My darling fiance would like to get married in rome in May. we have researched several sites but find them all very confusing. Does anyone have any first hand knowledge on how we can make the arrangements ourselves?

We will be in Rome for 6 days in May along with several family members. There will only be about 7 of us total. We would really like to have a Catholic service if possible

Thanks for any replies!

I hate to burst yout bubble, but I am not sure that you can have a "real" (Catholic) church wedding in Italy that will be recognized by any (state) jurisdiction in the United States, without living there a considerable period of time - - and even then, most Italians apparently have just a civil cermony (? - - forgive me if I am wrong, but I am much more confident that this is virtually 100% true for France, and I feel like I hae read that you should still have a courthouse wedding in the United States, if you are planning to hold your "wedding" in Italy).

Having said that, take a look at the most gorgeous, unbelievable website, detailing the most extraordinary fairy-tale wedding (in Siena) that you could possibly imagine - - I mentioned it in another thread, just 24 or 48 hours ago...

http://www.sharandkim.net/index.htm

I have actually written this bride and groom, with some questions (our own daughter is getting married later this year, the first of our three daughters); no response yet - - I hope it is not too weird that a dialogue could be expected from a total stranger like this. We shall see.

I don't think that the website touches on the "legality" of the wedding - - and it was more secular/non-denominational than anything; in fact, not really in a church, if I read it right.

I do think that there is a procedure for getting a papal blessing of your wedding (after the fact, I assume) - - maybe details at santsusanna.org - - in fact, they have an informative page about weddings on http://www.santasusanna.org/weddings...dingsRome.html

Have you looked at this?

Hope it works out for you... in any event, congratulations on your new life in marriage together... and...

Best wishes,

Rex

Thanks for the reply Rex.
What we have read is that it is possible to be married in a church by a priest in Rome. We have only found information on sites that make all the arrangements for you. We were just trying to see if we could do it all ourselves-the planning that is, without the help or expense of a planner.
Thanks again for the info, we will look at the sites you suggested.

You're welcome.

J squared, are you from the United States? If you want to do everything yourself, be prepared to spend 6-8 months visitng consulates and doing all the paperwork. I am getting married in Florence in a civil ceremony at Palazzo Vecchio and our birth certificates will need to be translated into Italian, and we need to fill out the Nulla Osta and the other document (sorry I forget what it is called) which need to be done in the presence of a government official. We will also need to be in Italy a certain amount of time before the ceremony.

I believe Rex is correct about the Catholic ceremony. AND if either one of you is NOT Catholic or have been revously married, forget it, they will not perform the ceremony at all.

This occassion is way too important to potentially screw up paperwork and deal with all that stress. I highly recommend getting a planner to do it for you, we are using Ben Singleton of ItalyWeddings.com. Good luck and congrats on your marriage.

editing above for spelling: "...if either one of you have been previously married..."