at table 20? Can you see how they might feel?
- Italian Wedding Etiquette suggests that you name your tables (instead of numbering them) . You can do so by themes: you can choose flowers names, colours, cities, countries etc.
#10 What about some Few More Tips?
- Words with ‘ch” are always pronounced “k”. Think of “Chianti” or ‘zucchini”. So when coming across the word: ‘bruschetta” make sure you pronounce it bruˈsketta.
- Spoons are only used for soups. Never, ever eat spaghetti with a spoon.
- Al fresco literally mean a cool place. So in the middle of the summer, when the sun is scorching, the only al fresco places are the indoor tables close to an air conditioning.
- “Latte” means “milk”. So if you want a coffee with milk, you literally need to ask for a caffelatte. Unless a glass of milk is what you are looking for.
- The colors of the Italian flag have specific meanings for the 3 virtues: green for hope, white for faith and red for charity.
Roberta Sabbatini has ready made WEDDING PACKAGES starting from £7990. Book yours to have the Perfect Italian Wedding. Locations available are:
Lake Garda Umbria Tuscany Capri
Can’t find what you are looking for? I can put together a bespoke package for you. Just click here
