Need some assistance for a group of 13 in Tuscany

Chiqui

New member
We are planning a family trip in Italy next year mid September. Our main destination is Rome but would like to visit Venice, Tuscany, Cinque Terre and Amalfi Coast. There will be 13 of us and 3 of that 13 will be children under the age of 5.

Since both sides of my husband and I's family will be travelling with us, my husband and I have decided to renew our vows. I have always dreamt of marrying in Tuscany and now is my chance!

I am making all the plans. And that is why I have began my research. I need help with the following:

  1. Cheapest mode of transportation to Tuscany from Rome for our large group.
  2. Accommodation
  3. Which is cheaper? Have the ceremony in a villa and have it catered or should we marry in town at a Church and have the reception at a restaurant?
  4. Is it cheaper to marry in Tuscany during the weekday?

I may be missing a lot. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
Ciao Chiqui and congrats - for both the beautiful family trip and renewal of vows planned! Let's see if we can be of help....

1. I think the cheapest mode of transportation will be to rent two vans or 3 small cars if you feel there are people in your family willing to drive. Rome to Florence is about 2.5-3 hrs away, to give you an idea.... also remember that Tuscany, Cinque Terre and Venice are all north of Rome, while Amalfi is in the opposite direction, south.... so you'll have to fit it at the end, making a drive there the longest.
An alternative: hiring a minibus which generally fit up to 15 passengers. This will require a driver since they are another license class.
I think train for 13 people would end up costing too much, although it is very easy to get around all of Italy.
You'll need to start searching and doing cost comparisons - I really don't have anyone to recommend out of Rome but searches will certainly give you a good place to start. You can also use the search box at the bottom of this page to start out: http://www.discovertuscany.com/tuscany-car-rental/

2. I think you should rent an entire villa for the duration of your time in Tuscany. You don't give general dates of how long you intend to stay in each place but if you start contacting villas now, I am sure you won't have problems in finding availability.

3 & 4. Correct me if I'm wrong but a renewal of vows doen't need an "official" to preside over it, unless you're thinking of it in religious terms and that is all. In that case, you'll need to contact your local church and start gathering documents that might be required. I am thinking they might not be as complicated as for a wedding but you also can't just plan it without the documentation they require. If you want a priest present, you can only do it in a church here, not at the villa unless there is a chapel there and a priest is willing to go there. So I am thinking I can't really answer your question fully before I understand better what you would like to do.... on the one hand, if you don't need a priest or official, you can have the ceremony and reception at the villa - but if you need a church, then it would be better to be in a town and at that point it would make more sense to have the reception there, at a restaurant.
I believe eating out at a restaurant would be less expensive, as the caterer would not need to "move" to wherever you are. And definitely a weekday would be better, moving it away from the popular weekend.... but that depends if it's possible if the church doesn't say they do ceremonies only on weekends.

Phew... so I need more details on the type of ceremony you'd like. I think you can go completely just symbolic, do the renewal wherever you want but not sure what you'd like to do.

As far as the villa, here are a few I'd recommend for you:
Villa Piaggia
Villa Vianci
Villa La Dogana
Villa Il Poggiale - this one could definitely offer catering directly on premises since it has its own restaurant.
Villa Corsanello

Ok let me know some more info so that I can give some more suggestions!
 
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