Wedding in Praiano
 

We are looking to get married in Praiano, Italy in early June, 2008. I am looking for recommendations from anyone that has been married there... about how easy or difficult it is to arrange the paperwork needed, find someone to perform a civil ceremony, etc. It will only be my bride, myself and her parents. Since we are a small group is it worth hiring a coordinator or can we manage it on our own?

I also read Ira's wonderful post about their trip. Thank you for all the great ideas and in depth information! I have a question about dress code. What is acceptable while traveling on day trips and what is expected in the nicer restaurants you dined at in Praiano?

Thanks in advance for your ideas and info!
DC

Well if you do decide to get local help, here's a link to someone who might help you out. They are small, based in Positano wuite close to Praiano, and might be able to take care of a few things for you..
Worth a look:
http://www.amalficoastdreamweddings.it/

Very difficult to do on your own unless you're fluent in Italian and ready to cope with all the governmental regs and the residency requirements.

If you do a search below you will find info from people that did pull off a wedding in Italy - and how complicated it was.

Would not think of doing it without a planner - primarily for the legal end of things - as well as finding a decent photographer etc.

DC,

I got married in Italy years ago and did it all on my own. Are you from the US? I have found that for most people the biggest difficulty is back home, not in Italy.

The first thing you need to do before anything else is go to an Italian Consulate in the US, bringing four friends with you who have known you for some time and can sign documents to the fact that you are who you say you are and are not married to someone else or leaving behind children and responsibilities from another marriage. If you don't live near a US Consulate, this is often the most difficult piece of paperwork for people to arrange.

We also followed instructions to get Italian translations of our birth certificates, which we did, but no one ever used for any stage of the preparations.

In Italy you must file more paperwork with a US consulate there, get it certified at the at the town's Prefettura, and then take all those documents to the town hall of the city where you want to marry and apply for a license. Back in the US, we were told we would need two witnesses for this part, but when we brought them to the consulate, we were told it was unnecessary.

We wanted to marry in Venice at city hall. This was pre-internet days so an Italian friend of mine researched the phone number of the office in Venice that did marriage ceremonies. He spoke with the woman in charge who actually spoke English, so I contacted her a few months in advance to reserve a time for the wedding. She told us to show up two days before with all our paperwork, and then she would prepare the license. A local magistrate performed the ceremony in Italian, with the same woman I'd spoken with reading an English translation.

It can be done on your own. Triple check the latest information and requirements, since every step of the way you may deal with people who tell you something else. We found the US State Dept to offer the most clear and accurate description of the requirements at the time.

Hi DC,

Have you considered getting married in the US and honeymooning on the AC?

It will be so much easier.

>...dress code. ...on day trips and ...in the nicer restaurants you dined at in Praiano?

On day trips, whatever is reasonably comfortable and not too revealing.

You should be covered from shoulder to knee (inclusive) if you will be visiting churches.

For dinner, golf club casual.

((I))

We were married in Tuscany in 2003. I arranged the wedding for 35 guests all on my own. I would definitely suggest you consider doing the legal ceremony at home in the US and have the real/symbolic ceremony in Italy. This will save you a ton of time and $ as the paperwork is what you would need the coordinator for in Italy....otherwisew it would be quite simple to arrange something small and intimate for your group.