Celebrant for Wedding Ceremony in Tuscany

Sweetness

New member
Hello,

I plan to get married in Tuscany (perhaps Chianti or Florence) on Monday July 4, 2011. We will have a legal ceremony in the US before our trip to insure that we are legally married under US law and we will have an "unofficial" wedding ceremony in Italy. I was wondering if anyone could tell me how to find a Celebrant that we can hire to marry us in Italy. Possibly a judge from the local courthouse?? If you know how we can hire someone to marry us please let me know. Thanks so much!

~Cecilia
 
symbolic wedding does not need an official celebrant

Ciao Cecilia,

Congrats on your upcoming wedding! As far as I know, if you're officially getting married in the US, then the wedding in Italy becomes just a "symbolic" wedding and for that you don't need an official of the State to celebrate the wedding vows. You could practically ask a friend to "celebrate" and read your vows as you wish them to be read.

Here in Italy, the courthouse and judges are not involved in the official ceremonies - it is City Hall and usually the major or a deputy major that marries couples and only in City Hall so the ceremony HAS to take place there (unlike in the US where you can pay extra to have them come to where you are).

If you're interested in finding an Italian to become the unofficial celebrant, this is usually a service that a wedding planner can arrange for you. And they'll do what I've told you above - a symbolic reading of of the union and marriage and repeating of the vows. If it is Italian, then you'll want a translator.
If you've already found a location like a villa where you're planning to have the wedding, you might just ask the villa/hotel owners/managers themselves whether they already work with someone that does just that kind of service. It is usually a very minor service included in the wedding planning for foreigners, so I am not sure whether it would be easy to search for just wedding celebrants particularly as it isn't official -- which you wouldn't want it to be in any case, too much extra paperwork.
If you're looking for some help with the planning at all and need minor help from a wedding planner, you could look at this wedding in Tuscany page for some suggestions. It is my understanding they can take care of minor details for you without requiring you to entrust them with all details.
 
Thank you!

Wow! Thank you so much for the quick reply back. That makes things much more simple. I'm so glad I got that answer from you! If I think of any other questions I will let you know, but this was great information!

~Sweetness
 
your wedding celebration

Hi Sweetness,

I'm Whiteflori....our real name are Giovanna and Elisa.
We was talking for to start a new business as Wedding Planners and we was searching for some informations about that...and sincerely,somobody interested to organize our marriage.
So,we read your post in this website.
We live in tuscany, exactly in the middle of the Chianti side...10 minutes to San Gimignano,15 min.to Siena,30 min. to Florence.
We know very well these places and we could help you to find a wonderful locations.
If you are interested tell me how we can contac you.

In the meantime we wish you an happy new year.

Ciao,
Elisa e Giovanna.
 
My best friend got married in Tuscany last September with a symbolic wedding. It was so romantic! Boutique Events (boutiqueevents.it) planned the whole thing, maybe you can contact them to ask about the officiant.
 
Celebrant

We are getting married this summer and found a retired priest to hold our service as we wanted to include a religious aspect. For this we have paid a donation to the church which was around €500. It's nice to know it will be done professionally and with thought. Remember it is the most important day of your life and even if the legal part is done first, the symbolic ceremony should not be overlooked as after all it is the main part of a wedding day.
 
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